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Public Utility Commission Ignores Texans’ Cries for Clean Energy, Shirks Duty to Implement Law

October 25, 2012 by kaibawhite

Even Support from Businesses Like IKEA Is Not Enough for PUC

AUSTIN, TX – The Public Utility Commission delivered a slap in the face to the more than 6,000 Texans and 70 businesses and organizations  who have actively called on the Commission to implement and expand the non-wind renewable portfolio standard (RPS).  The non-wind RPS would establish a market for electricity from solar and other renewable energy resources in Texas, just as the State’s overall RPS did for wind energy.  The non-wind RPS was passed into law in 2005, but has yet to be implemented by the PUC.

Democracy and the rule of law may be important tenants of our society, but they are utterly lacking at the PUC, where Commissioners refused to engage in even a single minute of public discussion on the matter before striking it down today.

Instead of gathering current information on the price of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and other renewable energy technologies, the PUC staff recommended denial based on data that is more than two years old.  This illustrates a shocking lack of due diligence, given that solar prices have plummeted over the past two years and are now competitive with traditional energy sources, especially when demand is high.  David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy, told participants at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, “Solar is so cheap today that unless you tell me that you did a solar analysis yesterday, not last year or last month, then your analysis is out of date.”

The Commission appears to be committed to willful ignorance on this issue, but we’re not giving up.  This is too important to the future of our state. The solar industry is going to continue to grow regardless of what the PUC does; it’s just a matter of whether it will grow in Texas and bring good jobs to Texans or if we will let other states and other countries leave us behind.

While misconceptions about the cost of solar energy persist, businesses and individuals who look at current prices have found an opportunity for energy savings by investing in solar.  IKEA, a major international retailer, supports implementing and expanding the non-wind RPS in Texas.  “While utilizing renewable resources for generating energy allows us to reduce our carbon footprint, it[s] also is good business since it significantly reduces operational costs,” states the company in its comments that they filed with the PUC.

Posted in Energy, green jobs, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Solar Backers Rally as Public Comment Period Ends

October 22, 2012 by kaibawhite

Advocates fault PUC for turning a blind eye to industry as Texas falls behind

Solar energy backers rallied outside the Texas Public Utility Commission [last] week seeking enforcement of a seven-year-old law that would boost electric generation from geothermal, biomass and the state’s ample supply of sunshine.

Public comment [ended Friday]on proposed rulemaking at the PUC, which has been reluctant to embrace the non-wind portion of the so-called renewable portfolio standards passed by the Texas Legislature in 2005. With those standards calling for generation of about 500 megawatts of renewable power from non-wind sources by 2015 and 3,000 megawatts by 2025, the Clean Energy Works for Texas Campaign sent petitions to the PUC urging it to carry out the law’s provisions. The group estimates that more than 6,000 individuals across Texas and 50 businesses or organizations lent their signatures in support.

“Why aren’t we seeing the clean energy we’ve demanded from our legislators? Why aren’t we seeing the thousands of new green jobs, new energy businesses and new tax revenues for our underfunded schools?” asked activist Dave Cortez of the Texas BlueGreen Apollo Alliance. “Four words: The Texas Public Utility Commission – a government agency run by unelected commissioners who have the power to take state law and misinterpret it, sit on it, lambast it, everything but implement it and ultimately say, ‘No, sorry. We don’t like it.’”

The PUC’s stand, as articulated by Chairman Donna Nelson, stresses the fact that wind power’s success has eclipsed the minimum renewable standards set in the law many times over. And, she argues that the law’s instructions on non-wind energy are not mandatory, a point of contention with solar backers. Moreover, she has said propping up solar power would increase electric bills and that the commission is not in the business of favoring one type of energy generation over another.

Executives from two Austin-based solar companies who attended the rally said each had respectively grown from only two employees to at least 25. And, with the business climate unfriendly to solar in Texas, they said, both companies are making upcoming expansions in a state more hospitable to their interests.

“The bad news is we’re in the process of opening a second office, and the second office will be in California,” said Tim Padden, founder of Revolve Solar. “I would rather be in Dallas, San Antonio or Houston, but the reality is California has taken a stand to support the development of the solar industry seriously by setting statewide goals and local support for their solar companies. I want to see this happen here in my home state. These could be Texas jobs.”

Stan Pipkin of Lighthouse Solar, an Austin-based solar design integration firm said his own company has shown an almost identical job growth and will also be opening offices in California.

“I’m deeply concerned that Texas is not taking advantage of the energy resource we have in most abundance,” he said. “Texas is currently 10th in solar capacity. This is absolutely confounding given our solar resource, our electric demand and our shortage of reserve capacity. It just doesn’t make sense.”

