Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online
Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer. Full Story
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![Snow surrounds an Austin Energy station in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
An effort to prepare West Texas students to work in the oil and gas industry is expanding
The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers. Full Story
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![From left, Legacy High School juniors Giovanni Parra, 17, Luke Frysak, 17, and Isaiah Estrada, 16, take part in a lesson on electrical circuits during their Oil and Gas Production II class Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 in Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Federal court overturns Texas agency’s pollution permit for Gulf Coast natural gas export terminal
Judges overturned a state air pollution permit that was issued last year, arguing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emissions control requirements. Full Story
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![John Beard Jr., the founder and executive director of the Port Arthur Community Action Network, stands in front of the ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy’s Golden Pass LNG facility, just south of Port Arthur, Texas. Beard is a retired refinery worker who first challenged the Port Arthur LNG emissions permit.]()
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Seeking lower electricity rates, residents in two East Texas towns hope the state will intervene
Livingston and Jasper residents hope a lawsuit will force their municipality-operated utility company to offer lower rates and create more transparency in setting rates. They’re among the 5 million Texans living outside the state’s deregulated market and cannot choose their energy provider. Full Story
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![Power lines outside of Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
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Midland fights disposal of oilfield wastewater near its drinking supply
As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources. Full Story
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![A water tower at the Midland International Air & Space Port on Jan. 28, 2022.]()
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Another large earthquake shows seismic activity continues to increase in West Texas, experts say
The 5.2 magnitude earthquake is tied for the fourth strongest in Texas history. It occurred in an area where oilfield companies have long been injecting wastewater from fracking underground. Full Story
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![An injection well site just outside of Odessa, on Jan. 31, 2022.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas power grid operator approved for a 40% budget increase
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it needs more money to comply with new regulations, hire more employees and fight legal challenges. It said the budget increase will cost power customers less than 20 cents per month. Full Story
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![Four reliability coordinators monitor the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor on August 14, 2012.]()
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In a hot oil and gas economy, a West Texas welder charts his own course one cup of coffee at a time
Fabian Maldonado has supported his Odessa family for years on his welding salary. Wanting more, he’s gambling that a mobile coffee trailer can withstand the booms and busts of the industry. Full Story
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![Homebrew Coffee Co. owner Fabian Maldonado poses for a portrait Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans may approve billions for energy, water, parks and broadband on Nov. 7
At stake in next week’s constitutional amendment election is $13 billion in infrastructure spending. Supporters say it’s an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime investment. Full Story
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![Pipes lie in a trench inside the Regency Apartment complex in Austin on Feb. 24, 2021.]()
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Oil and gas companies spill millions of gallons of wastewater in Texas
An exclusive Inside Climate News analysis found that companies have spilled nearly 150 million gallons of toxic, highly saline wastewater in Texas over the last decade. Full Story
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![Oil and gas lawyer Sarah Stogner visits Lake Boehmer in Pecos County where abandoned wells have brought produced water to the surface for decades. The Railroad Commission considers these water wells and therefore not under their jurisdiction.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
Sheep graze on Texas solar farms as renewable energy companies embrace agriculture
The practice of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation, known as agrivoltaics, is becoming increasingly common in Texas and nationwide. Full Story
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![Sheep graze along a service road at the Enel solar farm Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Haskell County.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington, Roger Williams decline House speaker bid
Only one Texan, Rep. Pete Sessions, remains in the race for House Speaker. Republicans will hear from the candidates Monday night as they try to fill the job following U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s failure to win a majority. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
In trying to close its coal power plant, Austin encounters obstacles to going green
The city approved a plan in 2020 to shut the Fayette Power Project plant with the aim of eliminating carbon emissions. But political, economic and technological forces have gotten in the way. Full Story
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![The Fayette Power Project plant is a coal-fired power plant located near La Grange, in Fayette County. Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Oilfield companies helped to craft Texas’ new waste rules for 2 years before the public got to see them
The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry. Full Story
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![Christi Craddick, Commissioner of the Texas Railroad Commission, Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the William B. Travis Building in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
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Texas’ unemployment rate is among the nation’s worst — but experts say it signals a growing economy
The state has yet to return to its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of about 3.5%, even as it leads the country in new jobs created. However, state economic experts say the unemployment rate is an indicator of Texas’s rapidly growing population and labor force. Full Story
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![A "now hiring" sign is seen in the window of Toro Ramen and Poke Barn April 10, 2020 in San Marcos.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos
Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers. Full Story
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![Evan Smith meets backstage with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, before the start of the closing keynote at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas leads the nation in oil production. What about industry-related deaths?
An industry leader in the Permian Basin said the new report proves safety regulations are helping. Other observers say more data is needed to understand risks of extraction. Full Story
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![The sun begins to set behind a pumpjack site in Gardendale on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
As federal money flows to carbon capture and storage, Texas bets on an undersea bonanza
The state is awarding offshore leases to oil and gas companies that hope to bury heat-trapping carbon dioxide deep beneath the seafloor. But critics worry about leakage and the lackluster record of carbon capture facilities onshore. Full Story
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![Unused oil rigs sit in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, Louisiana August 11, 2010.]()
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As brutal heat tests Texas’ power grid, batteries play a small but growing role in keeping the lights on
This summer, industrial scale batteries have helped boost the energy supply during critical evening hours. Battery storage represents a small fraction of Texas’ energy mix now, but it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years. Full Story
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![An engineer walks past battery banks and inverters at GlidePath's Byrd Ranch energy storage facility in Sweeny, on May 23, 2023.]()
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U.S. Rep. Randy Weber concerned Texas projects hurt amid Freedom Caucus budget fight
The far-right congressman from Friendswood still backs the conservative push to lower spending, but worries bipartisan Texas projects have been impacted. Full Story
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![U.S. Representative Randy Weber, R- Friendswood, speaks at a House Freedom Caucus press conference about the Equality Act on Feb. 25, 2021 in Washington.]()
Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via REUTERS
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