In the 19th century, Texas became well known for its longhorns and the Alamo. The 20th century saw the oil boom, the Cowboys, and an infamous Dallas afternoon in November, 1963. In the 21st century, the state is becoming defined by its surprisingly progressive stand on energy through its wind farms and embracing of electric vehicles.

NRG Energy and its EV Services division have been leading the drive to bring clean power and transportation to Texas. The company now controls 450 megawatts of wind power in the state, and has executed the most aggressive rollout of EV infrastructure in the country.

These two developments are closely linked, according to Arun Banskota, the president of NRG EV Services, with whom I spoke at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. NRG is investing $25 million in public EV charging equipment in Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Banskota said. That’s a hefty investment in a speculative market, especially for a publicly-traded company. Despite the area’s reputation as an oil town rich in land yachts, NRG is installing 50 “Freedom Stations” in Houston and 75 in DFW. Each of the charging stations has at least one DC fast charger and one Level 2 charging station, and they cost more than $100,000 per location.

The strategy appears to be working. According to Banskota, 80 percent of Nissan Leaf owners in the two regions have signed up for the EVGO program, a subscription service that enables charging at home or around town. NRG customers can specify only clean energy when they sign up.

Banskota said the company’s wind farms produce an abundance of power at night, when demand is low, which can result in spilling the excess power or negative pricing. Enter the EVs, which can charge at night and enable NRG to generate more revenue from its wind farms. Tying wind to EV charging in Texas mirrors similar endeavors in The Netherlands and Denmark, but is unique in the United States.

Texas is one of four states (along with Hawaii, California and Virginia) that currently do not regulate EV charging services, and NRG is likely to offer a similar service in one of the other states during 2012. NRG is looking to integrate EV charging into home energy management applications so that all of a home’s energy can be managed through a single application. The company also plans to introduce vehicle to grid (V2G) technology in several states. The company acquired V2G technology from the University of Delaware, but does not expect there to be much demand for using vehicles to provide power to the grid for three to five years.

Article by John Gartner, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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Recently, the U.N.’s official climate change body announced that extreme weather events are tied to climate change and we can expect even more mayhem as the century wears on. Among other climate disasters, the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report foresee more scorching days and longer and more frequent heat waves across much of the Earth. For climate advocates, the report was a belated validation of what many had been claiming for years – though several expressed pique at how carefully the climate scientists hedged the conclusions. But much of America, distrustful of about climate science and worried about the sluggish economy, likely shrugged the report off, if they noticed at all.

So in an effort to make this most recent climate science relevant to people’s lives for the coming Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to look at how climate change is affecting football. The effects of climate change, so far, have been most noticeable in Texas, where a terrible drought has dried up football fields in small towns that used to look forward to Friday nights above all. But climate change will have a terrible effect on communities throughout the cradle of football in the Southern and plains states. Here are a few ways it will happen:

Click here for more.

Article by Matthew Van Dusen, appearing courtesy Txchnologist.

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Greenhouse gases are such materials as Carbon Dioxide and Methane that are implicated in global warming. From a permitting point of view it is a new phenomena. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the first Texas Greenhouse Gas (GHG) permit for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant in Llano County, Texas. LCRA is modernizing and expanding its plant by replacing its 37 year old unit with a new more efficient and reliable natural gas powered unit.

The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA’s mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas. These services include electricity, water, flood management, water and wastewater utilities, public parks along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River, and community and economic development services to rural and suburban communities.

“The new LCRA plant will use improved environmental controls and install modern high efficiency equipment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “LCRA is leading the way by providing Texans an efficient and reliable source of clean power.”

LCRA is the first company in Texas to complete the GHG permit process and obtained a final permit in about 8 months. Earlier this year, the company proposed to replace an old 440 megawatt electricity generating boiler with a new reliable 590 megawatt combined cycle gas-fired plant. The new plant relies on an advanced electric power generation system that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions and also includes advanced environmental monitoring of GHG emissions.

“We appreciated EPA’s work on our project,” said LCRA General Manager Becky Motal. “We believe that replacing our aging Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant with this new combined-cycle natural gas plant benefits everyone. The region will benefit from the latest environmental controls and our customers will benefit from our ability to better manage costs with a plant that will use about 35 to 40 percent less fuel than traditional gas-fired plants.”

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state agency that should be responsible for issuing such permits, said it was pleased the Lower Colorado River Authority’s would now be able to move forward.

