Posted by Peter on January 13, 2009
Last month, the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) released the awaited independent study on the “Assessment of the Feasible and Achievable Levels of Electricity Savings from Investor Owned Utilities in Texas: 2009-2018,” A.K.A. Energy Efficiency Potential in TX. This assessment was conducted for the PUC by Itron, a California firm that does energy consulting and builds utility meters, and found that “there is a significant amount of untapped technical and economic potential to reduce electricity use” by Texas utilities. The report was requested as part of the ground-breaking energy efficiency legislation, H.B. 3693, approved last session which contained all sorts of energy policy goodies.
The Itron report (269 pages) is a ringing endorsement that energy efficiency is JUST AS IMPORTANT as building new sources of energy. It’s not posted to the PUC site yet, but the PDF file can be found here, on the Environment Texas website. There’s a 20-page Executive Summary included.
Highlights:
* The proposed savings goals for 2010 (30% of load growth) and 2015 (50% of load growth) are reasonable and attainable for the majority of utility service areas.
* Texas has the potential to reduce peak demand statewide by 23% and save customers up to $12 billion on electric bills by investing in efficiency measures.
* Under all cost incentive scenarios studied, the aggregate benefits exceed costs by at least 2 to 1.
* A concerted effort to raise general awareness and provide more specific targeted marketing will increase the level of energy and dollar savings in Texas.
Posted in Local Conservation, TX Conservation | Tagged: energy conservation, energy efficiency, itron, renewable energy, Texas, texas puc report | 1 Comment »
Posted by Peter on January 4, 2009
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will hold public meetings Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Glen Rose, Texas, to discuss the environmental issues the agency should consider in reviewing a Combined License (COL) application for two new reactors proposed for the Comanche Peak site about four miles north of Glen Rose (55/75 miles from FW/Dallas).
* Videos: Click here for YouTube videos of the Feb 6th scoping meeting.
* NRC staff will also consider written comments on the environmental scoping process. Comments should be submitted no later than Feb. 17, 2009 by emailing Comanche.COLEIS@nrc.gov.
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Date: Tuesday – January 6th, 2009
Location: Glen Rose Expo Center – Address: 202 Bo Gibbs Blvd., Glen Rose, TX 76043 (map)
Karen Hadden, Executive Director of the SEED Coalition, created this fact sheet that includes issues to raise at the scoping meeting.
Contact: Molly Rooke (mollyrooke[at]sbcglobal.net)
More Info:
* About the opposition of nuclear power plants in Texas can be found at Nuke Free Texas.
* About nuclear energy as an energy alternative can be read from the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Nuclear Energy Library or their The Case Against Nuclear page. Included is a pre-draft of Amory Lovins’ heavily researched paper concluding that nuclear electricity is more expensive (cost, carbon, reliability, security), not less expensive, than several of the other renewable “soft” energy (i.e., wind, solar, geothermal) solutions being discussed these days.
Posted in Educational, Energy, Local Conservation, TX Conservation | Tagged: environmental impact study comanche, nrc comanche peak, nuclear energy, renewable energy texas, the nuclear illusion | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Peter on January 4, 2009
The League of Women Voters of Dallas Education Fund will present a forum on electric utility regulation this Wednesday.
Date: Wednesday – January 7th, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Temple Emanu-El – 8500 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas, 75225 (map)
Cost: Free
Invited Panelists:
- Rep. Will Hartnett
- Kelly Rod with TXU’s Lite-Up Texas program
- A commissioner from the Public Utility Commission.
* Moderator: State Rep. Terri Hodge
More Info: Call 214-688-4125 or e-mail lwvdallas@sbcglobal.net
Posted in Conservation, Local Conservation | Tagged: energy conservation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Peter on December 6, 2008
What are the benefits/detriments to building the first fully sustainable urban square block in the United States – in downtown Dallas?
Urban Re:Vision and Urban Re:Vision Dallas
Link to the local NBC News coverage RE: the Dallas sustainable city block project.
Link to the Dallas Observers Blog – Unfair Park – article (Robert Wilonsky) RE: the Dallas sustainable city block project. Contains additional info on charrette participants, general plan, sub-committees, etc.
About Re:Vision:
Re:Vision is a diverse group of people focused on changing the urban landscape by re-imagining all the components that make up a city block. From energy to transportation to commerce to community, Re: Vision believes that by finding innovative, healthy and sustainable ideas to help revitalize one urban block, we can create a blueprint for better cities everywhere.
Led by founder, Stacey Frost, Re:Vision is committed to creating the national prototype for sustainable urban living via a six-part, international competition. This competition solicits innovative, actionable plans from industry professionals and concerned citizens that address the environmental, transportation, energy, economic, and design needs of our urban areas. At the completion of the competition an entire major-market city block will be renovated into a wholly sustainable urban community thereby creating a template that can be incorporated into additional cities throughout the United States.
Posted in Local Conservation, Other Websites, TX Conservation | Tagged: dallas charrette, green dallas, revision dallas, sustainable city block, sustainable dallas | 2 Comments »
Posted by Peter on May 29, 2008
This information was sent to us as a Lonestar/Texas Energy Committee Alert. Please contact
Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director, with questions. Cyrus will be in attendance.
SUBJECT: PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETING ON COMANCHE PEAK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT – UNITS 3 AND 4 COMBINED LICENSE APPLICATION
(COLA)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, June 12, 2008
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Open House)
7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. (Public Meeting)
LOCATION: Expo and Texas Amphitheatre
202 Bo Gibbs Boulevard
Glen Rose, Texas 76043
OPEN HOUSE AND PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETING LUMINANT GENERATION COMPANY APPLICATION FOR A COMBINED LICENSE COMANCHE PEAK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
June 12, 2008
Time (approximate) Topic Presenter:
6:00 p.m. Open House (poster session) NRC
7:00 p.m. Public Outreach Meeting Begins
Introductions/Opening Remarks – NRC
7:15 p.m. NRC Staff Presentations
• NRC: Who we are and what we do
• Overview of COLA Review Process
o Safety Review
o Environmental Review
o How the public may participate
• Construction Inspection
7:45 p.m. Open forum for public questions and comments on NRC processes with regard to Comanche Peak, Units 3 and 4 COLA review.
9:30 p.m. Adjourn
Posted in Educational, Energy, Local Conservation, TX Conservation | Leave a Comment »
