Feb 7 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Elizabeth Souder The Dallas Morning News

The chairman of a new Texas House committee to study power generation capacity and the environment said Wednesday that Texas has done more for the environment than most other states.

Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, chairman of the Select Committee on Electric Generation Capacity and Environmental Effects, indicated during the committee's first hearing that environmental stewardship must be balanced against the pressing need for more power plants. He supports using lots of different fuels for generation, possibly including coal.

"We're probably one of the best environmental states in the country. Now there are those that would like to argue that, but the facts won't allow it," he said.

Mr. Bonnen said that most people don't appreciate the extent to which Texas has cut pollution during the past few years. He is also chairman of the Environmental Regulation Committee.

The new committee is designed to create a policy to ensure the state has enough power as demand for electricity rises. At its first meeting on Wednesday, the committee took testimony from leaders and staff of four state agencies that handle energy concerns.

Witnesses and committee members spent most of the time talking about how Texas might meet growing demand for energy. They discussed meeting current environmental rules but didn't bring up new cuts to pollution.

The standing-room-only audience was largely power industry managers, lawyers and lobbyists.

Bob Kahn, chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the power grid, said: "Current projections show we have to double the amount of generation in the ground by 2026" to keep up with demand.

And Public Utility Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman urged the committee to promote using more coal as fuel, rather than natural gas.

Burning coal emits more pollution and carbon dioxide than natural gas, but natural gas prices have become high and volatile during the past few years, boosting Texas electricity prices. Mr. Smitherman supports new technology to burn coal more cleanly.

"If we want to fix the environment, if we want to deal with climate change, then we have to do it in the context of: We are going to burn more coal," Mr. Smitherman said, citing government projections that the country will rely more heavily on coal in the future.

Mr. Smitherman said he's encouraged that some companies would like to build nuclear power plants, which don't emit carbon dioxide when they're operating. But he pointed out that public fear of nuclear could jeopardize them.

"I always say that while I hope this nuclear [construction] comes to fruition, I think the reality is that we're always one accident away from shutting it back down," he said.

Several committee members suggested spending more money to conserve electricity by weatherizing homes or replacing traditional light bulbs with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

The idea for the committee came up when TXU Corp., now called Energy Future Holdings, proposed building 11 coal-fired power plants two years ago. Public protest about the pollution the plants would emit prompted the company to scale back plans to only three plants.

Mr. Bonnen said that, at the time, the state didn't have a policy to help agencies and companies decide if 11 coal plants were necessary and appropriate.

During the last legislative session, Mr. Bonnen proposed a bill that called for the state to study generation needs, but Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it. So House Speaker Tom Craddick set up the select committee to conduct the study.

The committee members will hold hearings around the state and visit various types of power plant facilities in coming months.