But “we see no need for — or any environmental benefit from — EPA’s greenhouse gas permit,” said Andy Saenz, a TCEQ spokesman. “The TCEQ authorized the project on Sept. 1, 2011 after careful review that determined the permit was protective of the environment and fully compliant with all state environmental regulations.”

The EPA took over the state’s greenhouse gas permitting program after Texas refused to comply with new regulations designed to decrease air pollution believed to contribute to climate change. Texas, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and industrial pollution in the nation, was the only state that refused to comply, arguing among other things that the regulations would be too costly for businesses in a weak economy.

Article by Andy Soos, appearing courtesy Environmental News Network.

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Duke Energy has announced its intention to build a large-scale wind farm in Willacy County.

When the 200-megawatt facility comes online, it will generate enough electricity to power roughly 60,000 homes.

Duke Energy’s Los Vientos I wind power project, roughly 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, will sell its electricity to San Antonio-based CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally owned energy utility.

Duke Energy Renewables will start construction later this year and bring the project online by December 2012, The Brownsville Herald reported.

Willacy County Precinct 1 Commissioner Eliberto “Beto” Guerra called the wind farm a “win-win” for the county, commenting that taxes from the wind farm will benefit local school districts and create jobs.

Walter Kittelberger, co-founder of the Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, said that wind farms have a bigger footprint than natural gas, which he said was the best energy alternative for Texas, commenting, “Wind turbines are very destructive to surrounding habitats. They are not a good idea for America.”

Duke Energy spokesman Greg Efthimiou said, “The wind resource in the area is terrific. The wind blows strongest and most consistently during peak demand during the day, particularly in the afternoon when people are coming home and turning on their TVs and turning on their ovens. The wind is blowing pretty strong.”

Article by Joao Peixe, appearing courtesy OilPrice.com.

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Texans are proud of a lot of things, but the state’s air quality isn’t one of them. That makes it doubly bizarre that Governor Rick Perry is so determined to stop the EPA from requiring big polluters to conform to the Clean Air Act.

Texas industries produce more toxic mercury pollution, more smog, and more greenhouse gases than any other state. And although Texas is a very big state, it’s not so big that its air pollution doesn’t affect its neighbors. Just ask the folks across the Red River in Oklahoma how they feel about Texas coal plants.

Last week, Rick Perry’s administration lost in court for a third time as the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected its request to stop the EPA from issuing Clean Air Act permits for CO2 emissions.

The Supreme Court had already ruled that carbon pollution is covered under Clean Air Act. And, as of this month, big greenhouse gas-emitting sites like coal plants and cement kilns must start accounting for CO2 when they apply for a Clean Air Act permit for new facilities or major renovations.

Contrary to what Governor Perry and others are saying, that doesn’t mean the federal government wants to run roughshod over state governments. The EPA would actually prefer that the individual states handle the permitting programs. But in those few cases where the states aren’t ready to do that, the EPA is obliged to step in. Of all the states, only Texas has both refused to take responsibility and also demanded that no one else take responsibility either.

You’d think Lisa Jackson was demanding to install solar panels on the Alamo. You know, almost eight percent of the energy generated in Texas comes from wind power — a figure that’s expected to almost double by 2015. If all this hot air about the “overreaching” EPA keeps blowing, that figure could triple!

Fortunately, now that the way is clear for the EPA to assume responsibility for protecting the air in Texas, businesses can start planning how they will comply with the Clean Air Act rather than being stuck in a legal limbo. And, with luck, millions of Texans (and their neighbors) will be able to breathe a little easier as the worst polluters in the state either clean up or shut down.

Article by Michael Brune, appearing courtesy ecopolitology.

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(Reuters) – Texas has long been home to Big Oil companies that specialize in extracting petroleum from hard-to-reach places. Now the hip college town of Austin is vying to become the epicenter of a potentially giant market for carbon-free electricity generated by the hot Texas sun.

The rest of Texas may follow, if the state legislature passes incentives that will change the economics of buying panels from hippie cool to low-price hot.

Big U.S. solar companies like SunPower Corp., born in California’s Silicon Valley and nurtured on that state’s renewable-friendly incentives, are looking to Texas as the new frontier for U.S. solar deployment.

Texas, the second most populous state behind California, is the hub of the U.S. energy sector. Traditional oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips call it home, but it also claims the mantle as the top U.S. producer of wind power.

