Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Friday February 27, 2026
Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall
Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Top Stories
Oil Price – February 26, 2026
$5 Billion Pipeline Deal Could Be Coming to the Gulf Coast
Texas-based EnCap Flatrock Midstream is considering a sale of gas pipeline operator Momentum Midstream in a deal that could fetch $5 billion. According to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources, the venture capital firm is currently talking with financial advisers to find a buyer. The sources noted that talks are in their early stages and EnCap Flatrock Midstream may eventually decide against a sale.
If it does sell Momentum Midstream, however, it would make one of the largest deals in the oil and gas pipeline space, after the Brookfield Infrastructure Partners acquisition of Colonial Enterprises for $9 billion. Momentum Midstream operates a network of 4,000 miles of pipelines with a system capacity of 6 billion cu ft of natural gas daily. The company reports some 4 billion cu ft in minimum volume commitments and 20 billion cu ft in daily connectivity via 91 interconnections. Momentum services 10 LNG-producing facilities and 26 power plants.
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Pipeline & Gas Journal – February 26, 2026
Diversified Strikes $245 Million Deal for East Texas Gas Assets
Diversified Energy Company has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire high-working interest natural gas properties and related facilities in East Texas from Sheridan Production for $245 million. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, will be funded through existing liquidity under Diversified’s senior secured bank facility, subject to customary closing conditions.
The assets are contiguous with Diversified’s existing East Texas footprint and are expected to add approximately 62 million cubic feet equivalent per day of estimated 2026 net production. The properties carry an estimated 397 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved developed producing (PDP) reserves with a PV-10 value of approximately $310 million.
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The Wall Street Journal – February 26, 2026
Rare-Earth Miner MP Materials to Invest More Than $1.25 Billion in New Texas Factory*
MP Materials plans to invest more than $1.25 billion in its upcoming large-scale rare-earth magnet manufacturing campus in Northlake, Texas, fulfilling a key component of its partnership with the U.S. Defense Department. The new campus, dubbed “10X”, builds on its existing manufacturing capacity in North Texas, adding to its current facility in Fort Worth, the U.S.’s largest rare-earths miner said Thursday. MP Materials expects to create more than 1,500 direct manufacturing and engineering jobs at the site, and engineering and equipment procurement is underway. The facility is expected to come online in 2028.
Once operational, the factory is set to contribute to the company’s total production capacity of around 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year, advancing the U.S.’s ability to produce these components locally, said MP Materials. This comes after the miner struck a deal for the Defense Department to take a 15% stake in the company in July last year. The deal called for MP Materials build a new factory to make rare-earth magnets at a scale that vastly exceeds current U.S. magnet production, aiming to undercut China’s rare-earth dominance. Rare-earth magnets, which are needed in industrial products such as automobiles, wind turbines, jet fighters and missile systems, have been at the center of the recent U.S.-China trade war. Beijing began limiting rare-earth exports after President Trump imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods in April last year. The two countries reached a trade truce in June, but the threat of a future cutoff of supplies remain.
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The Hill – February 26, 2026
Reconciliation bill subsidizes fossil fuels by $3.5B each year, Democratic report finds
Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act subsidizes fossil fuels by an average of $3.5 billion each year, according to a new report from Senate Budget Committee Democrats. An analysis that was first shared with The Hill tabulated both official and unofficial estimates of the impacts of the bill’s pro-fossil fuel policies and averaged them over a 10-year period.
The report only looks at provisions that specifically help the fossil fuel industry and does not include general corporate tax cuts that are likely to bolster those firms as well as others. It points to industry savings from tax breaks, fee reductions for producing fuels on public lands and in public waters and funding for the industry, among other policies. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) argued that the measure, which President Trump signed into law in July, prioritizes corporations, including fossil fuel companies, over everyday Americans.
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Dallas Morning News – February 26, 2026
Texas says Vanguard settles collusion suit for $29.5 Million*
Texas said Vanguard Group Inc. agreed to pay a total of $29.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a dozen states that accused the asset manager of colluding to manipulate the energy market and reduce coal output. As part of the deal, Vanguard also will “avoid imposing ESG goals over its customers’ profitability,” according to a statement by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office. A court filing Thursday showed Vanguard was dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Vanguard said in a statement that the decision to settle “allows us to put this distraction behind us and focus on what matters — giving our investors the best chance for investment success.” The states had also sued BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp., and that litigation remains ongoing. The suit is one of the most high-profile cases against the beleaguered environmental, social and governance investment strategy.
