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Archive for the ‘Energy’ Category

We use more electricity now than ever, and since 2007 our energy usage in Texas is outpacing population growth.  How many of us charge our cell phones or laptops all night so they’re ready for use in the morning?  Or perhaps run the AC 24 hours a day during the blazing Texas summers?   Several years ago the Legislature passed a bill to bring down our consumption, but there’s still much to be done.  On one hand, legislation can continue to push down the maximum levels of energy consumption, thereby compelling energy companies to utilize more efficient forms of energy.  On the other, consumers and business owners can decide to individually pursue energy efficient technology, such as light bulbs, solar panels, and more efficient appliances.

Both suppliers and consumers must pursue energy efficiency to push it into the mainstream.  It’s the simple market equation of supply and demand—but who is going to push first?  Will energy companies supply more efficient forms of energy, or will consumers demand it until it really catches on?

While trolling the halls of Legislature during the last session and passing around information on efficient energy, I was pulled into a conversation between two gentlemen in one of the offices.  We discussed a slew of topics, including the Austin rodent problem of Fall 2008, the general usefulness of cats, and (prompted by my flier) light bulbs.   One gentleman was insistent that LEDs do not provide near the quality of incandescent bulbs, and therefore refused to use them in his home.  I was not exactly sure how to respond to that (I’m no bulb expert) but in my research I found the video posted below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-mr3VLW34]

So why aren’t these alien light bulbs everywhere?  Some are too expensive for the average consumer, but I had no idea that so many varieties exist.   Since they save so much on energy usage, why aren’t they more popular? (more…)

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NRC ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION FOR SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

The 22 year old South Texas Project (STP) Units 1 and 2 are up for renewal and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating licenses is available for public review.

The plant’s current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 will expire on Aug. 20, 2027, and Dec. 15, 2028, respectively.  A 20 year license extension would have the two units in production well past their initial life expectancy, and the onsite spent fuel rod storage, well – that’s a whole other can of worms.

South Texas Project Units 1 and 2 are both pressurized-water nuclear reactors, located 12 miles southwest of Bay City, Texas.  When they were built, these plants were projected to have a 30 to 40 year life expectancy and STP says it has enough underwater storage capacity on site to safely store spent fuel for the licensed life of the plant.  Since it is up for a 20 year renewal, let’s hope that that means they have enough spent fuel storage capacity for at least that long.  They haven’t been very forthcoming about what their hoped for expansion would mean for their spent fuel storage capacity, continuing to hold forth the promise of a long-term storage solution (Yucca Mountain being the most frequently touted option). But with the development of Yucca Mountain in limbo, and the NRC extending the period for onsite storage past the production life of a plant, it seems likely that an off site long term storage solution is unlikely anytime soon.

The licensee, STP Nuclear Operating Co., submitted the renewal application Oct. 26. The application is available on the NRC website at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/south-texas-project.html. The NRC staff is currently conducting an initial review of the application to determine whether it contains enough information for the required formal review. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally “docket,” or file, the application and will announce an opportunity to request a public hearing.

For further information, contact Carmen Fells or Tam Tran at the Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O11-F1, Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (301) 415-6337 for Carmen Fells and telephone (301) 415-3617 for Tam Tran.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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According to Bloomberg, electricity producers such as NRG Energy Inc. and Southern Co. will benefit as the new house Republican majority promotes nuclear power as part of clean-energy legislation.  They go on to point out that cap-and-trade was denounced in ads by candidates of both parties, and they expect a fight over plans by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose its own restrictions on carbon emissions.

They also anticipate that renewable-energy legislation next year would encourage construction of nuclear and “clean- coal” plants.

For those close to the Barnett Shale, House Republicans will probably resist efforts to limit hydraulic fracturing, a technique used in drilling for natural gas in which chemically treated water is pumped underground to loosen rock and let gas flow, and a process that has been of significant concern to Texans in the Dallas-Fort Worth air shed.  The EPA is currently conducting a study of potential environmental impacts of the practice.

