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Chris Tomlinson

Statewide Business Columnist, Houston Chronicle · 1 appearance on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

journalistauthorhoustonchronicle.com/author/chris-tomlinson ↗Wikipedia ↗

Chris Tomlinson writes regular columns analyzing business, energy policy, and politics in Texas for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tomlinson Hill and Forget the Alamo.

15statements → 15claims → 11claims resolved → 36%fully supported → 4.13/5average certainty → 2.6/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

4 supported 4 partly supported 3 contradicted 4 not checkable as stated how the 15 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

3 predictions · 12 assertions · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 15 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 11 are resolved, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Chris argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Assertion Supported
Tomlinson: Viral anti-wind freeze image was a three-year-old Swedish photo
“They had a spokesman who tweeted out an image of a helicopter spraying a liquid onto a wind turbine, and the caption was, a fossil fuel powered helicopter sprays fossil fuels on a clean energy device to generate electricity. Now, of course, the image was not f…”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 10:45 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar

Their most notable contradicted claim

Prediction Didn’t hold up
Tomlinson: New firming requirements will definitely slow Texas renewable investment
“This is going to be really expensive. It's also going to be highly political because we don't know yet what the PUC will assign to different facilities, but it will definitely slow down new investment in Texas, renewable energy.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 17:39 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
none yet certainty 2
none yet certainty 3
60% certainty 4
0% certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Chris Tomlinson on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

Everything Chris Tomlinson said on the Green Blueprint that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tomlinson: Bass Brothers and Dan Friedkin pushed SB 624 to preserve ranch views
“And we know where that comes from. It's a coalition of wealthy landowners it's the Bass Brothers from Fort Worth. It's Dan Friedkin, who's a Hollywood producer and banker. We know about the folks down in South Texas. These are people who own hobby ranches. Rea…”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 14:20 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Supported
Tomlinson: Viral anti-wind freeze image was a three-year-old Swedish photo
“They had a spokesman who tweeted out an image of a helicopter spraying a liquid onto a wind turbine, and the caption was, a fossil fuel powered helicopter sprays fossil fuels on a clean energy device to generate electricity. Now, of course, the image was not f…”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 10:45 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Partly supported
Texas SB 624 proposed letting distant residents block renewable energy projects
“The big, nasty bill that was You know, still alive as of Saturday until it was ripped out by negotiators was something called Senate Bill six 24. And it creates a list of places where if a wind farm is within 10 miles or a solar facility is within five miles o…”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 13:20 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Tomlinson: New firming requirements will definitely slow Texas renewable investment
“This is going to be really expensive. It's also going to be highly political because we don't know yet what the PUC will assign to different facilities, but it will definitely slow down new investment in Texas, renewable energy.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 17:39 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Contradicted
Tomlinson: Texas is the only state where pipelines own in-pipe gas
“Texas is the only state in the country where pipelines get to own the gas inside the pipeline, and it allows pipeline generators to manipulate prices.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 18:34 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Partly supported
Tomlinson: Texas gives natural gas generators $9B annually in subsidies
“They are giving natural gas generators nine billion dollars a year in subsidies to help them compete with renewables.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 20:30 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Supported
Tomlinson: Texas lawmakers proposed requiring 50% fossil fuel energy mandate
“One of the proposals was to mandate that 50% of Texas energy must come from fossil fuels. That measure didn't pass, but it kind of set the tone for what followed.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 5:03 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Supported
Tomlinson: Wind and solar saved Texans $31B over the last decade
“Well, you know, the Texas Consumer Association says that we saved about thirty-one billion dollars on our electricity bills over the last decade, thanks to wind and solar.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 8:32 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Contradicted
Tomlinson: A Texas bill proposed banning all future renewable energy development
“Well, I mean, there was one bill to ban all future renewable energy development.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 12:56 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Tomlinson: Texas energy laws will make battery storage more economical
“A lot of these laws will make that battery storage even more economical, even if it's going to hurt future wind and solar projects.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 21:02 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tomlinson: Tier 1 oil and gas reserves are running out
“We are running out of proven reserves in what we call tier one assets. So the cheapest, easiest oil and gas to obtain has been drilled.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 25:01 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Tomlinson: Natural gas prices will inevitably rise over next 5-10 years
“So as we see natural gas prices rise, as they inevitably will over the next five to 10 years, We'll also see renewables become more popular as conservative politicians try to save consumers money.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 25:25 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Supported
Tomlinson: Renewables are eroding natural gas's market share in Texas
“They have taken a huge chunk of the market away from coal, and they're cutting into natural gas's market share for providing electricity to the state, and there are oil and gas guys who really don't want to give up anything else.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 4:37 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Partly supported
Tomlinson: Texas transmission lines cost about $1M per mile
“And it's about a million dollars a mile to run a transmission line in Texas.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 16:18 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Partly supported
Tomlinson: 80 GW of battery storage is in ERCOT's interconnection queue
“You know, we've got 80 gigawatts of battery storage in the queue to interconnect into the ERCOT grid at, right now.”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 20:53 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar Jun 1, 2023 15m
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