Since last summer, solar has often been Texas’ second-largest source of electricity production. Amid the ongoing heat wave, Rice faculty scholar Dan Cohan said, “ERCOT is working with a bigger buffer than it’s had in recent years.”
“Texas does much less than other states to try and help homeowners and renters have more energy-efficient places to live and work,” said Rice faculty scholar Dan Cohen, as ERCOT asks residents to voluntarily conserve power. “We could be doing a lot more.”
How will the recent proposal to tighten fine particle pollution standards affect Houston? “Health effects research has shown us that there is damage, & even deaths, that can occur if pollution meets the current standard," Rice faculty scholar Daniel Cohan said.
When sulfur from coal-fired plants is left unscrubbed, Rice faculty scholar Daniel Cohan said, it enters the air and turns into sulfate particles, which combine with other chemical particles to make up particulate matter, the deadliest air pollutant.
Despite freezing temperatures in Texas, wind production has increased, making up for diminished coal and gas production. Rice faculty scholar Daniel Cohan said this offset was another “great sign that the grid performed better than it had in 2021.”