The Republican takeover of the House also puts Representative Doc Hastings of Washington state, an opponent of new restrictions on offshore oil and gas drilling, in line to take over the Natural Resources Committee. Hastings denounced a measure, that would have removed a $75 million cap on liability for leaks, and would bar BP (the company responsible for the Gulf of Mexico deep water oil spill off the coast of Louisiana) from new U.S. leases.

I’m sure you can see where this could be taking U.S. energy and environmental policy.  If you are concerned, consider making a donation to Public Citizen as we head into a new political era.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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A new online film, the “Story of Electronics”, will be released on Tues, November 9. This is the newest in the series of the excellent, user-friendly Story of Stuff web-films about excessive consumerism and waste.

The Story of Electronics  tells the story of how electronics are really “designed for the dump” and not made to last or made for recycling. View the trailer at: www.storyofelectronics.org

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With states scrambling to align their own rules with U.S. EPA‘s new regulations, which are set to take effect on Jan. 2, 2011 and require regulators to start issuing Clean Air Act permits next year for large stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissionsTexas is now the lone holdout, according to an analysis  by the  National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). Click here to see a copy of the analysis. (more…)

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Seal of Travis County, Texas

Image via Wikipedia

Austin Energy hired a consultant to help determine how its rates compare to those of other utilities in preparation for its plan to substantially raise electricity rates in 2012.   The work is ongoing, but an eye-opening statistic has already emerged.  Estimates indicate that the average US household’s energy costs are equal to 7% of household income, but the study shows that on average, the poorest 5 percent of Travis County households spend about 45% of their incomes on electricity.

That is a staggering statistic and points out the need to provide more energy efficiency funding for low-income families.  The short and long term benefits are economic relief and cost-effective home improvements. While assistance relieves pressure on individual households, the benefits also ripple into the community. With less money spent on energy, more money is available for other goods and services. If this money is spent locally, Austin captures this revenue, with further benefits rippling out from there.

Keep in mind, most low-income households are renters.  There should be incentives put in place to encourage landlords to increase the energy efficiency of their properties.  And don’t forget, there are environmental benefits to reducing our energy usage.  This seems like a win win for our city.

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We were right when we said the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case was going to have a negative impact on the political system in this country. The ruling has paved the way to make mid-term election campaigns the only growing industry in this economic crisis. The ruling has turned candidates’ focus from the policy to their pockets.

One of the issues that has fallen victim to the mid-term elections is the legislation to address climate change and regulate the energy industry. It was one of Obama’s main objectives on the campaign to cut emissions and provide incentives to renewable energy.  But as election approached, Congress backed out of its commitment to this issue.

A European-based organization, Climate Action Network (CANE) released a report that shows European energy companies are paying contributions to Tea Party Candidates and other Congressional candidates who have denied climate-change is even occuring and have been outspoken against regulating the energy industry.

Remember Oklahoma’s Senator James Inhofe? He thinks Environmentalists are out there to scare people and proclaims that “Global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” and because of this “special” remark, he qualified to be one of the recipients of campaign funds from Europe’s biggest emitters. Inhofe is not the only one, many others in Congress have made some similar funny comments that got them some money. Montana’s Roy Blunt is another skeptic. made a blunt comment discrediting science on climate change, “There isn’t any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth.” this is more ridiculous than Montana’s law which makes it illegal to “have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone” but despite that, Blunts comments has put him as one of the top ten recipients from two of these companies.

Those companies, Such as BP(who is responsible for the US worst Environmental disaster), BASF (which spent $50,500 to block cap-and-trade), and others generally have two objectives: one is to stall and block climate change/energy reform legislation in the United States, second is to use that as an excuse to tell the European countries not to introduce such legislation. The companies who are funding those climate-skeptic candidates are based in countries  such as Germany, France, UK, and Belgium (so much for those candidates’ being anti-socialist).

In a time when the president has gone all the way to teaming up with Mythbusters to encourage American kids about math and science, our representatives are doing their best at discrediting them.  Climate Change is one issue that should cross partisan lines. I think every human being can agree that we need continue our existence on this planet and maintain it for the next generations. Al Gore says that in order for clean-energy advocates to achieve climate-friendly and renewable energy legislation, they need to get into the lobbying business just as the dirty energy lobbyist.

