Texans know better than to believe the lies. But, whenever severe weather strikes the state and the isolated electric grid is imperiled, they’re always fed them: “Green energy” is offered up as the ultimate scapegoat, facts be damned.
Energy Exchange
The power grid and disinformation
Also posted in General, Grid Modernization, Natural Gas, Regional Grid Language: English Comments are closed
Houston workshop lays foundation for the road to ZEV trucks
Last month, EDF co-hosted a workshop in Houston on the state of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles in Texas. Partnering with Evolve, the Houston-Galveston Area Council and Port Houston, we met at the NRG Center with dozens of industry experts, government officials, fleet managers and drivers to talk about the economic and environmental opportunities that transitioning to zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles offers for Texas. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to enjoy a ride-along with the latest Nikola ZEV truck.
Key things we learned from studying methane in the nation’s largest oilfield
By Ben Hmiel and Jon Goldstein
After three years of actively collecting methane emissions data in the Permian Basin, researchers have gained new insights that will make it easier to reduce emissions of the incredibly potent greenhouse gas methane. These insights are helping inform state and federal regulatory approaches at a critical time.
Also posted in Flaring, General, Methane, Methane regulatons, PermianMAP Tagged New Mexico Language: English Comments are closed
First “orphan” well plugged as federal program gains momentum, more to be done
In the fall of 2021, after much effort by EDF and other stakeholders, Congress included $4.7 billion in funding as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to close as many “orphan” wells as possible, with a focus on leaky wells near communities.
TCEQ announces critical new funding commitment for zero-emission trucks
Critical funding for more zero-emission trucks in Texas is on the way. For the first time ever, a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant program that provides incentives to replace heavy-duty diesel vehicles will guarantee that at least half of the funding awarded will go to projects that include zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The recently announced change will make this money available in the next round of grant funding for the Texas Clean Fleet Program, which will be open for applications soon.
Nitrogen oxide from diesel trucks contributes to climate change while increasing air pollution and harming the health of Texans. Our state is currently experiencing historic heat, which can be directly attributed to climate change. By replacing dirty diesel vehicles with clean alternatives, Texas is taking direct aim at climate and air pollution.
States should not weaken liability laws for CCS projects
Early this January, a geyser in West Texas started spewing tens of thousands of barrels of salty water a hundred feet into the air and coating the nearby land with salt deposits. It took about 10 days to discover the culprit was an old, dry oil well plugged in 1957 by Gulf Oil. By the next day, the Texas Railroad Commission had turned over the blowout and remediation to Chevron (who acquired Gulf Oil in the 1980s), who assumed full responsibility immediately and without question.
This is a normal cost of doing business in the oilfield in Texas and elsewhere — you break it, you pay for it.
Traditional regulatory and legal principles around liability are designed to hold operators accountable when they or those they are responsible for fail to live up to their responsibilities. Such rules encourage operators to do as good and thorough a job as technically feasible.
However, some states are weakening these rules for operators of carbon sequestration and storage projects. If this quiet trend continues, the integrity of these projects, their climate benefits and their public acceptance could be significantly threatened.