Coming soon, more information about our TV commercials that will air soon to promote solar (there are lots of good solar bills at the Lege) brought to you by Public Citizen, Environment Texas, and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Posts Tagged ‘environment texas’
Solar Ads on TV! Stay tuned…
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged environment texas, environmental defense fund, Public Citizen, Texas, TV commercials on April 16, 2009 |
Voter Registration Deadline and Environmental Candidate Forum this Thursday
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged american youthworks, Austin, Austin American-Statesman, austin carshare, Austin EcoNetwork, austin metro trails and greenways, Austin Permaculture Guild, Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance, Citizen Gardner, city of austin, Clean Water Action, election day, environment texas, environmental candidate forum, municipal elections, north austin, OHPEN, PODER, Public Citizen, Save Barton Creek Association, Save Our Springs Alliance, SEED Coalition, Sierra Club, Solar Austin, Sustainable Food Center, Texas, Texas Campaign for the Environment, texas climate emergency campaign, Texas Environmental Democrats, Texas Green Network, travis county, Travis County Registrar, voter registration, williamson county on April 8, 2009 |
Want to vote in the upcoming City of Austin Municipal Elections? The deadline to vote in the May 9th elections is this Thursday, March 9th.
Says the Statesman:
To be eligible to vote for mayor or city council members or ballot initiatives in Travis County communities, you must mail a registration application to the Travis County Registrar. Those already registered to vote in Travis County do not have to re-apply.
Residents of Austin and other Travis County cities can find a registration application at the Travis County Tax Assessor/Collector’s website or by calling 238-8683. Some parts of North Austin are actually in Williamson County; those voters can obtain applications at www.wilco.org or by calling 943-1630.
To vote in Texas, you must be a U.S. citizen, live in the county you register, be at least 18 years old on Election Day, not have been convicted of a felony, and not have been declared mentally incapacitated by a court of law, according to a release from the City of Austin.
Want to see where the candidates stand on environmental issues? Come to a candidate forum focused on sustainability issues this Thursday, March 9 at 5:30 pm at City Hall. (more…)
Make Every Day Solar Day in Texas
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged business and commerce, environment texas, luke metzger, Public Citizen, solar, Texas, vote solar on March 23, 2009 |
Hey folks, tomorrow a whole host of solar bills are going into be heard in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. Our friends over at Environment Texas have a petition up where you can show legislators your support for solar. The sun’s setting on this petition, so sign up today!
From the horse’s mouth, here’s the email from Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. Poetic, ain’t it?
With the first day of spring upon us, we’re already experiencing the warmth and life that the Texas sun provides.
For the first time, the Legislature is taking a serious look at using the sun to solve our energy problems by investing in solar power. With the right support, Texas could become a world leader in solar power, helping protect our environment and putting people back to work in good green jobs.
We can make it happen, but we need your help. Please sign our petition asking the Legislature to Go Solar!
Decisions made by policy makers in the next year will determine whether Texas can ride the solar wave, capturing the vast potential of solar power for our state. Texas has the best solar potential in the nation and we could power the entire state many times over with our abundant sunshine.
Texas should spur the development of solar power within the state by creating rebates and incentives to make it easier for homeowners and businesses to install solar on their rooftop, investing in solar for schools and large-scale solar farms, requiring utilities to pay consumers a fair price for surplus electricity generated, and prohibiting homeowners associations from blocking solar.
Wildcatting for the Win!
