Sara DiNatale

5 days ago | expressnews.com | Sara DiNatale

Republican-led legislation that barreled through the state Senate has the solar and wind industries tied in knots - and the Texas grid boss can see why. During a discussion with reporters this week, Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Pablo Vegas said bills that call for costly back-up power requirements on renewables could push them out of the market and slow new development. "It could cause certain resources not to be able to operate," Vegas said.

1 week ago | expressnews.com | Sara DiNatale

Toyota Motor Corp. said sales jumped in the past two months as car buyers rushed the market to buy ahead of higher prices caused by President Donald Trump's trade war. The Japanese automaker 's Toyota division said North American sales increased nearly 8% in April after rising 6.6% a month earlier. Analysts don't expect the froth in the market to last much longer, though. Already, it's shown signs of waning after cost-motivated buyers peaked three or four weeks ago.

2 weeks ago | expressnews.com | Sara DiNatale

Texas' first-ever residential solar consumer protection act could soon become law. A bill approved Tuesday by the state House and earlier by the Senate requires a state-published consumer guide to protect homeowners from being ripped off by solar panel salespeople, lenders and installers. It's the first of three industry-related bills to clear both houses of the Legislature this session. The measure still has to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott to become law.

2 weeks ago | expressnews.com | Sara DiNatale

Valero Energy Corp. this week told investors it was intent on shuttering a major California refinery on the heels of first-quarter oil refining losses of $530 million. The San Antonio-based refiner's margins were burdened by $1.13 billion in impairment charges related to both of its West Coast plants, but the bulk of the decline in the assets' value, $901 million, came from the to-be-shuttered Benicia Refinery.

2 weeks ago | expressnews.com | Sara DiNatale

State regulators have unanimously approved the biggest upgrade to the Texas electric grid in more than a decade, a plan that calls for creation of a new power superhighway using super-high voltage lines for the first time. The Public Utility Commission voted Thursday to follow the recommendations of both its staff and grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to build a new 765,000-volt backbone to deliver power to the Permian Basin in West Texas.