** A California judge approves PG&E Wildfire settlements bringing the utility closer to exiting bankruptcy. The two settlements totaled $24.5 billion. ** Georgia approves $1.8 billion in rate hikes to cover coal ash cleanup. The rates will allow Georgia Power to charge customers an extra $4 a month by 2022. ** The New York Transit Authority …
December 2019 archive
Warren vows to roll back every one of Trump’s energy policies
While Sen. Elizabeth Warren has yet to indicate if she’ll meet with Oklahoma oil leaders during her visit to Oklahoma this weekend, the Democrat running for President vowed this week to reject all of President Trump’s energy policies. If she’s elected. Writing in BuzzFeed, the U.S. Senator stated, “On day one, I’ll issue a sweeping …
Northern Colorado residents fight a Kerr McGee plant
Plans by Kerr McGee to build a natural gas compressor station near a northern Colorado town are being met with opposition. Residents of the town of Milliken gathered this week to voice their opposition and as the Greeley Tribune reported, the meeting was “testy and combative.” The site of the proposed plant is owned by …
Energy Secretary says Permian Basin boom is far from over
New U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette believes the U.S. shale boom is far from over and that the slowdown in the Permian Basin will only be temporary. It’s what he said in an interview this week in Washington, D.C. with the Houston Chronicle. Brouillette said as activity in the Permian is expected to slow due …
Devon’s $770 million Barnett shale sale looked upon as historic
Devon Energy’s announcement this week of the $770 million divestiture of assets in North Texas produced different responses and angles in how it was covered. In Oklahoma, it was looked upon as another move to unload less-profitable holdings of the company as Devon focused its efforts elsewhere in shale plays. In Texas, it was an …
Iowa steel mill to reject fossil fuel use
SSAB Americas says it will produce steel at its Iowa mill without using fossil fuels beginning in 2026, making it the first North American supplier to reach that goal. Key to the effort is new technology that produces steel using hydrogen and renewable energy that’s generated from wind farms in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. SSAB …
Going green in Lawrence, Kansas
City leaders in Lawrence, Kansas voted this week to adopt a goal of running their city on 100% renewable energy in the not-so-distant future. The City Commission approved a policy recommendation from its Sustainability Advisory Board to be 100% clean by using clean, renewable energy in 2025 for electricity in municipal operations. Its goal …
Nebraska County rejects new wind farm
County Commissioners in Beatrice, Nebraska voted this week to reject a plan for a new wind farm. All five members of the Hamilton County Board voted against approval of a condition-use permit for the project, according to the Omaha World-Herald. The permit was sought by Hamilton County Wind, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of …
Customers of Entergy Arkansas getting a piece of coal in their Christmas stockings
Residential customers of Entergy Arkansas will see their monthly bills increase by an average of $15 beginning in January as a federal tax credit expires. Southwestern Electric Power Co. customers also will see their bills go up, though a company official did not have specific information available. Entergy Arkansas is notifying customers that tax credits …
Inhofe and other committee members approve Conservation Act
The U.S. Senate Environmental and Public Works Act has approved America’s Conservation Enhancement Act and sent it to the full Senate, along with the nomination of a new Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was an act cosponsored by Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe who supported the nomination of Robert Feitel to …