Axios Houston

July 07, 2023
👏 Finally Friday!
🌦️ Today's weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 92° and a low of 78°.
🥐 Tastes like: Pan dulce.
Today's newsletter is 916 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Renewables recharging the grid
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
Renewable energy is helping to keep electricity costs from skyrocketing in Texas as the state sweats beneath a heat dome, Axios' Kate Marino writes.
The big picture: With multiple locations in Texas setting monthly and all-time temperature highs last week, air conditioners have been humming relentlessly.
- Meanwhile, Texas' renewable energy production also climbed to new highs amid outages from a large number of fossil fuel plants.
Why it matters: As states across the U.S. take steps to decarbonize, renewable power's role and reliability are being closely watched in Texas. The Lone Star State has the second-largest renewable capacity in the country (after California) — and is prone to extreme temperatures that can strain the grid.
- So far this year, Texas' renewables have passed the test.
By the numbers: Power prices have climbed from the typical cost of around $30 per megawatt hour — but they've mostly stayed below $50 throughout the week, says Doug Lewin, author of the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter and a consultant who pushes for clean energy adoption.
Two key stats: Renewables reduced wholesale electricity costs in Texas by $11 billion in 2022, according to a recent paper authored by Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas.
- Transmission congestion cost Texans nearly $3 billion last year.
What we're watching: Summer's just getting started. Keep an eye on our Texas grid as the heat wave continues.
2. The politics of renewable energy
Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images
Despite renewable energy's performance, the industry remains a boogeyman in the halls of the Texas Capitol.
The big picture: In this year's regular legislative session, renewable power projects were stricken from a rewrite of the state's biggest incentive program, which aims to bring large businesses to the state.
The irony: As governors, George W. Bush and Rick Perry, both Republicans, helped jump-start wind energy production in Texas.
- Bush signed a wide-ranging 1999 electricity deregulation bill that mandated energy providers get a certain amount of power from renewables.
- Perry backed 2005 legislation that led to the construction of transmission lines to bear wind energy from West Texas to the more populated parts of the state.
Between the lines: The conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, bankrolled by oilmen such as vice chairman Tim Dunn, has in recent years engaged in an all-out blitz against renewable energy.
Flashback: In the immediate wake of the devastating 2021 winter storm that left hundreds of Texans dead, Gov. Greg Abbott, a guest at TPPF events, criticized wind and solar generation as unreliable — even though all types of energy production had faltered, leading to the massive outages.
- Abbott vowed earlier this year to exclude renewable energy from any renewal of the major economic incentive program.
Yes, but: The wind and solar industries dodged heavier permitting requirements when a Senate bill they opposed failed to make it to the House floor.
What we're watching: Whether the exclusion of renewables from the incentive program actually slows down the industry.
3. Bayou Buzz
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
🔍 A Houston man whose mother reported him missing for nearly eight years had been living at home all along, police allege. (Houston Chronicle)
⚾️ Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was officially placed on the 10-day injury list after injuring his oblique during batting practice this week. (Chron)
💸 The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to block student debt relief for millions of Americans is hurting Houstonians. (Houston Landing)
4. Heightened hurricane chances
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University upped their predictions for the number of tropical cyclones this season.
Driving the news: CSU meteorologists issued their upgraded outlook Thursday and are now predicting an above-average season.
- Back in April, the university's hurricane researchers predicted a below-average season thanks to the El Niño weather pattern.
Typically, El Niño years see fewer tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic due to an increase in upper-level winds that can tear storms apart.
Yes, but: Record warm temperatures across the Atlantic Ocean mean storms will have more fuel to form.
By the numbers: CSU forecasters now predict 18 named storms, nine of them hurricanes and four of them major hurricanes of Category 3 intensity or greater.
- That's more than the seasonal average number of storms (14), hurricanes (seven) and major hurricanes (three) that formed from 1991 to 2020.
Go deeper: NOAA predicts 12 to 17 named storms will form, of which five to nine will become hurricanes and one to four will be major storms.
What to do: Be sure to check out our hurricane prep tips for Houstonians before a storm is in the Gulf.
A new career is waiting for you
💼 Check out who's hiring now.
- Game Presentation Manager at Houston Rockets.
- Program Director Information Technology Continuing Education at Houston Community College.
- Manager, Video Content at Houston Astros.
Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.
Hiring? Use code FIRST50 for $50 off your first job post.
5. Sweet Times: El Bolillo Bakery
El Bolillo has beautiful paintings throughout the bakery. Photo: Shafaq Patel/Axios
We're launching our Sweet Times series with the iconic El Bolillo Bakery.
- In Sweet Times, we'll share our experiences trying new desserts, snacks and drinks.
Details: El Bolillo will transport you to Mexico with its traditional self-serve panaderia layout.
- There are dozens of fresh baked goodies to choose from, including conchas, flan, tres leches, and fresh bolillo and tortillas.
Context: The bakery opened its first location 25 years ago and has three locations: in the Heights, Gulfgate and Pasadena.
- The chain is expected to expand to Mission Bend and Fountain View, per the Houston Chronicle.
Shafaq's experience: I grabbed an array of pan dulce, and all of the sweet breads were fluffy and the perfect amount of sweet.
- The tres leches and flan were dense and delectable.
Cost: Treats ranged from 50 cents to $3.
If you go: Open daily from 6am to 10pm at the Heights and Pasadena locations and from 7am to 10pm at the Gulfgate location.
📭 Know a dessert or drink we should try? Hit reply and tell us.
Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing and Khalid Adad and Yasmeen Altaji for copy editing this newsletter.
😋 Shafaq can't wait to go back to El Bolillo.
🧵 Jay is busy on Threads.
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