For real, we gotta act now before it escalates.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08z-Hw7s54E]
Posts Tagged ‘solar power’
Take Aim at Climate Change
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Carbon Dioxide, Clean Energy, climate change, coal plant, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, green jobs, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power, take aim, Texas, video, what can I do on June 3, 2009 |
Good Day (for Texas) Sunshine!
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged good day sunshine, green jobs, hb 1243, net metering, sb 545, solar energy, solar in schools, solar power, Texas, Texas Legislature on May 28, 2009 |
Voter ID Chubfest Put Texas Environmental Bills At Risk
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Air Quality, amendments, austin american stateman, chubbing, driver's license, electric coops, Energy Efficiency, kip averitt, solar energy, solar power, stalling, Texas, texas house, texas senate, voter id, Waco on May 27, 2009 |
If you’ve been following the Texas Legislature at all over the weekend, you’ve probably heard the term “chubbing” at least once. Yesterday marked the deadline for all bills that originated in the Senate to pass second reading — which means that any bills that didn’t make it through the House by midnight last night are dead for the session. One of the bills on that list was the contentious Voter ID bill, which would have required Texas voters to present a valid driver’s license to vote. In order to block this bill, which would have suppressed voter turnout across the state, House democrats adopted the “chubbing” tactic — talking bills to death — to avoid getting far enough down the bill list to have to vote on Voter ID.
Unfortunately, this stalling technique killed a tragically long laundry list of bills that were scheduled after Voter ID. Among these were many of the bills we have been pushing hard this session to improve air quality in Texas, increase our energy efficiency standards, reform electric coops, and encourage solar development.
Missing Tuesday’s deadline is an enormous set-back, but not all hope is lost. Bills that died last night can still be revived as amendments, which can be tacked on to House bills that are alive in the Senate. As the Austin American Statesman reports,
Legislators now have two ways of bringing proposals back to life. The first option is for senators to tack dying proposals onto other related bills that did not fall victim to the voter ID fight in the House. For example, Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, said Tuesday that he may be able to salvage some, but not all, of a comprehensive air quality bill that he has worked on for two years.
“I’ve come to expect tragedy at the end of the session, and tragedy always appears,” Averitt said.
The other option is for the House to take a two-thirds vote to bring up bills.
The two-thirds vote is a pretty enormous step, and highly unlikely for most of the bills we’ve been working one, but the amendment strategy is tried and true. We’ll be scrambling this week to salvage what we can — it ain’t over til its over, and you can bet we’ll be doing everything we can to fight for what matters for Texas.
Thanks to all you citizens for all your hard work, e-mails, and phone calls to representatives this session. In the next few days, we’ll be needing your help more than ever. Stay posted, and we’ll let you know what you can do to help save solar power, air quality, and energy efficiency.
House Calendars Committee Has Ultimate Power over Solar
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged Allan Ritter, Brandon Creighton, Brian McCall, Burt R. Solomons, byron cook, Charlie Geren, conference committee, Eddie Lucio III, Edmund Kuempel, farabee, fraser, Garnet Coleman, Jim Keffer, Jim McReynolds, Lois W. Kolkhorst, Norma Chavez, pink dome, Renewables, sb 541, sb 545, sine die, solar, solar power, strama, Texas, texas house, Texas Legislature, texas senate, watson on May 21, 2009 |
Bad news from the big pink dome. Looks like two of our key bills to promote solar power this session, SB 545 (Fraser/Strama) and SB 541 (Watson/Farabee) are getting stuck in the gummy gears of the legislative process. These bills have both made it through committee and the Senate, but still need to be voted on by the House. Unfortunately, they may never make it that far due to the tremendous power of a little group called the House Committee on Calendars.
At this point, Calendars has an incredible amount of power over what bills will make it to become laws this session. There are now just ten days left before sine die, and hundreds of bills left waiting to go to the House floor. Calendars is like the legislative bouncer at this point, only letting certain skinny, sexy, well-dressed bills into the club.
SB 545 has yet to come out of Calendars, and SB 541 hasn’t even made it onto the list yet. If 541 isn’t at least on the list by tomorrow, it is dead. If 545 hasn’t made it from the list and into the club by Sunday, it’ll be the bill’s last chance to shine.
