** Former chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Mark Christie, was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday. Christie has served as a commissioner on FERC for four years and before that, he was chairman of the Virginia State Corporation Commission, a body that he served …
Category: Solar Energy in Oklahoma
Energy briefs
** Just a few weeks after the Department of Energy’s Inspector General issued a report urging the agency to halt all loans and loan guarantees from the Loans Program Office until it could ensure that it is complying with “conflicts of interest regulations and enforcing conflict of interest contractual obligations,” the LPO last week gave loan …
Energy Secretary’s one goal—affordable electricity in Oklahoma
“I’ve come into this position with really one goal in mind, is that is, and that is to ensure affordable and reliable generate electricity, affordable and reliable electricity for Oklahomans for today and tomorrow.” It’s the declaration of Oklahoma’s new Energy and Environment Secretary Jeff Starling in a sit-down interview with Scott Mitchell on News …
Electricity rates in 2024 were lower than 2023
With all of the electricity rate hikes approved in Oklahoma in the past year, it’s hard to believe. But the average wholesale electricity prices in the Lower 48 states were lower in 2024 than in 2023, according to a new government report. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says lower and more stable electricity prices …
Legislator wants moratorium on new solar and wind projects
Rep. Jim Shaw, R-Chandler, has filed a series of bills that range from placing a moratorium on green energy projects to creating setbacks to recapturing tax subsidies from the industry. Another measure would ban the use of biosolids. “I told my constituents when running for office I would fight against the green energy insanity that …
Energy briefs
** Dozens of climate protesters with Sunrise Movement LA rallied outside Phillips 66’s Los Angeles Lubricant Terminal on Thursday morning, with 16 demonstrators storming the facility’s office building. Sunrise Movement LA is demanding big oil companies, including Phillips 66, “pay up” to support wildfire relief and aid the state’s transition to clean energy. ** Nevada residents …
Dallas firm builds another solar farm for Pryor’s Google Data Center
Another big solar project is under construction in northeast Oklahoma as part of the effort to provide electrical power to the Google data center operations at Pryor. Dallas-based LRE or Leeward Renewable Energy announced more than 700-megawatt of renewable energy projects in Oklahoma that will provide long-term power for purchase agreements with Google. LRE, …
Energy briefs
** A judge has dismissed New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell liable for misleading the public about their products, and their commitment to renewable energy and fighting climate change. State Supreme Court Justice Anar Patel said the city could not claim its climate-conscious residents were sensitive to how fossil …
USDA hands out $6 billion to electric cooperatives for development of clean energy projects
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Biden administration on Friday handed out more than $6 billion in clean energy grants to rural electric cooperatives, none involved any such projects or cooperatives in Oklahoma. The grants and loans, according to the announcement were “awarded to help rural communities build renewable energy projects that will …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. automotive industry saw a record number of electric vehicles sold in 2024, with 1,301,411 units breaking last year’s record with a 7.3% year-over-year increase. A record fourth quarter saw 365,824 units sold in the U.S., despite some weakness from sector leader Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Fourth-quarter EV sales were up 15.2% year-over-year in the U.S., as reported by Cox Automotive’s …