I disagree.

I think we need to reform the relationship between lobbyist and Congress. We shouldn’t need to write serious checks in order to get things done in this country.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Supporters of a California law designed to battle climate change are pushing back against money from Texas oil and gas interests that’s helping to fund an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot in the Golden State that would roll back some of the law’s provisions

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/Wo1wNpza2rM?fs=1&hl=en_US”]

Starring David Arquette – Written & Directed by Matthew Cooke – Produced by Gabe Cowen – Executive Produced by Peter Glatzer and Adrian Grenier.

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In spite of its many problems, California is leaving Texas in the dust in solar energy production.

The Obama administration has approved the sixth solar venture authorized on federal lands within the last month for a project in the Mojave Desert near Blythe, Calif.  All of the projects are on federally owned desert in the Southwest that the land management bureau opened in 2005 to solar development.  Even with these six projects and a 7th expected in the next few weeks, solar energy will remain a tiny fraction of overall energy production on U.S. lands compared to the 74,000 oil and gas permits issued in the past two decades

This project will be the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant which will use a “parabolic trough” system where parabolic mirrors focus the sun’s energy onto collector tubes. The fluid in the tubes is then heated and sent to a boiler, which sends live steam to a turbine to produce electricity, producing enough electricity to more than double the U.S. solar output, power at least 300,000 homes, and generate 1,066 construction jobs and 295 permanent jobs.

Construction on the $6 billion plant is expected to start by the end of 2010, with production starting in 2013. Solar plants that begin construction before Dec. 31 qualify for a Treasury Department grant totaling 30 percent of a project’s cost, as part of last year’s economic stimulus package.

The project had run into opposition by some environmentalists due to wildlife concerns, but the project will now be required to “provide funding for more than 8,000 acres of desert tortoise, western burrowing owl, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizard habitat to mitigate the project’s impacts.”

The solar industry is touting the efforts made by the Obama administration and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote solar power, which are clearly beginning to pay off.  Take a hint, Texas.

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Dean Kamen is known for his many inventions, some of which have transformed the world, from the insulin pump and an all-terrain wheelchair to portable water purification systems and robotic prosthetic limbs. Of course, others, like his Segway self-balancing electric scooter (which visitors to the Texas capitol will see whizzing past with curious sightseers holding on for dear life), became more of a pop-culture phenomenon than a major boost to his pocketbook.Austin capitol segway tourists

His love for science, technology, engineering and innovating has made him wealthy and in 1986, Kamen bought a tiny, 2-acre private island off the coast of Connecticut in Long Island Sound, where he began bumping heads with the local authorities from the town of Southold, N.Y., which has jurisdiction over the island, when he wanted to put up a wind turbine.  Like our Governor Perry, he made noises about seceding, but eventually did receive his variance to build his personal wind turbine. That turbine, coupled with the use of solar panels, provides the island with all its power. He replaced all the island’s lighting with LEDs, which cut down his in-house energy consumption by 70 percent, thus creating the most carbon-neutral kingdom (his pseudo island nation kingdom) on the planet — “carbon-negative,” in fact.

Kamen’s methods may sometimes seem childish and self-serving, but he claims to use mirth to attract attention to what he considers his most important work: inspiring others to think outside the box in developing new ways to live better lives and he hopes to inspire young people to follow his lead in seeking out innovation so that they, too, can become island rulers — or at least the masters of their fates.

Let’s hope that he does inspire people in this country to innovate and they can lead us into a new energy future.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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According to an American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) study, Texas now ranks 32nd among U.S. states in energy efficiency, down from 23rd in 2009. The current 10 top-ranked states in energy efficiency are shown below:

1. California
2. Massachusetts
3. Oregon
4. New York
5. Vermont

6. Washington
7. Rhode Island
8. (tie) Connecticut
8. (tie) Minnesota
10. Maine

SOURCE: ACEEE

Even Arizona and New Mexico have recently outstripped Texas, with Arizona adopting new energy-saving targets that moved them from 29th to 18th, and New Mexico climbing from 30th to 22nd with the passage of stringent new building codes, coupled with performance incentives for utilities to become more energy-efficient.

