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GENERAL RESEARCH
Since 1971, TXUs unique industry-university
cooperative program has supported more than
100 graduate students and has had an important
benefit of placing graduates in key federal/state
regulatory positions as well as in academia and
industry where they continue to apply
the knowledge and training achieved through
the program.
TXUs Environmental Research Program
entered its 31st year in 2002. During the year,
three primary corporate research projects were
completed. These included studies on removal
of mercury from flue gases, classification of mined
soils and a project on microbes in mined soils.
Five additional projects are ongoing, including
studies of the Interior Least Tern, two carbon
sequestration projects, a study of the thermal
effects of power plant water discharges on
mosquitofish and a study of grassland birds in
mining areas.
In 1997, the Interior Least Tern, an endangered
species of bird, chose to make nesting grounds
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in two areas at TXUs Big Brown Mine in central
Texas. After the first year, TXU formed a
partnership with wildlife professionals from the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Railroad
Commission of Texas, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and Texas A&M University to develop
a management plan for the species long-term
recovery and habitat needs on company property.
The research project on the terns is an outcome
of continued work with this species. In 1997,
approximately 40 adults created 25 nests and
laid 45 eggs. Of the 45 eggs, 35 hatched and 15
birds fledged and migrated with the adults. The
terns have returned each year since, and during
these six years 56 fledglings survived to migrate
out of the area with the adults. This is an
outstanding survival rate for a species that
typically nests in areas where weather events and
predators often destroy many of the eggs or claim
hatched chicks prior to fledging.
TXU is also a member of the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI) and the Gas Research
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