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Google behind another Arkansas data center
Google Accelerates Data Center Expansion in Arkansas, Near Oklahoma Google is moving aggressively to expand its data center footprint across the central United States, with major projects advancing in Arkansas while new developments also take shape just across the Oklahoma state line. The expansion comes the same week it was confirmed that Google plans to …
Coal ash still in dispute from coal-fired power plants
EPA Move Reignites Coal Ash Disposal Controversy While Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality is in charge of coal ash from the state’s coal-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking steps to let 11 coal plants around the U.S. dump toxic coal ash into unlined pits for the next five years. The EPA decision …
Crude oil prices finish lower on reported easing of Iran’s retaliation
Wednesday produced higher crude oil prices in early trading then they settled lower after President Trump eased some of the fears of disruptions to Iranian oil supplies. He indicated that killings in Iran had subsided amidst the government crackdown on civil unrest. Tensions between Tehran and Washington remained high after Iran warned U.S. allies …
Energy briefs
** Lawyers for Chevron, Texaco, and Exxon Mobil argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that localities’ lawsuits against oil companies over climate change and rising seas should be heard in federal and not state courts after a jury awarded two Louisiana parish governments $744.6 million in damages from Chevron. ** The Trump administration violated the …
Opposed data center approved near Fort Worth
As the controversies over proposed data centers at several sites in Oklahoma have caught even the attention of the Washington Post this week, such disputes are spreading across Kansas and now to Texas. This week, Hood County Commissioners just southwest of Fort Worth gave conditional approval to a 2,600-acre data center complex. Approval came …
Data center debate grows in Kansas where a county adopted a moratorium
The fight over the progress of data centers spread this week to Kansas where one county adopted a moratorium on the construction of the data centers through the end of 2028 and another county heard debate over a proposed project. Harvey County, where Newton is located 29 miles north of Wichita, adopted a moratorium on …
EIA—Data Centers fuel strongest 4-year growth in US electricity demand
EIA forecasts strongest four-year growth in U.S. electricity demand since 2000, fueled by data centers A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts electricity use will grow this year and next year showing such gains for the first time in 18 years. The EIA made the prediction in its its first energy-sector …
Data center non-disclosure agreements target of legislator’s transparency bill
He is known for his stance against wind farm takeovers of land in the state and green-energy projects and now Chandler Republican Rep. Jim Shaw wants more transparency from the agencies that decide the fate of such projects. While his bill makes no mention of data centers, the goal of his bill is obvious. He announced …
AG reaches poultry pollution settlement with Arkansas chicken company
Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced the State of Oklahoma has reached a settlement agreement with George’s, Inc., resolving claims related to poultry litter pollution in the Illinois River Watershed. “This settlement demonstrates that fair, good-faith negotiations can produce outcomes that serve everyone’s interests—protecting Oklahoma’s water resources while respecting the economic realities facing our agricultural partners,” …
AARP survey shows Americans want data centers to pay their way
The Oklahoma AARP says Oklahomans complain of high utility bills and they don’t want to be hit with higher rates because of data center construction. The state chapter says it has a national AARP survey to back up its claims and supports the efforts of one state legislator who filed a measure to …