In 2007,  another ACEEE report found that, with ambitious energy-efficiency efforts, Texas could eliminate about 75 percent of the projected growth in electricity demand over the next 15 years. Since then, the Public Utility Commission has raised the utilities’ target for energy efficiency – now at 20 percent – to 25 percent by 2012 and 30 percent by 2013.

Several major Texas cities, notably Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, have adopted forward-looking codes, but even they could step it up a notch. Backing from the Legislature would signal to other Texas cities that improving energy efficiency isn’t a local option but a statewide priority.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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A recent poll shows that voters are more inclined to vote for a candidate that voted for the Federal climate change and renewable energy legislation than for those who didn’t. This is interesting in a time in which many conservative groups are advocating that climate change is a hoax and humans don’t need to intervene to save the planet.  Or, that (even worse) voters just know.. they just KNOW that policies like cap and trade are just a hidden energy tax and they won’t tolerate it at the ballot box.

This poll should be eye-opening to many of the Texas local and federal candidates (and it is worth noting that both of the competitive US House races in Texas are ones where the incumbent voted NO on the American Clean Energy and Security Act). Even more surprising, very few candidates campaign on clean energy in a state where energy makes a great deal of the revenue. And despite how much the governor boasts about Texas leading in renewable energy, Texas is falling behind to a couple of other states, notably California.


Although it seems a scarce phenomenon, a few Texas candidates have climate change and clean energy as part of their campaign. We wanted to highlight the campaigns of a couple of these candidates. *

Last month, Bill White, gubernatorial candidate, announced his energy plan and he explicitly said that clean energy (solar in particular) will be the future of Texas.

Texas can remain the energy capital of the world if we lead in new energy development. That’s why we must educate Texans for high-demand, high-paying clean energy jobs, promote job growth in construction and manufacturing, and invest in science and technology research,” said Bill White in a speech in Lubbock last month.

Mark Strama,  who is running for re-election for his seat in the Texas House of Representatives, has been airing a campaign ad where he says “For the past hundred years, Texas has prospered as the leader of energy, but promising new energy technologies are being developed in other states and other countries.” Strama, who chairs the Technology, Economic Development & Workforce Committee, introduced a couple of green bills in the last legislative session and it looks like he will continue this effort during the forthcoming session. Yesterday, he facebooked about “a promising development” of a Bastrop clean energy park.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9hldvAQ3Cs&feature=player_embedded]
On the Congressional level, Representative Charlie Gonzalez includes clean energy and climate change on his legislative agenda. According to his website, in order to “address threats faced to our country and our planet by climate change, America needs an energy policy that relies on resources that are both clean and efficient.” Gonzalez points out that the issue of climate change is tied to the nation’s energy policy.
Texas needs more politicians to come out for renewable energy and those who tell their constituents that it doesn’t create more jobs and revenue for the state, they are simply ignoring the facts facts. According to a recent report, a robust renewable energy market in Texas can create as many as 23,000 jobs and almost 3 billion in revenue every year for the next 10 years. Strama is right, Texas does have a future in renewables and it is time for Texas politicians to “put solutions above ideology and Texas above politics.”

* Public Citizen does not endorse any political candidate and/or party. Nothing in this opinion blog ought to be construed as an endorsement of any kind. The author’s words are his own.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Constellation Energy Group Inc. said last week it was pulling out of talks on a $7.5 billion loan guarantee to build a reactor at its Calvert Cliffs facility in Maryland.  Constellation Energy Group’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Wallace told the Energy Department that they felt the estimated $880 million the company would have to pay the Treasury Department was “shockingly high”.

