Texas has expanded storage for natural gas and propane, which backers say will shore up the state's energy grid.HOUSTON ― The Southwest Crossing subdivision has always been a quiet place, a haven just outside the city’s concrete jungle where the sound of children laughing bounces off neatly paved streets. That was the case until last May, when some residents started receiving letters from CenterPoint Energy that a propane storage facility was moving in next door.
Energy has been on the minds of Texans since last year’s rare, fatal winter storm Uri caused power outages for nearly 5 million people across the state. Lawmakers and the energy sector have looked at options for reinforcing the state’s energy grid, but despite passage of legislation and new state standards, energy experts say they haven’t taken many steps.
The decision was a last-ditch effort to keep Texas’ energy grid online, and it left Texans scrambling to stay warm. Some burned books and furniture in their homes — with some accidentally burning their homes down in the process. State estimates in the aftermath found that 246 people died in 77 counties. However,Winter storm Uri brought historic cold weather and power outages to Texas in February 2021.
As part of an enormous $40 billion spending plan that the Houston-based company announced last September, CenterPoint intends to invest $16 billion in natural gas expansion nationwide over the next 10 years. It has also pledged to lower its emissions to net zero by 2035, an initiative that entails retiring coal units and implementing more solar power technology, accordingIncluded in the plan is increased use of technologies like propane-air peak shaving facilities.
CenterPoint Energy built its first propane-air peak shaving facility, the Bluebonnet Point Reserve, in North Houston, another predominantly Black and Hispanic section of the city, in October 2019. The Southwest Crossing facility will be the fourth in the Houston area. A 2017 paper by sociologists at Rice University found that the city’s Black children, who are more likely to live in industry-heavy sections of the city, are twice as likely to develop asthma as Houston’s white children.
“Throughout the process, CenterPoint Energy has remained committed to open communications with our customers and community members,” Diaz said. “We appreciate the communities’ support, and respect those who voiced their concerns. We have listened to those concerns and ensured they were addressed.”
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