Paxton sued the asset managers in 2024, claiming they coordinated to pressure coal companies to reduce their production under the guise of pursuing environmental and social investing goals. The firms have been a frequent target of Republican leaders for their voting and investment policies, so much so that they have retreated from ESG in the U.S. State Street, in a statement, said the “lawsuit remains baseless and without merit. This settlement does not change that.”
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The Latest TERse Tips
U.S. and Iran wrap up ‘most intense’ nuclear talks with no deal, more negotiations ahead — CNBC
Pakistan Declares ‘Open War’ With Afghanistan After Cross-Border Attacks — Patience has run out’ over Taliban attacks, Pakistan defense minister says — The Wall Street Journal*
Valero said flares were released at its 255,000-bpd Houston refinery in Texas due to a blackout it suffered Wednesday, with emissions lasting 18 hours — Quantum Commodity Intelligence*
Venezuela-backed US refiner Citgo is working to restart the fluid catalytic cracking unit at the Corpus Christi refinery in Texas after maintenance
Oilman David Arrington has been seeking to drill on the Midland College campus since 2019, and on Monday, the school’s board of trustees will once again consider his offer — Midland Reporter-Telegram*
Federal regulators gave the go-ahead Wednesday for Williams Cos. to launch construction of a major gas pipeline in the Southeast, nearly a month after approving the project — in a brief letter, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Williams’ Feb. 18 request to begin building the Southeast Supply Enhancement project. The undertaking involves laying roughly 55 miles of 42-inch diameter pipe in Virginia and North Carolina, as well as new compressor units — E&E News By Politico*
Tetra Technologies announces 4Q and full-year results — see the press release
An Oklahoma federal magistrate transferred a lawsuit alleging that APA Corp. underpaid oil and gas royalties to a Texas federal court, ruling that because the underlying leases and alleged royalty underpayments occurred in Texas, and the majority of evidence is located there, the case belongs in the Southern District of Texas — Law 360
Vistra 4Q report features GAAP full-year 2025 Net Income of $944 million, including an unrealized loss from hedges expected to settle in future years of $808 million, and Cash Flow from Operations of $4,070 million — see the press release
Big Oil Is Urging Trump to Stop Battle on Offshore Wind — the president’s assault on wind farms is stalling a legislative push to speed permitting for energy projects — The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Power-Plant Pollution Rose Sharply in 2025 — rising emissions coincide with Trump administration’s push for coal use and the rollback of Biden-era climate regulations — The Wall Street Journal
Cheniere Energy, Inc. announced Thursday that its subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing International LLP, has entered into a long-term liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement with CPC Corporation, Taiwan — see the press release
Crescent Energy pulled an additional $355.3 million worth of oily Eagle Ford royalties into its minerals portfolio, putting its total holdings into a new unit, Crescent Royalties — Hart Energy* — see Crescent’s 4Q earnings call
Permian Resources, master of Delaware Basin dealmaking, has the balance sheet strength of $3 billion for more M&A — Hart Energy*
Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc, said Tuesday it has sold its 200-MWh Fort Duncan battery storage facility in Maverick County, Texas to Hunt Energy Network LLC — Renewables Now
Independent power producer Bimergen Energy Corporation on Tuesday announced that its Redbird project, a 100 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage system located in Texas, has been formally approved for participation under its Joint Development Agreement and that the Company has selected Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.’s Z3™ zinc-based battery technology for the project — see the press release
Constellation Energy Corporation Tuesday reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 — see the press release
U.S. military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indo-Pacific Command (IndoPaCom) region on Tuesday which was tracked from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean — The Hill
Oil & Gas Texas
Houston Chronicle – February 26, 2026
Texas’s most dangerous statewide candidate in the midterm election wants to oversee one of the least understood state agencies and has a powerful and secretive Republican billionaire bankrolling him. Bo French, known for intolerance and antisemitism, seeks election to the three-member Railroad Commission of Texas, which has nothing to do with railroads and everything to do with oil and gas. The scion of two prominent Fort Worth families, French promises to “cut the stranglehold on oil and gas operators so that Texans can thrive.” Because according to French, Texas Republicans are still oppressing their biggest donors and making the state inhospitable to the fossil fuel industry after 32 years in power. I’m not sure which is more shameful, French’s craven politicking or unrepentant bigotry.
