May 23, 2024
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 | Yasmeen Khalifa, Audience Engagement Producer |
Best of the Bayou
Today we're talking about new tech that could stabilize the Texas grid...
If you read one thing: Battery energy storage systems, which have surged in popularity across Texas, are often heralded as a boon to the stability of the state's power grid. But local opposition to utility scale projects is arising, much as it did with clean energy technologies that came before, potentially threatening the state's ability to meet fast-growing power demand and decarbonize.
Why is there opposition?
Officials in cities around Houston are concerned battery sites could catch on fire or explode, as they have in other states, in some cases causing injuries or fires that have burned for days.
What do proponents say?
Battery developers and grid experts are closely watching how city actions will affect development of a resource they argue is important for Texas' fragile grid system, as demand for power increases along with the state's population and increasing electrification of industry.
How do the systems work?
Power must for the most part be generated when it's consumed. Generating that power, traditionally with natural gas or coal-fired power plants, is the second-largest source of climate-warming emissions nationwide.
Grid-scale batteries, however, can store electricity and inject it during times of grid strain, giving grid operators more flexibility and a tool to avoid blackouts. They store excess renewable power and send it to the grid when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, and thus help unlock the low energy prices of these resources.
Read Claire Hao's full story here.
Stay in the Loop
Photo by: Susan Barber
📰 Need to Know
- City leaders worry for senior residents without power as temperatures climb. The concern comes after Mayor John Whitmire called out one facility for leaving its residents alone after they lost power Thursday.
- A mosquito sample collected in Houston tested positive for West Nile Virus. A mosquito sample collected by Harris County Public Health has been confirmed to have West Nile.
- Harris County paused a program that diverts 911 calls to a crisis team. The future is uncertain for a Harris County initiative that sends social workers – rather than law enforcement officers – to respond to non-violent 911 calls.
- HISD named 28 community members to an advisory committee for a school bond. The committee will host five public meetings on the upcoming multi billion-dollar school bond.
- Do you know the signs of a stroke? Quick action saved a 57-year-old Houstonian's life. UTHealth's Houston Mobile Stroke unit is an ambulance prepared specifically to respond to the medical emergency caused by a stroke, a stoppage of blood flow to the brain.
💼 Business
- Traveling this Memorial Day weekend? Houstonians will see record numbers of travelers. Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled many spring and summer vacations, indications are that travel has rebounded to meet or exceed 2019 levels.
- Grid-scale batteries are coming to the Houston region. Here's why. Battery storage energy systems are growing rapidly on the ERCOT grid as developers build projects across Texas, including in the Houston region.
- What an 'intense' hurricane season could mean for gas prices. A "particularly intense" hurricane season could disrupt oil and fuel supplies along the Gulf Coast, the Energy Information Administration warns.
🚗 Outside the Loop
- Montgomery County officials are targeting drownings, boat accidents and road fatalities. Montgomery County law enforcement and first responders are urging residents to be vigilant on roads and lakes as the season moves into the 100 deadliest days of summer.
- Kroger will host a second relief event Thursday in Cypress, with free ice and water. Kroger will host the second day of a disaster relief event Thursday in Cypress for impacted residents of the tornado and storms that knocked out power to much of the area.
- Fort Bend ISD bond projects are still $73.8M over budget after cuts. Six of Fort Bend ISD's 2023 bond projects remain over budget by as much as 22%, even as the district has slashed a $163 million shortfall in funding.
- Travis Mullis, who stomped his infant son to death, will be executed in September. The Alvin resident has attempted for years to stop delays to setting his execution date.
Point of View
Photo by: Yasmeen Khalifa
Carry a helmet. A storm chaser's guide to severe weather.
Hurricanes give you a warning. Last week's tornadoes and derecho? Not so much. Here are tips on preparing for a future of sudden severe weather, writes the Chronicle Editorial Board.
- Grow up, mayor. We thought a mature leader was being elected mayor, one reader writes.
- Oil money. Greentown Labs. And self-defeating virtue signaling. Climate-tech purists increasingly reject oil money. That's a terrible idea, writes Katie Mehnert, CEO of ALLY Energy.
Houston vs. All Y'all
Photo by: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer
The Astros' Ronel Blanco is set to return from suspension for a series finale in Oakland.
Ronel Blanco is set to make his return to the Astros' rotation Sunday, when his 10-game suspension ends for having a foreign substance on his glove.
- Dana Holgorsen buyout is exacerbating a UH cash crunch that might worsen. The Cougars, still two years from getting a full slice of the Big 12 pie, could also be bitten by a potential NCAA settlement implementing revenue sharing with athletes.
- How C.J. Stroud stepped up to help a storm-ravaged Houston. Responding to a post seeking volunteers, the Texans quarterback cut tree branches and removed debris from a Houston man's house.
Get Out
Photo by: Jill Karnicki
Here some tips to stay safe this Memorial Day weekend.
Memorial Day weekend is expected to be one of the hottest this year, with highs hitting the low 90s. Here are a few tips on how to stay safe from the Baylor College of Medicine.
- Pride Houston will feature performances by K. Michelle and David Archuleta. The Pride Houston lineup also includes queer country singer Brooke Eden and Houston artist Kayla G.
- Things to do in Houston this weekend, from Comicpalooza to Motown & More Revue. Our top weekend picks also include TUTS' "Newsies," Memorial Day fun and Typhoon Texas' Welcome Back Beach Bash with American Idol finalist Mackenzie Sol.
Events at the Chronicle
Photo by: Raquel Natalicchio, Staff Photographer
Meet Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo at our live virtual event.
Chronicle readers are invited to a private Zoom event with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, including the opportunity to submit questions, on Thursday, May 30.
With temperatures this week gradually climbing to the hottest levels of the year by Memorial Day weekend, here's what to know about heat advisories and heat alerts. Stay safe and hydrated out there folks.
Puzzle of the Day: Really Bad Chess
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