Environment

As part of Texas Public Radio's on-going focus on the environment, we are proud to bring the public and our members special events, stories and initiatives to help improve and draw attention to the city's health and environment.

New Report Shows Texas May Have Sufficient Energy Reserves Until 2020

By Ryan Poppe • Feb 7, 2014

A report out this week contradicts information put out by the Public Utility Commission that the state does not have sufficient energy reserves and is in need of changing to a capacity market model.

Energy Companies Show Off New Devices At DistribuTech Conference

By Ryan Loyd • Jan 30, 2014

The smartest minds are in town energized about new technology and the changing world of energy production and consumption.

This year's DistribuTech conference is in San Antonio and is helping change the future of the energy industry.

Inside the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, leaders from the world's largest energy companies are busy talking about the latest and greatest in power transmission. The buzz is overwhelming, but really what It's really all about is how energy companies are updating their systems to better serve customers.

Bracken Bat Cave Gets Reprieve After Developer Opts Out Of Surrounding Property

By Eileen Pace • Jan 10, 2014

A tentative buyer has declined to purchase the property -- known as Crescent Hills -- adjacent to the Bracken Bat Cave and now a coalition of potential buyers is hoping to acquire the land to preserve it.

The coalition is a loosely-knit group of people and organizations who want to see the land surrounding the bat cave permanently preserved instead of being open for development of houses and commercial activity.

One of the interested parties is San Antonio District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg.

UTSA Eagle Ford Shale Reports Will Shift Focus To Long-Term Community Issues In Boom Towns

By Ryan Loyd • Dec 27, 2013

The South Texas oil and natural gas drilling boom in the Eagle Ford Shale will continue to impact Texas and its local communities in a big way in 2014, but the boom may have already seen its largest single-year growth.

Every year the University of Texas at San Antonio studies how the Eagle Ford Shale has affected the small Texas towns where production is happening. The report takes into account both the positives and negatives of the growth.

New 167,00 Panel Solar Farm Now In Operation For San Antonio

By Joey Palacios • Dec 20, 2013

A new solar farm on the far South Side of San Antonio is now generating electricity for CPS energy.

Just south of loop 410 on Blue Wing Road is a newly built solar farm called Alamo 1. At 453 acres it’s the size 300 foot ball field and can generate enough energy to power 6,600 homes. It’s 167,00 solar panels went online last week, generating 40 megawatts - it’s the first phase of what will be a 400 megawatt project.