Energy & Environment

Two new Texas laws aimed at cracking down on puppy mills and roadside pet sales will go into effect this fall. As The Texas Newsroom’s Lucio Vasquez reports, animal welfare advocates say the changes could help curb unethical breeding — and save lives. Researchers are testing whether solar panels can be installed on farmland without removing crops or livestock from production. Harvest Public Media contributor Alexandrea Ladiski reports the study explores whether this system can support both agriculture and clean energy.

While Elon Musk took Washington, D.C., by storm, his company representatives and lobbyists were notching up big political wins in the heart of his vast business empire: Texas.

Barring a veto from Gov. Greg Abbott, these will soon become law in Texas.

Among the proposals is a bill that would force more inspections of power lines, which a committee concluded ignited a blaze that burned more than 1 million acres last year.

The state is aggressively pushing to deploy the next generation of atomic energy that would power big industrial operations.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and is 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide.

A three-year-long legal battle led by CirclesX, a Houston-based pipeline analytics firm, had its first hearing in Harris County.

High electricity bills, grid reliability and industry political donations got a lot of attention in the governor's race. But polling suggests voters' minds are now elsewhere.

More than a year and a half ago, the Texas power grid failed and left millions cold, hungry and in the dark for days during a powerful winter storm. The Texas Newsroom podcast “The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout” looks at what happened and how it affected people.

While wind farms in the region could help power and lower energy costs for at least 9 million homes, significant infrastructure upgrades would be needed to supply electricity from the region to other parts of the state.