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Texas avoids eight new coal plants
Environment Texas applauded the cancellation of plans by TXU to build eight of 11 new coal-fired power plants. Environment Texas is concerned that three of the new coal-fired plants remained on the drawing board in Texas, along with as many as 140 other plants across the country.
“That’s eight down, three more to go,” said Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. “TXU’s announcement is great news, but there are still three new TXU coal plants in the works in Texas, plus eight more planned by other energy companies. Texas families have been getting sick from air pollution for too long, and we can’t afford to build even one of these plants. The fight has just begun.”
The nation’s top climate scientist, James Hansen of NASA, has called for a moratorium on coal plants until it is proven that they can capture and sequester carbon. Sen. Rodney Ellis has filed SB 860 to require a two-year moratorium on new coal plants, to allow for time for the state to adopt an integrated energy plan.
Energy efficiency: Clean alternative to coal
Environment Texas pointed to legislation such as SB 489 (Ellis), which would offset the projected growth in electricity demand by 20 percent by establishing efficiency standards for 10 appliances, as the kinds of steps Texas can take to avoid the need for any new coal plants.
“Energy efficiency is half the cost of coal plants, can be implemented in a fraction of the time and has none of the pollution.” said Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. Lawsuit on Neches
On Jan. 10, 2007, the Texas Water Development Board and the city of Dallas filed lawsuits against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their creation of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge.
Last summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the establishment of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge in east Texas. With more than 75 percent of the hardwood forest in Texas already destroyed, the old-growth oaks and bald cypress trees along the scenic Neches river are ranking a “number one priority” for conservation by the federal government.
Although the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had identified this area for protection as far back as 1985, water developers for the city of Dallas had been pushing to cancel plans to create the refuge so the city could use the site for their proposed Fastrill reservoir. This would have submerged Texas’ last best hardwood forests, destroying habitat for wildlife like bobcats, river otters, and the endangered bald eagle. The approval of the refuge means the Service can begin purchasing land to establish the refuge, effectively blocking water developers from building the reservoir. |