By Polly Ross Hughes

Copyright September 14, 2012, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved.  Reposted by TexasVox.org with permission of the Texas Energy Report.

The PUC has put the non-wind RPS on the agenda for its open meeting this Thursday.  We need you to be there to show your support for moving forward with the rulemaking process.  Please email kwhite@citizen.org if you are interested in attending.  The meeting will be in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room on the 7th Floor of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Ave, Austin.

Posted in Energy, geothermal, Good Government, green jobs, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar, Utilities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

PRICELE$$ – the movie

October 11, 2012 by Citizen Carol

From the Fourth of July to the halls of Congress, PRICELE$$ is a filmmaker’s personal journey across America to answer a burning question: why are some of our government’s most basic policies, like food and energy, so out-of-date, and can anything be done about it? Sharing the suspicion of fellow-citizens, including a class of young civics students, that campaign money is involved, the filmmakers set out on a spellbinding—at times hilarious—ride from rural America to the halls of Congress to learn more, because democracy is a precious resource, PRICELE$$ even!

PRICELE$$ airs on November 4 in Austin, TX @ 9:30 pm on KLRU-Q.  The award-winning documentary is a FUN and compelling film about the need for a new way to elect lawmakers without the help of billionaires, lobbyists and SuperPACs.  A winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival PRICELE$$ has received big thumbs up from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are fed up with the money chase and the entanglements. 

[vimeo=38125159]

Check out the trailer above and watch the full film on Sunday, November 4th before election day.  And check out the reviews from elected officials below.  If you live in other parts of the country, contact your local PBS station to see if they intend to air it in the near future.

The USA is the greatest nation in world history, but it is not as good as it could be.  This film tells us how we can be all we should be, simply, but not simplistically.

-Former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo (D)

I would urge every single Member of Congress (or their fine staff!) to watch this movie. It’s high time that our leaders bring an end to the corrupting and stifling influence of special interest money on our democracy.  This just isn’t about right and left.  It’s really about right and wrong.

-Former Senator Alan Simpson (R)

Posted in Good Government | Tagged , , |

Rally for Clean Energy and Good Jobs – Thursday, October 18 at Noon

October 9, 2012 by kaibawhite

We are taking our Clean Energy Works for Texas campaign to the doorstep of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) next week.  We hope you will join us for a rally on Thursday, October 18 at 12 p.m. in front of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701

We are urging the PUC to create rules to enforce and expand the non-wind renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Passed into law in 2005, the non-wind RPS has languished at the PUC, thanks to pressure from certain lobby interests not to enforce the law. 7 years is too long to wait.

The PUC needs to hear that the people of Texas are ready to get to work building 21st century energy economies. With more solar potential than any other state, Texas should be an epicenter of the solar industry. Our workers should be supplying solar panels, inverters and other equipment to the rest of the country and the world. Enforcing the non-wind renewable portfolio standard will send a message to investors that Texas is open for business.

http://www.facebook.com/events/186701511465498/

For more information on the campaign and to sign on in support, visit www.CleanEnergyWorksForTexas.org.

Contact kwhite@citizen.org with any questions.

Posted in geothermal, renewable portfolio standard, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Breaking: Daryl Hannah joins tar sands blockade

October 4, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Actress Daryl Hannah has been arrested along with Winnsboro ranch owner Eleanor Fairchild, 78, while staging a protest against Keystone XL construction on Mrs. Fairchild’s farm. The duo where defending Mrs. Fairchild’s home and business, Fairchild Farms, a portion of which has been expropriated by TransCanada, for its toxic tar sands pipeline.

More details on their blog: http://tarsandsblockade.org/darylandeleanor/

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , , , |

Bill McKibben speaking in Austin, TX

October 2, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, and technical adviser to the Texas Drought Project, will appear Thursday, October 4th, at 7 PM at the Belo Center for New Media Auditorium (BMC 2.106), at the northeast corner of Dean Keeton and Guadalupe, University of Texas, Austin, TX.

McKibben is known for his provocative books, Eaarth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet, The Global Warming Reader, and Deep Economy, among others. He is considered by Time Magazine to be “the planet’s best green journalist” and by the Boston Globe as “the country’s most important environmentalist.”

As the founder of the grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, he has helped to co-ordinate over 15,000 rallies in 189 countries. He is also a leader against tar sands oil.

Don’t miss it!

The event is sponsored by the University of Texas School of Journalism and the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. It’s free and open to the public, and seating is limited on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged , , , |

Texas House Committee on Environmental Regulation takes up federal air quality standards

September 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The House Committee on Environmental Regulation held a public hearing today to take invited testimony on an interim charge before the 83rd legislative session starts in January of 2013.  They examined the federal eight-hour ozone standard under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards program and its impact on the State Implementation Plan.  They were also looking to identify counties expected to be in non attainment, the state’s proposed designations of those counties, the time lines for meeting the applicable standard, and the status of the state’s ability to attain the standard.

