W.A. PARISH COAL PLANT NOW RUNNING ‘CLEAN’ IN RICHMOND, HELPING BOOST OIL EMISSIONS FURTHER SOUTH 
The years-long retrofitting of the W.A. Parish coal plant next to Smithers Lake in Richmond was capped off last week by a valve opening ceremony, at which the plant’s new Petra Nova carbon dioxide collection machinery was ceremonially turned on (though NRG says its been running since September). The new machinery is currently the largest such capture operation in the country, and might help knock the plant down a few notches from its recent high score on the carbon pollution rankings. Monica Simmons of the San Antonio Current, however, points out this week that whether the project actually results in a net reduction of CO2 emissions is something of a question mark: The project, which has been in the works since the over-$70-a-barrel days of 2010, is helping to pay for itself by piping that excess CO2 down to Jackson County and into the ground at the West Ranch oil field — which NRG says will help the folks there squeeze out 15,000 barrels of oil a day instead of 300. [San Antonio Current; previously on Swamplot] Photo of W.A. Parish Generating Station and labeled Petra Nova add-ons: NRG
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Tag: 77469
- 10 Retreat Blvd. [HAR]
- 1111 Grand Estates Dr. [HAR]
HISD and some of the southern swath of the Houston region have so far spent Valentine’s Day under a patchwork of school district shelter-in-place orders, this time in response to the tornado warnings that rolled through the upper Texas coast this morning (all since downgraded back to mere watch levels). A funnel did touch down near Needville around 8:30 and move roughly northeast toward First Colony, causing a number of structural rearrangements like the ones above (captured along Crabb River Rd. by the documentarians at the Fort Bend County sheriff’s office). The agency took a few more shots of the area’s roughing up:
Fort Bend Unfenced
- 314 S. 9th St. [HAR]
FARM-THEMED PLANNED COMMUNITY RIPENING ALONG THE WESTERN GRAND PARKWAY Hous
ton’s first farm-centric master-planned community is moving forward on the Grand Parkway along Oyster Creek in Richmond, writes Paul Takahashi of the HBJ. The Harvest Green residential community will be structured around working farms and themed accordingly throughout: in addition to opting for a backyard planter (available in L-shaped or rectangular), residents can elect to work a plot in a 5-acre community garden, part of the 300 acres of farmable land that will be associated with the development. Not sure what to do with a backhoe? An on-site farmer will offer classes in both agriculture and nutrition. Those less keen to get their hands in the dirt will be able to visit the farm-to-table restaurant instead — or simply partake of the edible landscaping. Johnson Development has recently opened model homes at the site, and is currently constructing non-model homes as well. [HBJ] Photo: Johnson Development
FIRST STREETS, THEN UTILITIES, THEN A BUSINESS PARK IN ROSENBERG 
Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports that Fuller Realty will be developing these not-yet-accessible 184 acres near Bryan Rd. and FM 2218, just off the Southwest Fwy., into an office park. But before that happens someone’s got to invest in infrastructure: Dixon adds that, later this year, the city of Rosenberg will chip in by building streets, utilities, and drainage for the park; size-to-suit sites could be ready for businesses next spring. [Real Estate Bisnow] Map: Real Estate Bisnow
THE COVERED-UP HISTORY IN THE FORT BEND COUNTY COURTHOUSE BASEMENT 
Renovations to restore as much as possible of the 1908 Fort Bend County courthouse, standing at 500 Jackson St. in Richmond, have revealed a couple of surprises from the building’s past, reports the Sugar Land Sun: “Beneath the building’s carpeting was finely-made Italian Terrazzo flooring, dating back to the courthouse’s original construction. . . . While installing the building’s electrical system and sump pump in its basement, a walled-up room with glazed tile was uncovered. [Director of Facilities Management Don] Brady said the hidden room is likely a segregation-era restroom for African-Americans.” [Sugar Land Sun] Photo: Terry Jeanson
In Jane Long in Richmond, this 4-bedroom house was designed in 1965 by Eugene Aubry and Howard Barnstone, with landscaping from C. C. Pat Fleming, and it is the shady, sloping grounds of the 3-acre lot that dominate the photos in this listing. At 109 Hillcrest Dr., the home has been on the market since early July; it was chosen as Houston Mod’s Mod of the Month for September. It’s listed at $449,900.
W. A. PARISH PLANT ONE OF THE WORST POLLUTERS IN THE COUNTRY, FINDS REPORT 
According to a new study published by Environment America, NRG Energy’s coal-firing W. A. Parish Electric Generating Plant, on Smithers Lake outside of Richmond, is really good at being dirty. Though the plant has been messing around with a way to clean itself up in the past year or so, the report, published today, still fingers it as the 5th dirtiest in the country when it comes to carbon emissions. And here, in order, are 1-4: “Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Scherer, Alabama Power Co.’s James H. Miller Jr. Plant, Luminant’s Martin Lake in Texas, [and] Ameren’s Labadie in Missouri.” [StateImpact; Environment America; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Flickr user Joe A.
- 6903 Dutch John Cir. [HAR]
Country living appears to have been easy on the curtain budget within a stone-and-wood hideaway in Richmond. The 3.6-acre property in Pecan Estates, shaded by water oaks and elms as well as at least one pecan tree out front, unfolds beyond the home’s many, many types of windows; some are double-displayed in a split-screen photo of the timber-vaulted living room (above). Last month, the 1977 home showed up in the for-sale listings again, seeking $325,000 — or $10K more than the asking price floated for 3 months last summer.
