When NextEra Energy started work on its 2,000-acre Skeleton Creek solar farm near Enid, it attempted through negotiations to lower its $2.5 million construction permit fee. The company wanted to pay $15,000 but eventually, with enforcement from the State Attorney General’s office, and eventually, through negotiations, managed to pay only $500,000. An investigation by …
Category: Solar Energy in Oklahoma
Energy briefs
** Exxon is asking shareholders to approve moving its formal incorporation from New Jersey to Texas, citing a more favorable legal and regulatory environment. New Jersey has the highest corporate tax rate in the nation. ** Advocates and Texas officials in the petrochemical hub of Corpus Christi warn of a “water emergency” within months that could disrupt …
Energy Brief: SPR call, AES deal, Venezuela oil
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and gasoline price concerns ** Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Sunday called on President Trump to release oil from the national stockpile to counter soaring gasoline prices. Electric utility leadership change at AEP Texas ** American Electric Power named Adrian Rodriguez as president and chief operating officer of AEP Texas replacing …
Energy briefs
** Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright and challenger Bo French will head to a runoff election, unofficial election results showed Tuesday, as neither could break through the required majority to secure the nomination. The winner will face a Democrat in November. ** On Tuesday, five organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s approval of an …
Energy briefs
** Crude oil prices are at their highest levels since the military campaign against Iran after climbing again overnight and this morning. The Energy and Treasury Departments will begin rolling out new efforts today to address energy price increases from the Iran conflict, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. ** AES Corp.’s share price dropped …
U.S. Power Grid to Add Record 86 GW of Capacity in 2026
U.S. Power Grid to Add 86 GW of New Generating Capacity in 2026 U.S. power plant developers and operators plan to add 86 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity to the U.S. power grid in 2026 in the latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a record …
Energy Briefs: Data centers, DOE loan, rare earths
Ratepayer protection pledge and data center power demand ** Tech execs are expected at the White House next week to sign what President Trump called a “ratepayer protection pledge” during Tuesday’s State of the Union. ** Goldman Sachs, in an updated analysis, sees 220% growth in data center power demand between 2023 and 2030, up …
Data center operators run into delays due to power demands and opposition
As data center controversies boil in different cities and sites around Oklahoma and some government entities consider new ordinances targeting the power-hungry AI operations, there’s a new report indicating that 30 to 50% of the data centers proposed across the world won’t come online before the end of the year. Sightline Climate, in a new …
Continued drop in energy employment in Oklahoma
A new employment report from the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC) shows a slow loss of energy jobs, which includes oil and gas, in Oklahoma. The data for January 2026 showed Oklahoma’s energy employment totaled 47,582 compared to 47,895 in December of 2025. The loss of 313 jobs is a continuing movement in the state’s …
Energy Briefs: NEPA rollback, coal, data centers
Interior Department Completes NEPA Rollback The Interior Department says it’s completed a major rollback of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations that will help speed energy, mining, and other projects. Power Plant Retirements Total 11 GW Power plant owners plan to retire 11 GW of utility-scale power generation this year, most of it from coal …