Still, that’s only 12% of the loan guarantee, and only 7% of the estimated (pre-financed) cost of building a nuclear plant.  Compare that to low-risk lender qualifications for buying a home in this country and it doesn’t seem so shockingly high.  Traditionally lenders required a down payment of at least 20% of the home’s purchase price for a home mortgage, and to qualify for owner-builder construction loans, the down payment can be up to 30 percent of the requested loan amount.  Seems to me the industry is getting a better break than the American public right now.

A senior energy and environment analyst for a Milwaukee-based brokerage whined that the administration is offering terms no better than Constellation could get from private investors, yet we are not seeing private investors lining up to get a piece of this action-especially considering that these projects are projected to have a 50% loan default rate.

If the administration must support a nuclear renaissance, it is irresponsible of them to not consider limiting the risk that taxpayers will be stuck with should a nuclear utility default, and the Office of Management and Budget is doing just that by requiring these fees.

Constellation’s decision probably places NRG Energy Inc., a Princeton, New Jersey-based power producer, in the lead for the next loan-guarantee award.  However, if the fees are this large, it might be a victory that NRG and its partners will also not necessarily want, dooming that project too.

NRG is seeking a guarantee to add two units at its South Texas power plant in Matagorda County.  The company is also seeking to secure Japanese government financing, but that is also contingent upon the project securing the US loan guarantee.  Perhaps this is a project that needs to be doomed.  Clearly the building of nuclear plants are so high risk that the private sector appears unwilling to take on that risk, without the US government (read US taxpayer) bearing the brunt of the risk.  If they put it up to a vote, I certainly wouldn’t vote to put my money into such a high risk project, would you?

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Just came across an announcement in the City of Georgetown newsletter that mentioned the new Georgetown350 organization (part of the larger 350.org that you may have heard of).

Check our their blog here. Good luck y’all!

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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CPS Energy in San Antonio continues to move forward with its renewable plans under Mayor Julian Castro. A major new solar announcement, just as its 14 MW solar system is getting finished, is good news indeed. San Antonio has been a leader in wind energy and now leads the state in solar, where is the leadership in the other cities and the state? They should take a long hard look in the mirror, and then go visit the new green leader, way to go San Antonio.

From the CPS web site.

CPS Energy Rising to Be National Leader in Green Power

10/07/2010

CPS Energy’s renewable energy portfolio will increase by 30 megawatts (MW) with this week’s signing of a new 25-year purchase power agreement (PPA) with SunEdison, a global leader in delivering solar electricity. With the SunEdison agreement, CPS Energy now has 44 MW of solar generation under contract, solidifying its position as the leader in renewable energy resources among municipally owned utilities in the nation.  The contract moves CPS Energy closer to its vision of providing customers with 1,500 MW of renewable energy (wind and solar) by 2020.

“The market for solar energy continues to improve, and this agreement takes advantage of that,” said President and CEO Doyle Beneby. “In addition to more than 40 MW of solar generation, CPS Energy has rebates that incentivize the use of solar by homeowners and businesses, and a developing distributed-generation program. With 300 days of sunshine each year, it just makes sense that San Antonio becomes a hub for solar energy in the U.S.”

By fall of 2012, Maryland-based SunEdison is expected to complete installation of 120,000 single-axis tracking photovoltaic (PV) panels that will follow the sun throughout the day, generating a total of 30 MW at three locations across the CPS Energy service area. The three locations will be announced later this year, and construction is expected to begin in early 2012. The combined energy output of the three facilities is expected to be approximately 54,000 megawatt hours—enough to power about 3,700 homes.

“We are pleased to provide this long-term, renewable energy solution for our customers,” added CPS Energy Chief Sustainability Officer Cris Eugster.  “In addition to helping us meet our goal to provide 100 MW of solar generation by 2020, we’re also looking to SunEdison to be a key partner in transforming San Antonio into a national hub for solar energy.”

“SunEdison is committed to the growing Texas solar energy market, and we look forward to expanding our utility scale presence in the state in 2011,” said Carlos Domenech, President of SunEdison.  “Our development capabilities, financing power and execution track record enables municipal utilities, like CPS Energy, to benefit from economically viable solar solutions.”

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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