Energy Exchange

By Colin Leyden and Adam Peltz

• A bill aimed at Texas’ 115,000 inactive oil and gas wells has passed both legislative chambers and will help address one of the state’s most critical, yet hidden, challenges. 
• A bill heading to Gov. Abbott’s desk challenges the status quo in Texas, making sure the oil and gas industry starts cleaning up its old, leaky, non-producing wells.

Texas’ oil and gas industry has long been among the national leaders in production, but with that leadership comes the responsibility  to safely and responsibly plug unproductive legacy assets. This is particularly true when it comes to the over 100,000  inactive oil and gas wells scattered across the Lone Star State. The recent passage by both legislative chambers of Senate Bill 1150 represents a modest but meaningful step toward making sure the oil and gas industry cleans up its mess and addresses one of our state’s most pressing environmental and fiscal challenges. The bill is now headed to Gov. Abbott for signature.

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By Deanna Nussberger, EDF Legal and Regulatory Intern

Energy decisions profoundly impact communities, yet the decision-making process can feel opaque and inaccessible. Concerns surrounding the tangible impacts of energy infrastructure — who benefits, who bears the costs and how electricity bills are affected — are frequently resolved behind closed doors in highly technical and legally complex energy regulatory proceedings, leaving many feeling voiceless in choices that directly shape their lives.

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Por Danielle Carey, Sepp Haukebo y Eduardo Boné-Morón

Renombradas por sus aguas turquesas y ecosistemas marinos únicos, Las Bahamas son una maravilla natural del mundo. Sin embargo, a pesar de toda su belleza, el país enfrenta desafíos críticos, incluyendo el aumento de los costos de energía, la degradación ambiental y los crecientes impactos y amenazas del cambio climático. Estos problemas amenazan la biodiversidad de la región, así como los medios de vida y la cultura, que están profundamente ligados a su entorno marino. Ante estos desafíos, las comunidades bahameñas tienen una oportunidad innovadora: la electrificación de pequeñas embarcaciones, como botes de pesca y guía, y pequeños transbordadores.

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By Madeline Thompson, EDF Legal and Regulatory Intern

Energy affordability has become a major concern for customers as utility rates rise across the country. Since 2001, the average cost of electricity per kilowatt has nearly doubled for residential customers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Low-income households are facing the brunt of this burden. According to 2024 research, low-income households in the U.S. spend about 17% of their income on utilities, about three times the national average.

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By Kristina Mohlin 

The global energy transition continues to accelerate. While challenges remain, the European Union is taking bold steps to lead the way. One of its most important moves: The Methane Regulation — an ambitious, first-of-its-kind framework that positions the EU as a global standard-setter for curbing methane emissions from fossil fuels, including those tied to imports.

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By Ilissa Ocko, Senior Climate Scientist, Spark Climate Solutions; and Sofia Esquivel Elizondo, Low Carbon Energy Scientist, EDF

It’s no secret that there are big ambitions for hydrogen as a climate solution. Many champions of proposed hydrogen infrastructure argue that it’s a viable swap to move hydrogen through vast networks of existing natural gas systems. But although there are possibilities to reuse some of the existing natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen, these roles are limited by safety and energetic considerations to a small fraction of the current energy we derive from fossil natural gas; and there are serious engineering concerns around repurposing a system that wasn’t designed for hydrogen.

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