Polluting Democracy

Power companies quietly pushed $215m into US politics via dark money groups

Donations have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislators.

Gulf Coast

Lawmakers passed a bill to stop insurers from considering ESG criteria in setting rates

So-called environmental, social and governance policies are often adopted by companies to reduce their carbon footprints. The new Texas bill aims to stop insurers doing business in Texas from using ESG criteria, but it doesn’t include penalties for violations.

Gulf Coast

Texas has gone big with renewable energy. Why can’t it go all the way?

The biggest barriers to making Texas’ power grid 100% renewable have little to do with politics.

Gulf Coast

In ‘Cancer Alley’, US chemical giants mount campaign against grassroots organizers

Chevron and ExxonMobil are among the companies in a ‘sustainability council’ countering grassroots activists.

Gulf Coast

Offshore wind workforce a weak link in plan to build out renewables

A national push toward offshore wind energy could create thousands of well-paying domestic jobs in Louisiana and elsewhere.

Gulf Coast

Global banks pledged to cut emissions – but still invest billions on US gas exports

Many banks promised to work toward net-zero emissions – but their targets explicitly exempt liquefied natural gas projects.

Gulf Coast

Tax incentives start rush for carbon capture projects

Subsidies to capture and inject carbon underground doubled through last year’s federal Inflation Reduction Act. What happens when that money goes away?

Gulf Coast

Thousands of pounds of 'forever chemicals' have been injected into Texas oil and gas wells, study finds

A new report from a public health watchdog found that more than 40,000 pounds of PFAS has been injected into more than 1,000 wells across Texas — and warned that the chemicals could pose a risk to public health.

Gulf Coast

‘Sacrifice zone’: Gulf Coast helps meet global natural gas needs, but at what cost?

A string of new LNG plants threatens fragile coastal communities and delays a response to the worldwide climate crisis.

Utilities

US utility firms spent big preparing power grid for storms – and still failed

Electric utilities spent billions after 2014’s polar vortex to ensure power plants and the grid could handle extreme cold, but this winter it still wasn’t enough.

Gulf Coast

Bill would end eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines

A Louisiana legislator wants to help keep landowners from losing their property to pipelines needed for the dozens of carbon capture projects proposed around the state.

Fueling Disinformation

An activist group is spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America

Citizens for Responsible Solar is part of a growing backlash against renewable energy in rural communities across the United States.

Gulf Coast

New state utility regulator wants to reduce rates, introduce renewable mandates

Davante Lewis intends to use the momentum to take on utility giants such as Entergy and move the state toward more renewable energy in his first six-year term on Louisiana’s Public Service Commission. 

Gulf Coast

Major US railroad merger could bring more tar sands to southeast Texas

A major merger could create the first direct route from Canadian tar sands mines to the Gulf Coast, while another proposed route would ship more of the polluting fuel from Utah.

Gulf Coast

LNG export terminals pose a growing and invisible threat: air pollution

Residents around existing LNG facilities in Louisiana already notice the smell and irritants from nearby terminals. With more under construction, air quality is poised to worsen.

Carbon Capture

Carbon capture project is ‘band-aid’ to greenwash $10 billion LNG plant, locals say

Texas community fights to save its coastline as the developers of Rio Grande LNG reassure investors over climate impact.