A gathering of Trump administration leaders in Oklahoma City. It’s a topic when Scott Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen. Plus, the fate of a wind tower setback bill and what it might mean at the legislature.
Category: Solar Energy in Oklahoma
Nation’s energy leaders gathered in OKC
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wasn’t the only national Trump administration energy leader to attend a recent gathering of energy representatives at Oklahoma State University’s Hamm Institute for American Energy for the Powering AI: Global Leadership Summit. The one-day, high-level summit focused on solving one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to …
Opposition mounts to NextEra solar farm proposed near Coweta
Some residents are marshalling forces in their fight against a NextEra company proposed solar farm near the town of Porter in northeast Oklahoma. They held a recent meeting in Coweta as NextEra conducted surveys of the proposed site for the Persica Solar project. Wagoner County Commissioners delayed a vote on the farm until possibly …
Wind turbine setback bill fails in Oklahoma Senate committee
A wind turbine bill calling for setbacks from homes and property lines failed to make it out of the Senate Energy Committee on Thursday as opponents raised issues of property rights. HB2751 authored by Rep. Trey Caldwell in the House and Sen. Ally Seifried in the Senate failed on a 4-6 vote. It …
Texas legislators copy Oklahoma actions in new restrictions on wind and solar projects
Just as some Oklahoma legislative committees have supported bills putting restrictions on wind and solar projects, the Texas legislature is doing the same. The state Senate in Austin voted 22-9 recently in support of Senate Bill 819 which puts restrictions on solar and wind power projects, requiring new permits, assessing fees, adding new regulatory requirements and …
Unfrozen climate money could fund University of Arkansas solar project
A proposed University of Arkansas solar project is going to receive its federal funds after the Trump administration had frozen the millions…..maybe. Federal Judge Tanya S. Chutkan issued an order for the government to release up to $625million in climate grants that were frozen since the middle of February, reported Arkansas Business. The funding …
Transmission line land fight echoes Oklahoma dispute
Nearly six months after lawsuits were filed when a Garfield County farm couple refused to allow surveyors onto their land for the Cimarron Link transmission line across northern Oklahoma, a similar story is being played out on the other end of the U.S. More than 100 property owners in Central Maryland have done the …
Residents fight tax abatement for NextEra solar farm
NextEra Energy faces a fight in one Arkansas county where it is seeking a tax abatement on a proposed 2,000-acre solar farm. Residents of Little River County, adjacent to Oklahoma’s McCurtain County, recently voiced their opposition to the 65% tax abatement being considered by county leaders. Click here for KSLA news
Energy briefs
** The Trump administration issued an order Wednesday to stop construction on a major offshore wind project to power more than 500,000 New York homes, the latest in a series of moves targeting the industry. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said it needs further review because it appears the Biden administration rushed the approval. ** The U.S. Army Corps …
Regulators advised—don’t rush to make utility pole changes
After months of study, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is being advised it should take little action when it comes to a call to require stronger wooden poles used by utilities in the state. The recommendation comes from the Commission’s Public Utilities Division which reached its conclusions following a Notice of Inquiry launched last …