You think old Bill had it had it bad, at least he didn’t have a Calendars committee to hold him up.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZTIqcvb30]
House Reps on the Calendars committee need to hear that these bills are necessary to jump-start Texas’ solar future. If one of the following members is YOUR representative, please give them a call today and tell them that you want these solar bills moved up the calendar and out to the dance House floor!!
Rep. Brian McCall (Chair) — (512) 463-0594
Rep. Eddie Lucio III (Vice Chair) — (512) 463-0606
Rep. Norma Chavez — (512) 463-0622
Rep. Garnet Coleman — (512) 463-0524
Rep. Byron Cook — (512) 463-0730
Rep. Brandon Creighton — (512) 463-0726
Rep. Charlie Geren — (512) 463-0610
Rep. Jim Keffer — (512) 463-0656
Rep. Lois W. Kolkhorst — (512) 463-0600
Rep. Jim McReynolds — (512) 463-0490
Rep. Allan Ritter — (512) 463-0706
Rep. Burt R. Solomons — (512) 463-0478
Note: Word on the street is that the Calendars committee has locked its door and taken the phone off the hook. How’s that for open government? This shouldn’t keep you from calling individual members though, their offices will still be answering the phone.
Go Solar: Make Utilities Give Consumers a Fair Price for Surplus Electricity
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged buy back rates, electric rates, environment texas, foreign oil, gallego, house state affairs committee, lubbock, luke metzger, net metering, pollution, public utilities commission of texas, PUCT, shallowater high school, solar energy, solar panels, solar power, solomons, Texas, texas house, Texas Legislature, texas senate, TXU on May 11, 2009 |
Thanks to Luke Metzger at the Environment Texas blog for this take on pending net metering legislation (read: making sure folks with solar panels get paid back for the excess energy they produce):
On Monday, the Texas House will decide whether to promote solar energy by requiring utilities to pay consumers fair prices for surplus solar power or to codify anti-consumer practices in order to benefit big utilities like TXU. Here’s the story.
Sick of riding the rollercoaster of high electric rates and concerned over pollution and dependence on foreign oil, many Texans are turning to solar power to get more choices than their electric company provides. More than 40 states help consumers do this by requiring electric companies to pay a fair price for the surplus electricity solar panels put back on the grid (known as net metering). In return, the electric grid benefits from a supply of pollution-free electricity during peak-demand time periods, such as hot summer afternoons, avoiding congestion costs and dampening real-time on-peak wholesale energy prices. The more renewable generation that is located at customer’s houses and businesses, the less will need to be charged in the future to all customers’ electric bills for wires, fuel and pollution costs. Incentivizing solar will also help create jobs and attract manufacturers to the state.
In addition to consumer rebates and tax credits, net metering is a key financial driver making solar power a cost-effective investment for consumers. Texas had such a policy in place in the 1980s, but with the restructuring of the electric market, old definitions of electric utilities no longer applied and net metering was inadvertently ended. (more…)
We’ve hit the big Times
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged austin solar plant, david power, Global Warming, green, inc, Kate Galbraith, luke bellsynder, mark strama, New York Times, Public Citizen, public citizen texas, renewable energy, solar, solar power, Texas, texas association of manufacturers on March 25, 2009 |
Good mooooooorning Texas! Just woke up, haven’t even gotten out of my pajamas or had my coffee (okay, I’m running a little late), but I couldn’t wait a moment longer to spread the good news. We’ve hit the big Times.
Yes, that Times. The New York Times.
Check out the following post from Kate Galbraith at the New York Times Green, Inc blog. Look for cameos by our very own David Power, Rep. Mark Strama, and the Austin Solar Plant.
TEXAS AIMS FOR SOLAR DOMINANCE
The Lone Star State leads the country in wind-power. Now Texas aims to ramp up its solar production too.
This week the state senate is considering an avalanche of bills that would boost state incentives for solar power, and the entire legislative session has become known as the “solar session.”
Altogether, according to David Power, the deputy director of Public Citizen Texas, a consumer and environmental advocacy group, there are 69 renewable energy bills before the legislature, and over 50 of them promote solar power – far more than ever before.
