Notes on the ongoing Tex-ass heat and drought

Several items on the heat wave.

First, it's going to be here another full month, in all likelihood, as is the drought. So, ERCOT may still suck, but you need to still conserve.

Matter of fact, per a great new book, if you actually are a Texas environmentalist, if you're going to talk the talk, you SHOULD be conserving rather than adding to climate change by using more AC. If not, you're a neoliberal capitalist hypocrite. So, how low is the AC set at state headquarters of national Gang Green environmental groups like Sierra Club? Is it 72F? Or 74? Or 76? How well insulated is the office?

Third, even though Tex-ass and its Lege haven't passed a "feed-in tariff" law for rooftop solar (where your local power company pays you for excess juice; most actual Western states have one), solar in the state has doubled in just a year and is helping out. (long read) Sadly, per that long read? ERCOT's gone Wayne Christian and blamed wind power, even though its production was within norms for this time of year.

Fourth? If you're a Californicator who's a recent move here? Deal with it and don't add to the problem.

Fifth? For now at least, thank doorknob, the crypto bros are heeding ERCOT's conservation calls. 

Sixth? If you're a homeowner and watching your power bills soar? Blame Rethuglicans in the Texas Legislature. A few years ago, along with banning local governments' ability to battle plastic bags and other environmental issues, the Lege barred local governments from setting building standards. In other words, your town or county if you bought a McMansion in an unincorporated area, CANNOT require D.R. Horton et al to have minimum insulation, double-paned or triple-paned windows or anything else.

Texas Comptroller tells Lege to start favoring oil and gas more

If wind power's not going to get special tax breaks, and never has gotten road repair subsidies or similar, isn't that really Comptroller Susan Combs' actual message, what I put in the header, and not her strident screech that wind power needs to be cut off from the state tax teat?

I'm not alone in saying that, either:

Jeff Clark, executive director of The Wind Coalition, said Combs’ report is unbalanced, misinformed and repeats the “flawed talking points pushed by the anti-renewables lobby.” 

“Texas’ wind energy industry has now invested more than $26 billion in 56 counties across Texas and provides 10 percent of the state’s electricity supply cleanly, reliably, cheaply, and without using water,” Clark said. 

Furthermore, he said, the wind power installed in Texas will avoid 23,103,000 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, the equivalent of taking 4,075,000 cars off the road. 

Clark also notes that the state continues to heavily subsidize the oil and gas industry at the same time.

And, that's far more than allegedly "clean" fracked natural gas will do, those green energy figures.

Clark also isn't alone. Note this:

Environmentalists criticized the report, saying it took a blinkered approach to energy policy. 

It understates the subsidies given to natural gas, nuclear and coal plants, said Tom Smith, head of the Austin office of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, and “ignores totally the costs of hidden environmental damages caused by these types of plants — such as the wastes from coal mining, fracking or nuclear power generation.” 

Russel Smith, head of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association, said he had no comment on the Combs report, but in June he told the Statesman that rolling back support for wind power “ignores the obvious — that all energy sources have and continue to receive governmental support.”

Per comments in this piece by State Sen. Troy Fraser, the real issues is that the O&G industry has long, and historically well-developed, lobbying tentacles.

Plus, we haven't even talked about solar power, an area where Texas, despite its semi-tropical location, large amounts of sun (especially in West Texas, where higher altitude also helps) and other advantages, lags sadly behind other states.

As for Combs? As Texas Public Citizen showed three years ago, Combs has a long history of fighting renewable energy, speaking of O&G tentacles.

She also has a long history of being subservient to it in anti-environmental ways, as just documented again.

#RickPerry hits new levels of cluelessness on both #gays and #fracking

I don't know if his pain meds are acting up again or what, but his comments out in California are idiotic in several ways.

A lot of people are talking about blogging about his latest comments about "teh gay," of course, namely that it's like being alcoholic. Well, given old rumors about Tricky Ricky, and old facts about Shrub, there's one way to solve this — a confab of idiotic Texas Republican governors.

It's idiotic in other ways, too. Except for the hard liners in the Orange County and San Diego parts of the Southland, most California Republicans aren't Texas mouth-breathers on gay rights, or lack thereof, as demonstrated by this year's Texas GOP confab. So, if Tricky Ricky actually wants to be successful in recruiting California businesses, he'd have brains enough to shut his yap as well as come in from the rain of teh stupidz.

But, he doesn't. And, with Tesla, the California business chickens are coming home, but likely NOT to Texas, to roost.

That said, comments on teh gay were probably overshadowed by something as stupid, and that was his Palinesque frack, baby, frack, which were in turn part of larger energy stupidity:

Perry said he believes Texas is leading the way in achieving energy independence by producing crude oil and electricity in many forms, including solar power.

Perry also suggested that deregulating electricity had started a boom for renewable energy in Texas, which he called the nation's leading developer of wind energy.

Perry said shale drilling techniques had doubled oil production in Texas, and he urged Californians to tap the full energy potential in its Monterey Shale.

Really? On solar?

Texas is a leader on windjamming electricity and everybody knows that. Please show me how Texas is a leader on solar electric, though.

As for the Monterey Shale, he's behind the curve.

Last month, the feds cut the estimated recoverable oil from there by 96 percent. Based on details of the updated estimate, oil would probably have to hit $200/bbl, in today's real dollars, for it to be worthwhile to drill there.

