Author's posts
Meta starts data center in Tulsa
It’s official. Meta Platforms is behind the proposed $1 billion, 340-acre Project Anthem data center in Tulsa, even as the company lays off 8,000 workers. The secret was publicly revealed this week by Gov. Kevin Stitt during a closed door event in Tulsa. He later boasted the data center will bring “100 operational jobs and …
Tighter regs for nuclear storage
New Mexico moves to beef up its regulatory control of a nuclear waste repository saying it’s doing so to protect the health of state residents and others. The New Mexico Environment Department proposed revisions to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant hazardous waste operating permit, strengthening enforcement of federal cleanup obligations for …
New branding for SPP
The Southwest Power Pool unveiled a new brand and published a report, Powering Progress Together, highlighting the value it delivers across a 17-state service territory. The report, available at spp.org/value, emphasizes four dimensions of the value SPP provides: reliability, affordability, economic growth, and trust through transparent governance and independent oversight. SPP provides benefits at a …
Energy briefs: Strait of Hormuz, oil prices and mines
** President Donald Trump said Thursday he has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s post on social media came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up a standoff with …
Findings of a data center study
The swelling interest in data centers in Oklahoma is echoed all across the U.S. and a new study into how they’re received in cities and towns shows the reaction of Oklahomans is no different than what other Americans are saying. In the first large-scale study of its kind, two researchers, one at the University of …
Gann says Court blew it
Oklahoma Supreme Court justices are being told they got it wrong in ruling against Rep. Tom Gann in his legal challenge of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s approval of the Winter Storm 2021 rate hike given Public Service Company of Oklahoma. He contends the court failed to look at the calendar in its decision against …
Oil bounces back above $100
Just as the world hoped there would be renewed peace talks between the US and Iran, gunfire at the Strait of Hormuz sent crude oil prices reaching above the $100 a barrel mark on Wednesday. Prices rose by more than $3 after Iran attacked at least three container ships in the Strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards …
Panhandle to remain dry
When it comes to rainfall or the lack of it, Oklahoma is a case of extremes….. Eleven inches in the past few months in the southeast part of the state to only one-quarter of an inch in the Panhandle. It certainly has the attention of Oklahoma Climatologist Gary McManus. “But if you’re looking for …
Floating solar panels
(Michael Popp, professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness, stands on a floating solar array in Spain in 2024. Popp’s research into floating solar panels at the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart includes a public perception survey. (Photo courtesy of Mike Popp) What about using solar arrays floating on water? It’s what the …
Gulfport prepares 1Q results
Gulfport Energy Corporation plans a release of its first quarter 2026 financial results early next month. The financial and operating results will be released on Tuesday, May 5 after the close of markets. The company leaders will gather the next morning, 8 a.m. Central Time, Wednesday, May 6 to discuss the results and answer …