“It’s a natural combination to think about Texas as being ultimately one of the largest if not the largest, solar market in the country,” said Julie Blunden, executive vice president for public policy and corporate communication at SunPower.

Earlier this month, SunPower, California’s biggest solar company, committed to opening an Austin office that will house 450 employees. Texas could one day eclipse California to become the biggest U.S. solar generating state, Blunden said.

“Texas is huge,” said Michael Horwitz, senior research analyst for clean technology at Robert W. Baird & Co. SunPower has a strong solar marketing record and “it makes sense that they will be one of the first players to break into that market,” Horwitz said.

Texas has plenty to offer. It’s home to the biggest U.S. electricity market, and as anyone who has visited the state during the summer knows, there is plenty of sun.

Texas “has virtually unlimited solar energy supply” and ranks first among U.S. states in solar resource potential, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

That potential is mostly untapped today. California is the No. 1 U.S. solar producer, thanks in large part to over $2 billion in incentives and laws that require utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, says Aaron Chew, an analyst at Hapoalim Securities.

Texas doesn’t even make the Top 10.

Let the Sun Shine In

That could change if the Texas legislature acts next year on proposals that would require state utilities to buy solar generation and offer $500 million in rebates over five years to residences and businesses to install solar panels.

“These incentives will light the fire under it, touch the match and light the fuse,” said Russel Smith, executive director of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association in Austin. “It’s going to be like the (Texas) wind sector if you do it right.”

Texas solar deployment has been a piecemeal, city-by-city effort so far. Austin has set a target of 35 percent renewable energy by 2020, and Austin Energy wants to see the solar target doubled to 200 megawatts over the period. San Antonio has set similar goals.

Without state-wide rules, Texas solar proponents say, the industry could languish in a patchwork of local efforts.

“For the private sector to get off the dime and really do what private capital can do, which is to take the lid off this thing, the legislature will need to do something,” said Andrew McCalla, president and founder of Meridian Solar Inc., which designs, builds and installs solar installations.

Even without such incentives the Texas solar market is showing signs of life. The state’s first solar farm began operations in November, a 14-megawatt project in San Antonio. That would power about 14,000 homes if the sun was shining full strength all the time — or about 5,000 in normal conditions.

And on December 15, RRE Austin Solar broke ground on a 60-megawatt solar farm northeast of Austin. A streamlined permitting process was key to drawing RRE Austin to Texas, said Angelos Angelou, a consultant for the privately held company.

“From a timing point of view Texas offers significant advantages over any other state,” Angelou said. While obtaining key permits in California takes years, the Texas grid operator approved a connection permit in about seven months, he said.

Texas solar projects are dwarfed by large-scale California solar farms like the planned $6 billion, 1,000-megawatt Blythe solar project in the Mojave Desert, which could power roughly 300,000 homes at peak when it comes online in 2013.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has vociferously opposed federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide. But if the U.S. Congress ever acts on long-delayed carbon legislation, solar projects could be key for Texas, which emits more heat-trapping gases per capita than any other state.

The Nerd Bird

If Texas has a solar boom, Austin would be a logical host. It’s known as the “Silicon Hills” — a nod to California’s Silicon Valley — due to its high-tech roots.

PC maker Dell Inc.’s headquarters is in nearby Round Rock, and the University of Texas at Austin’s faculty is a hotbed for high-tech experts.

The city has a long history of clean energy activism, which has its roots in community opposition to Texas nuclear plant construction in the 1960s.

“Austin is this unique mecca for clean energy scientists, combined with a 1960s-type pro-environment, hippie culture,” said Jose Beceiro, Director of Clean Energy at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, who has helped draw solar business to Austin.

Business travel between the Silicon Hills and the Silicon Valley is popular enough to support several daily direct airline connections between Austin and San Jose, which passengers refer to as “the Nerd Bird.”

Such flights have “an unusually cool cast of characters,” SunPower’s Blunden said. “You’re just as likely to see someone carrying a guitar case as you are two computer cases.”

Article by Chris Baltimore, Additional reporting by Sarah McBride in Los Angeles, Editing by Peter Henderson and David Gregorio, appearing courtesy Reuters.

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A U.S. utility is planning to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations in Houston that would be available to subscribers for a flat fee, the first such network of its kind in the nation. NRG Energy Inc., a New Jersey-based power company, plans to install private and public charging stations across the city, at a cost of $10 million. For $49 per month, customers would receive their own private charging station; for $79 per month, they would have access to a network of 50 stations located across the city at retail locations, such as Best Buy and Walgreens.

