Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has made more changes in his administration. The McCarville Report says a former leader of the State Senate, Brian Bingman will become Secretary of State. Click here to view the McCarville Report story.
Perfume entrepreneur buys half of oil leases offered by administration since August
A Myanmar-born perfume entrepreneur and missionary has snapped up nearly half of the oil and gas leases offered by the Trump administration since August, saying the coronavirus pandemic created an opportunity to buy them cheaply. Levi Sap Nei Thang, who boasts a large social media following and said she is a Christian guided by …
Biden denies he will ban fracking
Presidential hopeful Joe Biden once again reiterated over the weekend he would not ban fracking, despite comments from President Donald Trump accusing him of targeting the oil and gas production technology. “I am not, not, not banning fracking. Period,” Biden said from Erie, Pa. The comments come as Trump has repeatedly tried to sow …
White House slows solar tariff drop for final year
The White House on Saturday issued a proclamation that will set the tariff on solar panels and cells 18 percent starting in February, rather than letting it fall to 15 percent as scheduled. The tariff began at 30 percent in 2018 and stepped down 5 percentage points each year and is presently 20 percent. The decision …
Solar-plus-storage replaces coal plant in New Mexico, makes carbon-capture retrofit moot
The debate over how to replace the generation capacity that will be lost following the closing of the 847-MW coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in June of 2022 is officially over, with Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) opting to move forward with four solar-plus-storage projects in San Juan’s stead. Click here to …
New Mexico governor urged to take stand against nuclear plan
Environmentalists and other watchdog groups want New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to create a government agency that would be tasked with keeping the state from becoming a permanent dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel and other high-level waste. Dozens of groups sent a letter Friday to the Democratic governor reported the Associated …
Wind power giant reveals rush of orders likely to energize its Colorado factories
A stream of orders for U.S. wind farm projects will keep Vestas-America Wind Technology factories in Colorado busy making dozens wind turbines for delivery next year and beyond. The domestic division of Danish wind company, Vestas Wind Systems, operates four manufacturing plants in Colorado that make wind turbines and poles for North American projects …
Energy news in brief
** A cargo of Iranian gasoline that was seized by the U.S. has arrived in New Jersey, escalating a legal battle over who is its rightful owner. The Maersk Messina is moored at Carteret, New Jersey, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It is the second of two Iranian gasoline cargoes brought to the U.S. after …
South Texas refineries deal with hurricane damage
Heavy industry in Southeast Texas is still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Delta after the storm briefly knocked out units at two major refiners and caused flaring at plants across the area. Winds from Delta caused power outages across southern Jefferson County on Friday that disrupted production at the Total Petrochemicals and …
COVID-19 forces Amtrak to trim its operations
Oklahoma City’s Heartland Flyer continues its daily runs to Dallas and back, but some cities are losing some of their Amtrak service, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last daily Texas Eagle train from San Antonio to Chicago left the station Sunday morning, its best days trailing far behind it. The train …
