** U.S. security experts have reportedly uncovered undocumented communication devices inside Chinese-made solar power inverters — hardware that’s widely used to support renewable energy infrastructure. ** California lawmakers have for years vowed to hold fossil fuel companies liable for damages caused by their emissions, including worsening wildfires and floods and mounting costs of climate recovery …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy workforce numbers decline
The number of energy jobs in Oklahoma declined again, according to the latest report from the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. The Council, in its June 2025 jobs report showed a modest dip in employment within the energy services sector amid what it described as “continued economic uncertainty. The report showed Oklahoma’s energy workforce …
Interim studies to include wind and solar setbacks
Some energy issues, including eminent domain use and setbacks for wind and solar farms, are among some of the topics to be reviewed in interim studies in the Oklahoma Senate. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, has approved a series of interim study requests that will be considered during the Oklahoma Senate’s interim …
Energy briefs
**The Environmental Protection Agency has placed roughly 140 employees on administrative leave days after they signed a public letter expressing concern about the treatment of federal employees and the Trump administration’s regulations on climate and public health. ** The arbitrators in a legal dispute between Exxon Mobil and Hess have reached a decision related to a major …
SPP grid expands into more western states
The Southwest Power Pool plan to expand into western states is getting more and more members. A SPP announcement made this week indicating its Markets+ program was in a second phase of development, also revealed eight entities spanning the Desert Southwest, Pacific Northwest and Mountain West regions of the Western Interconnection have signed these agreements, demonstrating …
Oklahoma’s no-renewable energy legislative fights set the stage for the One Big Beautiful bill debate
While the renewable energy industry managed to avoid some major hits in the Oklahoma legislative session, one renewable energy official says it won’t end in the 2026 legislature or following sessions. Kylah McNabb, an independent consultant who leads the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council said the political environment means the industry can expect anti-wind and …
Former Energy Secretary plans 5,800-acre Amarillo campus for AI data centers
If things go as planned by former Energy Secretary and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, his Fermi America company will build a 5,800 acre campus for AI data centers in the Texas Panhandle and power it with 11 gigawatts of electricity from nuclear, solar, wind and natural gas sources. Fermi America partnered with the …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. Department of Transportation has scrapped a rule mandating speed-limiting devices or “governors” on heavy-duty trucks, allowing them to race along the nation’s highways at top speed. Their requirement is now being dropped as part of a new DOT package intended to ease conditions for long-haul truckers. ** The U.S. Department of Energy this week …
Another wind farm fight right across the state line
Another wind farm fight is brewing and it’s not in Oklahoma, but in neighboring Arkansas and right across the state line in Washington County. According to KFSM TV news , some residents want a pause in the proposed project and that they are not calling for a total ban of the …
PSO assumes ownership of Green Country power plant
With the recent approval of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners, Public Service Company of Oklahoma officially took control of the Green Country Power Plant in Jenks. The $730 million acquisition, okayed by commissioners on a 2-1 vote and against the recommendation of an Administrative Law Judge, resulted in a $7.19 month increase for ratepayers of …