  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of Public Citizen’s Texas office director, Tom “Smitty” Smith.
  • Click here to watch the archived video of the hearing.
  • Click here to see the presentation that went along with the testimony of the Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club’s interim director, Cyrus Reed.

Posted in Air Quality, Texas Legislature | Tagged , , , , , |

Unlimited and undisclosed money is pouring into our elections and threatening our democracy

September 26, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United – that gave corporations untold influence in our electoral system and said “money” is “speech” – has created an environment in which millions of dollars in corporate cash is drowning out the voices of Texans.

It is time for Texans to demand the end of unlimited money in our elections and take action on a local level.

We are proud to support a homegrown Texas grassroots movement called Texans United to Amend in their efforts demanding local governments across the state of Texas pass resolutions supporting a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and declare that only human beings are entitled to rights under our constitution.

We are joining Texas United to Amend to ask for you to make a difference in your community and sign this petition urging your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Sign the petition today and call on your local government to pass a resolution.

You might be asking – why local governments? Isn’t this a federal issue?

Social change has always come from grassroots groups, with speeches and marches in the street. This has been true of both the direct election of Senators (17th Amendment) and Women’s Suffrage (19th Amendment). The movement for a constitutional amendment to remedy Citizens United is, at its core, a grassroots one. It is driven by real concerns about the health of our democracy that reverberate in each and every community in Texas.

Passing local resolutions at the local level in Texas is the necessary first step toward restoring free and fair elections to the American people, both locally and nationally. Your work, along with coalitions like Texas United to Amend, can make a difference.

Click here and join Texans United to Amend in calling on your local government to pass a resolution that seeks an amendment of the U.S. Constitution that firmly establishes that money is not speech, and that only human beings, not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights.

Across the country, ordinary citizens like you are making their voices heard.  Nine states have already passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and many more states are considering the same. If you want to do more, let us help you set up an organizing meeting the week of October 8.  This will be an exciting way to begin planning for the third anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and to prepare to gather petition signatures on election day when millions of potentially interested voters go to the polls.  Click here to get more information and sign up.

Posted in Campaign Finance, Good Government | Tagged , , , |

Solar for our community, Colorado community project sells out in 30 minutes.

September 25, 2012 by Adrian Shelley

When you subtract out shady roofs, renters, and other factors, only about 25% of Americans have a place to install solar power. With the high upfront cost of a complete system, the potential solar universe shrinks further.

That changes with “community solar.”

After a long wait on the state’s Public Utilities Commission to finalize the rules, Colorado’s “community solar gardens” program ( summary here) sold out in 30 minutes when it opened , testament to the pent-up demand for solar among those who don’t own a sunny roof. The program allows individuals to subscribe or buy shares in a local solar project, and in return receive a share of the electricity output.

The community solar garden policy offers several significant benefits:

  • Individuals can go solar without a sunny roof or without owning one at all.
  • Individuals can buy as little as a 1 kW share or as much as produces 120% of their own consumption.
  • The solar garden projects capture economies of scale by building more panels at a single, central location and capture the advantages of decentralization by interconnecting to the distribution (low voltage) part of the electricity grid close to demand.
  • Solar gardens cultivate a sense of ownership and geographic connection, requiring subscribers to live in the same county as their shared solar array. This can reduce political opposition to solar projects and increase local economic benefits.

Fortunately, Colorado isn’t the only state considering this policy. California’s legislature is currently debating SB 843 to allow “community shared solar” and other renewable energy. Several other states offer a blanket policy called “virtual net metering” that lets customers share the output from a single renewable energy facility, although sometimes it’s limited to certain types of customers (municipalities, residential, etc.) and we can do this in Texas.

This post was written by John Farrell and originally appeared on ILSR’s Energy Self-Reliant States blog.

Editor’s Note: California’s SB 843, mentioned in this article, failed to pass.

Posted in Energy, Renewables, solar | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

BREAKING – 8 blockaders begin tree-sit in path of Keystone XL construction.

September 24, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Eight Tar Sands blockaders just climbed 80 feet into trees in the path of Keystone XL construction, and pledged not to come down until the pipeline is stopped for good. TransCanada workers are starting to arrive on the scene. The tar sands blockade folks will be tweeting and live blogging as today’s action unfolds so check for live updates throughout coming days…weeks?!

You shall not pass!

