Excel Energy is giving thought to a plan to convert its northwestern Colorado coal plant into a molten salt energy storage operation to increase renewable energy installations. Colorado Public Radio reports the company’s plan to shut down the coal-fired plant will also require a rapid expansion of renewable energy storage in the state. Click …
Federal nuclear lab runs into a power line fight
Environmentalists and Native American tribes are squaring off against the Los Alamos National Laboratory and its plans to build a 12.5 mile long power transmission line across an historic area of New Mexico. Click here for Albuquerque Journal.
Energy news in brief
** More than 80% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in after Hurricane Ida, a U.S. regulator said on Monday, more than a week after the storm made landfall and hit critical infrastructure in the region. ** Entergy projects it could be four weeks before power is restored across much of St. Charles Parish …
Gas groups beg congress for new regulation–not new tax
More than a hundred trade groups from New Mexico, Kansas and Texas to Pennsylvania warn against the fee Democrats want to use to pay for their $3.5 trillion spending plan will not only stir up the energy market but increase consumer bills across the country. Bloomberg reports the groups joined forces to write …
Watchdog to probe Interior Secretary’s marriage
Last month’s wedding of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is under investigation by federal ethics watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust. PPT’s concern is that Haaland may have potentially violated federal ethics laws or guidelines by accepting improper gifts from “prohibited sources” reported Just the News. Click here for Just the News.
Crude oil slips again while Oklahoma energy stocks retreat
Crude oil prices dropped in Monday’s trading in response to Saudi Arabia’s sharp cuts to contract prices for Asia raised more concerns over the demand outlook. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 40 cents at $68.89 a barrel while global benchmark, Brent Crude fell 39 cents to finish the day at $72.22 a barrel on …
Rig numbers increased in Oklahoma but fell nationally last week
The latest rig count showed an increase in Oklahoma but a nationwide decline according to Baker Hughes Co. It was the first drop in oil and gas rig numbers across the U.S. in the past four weeks. Oklahoma’s count grew by one to reach 32, far more than the 11 rigs reported one year …
Energy news in brief
** Divers at the site of an ongoing oil spill that appeared in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida have identified the apparent source as one-foot diameter pipeline displaced from a trench on the ocean floor and broken open. Talos Energy, the Houston-based company currently paying for the cleanup, said in a statement issued Sunday evening …
North Dakota county fastest growing in US thanks to oil boom
The U.S. Census Bureau is out with figures showing the country’s fastest growing county is in the heart of North Dakota’s oil boom. McKenzie County is also home to Watford City where the population growth has been phenomenal over the past decade reported the Associated Press. Click here for AP story.
America’s first hydrogen fuel cell tow truck fleet is coming to Colorado
The nation’s first hydrogen-powered tow trucks and other emergency rescue vehicles operated by AAA are about to be developed in Colorado. AAA Colorado announced it reached an agreement with Denver-based New Day Hydrogen LLC reported the Denver Business Journal. Click here for Denver Business Journal