Posted in Global Warming, tagged environment texas, Public Citizen, Texas, wildcatting the sun on March 17, 2009 |
Last week we entered our video, Wildcatting the Sun, into Environment Texas‘ solar video contest. The winning video will be used to make the case for solar energy at a screening for key Texas lawmakers, and its creators will win $$2,000! So go to Environment Texas’ voting page, check out some of the other videos, and vote for the one you like best (cough, cough, it’d BETTER BE OURS). If you haven’t gotten a chance to see it already, check it out below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dfv2yoCtjU]
NRG Coal Plant Hearing Protest
Posted in Coal, Global Warming, tagged Bonanza, Carbon Dioxide, clean air act, Clean Water Action, co2, coal plant, environment texas, EPA, epa vs mass, Global Warming, greenhouse gasses, Karen Hadden, luke metzger, nrg limestone, permit application, Public Citizen, reenergize texas, SEED Coalition, soah, state office of administrative hearings, TCEQ, Texas, texas climate emergency campaign, Tom "Smitty" Smith on February 24, 2009 |
Last Friday two administrative law judges refused to hear testimony on the impact of carbon dioxide emissions during the permitting process for the NRG Limestone coal-fired power plant. The contested case hearing for NRG’s air quality permit application will be going on all week long, but testimony on the proposed plant’s contribution to global warming will not be allowed. The judges decided that the TCEQ has adopted clear policies that they would not consider testimony on the issue, even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 (EPA vs Massachusetts) that the EPA had the authority to regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. If built, the plant will emit 7.4 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
NRG has acknowledged that climate change is a serious environmental issue, and has agreed to offset a portion of its greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed new plant. Yet, lawyers for the company maneuvered to strike all references to CO2 or climate change from the week-long hearing.
In protest, local environmentalists gathered for an 8:30 a.m. protest Monday Feb 22 outside the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Groups supporting the protest included: Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, Environment Texas, Clean Water Action, Re- Energize Texas, and the Texas Climate Emergency Campaign.
Some of the protest’s participants made the following comments in a press release: (more…)
Save the Austin Solar Plant!
Posted in Renewables, tagged austin city council, environment texas, public citien, solar plant, solar power, Texas, the watchmen, Webberville on February 23, 2009 |
A while back we reported on the Austin City Council’s decision to delay their vote on the proposed Webberville solar plant.
Local environmental groups are working now to rally public support for this plant. This is the time to show the council that Austin wants more solar power, Now!
Go to Environment Texas’s internet action site here to contact the Mayor and City Council and show them your support for the proposed project. It should only take a few seconds to fill in your information, but the impact of voicing your support for solar could have reverberations that last years into the future. If this plant gets voted down and you were too busy standing in line for Watchmen to contact your council members… won’t you feel terrible about it? Guilt, guilt, guilt! Go do it!
City Delays on Solar Plant Vote
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Austin, austin city council, austin community college, Austin Energy, Brewster McCracken, david power, environment texas, freescale semiconductor, gemini solar, green choice, green jobs, Lee Leffingwell, luke metzger, matthew kresha, mike martinez, paul robbins, Public Citizen, renewable energy student's association, Roger Duncan, roger wood, save the austin solar plant, solar plant, solar power, spansion, Texas, texas vox, tim lasake, Webberville on February 13, 2009 |
As expected, the Austin City Council made the decision to delay the vote on Austin Energy’s proposed solar plant until March 5th. Council Member Mike Martinez wanted to put it off longer, but since the bid for the plant will actually expire just seven days after this March meeting, the council agreed unanimously to have the final vote in three weeks time.
The foremost explanation for this delay was to give more time for the public participation process… though I think it is important to note that the “public” we’re referring to here is chiefly the city’s largest industrial rate-payers. The general Austin public has already shown its colors on this issue. According to recent surveys conducted by Austin Energy (and presented yesterday morning by Roger Duncan, general manager of the utility), Austinites want much more solar. At 30 MW, the proposed solar plant would be the largest utility-scale photovoltaic array in the nation, and the 6th biggest solar plant in the world. From where I’m sitting, that looks like just what the doctor ordered.
Large-scale users are up in arms because, since they use so much more energy, they think they’re going to be particularly hard hit by any slight rate increase. Due to information that surfaced during this meeting, I am inclined not to feel terribly sorry for these folks. If you’ll just stick with me here, everything will be illuminated. I promise it’ll be good.
The council had already decided to delay the vote before they even entered the chamber, but listened to presentations and public comment anyway. First on the agenda was Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy.
Roger started out by laying out the basics of the proposed solar plant and how it would fit in with the City’s strategic energy plan. The City plans to get 100 MW of its power from solar energy by 2020. The first goal in this process was to install 15 MW of solar power by 2007. We missed that stepping stone — Roger said we currently have 1.5 MW of solar installed on rooftops throughout Austin. The next goal in line is to get 30 MW by 2010. If the proposed project is approved, and built within the expected 18 months, Austin will be right on schedule to meet that goal. (more…)
Could this be Texas’ solar session?
