With the EPA's proposed Clean Energy Rule on pause in the Supreme Court, the Dallas News takes a deep dive into the state's preparation for a new era of regulation.
Tom Benning provides feature length coverage of the complicated role of Texas "in the ongoing debate over President Barack Obama’s signature proposal to cut power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions."
After the Supreme Court tabled the Clean Power Rule in February, the world "awaits the legal fate of the Clean Power Plan." On one side of the debate in Texas: the state's traditional strength in the oil industry. And on the other: the state's potential to become a leader in the burgeoning wind energy market.
"With both sides digging in," writes Benning, "Texas could help answer a key question raised recently in oral arguments before a federal appeals court: Just how transformational is the Clean Power Plan?"
Already, Texas has transitioned away from coal in its energy portfolio. Wind energy has gone from zero percent of the state's energy portfolio in 1994 to nine percent in 2014. Some also project the state s more than ready for the regulatory changes the Clean Power Plan. The Environmental Defense Fund "recently updated its analysis to show that Texas would actually exceed the plan’s goals under 'business-as-usual conditions.'"
But as Benning notes in detail, there are many in Texas who think the Obama Administration's designs for a clean energy future will have a negative impact on the Texas economy.
FULL STORY: If Obama's climate change plan is upheld in court, what would it mean for Texas?
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Colorado Bill Would Tie Transportation Funding to TOD
The proposed law would require cities to meet certain housing targets near transit or risk losing access to a key state highway fund.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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