Years after Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry leaders complained of too many government subsidies for the state’s renewable energy projects, a new nationwide report shows those subsidies more than doubled between 2016 and 2022. They also formed nearly half of all the federal energy-related support, jumping to $15.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 from …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy briefs
** After seven years of delays and $21 billion in cost overruns, the first of two new units at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle enters commercial service and becomes the first new U.S. nuclear reactor to do so in more than 30 years. ** A Wyoming conservation group and a retired federal government biologist have filed a federal lawsuit …
Xcel Energy to invest $770 million in New Mexico and Texas
Xcel Energy plans to invest nearly $770 million in power-generating operations in Texas and New Mexico and at the same time, extend the life of two older natural gas-fueled units. The company said thee upgrades and additions to its generating fleet in the two states will return $116 million in added tax revenue to …
Energy quick reads
** U.S. regulators approved proposals to speed up the connection of new power projects to the electric grid, reforms that could ease a growing backlog of requests from wind and solar energy developers. Today there is more than 2,000 gigawatts of renewable power waiting to be connected to the grid — nearly double the amount …
Energy headlines
** Exxon Mobil Corp. fell short of analysts’ expectations with a third straight drop in profit — the longest decline since the 2014-2016 oil-market crash — amid weaker natural gas prices and shrinking returns from fuel sales. ExxonMobil reported profits of $7.9 billion, down 56 percent on a 28 percent drop in revenues to $82.9 …
Government to take bids in August on Gulf of Mexico wind farm leases
The federal government announced the first-ever chance for companies to lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico to build wind farms, including two parcels roughly 30 miles off the Texas coast near Galveston. Renewable energy developers will likely compete for the leases with firms that are better known for another kind of offshore construction: …
OSU and Northern Oklahoma College picked for national collegiate wind competition
Oklahoma State University and Northern Oklaoma College are among the 32 college and university teams selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2024 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) during the first half of the 2023–2024 school year. The CWC, which first launched in 2014, helps prepare the future wind energy workforce by inviting college students from …
Vestas to add 1,000 new jobs at Colorado wind turbine plants
Renewed investments in its Colorado factories by Danish wind energy manufacturer Vestas could mean a thousand new jobs in the state. The company announced it intends to invest $40 million in its factories in Windsor and Brighton in 2024, manufacturing a new line of wind turbines and creating the need for up to 1,000 …
Energy briefs
** Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin filed a brief with the Supreme Court Tuesday asking the high court to reinstate the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a 303-mile natural gas pipeline under construction. ** Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna on Monday announced that its 874,000-SF Nashville production facility will be shutting down, affecting about 700 jobs. The plant will …
Energy news at a glance
** Despite the billions of dollars invested by private corporations, and government subsidies, Americans are still indifferent as a whole over electric vehicles. Just two in every 10 Americans say they’re “very likely” to buy an EV as their next car, according to a survey by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute and the AP-NORC Center …