With more electric vehicles rolling onto U.S. roads, the company said it sees an opportunity to be part of the growing market to power vehicles. If the Houston model works, the company said it will build similar networks in other major U.S. cities, including New York and Dallas. Initially, NRG will focus on states where the retail electricity industry is deregulated, including Texas. “That’s a very attractive market for the electricity industry,” said David Crane, NRG’s president and CEO.

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Wind power generation in Texas is growing so quickly that it is testing the limits of the state’s electrical grid.

The state set a record on March 5 when wind turbines generated 6,272 megawatts of energy, or about 19 percent of the electricity on the state’s main power grid.

That peak far exceeded the 6.2 percent average for wind power in Texas, whose 9,410 megawatts of total wind capacity make it the nation’s wind power leader.

But wind power’s growth poses a critical challenge for the state’s booming wind industry, which includes a 180-megawatt wind farm completed last fall near Corpus Christi in South Texas.

On some days wind turbines are slowed or shut down because the state doesn’t have enough transmission wires to send the energy from remote areas, where wind resources are great, to cities that need it, including Dallas and Houston.

The state is planning to spend more than $5 billion to expand and update its transmission system.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

photo: swisscan

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I recently wrote a story on the growing popularity of so-called smart appliances that link into utility’s smart grid programs, allowing consumers to manage and cut down on their own power use.

By the end of this year, energy customers in much of Texas can expect the installation of close to 700,000 advanced smart electric meters and corresponding communications systems.   Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, the state’s largest utility company, and Landis+Gyr, a developer of energy management systems, have already installed more than 350,000 smart meters in Texas.

Oncor provides transmission distribution of electricity to nearly three million homes and businesses and operates 117,000 miles of transmission lines statewide. By 2012, the company expects to have replaced the 3.4 million residential and small commercial meters in its system

In the Dallas area, Oncor is collecting and transmitting electricity data in 15-minute intervals via home displays and smart thermostats for each smart meter installed.  Benefits of the advanced metering system to consumers are clear: by using information about how they use power, they can choose to control their energy use, using more energy at off-peak hours, helping utilities supply a steadier flow of electricity, and resulting in an approximate 10 percent reduction in overall energy usage.

According to a study by Brattle Group, just a five- percent drop in peak demand on a national basis would eliminate the need for the installation of close to 600 infrequently used, high-emissions power plants, saving approximately $3 billion.

In early 2010, Oncor’s system will be expanded to link to a common web portal that will allow consumers to monitor consumption data, letting retail electric providers interact through the system with both the customers themselves and with the equipment.

Oncor spokesperson, Carol Peters, says

“Unlike traditional power companies, Oncor does not own any power plants; it simply moves the power to retail electric providers who compete for customers.  There are eight regulated transmission businesses in Texas, and Oncor serves seven million people, just about one third of the state’s population.”

The company’s “Smart Texas Initiative” is one of the largest smart-grid build outs in the U.S.  Oncor has been working toward the development of smart meters since 2006.

In order to help educate consumers on how to use the new technology, Oncor has launched an extensive customer education program that includes visiting cities across Texas and meeting with people face-to-face to answer question and explain the smart meter system.

While Oncor charges each customer in the service area $2.21 per month for an advanced meter installation, the resulting reduction in demand should allow consumers to save approximately $18 per month by 2012.  Oncor will also provide free in-home monitors to low-income customers once the new meters are fully rolled out.

Article by Julie Mitchell appearing courtesy of Celsias

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The rapid growth of wind power in Texas is already reducing consumption of natural gas and lowering the cost of electricity generation in the state, according to a Wall Street research group. Bernstein Research reports that the rising output of wind turbines in Texas — the world’s sixth-largest producer of wind power — has eliminated the need to fire up natural gas-powered generators to meet the last bit of demand during periods of low energy usage.

Powering up natural gas generators is expensive, and Bernstein reports that the spreading use of wind turbines “can have a material impact on the price of power.” The report predicted that the “growth of wind power in (Texas) over the next three years will markedly lower the consumption of gas and coal by conventional generators.”

The state is anticipating a glut in natural gas production, and the rise in wind power generation is expected to further depress prices for natural gas and reduce consumer costs per kilowatt hour, Bernstein Research reported.

Appearing courtesy of Yale Environment 360.

[photo credit: bbcworldservice]

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