Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Texas Observer on TXU buyoutOn the Texas Observer's blog, Forrest Wilder sounds some further cautions about the TXU buyout:
Labels: carbon, coal, electricity, energy, global warming, TXU Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). TXU resourcesHere's the New York Times overview of the TXU green buyout.The Dallas Morning News has a handy timeline of all the shenanigans that preceded this development. And Daniel Mottola at the Austin Chronicle does an excellent job of fleshing out that timeline and the rest of this session's battle over global warming and air quality. Labels: carbon, coal, electricity, energy, TXU Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). More on the TXU carbon emissions agreementThe decision by TXU's private buyers to cut back its dirty coal permit applications and to reduce its existing environmental impact rested on the realization that in an energy market where consumers care about how their electricity affects their health and the environment, "the entrepreneurial and the innovative will get more profit" than the polluting approach, said Fred Krupp, executive director of Environmetnal Defense.Environmental Defense also says: In addition to withdrawing permit applications for eight proposed coal plants, Texas Pacific Group and KKR have agreed to:
Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which negotiated the deal with TXU's buyers, praised their organizations' Texas offices and all of the other organizations and activists who have put pressure on TXU to drop its plans to double its greenhouse gas emissions since the company filed the eleven dirty coal permits in April 2006. These groups included the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Rainforest Action Network, the SEED Coalition, the Texas Cities for Clean Air Coalition, Texas Business for Clean Air, Citizens Organized for Resources and the Environment, and Neighbors for Neighbors. A representative of the Sierra Club's Lone Star chapter said, "I think that public, grassroots pressure played a big role in this. If the people hadn't spoken up loudly and consistently, the powers that be might still have gone through with it." For some groups, may be a bittersweet victory. According to Environmental Defense: As part of the negotiations leading up to the announcement, Environmental Defense agreed to settle its federal lawsuit against TXU (regarding the Sandow unit) in exchange for an aggressive environmental pledge from Texas Pacific Group and KKR. The new company will continue to pursue permits for the Sandow unit and the two Oak Grove units. Members of the press from Waco, which will be downwind from two of the TXU plants that remain in permitting, expressed concern about the Oak Grove facilities in a conference call with Environmental Defense and NRDC this afternoon. And long-time Dollars & Sense will recall the ongoing fight near Rockdale, Texas, against Alcoa's (and now TXU's) expansion of its aluminum smelter and associated lignite mines and plant in that area. The Sierra Club said that while the group views the withdrawal of the eight permit applications and the other aspects of the agreement as "really exciting, especially the endorsement of the carbon cap," it's important to remember that 11 of the 19 dirty coal permit applications that followed Texas Governor Perry's fast track permitting order in October 2005 are still under consideration. And of the three TXU plants still in permitting, she said, "The Oak Grove ones are the worst. The worst." The Sierra Club added that because these other plants are still under consideration, it's very important that concerned citizens keep pressure on the Texas legislature to pass laws this session that promote energy efficiency, promote renewable energy, and force coal permitting to slow back down—including a proposed two-year coal permitting moratorium that was recently introduced the the Texas Senate. A few days ago, Tom Smith of Public Citizen's Texas office told me that one of TXU's cardinal sins—one of its actions that helped generate so much public opposition to its plans—was trying to "sneak in under whatever emisisons legislation might be passed this session." A cardinal sin, maybe, but also a Texas political tradition (see the Alcoa story, above). David Hawkins of NRDC would perhaps say that cleaning up their act in the first place is the smartest and most just way that TXU could "sneak in" past pending legislation. Said Hawkins, once the session is over and emissions legislation is passed, "companies that have already reduced their emissions of greenhouse gases will automatically be rewarded because they'll have less work to do." Labels: carbon, coal, electricity, energy, global warming, TXU Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). TXU buyout cancels 8 of 11 dirty coal permitsEnvironmental Defense has announced that "as part of their plan to purchase Texas electricity provider TXU Corp, Texas Pacific Group and KKR have agreed to terminate the applications for eight of TXU's 11 proposed coal plants in Texas and will adopt a platform of initiatives that will significantly reduce the company's environmental impact in Texas."More information from the press conference call to follow soon. Labels: carbon, coal, energy, global warming, TXU electricity Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Clean energy in Texas: get involvedRead about Dallas-based energy company TXU's plans to build 11 new coal-fired power plants in Texas here. TXU is already Texas' largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, and the new plants would double TXU's CO2 output. In Texas and around the country, a half dozen major environmental organizations, seven local citizens groups, 36 cities, counties, and school districts, 400 business leaders, three major church groups, and thousands of individuals have been agitating against the plants. To join them, visit Stop the Coal Plant for letters and petitions, ways to donate, the latest press, and a handy fact sheet.Look for more coverage of this activism in the Mar/Apr issue of Dollars & Sense. Labels: carbon, coal, electricity, energy, global warming, TXU Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Delay in TXU coal plant permitting in TexasIn October 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order that, among other things, cut the length of permit hearings for new power plants in Texas from 18 months to only six. Last year, Dallas-based power company TXU filed permit applications for 11 new coal-burning power plants that would more than double the company's emmisions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide—a consequence that many consider outrageous, considering that Texas leads the nation in CO2 emissions and TXU is the state's largest CO2 polluter.TXU argues that the new plants will meet Texas' desperately growing need for electricity and that not to build them would have sever consequences for the Texas economy. Opponents argue that the potential costs in federal funding and public health outweigh the alleged energy benefits, and that there are cleaner and more economically stimulating ways to provide the needed electricity. The TXU permit hearings were set to begin Wednesday, but on Tuesday Texas State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky ordered a four-month delay to allow opponents to better prepare their case. The permit hearings are now set to begin June 27. According to the Dallas Morning News, "Judge Yelenosky said his decision hinged on whether the governor may constitutionally direct a hearing officer to reach a decision by a particular deadline." Yelenosky wrote, "I have concluded that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their argument that the governor lacks that authority." Perry's office issued a two-sentence reply: "No one should be surprised that a single liberal Austin judge would rule against Gov. Perry and his efforts to increase energy capacity in Texas. We will take a close look at the ruling and make a determination on how we will proceed." No one should be surprised by Perry's response, either—considering that, since his October 2005 fast-track order, Perry's re-election campaign has received more than $100,000 from entities associated with TXU and its proposed plants, as well as five other proposed plants. As the new June 27 hearing date approaches, various legislative actions and activism are in the works to prevent the new plants altogether. A large coalition of state and national environmental, business, and citizens' groups are leading rallies and grassroots lobbying efforts, and the Rainforest Action Network is pressuring the banks that might finance TXU's plants to withhold their support should the permits be approved. Look for more on this story in the Mar/Apr issue of Dollars & Sense. Sources Environmental Defense's overview of the issue Fort Worth Star-Telegram Dallas Business Journal Dallas Morning News Labels: carbon, coal, electricity, energy, financial activism, global warming, TXU Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