“There are senators and representatives that are talking about solar that have never mentioned the word probably in their lives,” he said. “We’ve actually heard the term ‘global warming,’ and two years ago that was called ‘the G word’ – you didn’t talk about it.”
Mark Strama, a state representative who is a leading promoter of renewable energy, has introduced at least five green bills this year (including a measure that would allow local governments to create a property tax financing program for solar, along the lines of several California cities).
“It just seems like everybody recognizes our leadership in wind, and that government policy got us where we are today in wind,” he told me last month.
In solar, he added, “We need to catch up.”
Some businesses, concerned about higher energy prices, urge caution.
“The state should avoid picking economic winners and losers in our economy through subsidizing solar – or any energy source – at the expense of the residential, commercial and industrial consumers who contribute significantly to the Texas economy,” said Luke Bellsynder, the executive director of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, in an e-mail message.
He also said, however, that his group supported incentives and tax abatements for solar, and broadening the state’s energy portfolio.
Earlier this month, the city of Austin, which is aggressively pursuing renewable power, unanimously gave a go-ahead to a private company to build the largest photovoltaic plant in the country, so that the local utility, Austin Energy, can buy the electricity produced.
However, the city met fierce opposition from struggling local technology firms and other groups, who complained about the prospect of higher electric bills.
Busy day, a quick news roundup
Posted in Global Warming, tagged Carbon Dioxide, climate change, Coal, coal moratorium, EPA, Global Warming, Public Citizen, renewable energy, Rodney Ellis, solar, solar power, Texas, Texas Legislature on March 24, 2009 |
Public Citizen will be testifying on nearly three dozen bills today during committee meetings in the House and Senate. You can watch the action in the House or the Senate by going to the individual committees. Be sure to tune in to our 10am Press Conference on a coal moratorium by clicking on the link to the Senate Press Room in the video feeds. Links to the committees we’ll be testifying in all day today:
House Agriculture and Livestock 7:30 am
Senate Business and Commerce 8am (where most of the solar bills will be heard)
Senate Natural Resources 1pm (including the coal moratorium)
Also, if you’re looking for something to do today, come down and show your support for solar energy, the coal moratorium, or any of the other over 30 bills we’ll be testifying on.
For those of you interested in some light reading, I highly reccomend Forecast: The Global Conseqeunces of Climate Change by Stephen Faris. As an international correspondant, he has seen how the conflict in Darfur began as a conflict over resources, and how the wildfires of Australia have decimated the countryside. This is just a taste of things to come in a world of disrupted and rapidly changing climate. The following excerpts are available:
Part 1: The Florida Keys are sinking
Part 1: Can insurance cover the costs of climate change?
Part 1: Who will be able to afford to live on the coast?
Part 2: Pathogens find new habitats
Part 2: Countries could backslide into poverty
Part 2: How disease relates to carbon dioxide
Part 3: Easier passage through the Arctic
Part 3: A scramble for control of the Arctic
Part 3: Opening the Arctic to damage
Also, for anyone who missed it, an article in today’s Washington Post about the EPA qietly delivering to Obama a finding that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant,(like we needed the EPA to tell us that) opening the door for states to regulate emissions standards for cars, permitting of CO2 in power plants, etc.
Wildcatting the Sun – Solar Energy and You!
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Renewables, tagged Austin Energy, Global Warming, green jobs, photovoltaic. distributed generation, Public Citizen, pv, renewable energy, Renewables, solar, solar power, Texas on March 12, 2009 |
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dfv2yoCtjU]
Ever wondered why Texas should invest in solar energy? Ever wanted it explained to you in 5 minutes in a way reminiscent of a 1940s newsreel? Or just tired of The Sham-wow Song and want a new viral video to watch?
Written, produced, and starring members of the Public Citizen Texas staff, “Wildcatting the Sun” talks about Texas’ solar potential, the green jobs that would come to Texas from investing in solar now, and how solar can replace dirty coal and expensive nuclear.
This video was produced as part of Environment Texas’s solar video contest. You can see all of the other submissions here.
