Texas Governor Rick Perry Appoints Texas Energy Planning Council
Texas Governor Rick Perry named the new Texas Energy Planning Council
on February 11, 2004, to develop the first statewide energy plan
since the 1980s. Texas Railroad Commission chairman Victor Carillo was named as the
new TEPC chairman. The other members--all appointed by Gov. Perry--consist of a number of
leaders of Texas government agencies, Texas legislators, and energy company executives.
Significantly, no individual associated with either alternative or renewable energy or energy
conservation was appointed. This is a major concern of many energy industry observers,
who think the new panel may not support the creation of a balanced and sustainable
Texas Energy Plan, that is, one that provides for significant energy conservation
and renewable energy in the state's energy mix.
The new Texas Energy Planning Council
has its own website within the site of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's energy
regulatory agency. Here you can find its press releases, pictures and descriptions of its
members, and announcements of its meetings. Finally, the TEPC has posted its Energy
Recommendations on its website.
The TCS testimony presented
to the TEPC by Steven Schafersman on March 22, 2004, in Midland consisted of an appeal
for energy conservation, a recommendation to tax personal vehicles with poor fuel economy
at higher rates, a recommendation to use renewable wind and solar energy in West Texas to create
pollution-free hydrogen for fuel cells, and a recommendation to fund a prototype of a
Power Tube to extract geothermal energy from depleted deep-strata oil fields in West Texas.
The brief address was probably the first time the new panel has heard from an advocate for energy
conservation or taxes for energy waste, and they certainly didn't expect to hear this in Midland;
there were audible gasps in the conference room in Midland's Petroleum Club when TCS president
Schafersman suggested that SUVs pay a new vehicle energy fee of $1000 each year! But I merely
wanted to get their attention.
Resources
The Energy Information Administration is an agency of
the Department of Energy that specializes in measuring and estimating all types of energy reserves;
it is the major source of energy statistics in the United States.
United
States Energy Consumption by Sector, Source, and Total Consumption per Capita, Ranked by
State, 2000 or here.
United
States Energy Consumption by Year, 1960-2000 or
here.
United
States Energy Consumption Estimates by State and Source, 2000 or
here.
United
States Energy Consumption Estimates by State and Source, 1997 or
here.
World Energy Consumption
by Country, 1992-2001 or here.
World Energy Production
by Country, 1992-2001 or here.
The Sierra Club is an organization that
helps protect the environment. The Sierra Club website has articles about renewable energy
and the problem of SUV fuel economy and air pollution.
Clean
Energy and Energy Efficiency Solutions
Clean
Energy and Energy Efficiency Solutions in PDF form.
Driving
Up the Heat: SUVs and Global Warming
The Texas Renewable Energy Industries
Association is a statewide non-profit organization of companies and
individuals involved in solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric energy
products and services. Its website contains information about Texas
renewable energy organizations and links to national renewable
energy organizations.
Texas
Environmental Profiles is an information and on-line activism resource for Texas.
The site contains summaries of water quantity and quality, land, wildlife and biodiversity,
air quality, waste, energy, and pesticides in Texas by county, with regional maps that summarize
environmental and geographic data.
Their Energy section is especially useful,
with subsections on Texas energy consumption, electricity, renewable energy, petroleum, coal, uranium,
conservation, and energy efficiency.
The Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization working with citizens
for clean air, clean water and healthy communities in the Southeast by advancing energy efficiency and
sustainable energy policies, promoting clean energy technologies and holding polluters to higher standards.
Their website contains valuable resources about renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Last updated: 2005/05/18
