** The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S. ** Following the unexpected loss of thermal generation and due to extreme temperatures, ERCOT is asking Texans to reduce electricity use when it is …
Category: Wind Energy
AEP formalizes $1.5 billion in sale of unregulated wind farms
The sale of some of its unregulated an contracted renewable energy sites by American Electric Power, a deal worth $1.5 billion, involved some wind farms in Texas, Colorado and Kansas. They were among 14 such holdings sold to IRG Acquisition Holdings, a partnership owned by Invenergy, CDPQ and funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure. AEP …
Energy fast reads
** Three survivors of the deadly wildfires that ravaged Maui said Wednesday that when the inferno erupted, the main escape route out of town was partly blocked by Hawaiian Electric trucks clearing downed lines and replacing busted power poles. ** U.S. natural gas trade groups are opposing federal pipeline regulators’ proposed methane leak detection rules to …
Clean energy investments gain foothold in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is being cited as an example of a Republican-led state that is also rushing toward clean energy investment. Yes, oil and gas get deep appreciation from state leaders but renewables are also growing and being touted for their economic benefits. “The environmental benefits are nice,” J.W. Peters, president of Solar Power of Oklahoma, …
Oklahoma regulators hit with “mess” over PSO rate hike request
“A complicated issue,” is how Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Todd Hiett described Tuesday’s handling of the $155 million rate hike request made by Public Service Company. Thomas Schroedter, Executive Director and General Counsel to the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers had another description. “This is somewhat of a mess,” he told commissioners as they pondered …
Headlines
** In remarks on Tuesday, President Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden would visit devastated Maui “as soon as we can,” before he pivoted to prepared remarks about the Inflation Reduction Act on a preplanned trip to Wisconsin to tout his economic accomplishments. ** A Hawaiian couple sued the state’s electric utility this …
Arkansas electric cooperative leader questions reliability of renewable energy sources
The president of an Arkansas electric cooperative questions the reliability of renewables on the grid and calls for the U.S. EPA’s proposed power plant restrictions to be struck down. It’s from Kecia Wolf, a certified public account who was named President and CEO of Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative last fall. “A system that only utilizes intermittent …
Energy briefs
** While the cause of the deadly Maui fires remains under investigation, lawyers are sending experts to the island to look into utility power lines as being a possible source of ignition. ** The United States is working to build resilient, diversified clean energy supply chains to protect its economic security, while guarding against the …
PSO’s $155 million rate hike recommendation to be reviewed by state regulators
The matter of the latest rate hike request made by Public Service Company of Oklahoma, one reduced to $155.2 million or $3.57 more a month for consumers, will be considered Tuesday by Oklahoma regulators. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission will consider the recommendation of Commission Administrative Law Judge Linda Foreman that the rate hike be approved. …
Fast reads of energy stories
** The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday announced that projects in Texas and Louisiana to remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year will get over $1 billion in federal grants, a key step in scaling up direct air capture (DAC) technology. The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Project Cypress in Louisiana, …