The Norman School District is using a new federal tax credit to install solar panels atop the Norman North high School. Installation is expected to begin this week as the district hopes to trim electricity costs. With the help of a new company, the school district is being able to do what it …
March 2024 archive
The race to develop hydrogen as a cleaner transportation fuel
The rush to hydrogen development in Texas is getting a new focus and also raising questions whether it is environmentally sound. Some contend it is not the clean fuel option as professed by supporters. Advocates say it is critical in combating climate change. The Texas Tribune recently explored the issue. Click here for Texas …
Energy quick reads
** The Biden administration announced $6 billion in funding Monday for projects that will slash emissions from the industrial sector — the largest-ever U.S. investment to decarbonize domestic industry to fight climate change. ** Sustainable energy company Avangrid unveiled its economic and fiscal impact report on March 1 and announced that its Kitty Hawk Wind project …
Hydro project developer has ties to China
By Mike W. Ray Southwest Ledger More is being learned about a Texas company whose plans to develop a hydroelectric power plant using water from the Kiamichi River in southeast Oklahoma were temporarily rejected last week. The Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation (SEOPC) is owned and managed by individuals who have no connections whatsoever to Oklahoma. …
House Republicans announce energy legislation blitz
Look for Oklahoma’s Republican members of the U.S. to be active this week in supporting a handful of GOP bills aimed against President Biden’s green energy push that targeted the oil and gas industry. The House GOP leadership announced over the weekend it intends to launch a blitz of bills switching who is in …
Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen
A salute to the late Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford and a discussion of energy bills in the Oklahoma legislature. It’s what Scott Mitchell and Jerry Bohnen discuss in the latest podcast of Mitchell Talks Energy.
Kiamichi River hydropower project founders
By Mike W. Ray Southwest Ledger An out-of-state company’s plan to build a hydropower plant on an eastern Oklahoma river in order to generate electricity for Texas foundered on the shoals of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Johann Tse of Dallas, Texas, was notified March 21 by a FERC official that Southeast Oklahoma …
Geothermal energy development—can it cause earthquakes?
Could another energy development plan cause more earthquakes in Oklahoma and elsewhere? It’s a question being raised by some who worry geothermal energy generation might cause earthquakes the same way oil and gas did in Oklahoma, Texas and other parts of the nation. Oklahoma’s earthquakes were reportedly caused by deep pumping of water back …
Report—Biden wants Ukraine to back off drone attacks on Russian refineries
Over the past few months, benchmark crude oil prices in the U.S. rose above the $80 mark. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at $80.63, a drop of 44 cents during the trading day. Now there are reports the Biden administration, not known for its love of oil and gas production even …
Nation’s rig count takes a fall while Oklahoma remains steady
More rigs were pulled out of oil and gas drilling across the nation over the past week. The nation’s oil and rig count dropped by 5 in the past week, falling to 624, according to the weekly rig numbers released on Friday by Baker Hughes Co. Oklahoma’s count remained at 44. A year ago, …