Youth Storms US Congress at Powershift–Largest Lobby Day in Environmental History
Posted in Coal, Global Warming, Toxics, tagged Air Quality, carbon cap, Carbon Dioxide, Clean Energy, Clean energy corps, climate change, Coal, Congress, Department of Energy, geothermal, global climate treaty, green jobs, greenhouse gas, house of representatives, obama, powershift 09, Public Citizen, renewable energy, Renewables, senate, solar power, stimulus package, student activists, Texas, washington dc on March 12, 2009 |
In the fight for a greener future, America’s youth has and is continuing to be one of the strongest forces. Recently, I participated in Powershift 2009–the largest summit on climate and energy in United States’ history. Roughly 12,000 attended the conference, and the overwhelming majority of participants were students from high schools and colleges spanning across the nation!
The conference began Friday, and provided endless opportunities for attendees to experience environmentally-geared panels, workshops, movies, speakers, and state breakouts until Sunday. The amalgamation of these informative and inspirational activities worked as a preface that ultimately led to Powershift’s climax that Monday–lobby day. Despite the untimely blizzard-like weather that stormed DC right before that Monday, thousands of youth still trudged through snow and sleet to capitol hill. That day, March 2nd, proved the be the largest lobby day for climate and energy in US history. Senators and representatives from all fifty states were successfully lobbied, with a total of 350 lobby visits! For any of you who are glad that some federal lobbying was completed for your interests, here is the platform that Powershifters presented to US senators and representatives:
1. Cut Carbon Emissions
- Reduce global warming pollution by the targets science tells us are necessary: 25%-40% below 1990 levels by 2020; and 80%-95% below 1990 levels by 2050.
- Set an aggressive cap on carbon immediately. If a cap-and-auction mechanism is chosen, 100% of pollution allowances must be auctioned. Any revenue generated from this cap must be used to address the climate crisis in a just and equitable way; none of this money should go to polluting industries.
- Conserve and restore the world’s forest, ecosystems, and carbon sinks, which are the best natural defense in a warming world.
2. Invest in a Green Economy
- Create 5 million new jobs through investments in clean energy.
- Develop a “Clean Energy Corps” to create service, training, and job opportunities in the clean energy economy (1).
- Train a generation of workers and volunteers to build our clean energy future and help communities adapt to the already changing climate.
3. Power Our Future with Clean Energy, not Dirty Fuels
- We see a future powered by clean, renewable energy like wind, solar, and geothermal; 100% of our electricity should come from these sources, and we should invest in sustainable transit and energy efficiency.
- End our dependence on dirty energy by enacting a moratorium on financing and development of new coal and nuclear plants, and oil shale and tar sands infrastructure.
- Immediately begin phasing out dirty and dangerous energy sources and methods of extraction, while also ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities.
4. Lead the World to a Clean and Equitable Energy Future
- Work with other nations to reach a strong new global climate treaty in Copenhagen that puts us on track to reduce carbon below 350 parts per million.
- Assist vulnerable communities and developing countries in the transition to low-carbon economies and with adaptation to the changing climate.
_________________
This was the type of rhetoric left at the nation’s capitol a week ago, and such requests likely still serve as hot topic points in DC. As a voice of Powershift, and the young environmentalists of this nation, this is the direction we want to see our federal government take now, and in the future. And let me assure you, the overwhelming feeling in Washington experienced by many of the Powershifters is that this direction is highly achievable, at least, more so than ever before in our nation’s history!
(1) The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP15 in Copenhagen.
Austin City Council Votes for Nation’s Largest Photovoltaic Array
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged Austin, austin city council, Austin Energy, boma, building owners and managers association, david power, gemini solar, Gemini Solar Development Company, laura morrison, Lee Leffingwell, mike martinez, Public Citizen, randi shade, sheryl cole, solar plant, solar power, spansion, Texas, Webberville on March 5, 2009 |
This afternoon the Austin City Council moved unanimously to approve Item 16 on the agenda, the purchasing power agreement with Gemini Solar Development Company to build a 30 MW solar plant at the Webberville tract. That means that by the end of 2011, Austin should be the proud home of the nation’s largest utility scale photovoltaic installation. This is a tremendous milestone for both the City and Austin Energy that will set us up as a leader in solar energy, create jobs, attract industry, and protect our citizens from volatile future energy prices while curbing our global warming emissions.
