The Trump administration’s recent decision to cancel a nearly $5 billion federal loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express transmission project from Kansas to Indiana caught the attention of one Democrat in the U.S. Senate. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy briefs
** The Trump administration moves to defund the Chemical Safety Board, which environmental and community advocates worry will leave a regulatory gap in the oversight of hundreds of petrochemical plants along the Gulf Coast. ** Ford’s vehicle sales rose 14% to more than 612,000 in the last quarter, according to earnings that bested analysts’ expectations. …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an emergency order under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to address potential reliability concerns in the Mid-Atlantic power grid. The order was requested by PJM Interconnection (PJM) to allow the Wagner Generating Station in Maryland to operate beyond its normal limits if necessary. ** A Senate committee …
SWEPCO wants a 27% monthly rate hike in Arkansas
Customers of Southwestern Electric Power Company in Arkansas are getting a shock as the firm is asking approval for a more than 27% increase in monthly residential charges. The filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission indicated it wants to increase residential rates for customers who use 857 kilowatt hours to $30.46 per …
Interior Department targets wind industry
The nation’s wind industry is in the bulls eye of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who announced new policy measures this week. Among them, an ending of special treatament for what the Department labeled as “unreliable energy sources” and included wind as one of them. The Department might stop some onshore wind development on some federal …
Energy briefs
** A major Pacific oil reserve offline for a decade was restarted in only five months of work by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, despite pleas from Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and completion of a reported laundry list of permitting and reviews. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announced Friday it has shepherded the reopening of the …
Biden administration ignored warnings not to locate wind farms next to Interstates and railways
Public claims are being made how the Department of Transportation under then-Secretary Pete Buttigieg ignored safety concerns about approving dozens of windmill projects near the nation’s highways and railroads. Drive across Oklahoma and there are numerous wind farms located adjacent to interstates and highways. Whether the warnings pertained to them is unknown. But it’s …
Energy briefs
** Liquefied natural gas developers led gains for U.S. energy companies in early trading on Monday, after the European Union pledged $750 billion worth in strategic purchases as part of a sweeping trade pact. ** Chevron said it plans to lay off almost 600 Houston workers as part of its monumental acquisition of Hess. Around 575 …
OGE to release 2Q earnings report Wednesday following big 1Q report in March
The second quarter earnings of Oklahoma Gas and Electric will be released early Wednesday morning before the opening of the markets. It comes as the company continues seeing customer growth and some of it is coming from industrial growth in the state. The company intends to hold a conference call at 8 a.m. Oklahoma time. …
Energy briefs
** Out of nowhere as far as many were concerned, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled an important application window for its Rural Energy for America Program, which could send thousands of small farms and business owners scrambling. Canary Media reported that this wasn’t some scheduling hiccup; it was the last chance many had to finance clean energy projects …