A rundown of how a bill becomes a law, how the Texas Legislature works and the power players who keep things moving under the Pink Dome.
Texas Tribune
Information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every Texan in Congress with the districts they represent and how to contact their offices. Directory is updated with Texas’ new elected officials, who took office in January 2023 in recently redrawn political districts.
Texas Tribune
State leaders said at the beginning of the week that the grid would be able to weather this winter storm. They were right; the grid held up. But one energy expert isn’t so sure it’s as reliable as officials say it is.
Spectrum News 2/3/23
Electrification, solar panels, batteries, EV chargers, smart appliances — the home of the future will feature a range of technologies that make our lives more comfortable and climate-friendly. It’s a vision that should be within reach for everyone, no matter where they live or how much they make.
Canary Media 2/7/23
The Texas grid operator ERCOT completed full interconnection studies for 15 GW of large-scale solar and 8 GW of storage projects in 2022, said a spokesperson, enabling the projects to move toward construction.
pv magazine 2/7/23
A new framework adopted by the Public Utility Commission that would significantly change the way that electric companies buy and sell electricity was met with skepticism by members at the February 7, 2023 hearing of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee.
The Texas Senate 2/7/23
Developers plan to add as much as 54,500 megawatts of electricity generating capacity in the U.S. this year, according to the Energy Information Administration, the statistics and analysis arm of the Energy Department. More than half of that —29,100 megawatts — is expected to be solar, the EIA said.
As much as 7,700 megawatts of that utility-scale solar capacity is planned for Texas this year.
Houston Chronicle 2/8/23
Retailers are developing plans that lower the cost of home charging.
Houston Chronicle 2/15/23
Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Rockwall, northeast of Dallas, covers 16 counties. With a largely residential load, President and CEO David Naylor says solar has been the preferred renewable option as it fits the shape of Rayburn’s load.
Forbes 2/15/23
Two years after Winter Storm Uri left millions in Texas without power for days, a new poll, conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, finds that a majority of Texans support expanding U.S. reliance on solar power (64%), geothermal (59%), and wind (57%). Only 41% preferred expanding U.S. reliance on onshore conventional oil and gas.
Renewableenergyworld.com 2/16/2023
Texas legislators are considering an idea unanimously approved by the PUC in January: The Performance Credit Mechanism. The plan is unproven, untested and never done before. Rudy Garza, president/CEO of CPS Energy, weighs in.
ksat.com 2/27/23
As Gov. Greg Abbott signals stronger support for the creation of a new program to replace a multibillion dollar corporate tax break program that expired last year, he’s also drawing a clear line in the sand: wind and solar energy projects need not apply.
Texas Tribune 3/1/23