Lee Leffingwell made the motion to approve item 16 with three additional recommendations. The first direction was to include a provision that any federal stimulus funds, rebates, or incentives recovered would be passed on to Austin, rather than kept by Gemini. The second was to create a new task force to review future energy projects. The task force, he promised, would consist of diverse stakeholders and not be weighted in terms of energy usage. This is an important point, as several representatives from the city’s large scale industrial users such as Spansion and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) specifically requested that future stakeholder meetings be based upon the size of user consumption– meaning that in future energy projects, city council dialogue would be dominated even more than ever by large industrials. As David Power, Public Citizen’s Deputy Director, testified, that sounds a little too much like, “for every dollar I spend, I get a vote.” Cheers to Lee Leffingwell for insisting on a more inclusive process.
The third and final additional direction was, as expected, to roll the power purchase agreement into Green Choice, so that citizens would be able to voluntarily opt into a program to buy solar power at a locked-in price. Councilman Mike Martinez stated that he would be more than happy to be the first person to sign up for such a program, except that Leffingwell already called “shotgun” on that distinction.
Council members Sheryl Cole, Laura Morrison, and Randi Shade all made additional comments in support of the plant, stating that this was a tough decision to make in hard economic times but that this solar plant, far from a luxury item, was an important element of Austin’s long term energy goals.
The Austin City Council has earned Public Citizen’s most heartfelt appreciation for proving itself, once again, a renewable energy leader. We especially respect the time and effort that the Council and its staff put into this contentious process, and look forward to working with them on future projects.
We also encourage Austinites to express their thanks to the Mayor and City Council for approving this historic first step towards our renewable energy future.
Austin City Council Solar Vote this Thursday
Posted in Energy, Renewables, tagged austin city council, Brewster McCracken, burnt orange report, city hall, item 16, Lee Leffingwell, phillip martin, renewable energy, solar plant, Solar Plant Vote, solar power, Texas, webberville solar plant on March 3, 2009 |
Just a reminder that the Austin City Council will have its final vote on the proposed 30 MW Webberville Solar Plant at a meeting this Thursday, March 5. The Council meeting is of course open to the public, so please come by City Hall starting at 10 a.m. to show your support for the plant! There are kiosks in the main hall where you may sign in and register to testify if you so choose. Even if you cannot stay to observe the proceedings, you can still sign in at the kiosk to document your support for the solar plant, which will be Item 16 on the agenda. Remember “Item 16” because you must know the agenda item number to register your support at the kiosk.
For background information on the plant per the council’s February 13th meeting, jump back to the post City Delays on Solar Plant Vote.
Also, Burnt Orange Report has just run a really excellent series on the plant. I cannot recommend it enough. Phillip Martin at BOR provides analysis and a full overview of the project, as well as two full interviews with council members (and mayoral candidates) Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken — both of whom have come out in support of the project!
And of course, stay tuned this Thursday for a full report from the City Council meeting — you know I’ll be there!
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…)
Live from City Hall, its Thuuuuuuuursday Morning!
Posted in Energy, Nuclear, Renewables, tagged Austin, austin city council, city of austin, solar, solar power, south texas nuclear plant, South Texas Project, Texas, Webberville on February 12, 2009 |
Good morning, folks! I’m sitting in on the Austin City Council meeting this morning. Here at Public Citizen, we are largely concerned with two important items on today’s agenda:
Item 3: Will the City of Austin invest in the South Texas Nuclear Power Plant?
Item 16: Will the City invest in 30 megawatts of solar power from the proposed solar plant near Webberville?
Word on the street (and by street, I mean city hall) is that some members of the Council would like to postpone the vote on the solar plant. The big question here is how long the vote will be postponed. If the vote is pushed back a few weeks to give everyone a little more time to look at the impacts of this new project, that’s not really a problem… but if we are talking months here, the delay may actually be long enough to kill the project.
The Council will listen to citizen testimony before they decide to postpone (or not — though it is highly unlikely that the council will deny a request to delay the vote) and for how long (waiting with baited breath!).
Stick around, I’ll keep you posted!
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