Nov. 23-30, 2009
CAPP NEWS ROUNDUP
November 23, 2009 through November 30, 2009
Industry News
Texas may need to increase gasoline taxes
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
November 27, 2009
The drumbeat for a gasoline tax increase during the 2011 legislative session is hard to hear unless you pay close attention, but it’s slowly building and will be louder in the coming year. The idea is to push the state motor fuels tax up by 10 cents per gallon. The current level of 20 cents per gallon has not been changed since 1991. Texans also pay 18.4 cents per gallon in federal fuel tax, a rate set in 1993.
Energy prices on the rise despite huge supply
By Dirk Lammers, Associated Press
Houston Chronicle
November 25, 2009
Natural gas, which each week sets new records for the total amount held in storage, jumped more than 8 percent. Energy experts were at a loss to explain why natural gas prices rose. Major industrial customers have slashed power usage during the economic downturn.
Oncor wins federal funding for smart grid project
By Elizabeth Souder
Dallas Morning News
November 24, 2009
Dallas regulated power line company Oncor won $3.5 million in federal funding on Tuesday for a smart grid project. The award comes weeks after Oncor lost the competition for a major stimulus grant for advanced meters.
Castro calls for two on CPS board to resign
By Anton Caputo
San Antonio Express-News
November 30, 2009
Mayor Julián Castro on Monday asked the two longest-serving members of CPS Energy's board of trustees to step down, saying they shoulder some responsibility for the breakdown in credibility at the utility.
Why Texans See Green Gold in Renewable Resources
By Jennifer Bogo
Popular Mechanics
November 30, 2009
And that is the curious paradox of Texas: While seemingly more virtuous states labor over environmental impact assessments, Texans see a business opportunity and grab it—and so could very well end up leading the nation in clean energy.
Wind farms reap a grim harvest
By Michael Fry, Special to Los Angeles Times
Austin American-Statesman
November 30, 2009
Though wind development is far less destructive than many types of energy production, such as mountaintop-removal coal mining, wind power's threats to wildlife are not inconsequential. Regions with sustained high winds frequently overlap prime bird habitat, including the sagebrush and grasslands that sustain declining populations of sage grouse and prairie chickens.
Report Outlines Best Practices for Connecting Renewables to the Grid
By Robert P. Walzer
New York Times
November 27, 2009
A new report on state renewable energy regulations gives California, Colorado, New Jersey and Oregon top marks and failing grades for Georgia, Idaho and Texas. “Freeing the Grid,” which was written by renewables advocates, examines each state’s policies on net metering and interconnection procedures. Those are two of the main regulatory elements that enable homeowners and businesses to connect solar panels or other energy technologies to the electric grid, and be reimbursed for their efforts.
CPS boss Bartley resigns in crisis
By Tracy Idell Hamilton, Anton Caputo
San Antonio Express-News
November 26, 2009
CPS Energy interim General Manager Steve Bartley resigned Wednesday in the wake of revelations that high cost estimates for two nuclear reactors were kept from the utility’s trustees and the City Council. His resignation is effective immediately, and Monday the board of trustees is expected to announce more personnel decisions stemming from the crisis.