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air Quality, andrew mccalla, Austin, business and commerce, Carbon Dioxide, climate change, CPS Energy, distributed solar, eliot shapiro, emerging technology fund, energy conservation office, Energy Efficiency, environment texas, green jobs, greenhouse gas, hb 516, jose beceiro, kirk watson, leticia van de putte, made in texas, mark strama, meridian energy systems, peak energy prices, peak power, Public Citizen, rafael anchia, renewable energy, Rodney Ellis, sb 435, sb 541, sb 542, sb 545, sb 546, sb 598, sb 603, senator rodney ellis, Sierra Club, solar legislation, solar power, Texas, texas center for sustainable business, texas solar roadmap, troy fraser, tx, wildcatting the sun on February 5, 2009 |
At last! I can fill you in on Monday’s fantastic solar press conference at the capitol!
Senator Rodney Ellis and Public Citizen Director Tom "Smitty" Smith
Public Citizen, Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted a statewide round of press conferences this week to roll out our solar report, Texas Solar Roadmap — which of course can be downloaded at www.cleanenergyfortexas.org. Our report highlights how a robust solar program would help put Texans back to work, reduce peak energy prices, curb climate change, improve air quality, and position the state as a world leader for solar production. The full report is a pretty good read, but if you’re short on time I suggest the condensed version, Wildcatting the Sun.
Our press conference in Austin was particularly exciting because we were in such great company. Senators Troy Fraser, Leticia Van de Putte, Kirk Watson, Rodney Ellis, and Representatives Mark Strama and Rafael Anchia all appeared and championed the solar bills they have introduced thus far.
Rafael Anchia’s HB 278 and Florence Shapiro’s SB 427 would require the state’s electric utilities to support the development of 2000 megawatts of solar and other on-site renewable technologies by offering direct incentives to consumers and businesses.
This is right in line with Public Citizen’s distributed solar goal, outlined in both Wildcatting the Sun and Texas Solar Roadmap . According to our report , such a standard could lead to installations on as many as 500,000 roofs in Texas by 2020 at a cost of about 98 cents per month per Texan (Polls have shown that 81% of Texas voters are willing to pay up to a dollar a month to encourage solar power. What about you?). This investment would create an estimated 22,000 jobs and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide emissions by 29 million tons, the equivalent of taking 4.3 million cars off the road for a year.
Anchia stressed that this should be Texas’ solar session because it would answer two of our major challenges: air quality, and global warming.
Senator Fraser was the first legislator to speak, proclaiming that this would be Texas’ solar session. Chairman of the Business and Commerce Committee, Fraser is well positioned to be an effective solar champion. As such, Fraser was particularly proud to forecast a sunny session for solar power. He joked that there are so many solar bills being filed this session, they are going to have to lay them all out at once and have a “solar day” where they can pick out the best bills and key components of each (this is the second time I’ve heard him say this though, so he may be serious. If so, you better bet I’ll be there with bells on!)
Fraser also said that he found the idea enumerated in Kirk Watson’s bills — that Texas was very successful in promoting wind power but missed out on manufacturing opportunities — particularly in need of our attention.
Fraser’s big solar bill is SB 545, which
would create a five-year program for distributed solar generation incentives offered through the state’s transmission and distribution utilities. The incentive program would be funded by a nominal monthly fee on residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Check out his press release from last week, when that bill was filed, for more information. Or if you’re feeling really geeky, read the bill. Watson has also filed SB 546, relating to the state goal for energy efficiency. This bill sets stepped goals for how much of the state’s growth in energy efficiency will be met by efficiency, culminating in a goal of getting 50% load growth through efficiency by 2015.
Senator Van de Putte was then called up to champion CPS Energy’s new distributed energy commitment and her own solar in schools bill, SB 598. This would set up a pilot loan program to retrofit public schools with PV panels and other efficiency measures. Solar on schools is a pretty smart idea, because during summer months when the lights are off and their electricity use dips way down, they could make a lot of money pumping of energy back into the grid.
Senator Watson, a member of the Business and C0mmerce Committee and my Very Own senator, has three solar bills introduced so far. (more…)
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