French’s father Bob French made over $100 million drilling for oil and gas and was a major donor to the University of Texas, and his mother Marcia Fuller French was a trustee at Texas Christian University. Bo French used his family fortune to enter politics and lost two races for the Texas Legislature. While serving as the Tarrant County Republican chairman, French got into trouble last year when he posted a poll on Twitter, now known as X. He asked Texans to vote on the “bigger threat to America:” Jews or Muslims? That was too much even for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party. Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas. I am calling for the immediate resignation and replacement of @BoFrenchTX as @tarrantgop chairman,” Patrick posted.
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San Antonio Express-News – February 26, 2026
Valero Energy hit with lawsuits over refinery explosion that left 1 man dead, 4 others injured*
Five lawsuits have been filed against San Antonio’s Valero Energy Corp. over an Oklahoma refinery explosion and fire that left one worker dead and four others injured. The family of Jesse Biscamp has filed a wrongful death suit over the Feb. 9 incident at Valero’s Ardmore refinery. He died two days after the fire. The suit filed in Houston names Valero Energy, Valero Refining-Texas LP and his employer, Deer Park-based UPS Industrial Services LLC, as defendants.
Three of the injured workers filed their suits in state District Court in San Antonio. The refinery is about 100 miles north of Dallas and employs about 270 people. Those four suits each seek more than $1 million in damages. It couldn’t immediately be determined where the fifth lawsuit was filed. Valero issued an emailed statement Thursday. “Valero is providing the medical coverage for the injured workers and is working cooperatively with regulators to determine the cause of the fire,” it said. “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – February 26, 2026
Viper Energy grows to $18 billion after deals, eyes S&P 500 listing*
Viper Energy helped pioneer the mineral and royalty ownership market, becoming the first such company to go public in the U.S. in 2014. Viper was founded in 2013 and went public a year later, according to Chief Executive Officer Kaes Van’t Hof, attending a Midland Wildcat Committee reception honoring the company. At the time, he said it was a new business model, explaining that Viper was founded because “minerals and royalty ownership is all free cash flow and no capital expenditures and should trade at higher multiples than exploration and production companies.”
Beginning with a $2 billion valuation, the subsidiary of Diamondback Energy is now capitalized at $18 billion. Last year, the company made two $4 billion acquisitions. One was the dropdown acquisition of Endeavor minerals following Diamondback’s purchase of Endeavor Energy Resources. Another was the $4.1 billion acquisition of Sitio Royalty, which Van’t Hof said doubled Viper’s size.
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Maritime Executive – February 25, 2026
An American Energy Company is Preparing to Drill for Oil in Greenland
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the annexation of Greenland on national security grounds, noting the increased activity of other powers in the region. Greenland’s rich deposits of rare earth elements also come up in the heated debate over the island’s ownership. Often overlooked in the debate, however, is the potential presence of a vast repository of onshore oil – and current, active efforts by an American company to drill for it. …
After a period of quiet preparation, the current license holders are preparing for an exploration campaign in the area. The license is currently 100-percent owned by 80 Mile, a firm based in London. Texas-based company March GL stands to accumulate a 70 percent stake in the development of the license area once drilling commences. … For its part, March GL is on track to sell itself to a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, and will soon become the publicly-listed “Greenland Energy Company” – to be helmed by March GL CEO Robert Price, a longtime oil executive and serial entrepreneur. Under this management structure, the project is moving forward. Halliburton has been hired to handle logistics. Petroleum engineering will be handled by IPT, and Stampede Drilling has been hired for drilling services.
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Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
Scott Bessent Tosses Out an Economic Valentine to Texas (blog)*
The world’s eighth-largest economy earned a Valentine from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the other day. He was in Dallas hours after the US Supreme Court struck down his boss’s signature tariff regime. And right about the same time that President Donald Trump was blasting the justices’ decision, Bessent was gushing about Texas. “Texas is what a diversified economy looks like,” Bessent said in a speech at the Old Parkland complex to the Economic Club of Dallas, citing advanced manufacturing, technology and finance. He added: “In many respects, Texas embodies what this administration is working to build nationally.”