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That said, given that Greg Abbott is using a private plane owned by anti-gay frackers, maybe there's a reason for Perry's twofer stupidity.

Solar power is now cheaper than nuclear

This is big, big, big, for multiple reasons.

One solar is actually clean; nuclear power, besides radioactive wastes, has a high CO2 footprint from the massive number of cubic yards of concrete in construction, from the uranium mining, etc.

Two, especially given Obama's "nuclear blank check" loan guarantees, with much of that blank check likely going to foreigners, too, solar is cheaper on the government wallet.

Then why isn't it getting more boost? Because there's not a lot of deep pockets behind it, for one thing. Even wind power has more, starting with GE.

Solar powered development for West Texas? Please, yes

In recent years, Texas had added plenty of wind power to the state’s energy resources, in the high hills west and southwest of Abilene and beyond.

What I don’t get, though, is why areas further west in Texas aren’t getting in on the solar energy push, whether the photovoltaic panels type, or the newer solar heat for steam for electric turbines type.

The Permian Basin and west and southwest into the Chihuahuan Desert are prime for this.

Take Odessa, the heart of Permian Basin oil country, and where I will be moving soon to start a position at the daily paper there.

The city, through things such as becoming a Texas certified retirement community, has been working to diversify its economy. I’m sure it would like to do more of that.

Well, with more than 80 percent sunshine in the summer, and 65 percent even in January, it’s well-positioned for that climatically.

Not only does it fit well with growing the area’s economy, it also fits with the call for regional diversification on alternative energy sources being promoted by David Crane, president and chief executive of NRG Energy.

I don’t know what graduate engineering programs The University of Texas-Permian Basin offers, but, surely, at least some aspects of petroleum-related mechanical engineering, on the design and such of larger structures, would be transferrable to solar sites.

The only potential drawback, versus the Desert Southwest, is the lack of public land in Texas. On the other hand, somebody let those windjammers get build on their private land west of Abilene. I’m sure ranchers living at the edge would be open to talks, if they have big enough spreads, on solar power.

Finally, looking ahead at a certain Texas election next year, the first gubernatorial candidate to jump on this idea might just have an angle on rounding up some votes.

Sahara going solar-powered?

Well, basically, there’s no company headquartered in Saharan Africa that can do that, but Germans can, and have laid out detailed plans. Of course, none of the countries of the Sahara have any major national parks there, which makes the transmission lines, as well as the solar power plant siting, easier than in the United States.

Rick Perry’s ‘green’ boasting just more hot air

Gov. Helmethair, aka Lil Ricky Perry, among his many bloviations, is wont to talk about Texas being a leader in renewable energy.

Well, just one little problem.

It ain’t so.

All it takes is a pair of eyes, when driving through West Texas, to note all the missing large-scale solar panels. All it takes is a pair of eyes, when driving through new DFW, Houston, Austin or San Antonio suburban developments, to note the missing rooftop solar panels on new houses. (In fact, two solar initiatives died in this year’s Lege.)

"They need a statewide strategy, not a little piece here, a little piece there kind of thing," said Jeff Morris, chief executive of Dallas refining company Alon USA.

Lil Ricky’s response? President Obama doesn’t care about Texas. More bullshit (that’s spelled R-E-D M-E-A-T) for the sheeple following Perry.

Rather, it’s Lil Ricky and most the Texas GOP don’t care about the environment. As a result, the state is already losing new green jobs.

It’s a great, in-depth story. Read the whole thing.

Ken Salazar continues to show his true colors

Possibly, no, probably, Obama’s worst Cabinet choice this side of Tim Geithner, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar first showed his pseudo-environmentalist flag when he decided people in Idaho and Wyoming could start indiscriminately shooting wolves again.

Now, he claims Bureau of Land Management rules allow private land donated to BLM in the Clinton Administration, with the understanding it would be left undisturbed, can be developed for large-scale solar energy farms. Southern California is a great place for solar, but there’s other BLM sites, right? And, an agreement is an agreement.

Meanwhile, San Diego winger GOP Congressmut Brian Billbray wants to exempt such solar behemoths from any National Environmental Policy Act review. The bill he’s introduced to that effect surely has nothing to do
Apparently, Rahmbo with his major campaign contributors.

Let’s have Feinstein or Boxer on the Senate side, or somebody on the House side, ask Kenny Boy how he feels about this bill. You know, smoke him out more.

Since he rejected Feinstein’s letter on the development on donated lands issue, he needs to be put on the record on this.

Once again, Toyota is about to do it again

While it remains a bit of a question right now as to whether the Chevy Volt will ever see mass production, Toyota is, once again, looking at "doing it again" - this time with a solar-powered car.

Solar panels made 40 percent more efficient

A new silicon coating for solar panels boosts their sunlight absorption from 67 to 96 percent. The new, anti-reflective coating also makes it easier to capture sunlight from all angles, which means solar cells can now be placed on sites that don’t generally face south.

Price? Not expected to add more than 2-4 percent to current solar cell costs, according to the scientific developers of the nanotech coating.

Above Aisle 3 — solar panels

Conscientious shoppers need to raise their eyes and see just where their department store is getting its electricity. The answer might be as close as the roof over their heads, as more big-box retailers install solar panels. Kohl’s plans on having 125 solar-paneled stores by the end of the year.

One problem — a Congressional tax break expires this year.

But, as the story notes, a carbon tax may help out in the future.