Category Archives: Coal

Las Brisas: Strike two!

Jim MarstonThe  proposed $3 billion petroleum coke-fired Las Brisas power plant in Corpus Christi suffered another setback Friday when the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said two significant environmental questions were not adequately answered by the plant's permit application.

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Corpus Christi is Borrowing from Peter to Pay Paul

The old adage of Peter and Paul comes from the notion that if you borrow from one person to pay another, in the end, you are right where you started. You can spend time trying to convince Peter to loan you some money or just take the time to save up the money and pay off Paul all together. The first choice just leaves you owing somebody a big wad of cash. The second choice creates independence and sustainability, a debt-free life.

The city of Corpus Christi has a similar decision to make. The city council, and city leaders, must decide how to keep the city’s water supply sufficient for future users. Corpus has two choices, and they are choosing the wrong one. Read More »

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Las Brisas: Friends in Unexpected Places

Coal

Fans of clean air gained an important ally Monday against the proposed $3 billion Las Brisas petroleum coke-fired power plant in Corpus Christi – and it came from inside the state's own Texas Commission on Environment Quality!

December 14 was the deadline for legal briefs in TCEQ's permitting process for the enormous "pet coke" plant, and EDF attorneys filed our extensive brief against the permit, as did other interested parties. But we were pleasantly surprised by another brief against the plant filed by TCEQ's own Office of Public Interest Counsel (OPIC). Read More »

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No Need for New Conventional Coal Plants

Jim MarstonA New York Times Green Inc. article yesterday – "Big Utilities Pull Back on Coal Plant Plans" – stated that many Southwest utilities were shifting away from coal-generated power and moving toward renewables and energy efficiency. Many plants that were planned are now canceled or on hold.

So my question for all Texans is, "Why would we foolishly try to build even one more conventional coal plant?"

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