Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms made headlines over the summer for making millions by selling pre-purchased power back to the grid. The news highlighted how the grid can benefit businesses more than consumers.
Emily Foxhall
Emily Foxhall is The Texas Tribune's climate reporter. She joined the Tribune as an energy reporter in December 2022, focused on the state’s transition to green energy and the reliability of the power grid. She completed a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May 2025. Emily is based in Houston, where she grew up. After a stint as a Tribune student intern in 2012, she began her career at the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. She later worked at the Houston Chronicle where her environmental reporting uncovered the effects of climate change and pollution on the region. She won several Texas Managing Editors awards and was part of the 2017 team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Emily graduated from Yale University in 2013, where she studied English and was a Yale Journalism Scholar.
Posted in
Energy
Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online
Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer.
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Graphics and data reporting
Fear and worry shadow Texas oyster fishermen as another season begins with few reefs open
Despite fishermen’s wishes to delay the season in hopes that oyster reefs recover from years of environmental stress, the state pushed ahead with a Nov. 1 start.
Posted in
Energy
Texas power grid operator approved for a 40% budget increase
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it needs more money to comply with new regulations, hire more employees and fight legal challenges. It said the budget increase will cost power customers less than 20 cents per month.
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Energy
Sheep graze on Texas solar farms as renewable energy companies embrace agriculture
The practice of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation, known as agrivoltaics, is becoming increasingly common in Texas and nationwide.
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Energy
Oilfield companies helped to craft Texas’ new waste rules for 2 years before the public got to see them
The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry.
Posted in
Environment
Texas “Ike Dike” coastal barrier project could cost $57 billion with inflation, Army Corps says
The latest figure is 68% higher than an earlier estimate of $34 billion, and it’s unclear when — or whether — Congress will appropriate the money to build the massive system of gates intended to protect the Houston region from storm surge.
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Energy
As brutal heat tests Texas’ power grid, batteries play a small but growing role in keeping the lights on
This summer, industrial scale batteries have helped boost the energy supply during critical evening hours. Battery storage represents a small fraction of Texas’ energy mix now, but it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years.
Posted in
Climate Change in Texas
Texans again asked to conserve power Thursday, the 11th time this summer
A day after declaring emergency conditions for the first time this summer, ERCOT is asking residents to reduce how much power they use between 5 and 9 p.m. Thursday as continued high temperatures push the power grid into tight conditions.
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Energy
Texas avoids rolling blackouts during evening grid emergency
ERCOT has called on generators to push all available electricity to the grid as rising demand threatens to surpass the state’s power supply. If that fails, rolling blackouts are likely to begin.