** Texas lawmakers approve legislation to require nearly every solar and wind farm in the state to back up their energy production with gas-fired power plants or batteries or face a steep fine, potentially shutting down thousands of megawatts of existing projects. ** Duke Energy blames a slithering snake for causing the May 5 power …
Category: Solar Energy in Oklahoma
Energy briefs
** The CEO of Diamondback Energy, Travis D. Stice, warned that tumbling oil prices will depress US crude output, predicting that American onshore production has peaked. Prices hit a four-year low on Monday, with WTI crude trading below $60 a barrel since the start of May. ** The Trump administration has denied federal assistance for …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to end Energy Star, a program whose iconic blue labels have certified the energy efficiency of home appliances for more than three decades, as part of its broader reorganization, two sources briefed on the reorganization told Reuters. ** House Speaker Mike Johnson says the $7,500 federal EV tax …
Energy briefs
** The Trump administration considers selling oil and gas leases in the Arctic Ocean more than 200 miles offshore, but experts say the industry may not be interested due to resource and legal uncertainty. ** North Dakota lawmakers advance a proposal that could offer up to $500 million in subsidies to support the development of …
Energy briefs
** Sunoco and Canada-based Parkland Corp. announced an agreement May 5 in which Sunoco will acquire all outstanding shares of Parkland for about US$9.1 billion (CA$12.56). The deal, which includes assumed debt, positions Sunoco for expanded operations across a larger service area. ** Seventy-two of Indiana’s 92 counties have a moratorium or ban on utility-scale renewable energy …
Energy briefs
** Crews rush to contain an oil spill in Louisiana marshes that’s already released more than 23,000 gallons of crude oil, although the exact amount remains unknown. ** Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asserted on Wednesday that “people will lose their lives” unless the United States invests in a new air traffic control system. He aised extreme concerns …
Energy briefs
** Vaquero Midstream, a natural gas gathering and processing midstream company operating in the Delaware Basin, announced plans for two major system expansion projects – a new 70-mile 24-inch high-pressure pipeline loop and a 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) cryogenic processing plant to increase Vaquero’s gathering capabilities from the state line area down …
Texas legislators push more restrictions on state’s renewable energy projects
Just as Oklahoma legislators move forward with restrictions on the renewable energy industry, Texas legislators are doing the same. And they are advancing such legislation to create the new restrictions. One report indicated legislation proposed by a state Senator would test the renewable energy industry to maintain the momentum seen by Texas over the past …
Energy briefs
** Three Bechtel construction workers died April 29 in an incident involving a concrete scaffolding at Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur LNG construction site, Bechtel confirmed in an announcement posted Tuesday. ** Major automakers want Congress to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 …
Keeping a watchful eye on “behind the scenes” shaping of energy bills
As some of the Oklahoma legislative committees have ended their public meetings, dealing with energy bills, some considered live rounds and others that are still being fashioned with their “titles struck,” observers might want to be paying close attention to the behind the scenes efforts. It’s where the legislative “sausage” is made and in …