We're all over the board this week
And the billionaire who wants to take away your wind energy so he doesn't have to see windmills from his ranch.
Hello, I am back.
Some notes on the energy industry, which I worked in for seven years. The Houston Chronicle had some articles about this man over the weekend:
Who is Dan Friedkin? What to know about the Houston-based billionaire targeting clean energy
Friedkin, 60, is one of the largest donors to state Sen. Louis Kolkhorst, who introduced Senate Bill 819, which recently passed the Texas Senate. The legislation would expand permitting requirements on wind and solar generation facilities, something experts have described as a potential "industry killer."
Stewards of Texas, a nonprofit that advocates against the expansion of renewable energy facilities in the name of protecting Texas' rural landscape, has close ties to Friedkin and was a major proponent of SB 819.
Although Friedkin touts environmental conservation as the motivation behind his fight against wind and solar energy, Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation alleged in a 2023 release that the Houston-based billionaire was more concerned with the view from his ranch than saving the planet.
Awww, poor billionaire doesn’t want to see any of those nasty windmills from his ranch! So relatable.
Read more about how and why the slew of anti-renewables bills this session will seriously hamper the energy industry and make power reliability worse and costs go up, by Doug Lewin:
Last year was the sixth hottest summer in Texas history, but there wasn't a single conservation alert. The summer before, by contrast, ERCOT called 11 conservation alerts and one energy emergency. The biggest difference? We had an extra seven gigawatts of solar and five gigawatts of batteries on the grid last summer.
PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson said solar “saved us this summer,” referring to 2024, and that solar and storage “are key for reliability in this state… We need them to be successful.” Last summer, Texas had 25,000 megawatts worth of solar power on the grid — more than enough to power the entire Houston area. This summer, we’ll be at about 32,000 megawatts.
If HB 3356 or SB 715 passes, that number will go down, power bills will go up, and the power will likely go out for some period of time.
Related, tomorrow in the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, Old Bob Hall has a bill that would ensure that Texas never gives up its own awful, stupid, failing grid: “…the commission first determines that the interconnection is consistent with free market principles and does not bring control of the Texas electric grid under federal jurisdiction…”
We love our failson grid, don’t we folks?
Interestingly, I also came across this tidbit today that isn’t about Texas, but could be soon! The oil and gas industry has been printing their own fake newspapers and sending them to voters as news.
From Ohio to North Dakota, thousands of people have suddenly gotten brand new newspapers delivered to their doorsteps. At first glance, they look legit. But these newspapers are fake news outlets created by the oil and gas industry to influence public opinion.
Investigative journalist Miranda Green has been uncovering these oil and gas-backed news outlets and websites. She joined me on my podcast Power User talk about how these shady publications are mimicking legitimate local newspapers to spread propaganda and influence public opinion, especially around climate change and other major political issues.
There's evidence that the recent $666 million judgment against Greenpeace related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests was issued by a jury that was influenced by these fake newspapers.
Paul Bettencourt wrote a bill that would ban road diets. Oh, and would ban congestion pricing, which is not a thing that happens in Texas. I missed the hearing and it was left pending, but I do worry that this is going to pass and further undo the good work that Houston has been making to make at least our large inner-city neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly. I travel 11th Street in the Heights frequently and it’s a total success in my book, no matter how much the boomers complain on NextDoor about it.
More dumb shit:
Senate Administration committee, 11 a.m. Tuesday:
SCR 46 Sparks
Expressing support for renaming the New York strip steak as the Texas strip steak and directing the Texas Department of Agriculture to promote the Texas strip steak as part of efforts to support Texas beef and agricultural products.
Senate Education, 11 a.m. Tuesday:
SB 1798 Middleton | et al.
Relating to the resident status, tuition rates, and certain financial support for students enrolled at public institutions of higher education, including students not lawfully present in the United States.
SB 1835 Sparks
Relating to the maximum number of nonresident scholarship students permitted to pay resident tuition and fees at certain public institutions of higher education.
SB 1319 Creighton
Relating to a limit on the number of athletic scholarships that may be awarded to foreign students by a public institution of higher education.
House Licensing & Administrative Procedures, 11 a.m. Tuesday:
HB 1382 Virdell | et al.
Relating to a prohibition on weather modification and control; creating a criminal offense.
House Culture, Recreation & Tourism, 8 a.m. Wednesday:
What a goofy lineup of bills:
HB 4568 Hunter | et al.
Relating to the Texas moving image industry incentive program and the establishment and funding of the Texas moving image industry incentive fund. — OK, maybe Jack Quaid’s dad will show up for this hearing? Or do the heavy hitters just show up for Senate hearings?
HB 4543 Orr
Relating to the removal of a fence surrounding a breeder deer release site.
HB 2703 Raymond | et al.
Relating to designating July as American Patriotism Month. — Rep. Richard Raymond, is a Democrat, by the way. But just barely. He introduced a resolution to condemn the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
HB 3728 Morales Shaw | et al.
Relating to the adoption by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of salinity requirements for bays and estuaries.
HCR 113 González, Mary
Designating El Paso as the official Boot Capital of Texas for a 10-year period ending in 2035. — Boots down the house, mama.
House Trade, Workforce & Economic Development, 8 a.m. Wednesday:
HB 2343 Leo Wilson | et al.
Relating to required labeling of and notice regarding imported shrimp and certain prohibitions on purchasing and serving that shrimp. — This Galveston-area representative has been bragging about this bill since the session started. Congrats on getting a hearing for your shrimp bill.
House Elections, 10:30 a.m. Thursday:
Oof, a doozy.
HB 5256 Swanson
Relating to the number of polling places in certain counties. — “in a county with a population of more than 1 million, the number of polling places within the boundary of a state representative district may not differ from the number of polling places within the boundary of another state representative district in the county by more than one.”
HB 5337 Isaac | et al.
Relating to requiring a person to submit proof of citizenship to register to vote; creating criminal offenses.
HB 5362 DeAyala
Relating to the basis for a third-party challenge to a voter's registration. — This Houston-area Republican wants to amend the process to challenge someone’s voter registration: “A voter desiring to challenge a registration must file with the registrar a sworn statement of the grounds for the challenge that states a specific qualification for registration that the challenged voter has not met based on a fact not subject to reasonable dispute because the fact is generally known or can be determined from a reliable source.” — *melting emoji*
HJR 161 Noble
Proposing a constitutional amendment adding individuals who are not United States citizens to the classes of persons not allowed to vote in this state.
S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health, 8 a.m. Thursday:
HB 2140 Simmons
Relating to the composition of the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.
HB 3121 Collier
Relating to maternal mortality and morbidity in this state and Medicaid eligibility of and coverage for certain services provided to pregnant women.
HB 3339 Ward Johnson | et al.
Relating to a study on maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women in this state.
Texas has a maternal mortality problem, but Texas also doesn’t study this problem. These bills would help.
House State Affairs, 8 a.m. Friday:
HB 229 Troxclair | et al.
Relating to general definitions for and collection of governmental information regarding biological sex.
HB 5510 Leach | et al.
Relating to abortion, including civil liability for distribution of abortion-inducing drugs, and to the destruction of certain property; making conforming changes and harmonizing conforming provisions; creating criminal offenses; authorizing a private civil right of action.
That took me hours to compile. I need to get away from this chair.
Three. Good. Things.
- Three foster kittens nestled in my husband’s office. They’re five weeks old, so it’s face-biting stage, which I love.
- Propranolol, for days when your heart is saying “I AM IN HERE AND I AM MAD AT YOU.”
- Weeding garden beds.
