Dec. 10 — Public Citizen, a government watchdog group, and two Texas landowners filed a lawsuit over the orders in July, arguing that the Texas Railroad Commission used the coronavirus pandemic as cover to relax regulations and waive fees related to the storage of crude oil.
Dec. 9 — CenterPoint executives expected to announce a buyer by the second quarter of 2021, expressing confidence in their ability to offload assets with more than 520,000 customers, 17,000 miles of gas main and $700 million in combined rate base. The sale is a critical part of financing CenterPoint’s turnaround strategy, which revolves around investing heavily in the company’s electric power business.
Dec. 8 — Bloom Energy Corp. became a hot startup more than a decade ago by promising to upset the utility industry with devices that could power the nation’s buildings. Today, it’s a reminder of how a rapidly changing industry can foil even the most driven entrepreneurs.
Dec. 9 — Navisun, a solar independent power producer, will finance, build, own and operate the Erath Solar project. This will be the third project for Navisun and TPE.
Dec. 8 — Griddy, the California startup that opened the door for Texas consumers to buy electricity on the wholesale market, has announced a new management team, an infusion of capital and a multilevel marketing plan to sell power to consumers.
Dec. 8 — The findings come at a crucial time for climate change policy in the U.S., particularly on the federal level. President Trump’s executive order removing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement became official on Nov. 4, and his administration has rolled back other key environmental protections. At the same time, President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the Paris Agreement, but Kiely notes that local and state governments still play a larger role in reducing emissions.
Dec. 7 — Anti-renewable energy campaigns are nothing new in the Lone Star State. A new wave of disinformation could spell trouble for the state’s fledgling solar industry.
Dec. 7 — The newly announced PPAs build on the restaurant company’s previous purchase of 220 MW from Apex-developed Aviator Wind West, located in Coke County, Texas. Aviator Wind, owned by Consumers Energy, Kansai Electric, and Ares Management Corporation’s Infrastructure and Power, commenced operations in September 2020.
Dec. 7 — Fracking isn’t likely to go away because of limits to the president’s power, but Joe Biden can still make some changes through executive action.
Dec. 7 — Griddy Energy, the pioneer of direct-to-consumer wholesale electricity in Texas, appoints Michael Fallquist as Chief Executive Officer, Christian McArthur as Chief Operating Officer and Roop Bhullar as Chief Financial Officer and enters into an agreement with Macquarie Energy, a subsidiary of the Macquarie Group, to provide a wholesale supply facility and investment capital to support Griddy’s growth and market expansion.
Dec. 4 — Left-wing activists are already showing their anti-market tendencies, piling pressure on President-elect Joe Biden to use obscure agencies to impose strident regulations rather than make room for innovation in solving the climate crisis.
Dec. 4 — The growing group of around 50 residents under the banner “Friends of Lake Sam Rayburn” are awaiting the results of a Nov. 9 hearing with the Texas Railroad Commission to see if they can be added as a party in the permitting process for the project.
One of the most important municipal coalitions currently active in gas ratemaking is the Atmos Cities Steering Committee, an organization of over 150 cities in north and central Texas with nearly 1.2 million residential customers.