Tag Archives: solar energy

Get out of solar’s way

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. “Hawaii is a postcard from the future,” said Adam Browning, executive director of Vote Solar, a policy and advocacy group based in California. Other states and countries, including California, Arizona, Japan and Germany, are struggling … Continue reading →

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ERCOT acknowledges that meeting EPA clean air requirements won’t be that big a deal

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Clean Air Matters: Well, it didn’t take long before the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released, at the request of Texas’ very political Public Utilities Commission, another report about the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) … Continue reading →

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It’s OK if energy costs go up for now

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my reaction to this. As Texas regulators weigh a response to President Obama’s proposal to combat climate change, the operator of the state’s main electric grid says the plan would raise energy costs and threaten reliability – particularly in the … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: Home power analysis, 2014 edition

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

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Google energy

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. Google may not seem like an energy company, but it sure is acting like one. Through more than $1 billion in investments and through large contracts for renewable power, Google has become the most significant player in the energy … Continue reading →

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Dan Wallach: Energy pricing 2012

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is a guest post that follows up on an earlier guest post. Last year, I wrote a guest article for Off The Kuff where I discussed the complexity of trying to get a good price on your electric bill. … Continue reading →

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Laura Spanjian – From Industrial to Green Revolution: The New Houston

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Bike Share kiosks in downtown. Electric vehicle charging stations at the grocery store. Over 15 miles of new rail lines being … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Desalinization and power plants

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has another story about desalinization in Texas, and reading it brings up a point that I don’t think gets enough attention. Interest in desalination surged more than a decade ago, when the technology became more efficient and cost-competitive, … Continue reading →

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Solar’s bright future

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long story in the Observer about the state of solar energy in Texas. The piece covers a lot of ground, including this bit about what’s going on in San Antonio. San Antonio has emerged as a city willing … Continue reading →

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West Texas wind

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The wind energy business in Texas is going strong. BP and other energy companies are funneling millions of dollars into building and operating wind farms in West Texas, helping to transform the oil country into one of the nation’s leading … Continue reading →

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San Antonio chooses its solar provider

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Under a bright winter sun Wednesday, CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby introduced the companies selected to build one of the country’s largest solar projects and a solar manufacturing plant in San Antonio, an investment of more than $100 million. … Continue reading →

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Wouldn’t it be nice to have solar panels on your roof right now?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Some people do. More people should. Despite Houston’s sweltering heat, Grady Hill hasn’t paid an electric bill since 2009. He keeps his thermostat set at a comfortable 78 degrees when he’s home, but a combination of solar panels and an … Continue reading →

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Why not put solar panels on school rooftops?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

EoW asks a good question: As the debate over the Texas GOP’s cuts to public education funding raged, and the summer sun started to heat up, it became apparent that at least one opportunity was being missed. That’s when a … Continue reading →

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Solar bills advance

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bills relating to solar energy are moving forward through the Lege. Texas is the top-producing state for wind-generated electricity just 12 years after a legislative deal jump-started the industry. The Legislature is now debating whether Texas should provide a similar … Continue reading →

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Another story about solar energy in Texas

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They keep writing them, I’ll keep blogging about them. Dallas renewable energy investor Panda Power Funds is developing one of the country’s largest solar power plants in sunny New Jersey. Not Texas. And Texas’ second-largest power generator, NRG Energy, is … Continue reading →

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San Antonio solar farm

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more solar energy available in Texas now than before. [Texas’] first solar farm, an array of 215,000 photovoltaic panels that capture sun rays and turn them into power, went on line Thursday in San Antonio. Statewide, at least six … Continue reading →

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Marfa solar fight gets deferred

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They will not be building that big solar farm out in Marfa at this time. Citing a lack of investors, Houston-based Tessera Solar has scotched plans to erect at least 1,000 three-story mirrored satellite dishes — designed to convert the … Continue reading →

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The quest for a better solar cell

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe this will be a big step forward. A research team led by [UT chemistry professor Xiaoyang] Zhu, who refers to his Center for Materials Chemistry as the XYZ Lab, has shown that it’s possible to convert much more of … Continue reading →

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Pflugerville solar farm

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds promising. A startup solar energy company with corporate backing from India has won tax breaks from the City of Pflugerville and is near a similar agreement with the Elgin school district to build a 60-megawatt solar plant. The … Continue reading →

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The Marfa solar fight

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A company wants to build a solar power plant in Marfa, and some residents there don’t like it. In what she describes as an all-encompassing obsession, [Malinda] Beeman is fighting to preserve that lifestyle, which she and hundreds of other … Continue reading →

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More renewable energy coming?

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If the PUC says so. The Public Utility Commission is mulling a shot in the arm to the renewables industry, as it is to energy efficiency. Sometime after a March 31 public workshop, the commission is expected to put forward … Continue reading →

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Taking another step for solar power

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas missed out in the last legislative session on a chance to take a big step forward with solar energy, but there are still some things that can be done to keep moving in that direction. Texas already leads the … Continue reading →

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Seeing gold in green

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Denying climate change and the adverse effects of carbon dioxide may be official policy of our Republican leaders, but word has apparently not filtered down to the business entrepreneurs whose capitalistic opportunism those Republicans usually lionize. “Energy is the biggest … Continue reading →

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Solar power for Houston hits a snag

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in September, I noted a deal that the City of Houston was working on with a firm called NRG to build a solar plant that would supply some of the city’s power needs. This deal has apparently hit a … Continue reading →

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Solar power for Houston

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Houston will go solar for some of its energy needs. Under a 25-year proposed agreement being announced today, the city of Houston will buy power for its buildings from the plant, which will be the largest solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Brown’s energy plan

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Completing our trifecta of Mayoral policy examinations, we come now to Peter Brown’s energy plan. As with other policy matters, Brown goes into more detail than the others – David Ortez recently wrote that Brown is “winning the policy campaign”, … Continue reading →

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A new way to bring solar power to the people

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is very cool. One of the major obstacles preventing many homeowners from installing solar panels on their roofs is, well, it’s expensive. At least in the short term. True, the panels may pay for themselves over the course of … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Solar on the special agenda?

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said Tuesday that he’s put in a request for several measures, including a bill to improve accountability at member-owned utilities, to be part of an upcoming special … Continue reading →

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Going green in Seguin

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. The residential wind turbine is one of several renewable initiatives featured at the $6 million Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative’s Seguin office complex, which just opened May 19. The two-story, 24,000-square-foot facility includes solar panels that offset water-heating needs and … Continue reading →

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Legislative wrapups

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With sine die in the rearview mirror, tis the season for legislative wrapups. Here are a couple I’ve come across. – First, from Bike Texas, which had the fairly easy task of just following one bill: The final version of … Continue reading →

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Extending the deadline

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The deadline for finishing up conference committee work was supposed to be last night at midnight. There was too much work to do for that, so the deadline got pushed back for 24 hours. That means the Senate on Monday … Continue reading →

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Budget heads to the Governor

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, thanks in large part to the stimulus package and its infusion of funds that prevented the need to dip into the Rainy Day Fund, the budget process was relatively uncontroversial. Yesterday, it was passed by the House, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The state of solar power

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a feature story on efforts to ramp up solar power in Texas. [S]olar advocates say the right legislation could do the wind industry’s success one better. One approach, incentives to install solar panels on homes and businesses, … Continue reading →

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Monday Lege roundup

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of legislative action today beyond the voter ID vaudeville act. Here’s a quick roundup of some other bills of interest. – HB1736, also known as the Tim Cole Act for the man who was posthumously exonerated this February, has … Continue reading →

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