As some of the Oklahoma legislative committees have ended their public meetings, dealing with energy bills, some considered live rounds and others that are still being fashioned with their “titles struck,” observers might want to be paying close attention to the behind the scenes efforts. It’s where the legislative “sausage” is made and in …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy briefs
** Employees of ConocoPhillips face more layoffs after the oil company’s merger with Marathon Oil, which triggered sweeping job cuts in Houston last year, reported the Houston Chronicle. A spokesman for the Houston oil giant confirmed Friday that the company had informed employees about additional layoffs, but declined to specify how many or when the layoffs would …
Wind tech says industry is helping Oklahomans
One wind farm supporter cautions admist the heated discussion in Oklahoma about the wind industry, don’t let emotions get ahead of the facts. The cautionary advice come from Dustin Ratliff who grew up on a farm near Marland in northern Oklahoma and is now the lead technician atthe Thunder Ranch wind farm. Writing in …
Scott Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen—an OKC gathering of Trump energy leaders
A gathering of Trump administration leaders in Oklahoma City. It’s a topic when Scott Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen. Plus, the fate of a wind tower setback bill and what it might mean at the legislature.
Nation’s energy leaders gathered in OKC
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wasn’t the only national Trump administration energy leader to attend a recent gathering of energy representatives at Oklahoma State University’s Hamm Institute for American Energy for the Powering AI: Global Leadership Summit. The one-day, high-level summit focused on solving one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. Interior Department orders environmental reviews for fossil fuel and mining projects — but not wind and solar projects— to be reduced to no more than a month, leading to praise from the oil and gas industry but criticism from environmental groups. ** The amount of power used by data centers has tripled …
Wind turbine setback bill fails in Oklahoma Senate committee
A wind turbine bill calling for setbacks from homes and property lines failed to make it out of the Senate Energy Committee on Thursday as opponents raised issues of property rights. HB2751 authored by Rep. Trey Caldwell in the House and Sen. Ally Seifried in the Senate failed on a 4-6 vote. It …
Energy briefs
** The U.S. Interior Department plans to dramatically speed up permitting for oil and gas, uranium, coal, biofuel, geothermal, hydropower, and critical mineral projects on federal lands, accelerating environmental reviews to 14 days and impact statements to 28. ** An Interior Department document suggests the Trump administration is considering shrinking national monuments in Arizona, California, …
Energy briefs
** Energy Secretary Chris Wright railed against clean energy tax credits Tuesday, defending the Trump administration’s efforts to increase manufacturing powered by coal, natural gas and oil. ** The Trump administration plans to open Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast to offshore oil and gas leasing even though high costs and logistical challenges have foiled past attempts to drill there. …
Texas legislators copy Oklahoma actions in new restrictions on wind and solar projects
Just as some Oklahoma legislative committees have supported bills putting restrictions on wind and solar projects, the Texas legislature is doing the same. The state Senate in Austin voted 22-9 recently in support of Senate Bill 819 which puts restrictions on solar and wind power projects, requiring new permits, assessing fees, adding new regulatory requirements and …