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , , , , |

Tar Sands Blockaders held for two days on Class B misdemeanor charges

September 21, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Update:

Around 11 am today, after 48 hours, the five tar sands blockaders who were jailed on Wednesday in Franklin County were freed! They were being held on a $2,500 bail each. Click here to keep up with what is happening with the blockade.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 around 8:00AM, three landowner advocates and climate justice organizers locked themselves to a piece of machinery critical for Keystone XL construction in Franklin County, Texas. They did so to defend David Hightower’s. As construction crews arrived at Mr. Hightower’s to begin clear-cutting his trees and home vineyard, Tar Sands Blockade supporters were in David’s front yard continuing their vigil

By 11:30 am, five arrests had been made at the Keystone XL construction site outside Winnsboro, Texas. The three brave blockaders locked to tree clear-cutting machinery delayed operations at the site for the day.

All 5 of the arrested blockaders were still in jail at the end of the day on Thursday since the four Franklin County justices of “peace” refused to hold a bail hearing. None of them are “available.”  They are scheduled to go before the judge around 8 or 9 this morning, Friday, September 21.

As of this time, we have not heard whether they have been released.

Posted in Tarsands | Tagged , , , , |

Three Mile Island – Deja vu

September 20, 2012 by Citizen Carol

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reported that a reactor at Three Mile Island, the site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident, shut down unexpectedly on this afternoon when a coolant pump tripped and steam was released.  Right now they are saying the plant is stable with no impact on public health or safety.

Still, this is a story we should follow.  The following news outlets have stories as of 5:50pm CT and will probably add updates as they become available.

 

Posted in Nuclear, Radiation | Tagged , , , , , |

Halliburton loses radioactive rod used in fracking, calls in National Guard

September 19, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Somewhere between Pecos and Odessa in southwestern Texas, Halliburton has lost a seven inch radioactive rod used in natural gas fracking.

Workers discovered the rod was missing on September 11th.  A lock on the container used to transport the radioactive rod was missing, along with the rod inside. Trucks have retraced the route of the vehicle, but have had no luck tracking it down so far.

This rod contains americium-241/beryllium which the health department says is not something that produces radiation in an extremely dangerous form. (Not sure what that means – I mean who even knew they used radioactive rods for fracking) But it’s best for people to stay back, 20 or 25 feet. (Seriously, what does this mean?)  Apparently you would have to have it in your possession for several hours before it is considered dangerous.

The National Guard has been asked to step in and help search for the missing rod, so if you are out driving in that 130 mile area and find a seven inch stainless steel cylinder about an inch in diameter, marked with the radiation warning symbol and the words ‘Do Not Handle’, well . . . DO NOT HANDLE, stay back at least 20 feet, and call the National Guard.

Posted in Fracking, Radiation | Tagged , , , , |

NRC Whistleblower Claims Threat To Nuclear Plants Covered Up By Regulators

September 18, 2012 by Citizen Carol

According to the Huffington Post, not one, but two, whistleblower engineers at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have accused regulators of deliberately covering up information relating to the vulnerability of U.S. nuclear power facilities that sit downstream from large dams and reservoirs and failing to act to despite being aware of the risks for years.

One plant in particular — the three-reactor Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca, S.C. — is at risk of a flood and subsequent systems failure, similar to the tsunami that devastated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in Japan last year, in the event that an upstream dam fail.

The Fort Calhoun nuclear facility in Nebraska was surrounded by rising floodwaters from the nearby Missouri River in 2011.

Given the extreme weather patterns the world has seen in the last decade, that likelihood seems greater than it did when these plants were built.

A report, completed in July of 2011, after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami flooded the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was heavily redacted in a move, the whistleblower claims, to prevent the public from learning the full extent of these vulnerabilities, and to obscure just how much the NRC has known about the problem, and for how long.

The report examined vulnerabilities at the Oconee facility, the Ft. Calhoun station in Nebraska, the Prairie Island facility in Minnesota and the Watts Bar plant in Tennessee and concluded that the failure of one or more dams sitting upstream from several of these nuclear power plants “may result in flood levels at a site that render essential safety systems inoperable.” High floodwaters could conceivably undermine all available power sources, the report found, including grid power, emergency diesel backup generators, and ultimately battery backups. The risk of these things happening, the report said, is higher than acceptable and warranted a more formal investigation.

The heavily redacted copy of the report is publicly available on the NRC website.

Click here to read the Huffington Post’s entire investigatory story.

Posted in Nuclear | Tagged , , , , , |

Don’t blame wind energy for lack of new power plants

September 18, 2012 by Citizen Carol

Don't blame the windCheck out Public Citizen’s Texas director’s, Tom “Smitty” Smith, response to CPS Energy CEO Doyle  Beneby‘s op-ed in the San Antonio Express last week that blamed Texas wind power plants for creating problems by producing such cheap power that it made it hard to build new gas plants or profitably operate those we have.

Click here to read “Don’t blame wind energy for lack of new power plants”

Posted in Renewables | Tagged , , , , |

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