Bessent’s remarks landed at the intersection of policy and politics in this midterm year. While job growth slowed in 2025, Texas boasts a swelling population, wins in corporate relocations, a resurgent energy industry and a data-center boom. GDP growth ranks No. 5 among the states since 2022, made all the more impressive by Texas’ size (it’s behind only California in state GDP, and would rank ahead of Canada and Russia, among others, if it were an independent country.)
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CPR News – February 25, 2026
Chevron-subsidiary Noble Energy faces $1.53 million penalty for Weld County oil blowout
State regulators have proposed fining the Chevron-subsidiary Noble Energy $1.53 million for its role in a massive oil spill last April in Weld County. By far the largest spill in Colorado since at least 2015, a well operated by the company spewed more than a million gallons of oil, natural gas, polluted water and chemicals for nearly four days in rural Galeton, Colorado. A misty plume also contaminated crops, homes and an elementary school about a mile away.
The proposed penalties announced Monday came after the Energy and Carbon Management Commission accused the company of violating six oil and gas regulations during a June 2025 hearing. Those include rules related to pollution, water quality standards and operating equipment safely. Some of those violations carried fines as high as $15,000 a day. The largest penalty came for Noble’s failure to submit soil testing results to regulators within seven days.
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Simply Wall Street – February 22, 3036
Energy Transfer Shifts From LNG To Data Center Fueled Gas Growth
For a company known primarily for long haul pipelines and export oriented projects, NYSE:ET is now putting more emphasis on serving U.S. data centers and power hungry infrastructure. The new Oracle agreement links its extensive natural gas network directly to a large scale tech customer, supported by sizeable, multi year volume commitments. At the same time, pausing the Lake Charles LNG project indicates a shift in capital priorities toward domestic buildout.
For you as an investor, the key point is that this change in focus may alter Energy Transfer’s earnings mix over time toward contracted, infrastructure based cash flows tied to data center demand. As you review the details, it can be helpful to compare pipeline expansion plans, contract terms, and capital spending with the paused LNG export option.
Oil & Gas National & International
Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
BP Goes Big on Shale Oil Drilling as Many Rivals Flatline Output*
BP Plc is aggressively expanding shale drilling, bucking the conservative approach of many rivals, as the UK oil giant seeks to reverse years of anemic output. The company’s BPX Energy unit plans to increase production from shale fields by 8% this year, BPX Chief Executive Officer Kyle Koontz said during an interview in Houston. Shale output equivalent to 500,000 barrels a day would make up roughly 20% of the parent company’s current worldwide production. By the end of the decade, Koontz’s goal is to raise that to 650,000 a day. The plan is part of BP’s grander ambitions of reversing a plunge in production, profits and shareholder value from an ill-starred 2020 pivot to renewables and low-carbon alternatives.
The contrarian move also comes as marquee shale outfits such as Diamondback Energy Inc. and EOG Resources Inc. rein in production growth, taking a wait-and-see approach amid widespread warnings of an impending worldwide crude glut that would tank prices. Koontz, a University of Oklahoma-trained petroleum engineer who cut this teeth at shale pioneer Tom Ward’s SandRidge Energy Inc., aims to squeeze more crude from US shale fields while lowering operating costs, a move that will free up more cash for the parent company’s far-flung international pursuits. “We’re also going to spend $800 million in less capital” on the way to the 2030 target, Koontz said. “The reason that’s exciting for BP is that allows them to sanction other growth projects; they can redeploy that capital to other growth.”
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S&P Global Platts – February 26, 2026
US EPA to finalize biofuel mandate, refinery exemptions by end-March
The US Environmental Protection Agency has submitted the long-delayed proposal for biofuel volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, to the US Office of Management and Budget for approval, said US EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Aaron Szabo on Feb. 25 during a trade conference in Orlando. The EPA sets annual Renewable fuel Volume Obligations, or RVOs, under the RFS, which determines blending obligations and compliance deadlines for biofuel producers and refiners in 2026 and 2027.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard Set 2 final rule is going to OMB today and we will be finalizing the rule by the end of March,” Szabo said at the National Ethanol Conference, organized in Orlando. For 2026-2027, the EPA’s “Set 2” rules proposed higher RVOs compared to previous years, particularly increasing biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel categories.
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MSN – February 26, 2026
Oil sales under US-Venezuela deal expected to reach $2 billion by end of February, US says
Sales under a flagship oil supply agreement between Venezuela and the U.S. are expected to reach $2 billion by the end of this month, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told reporters in Texas on Thursday. The U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil exports shortly after U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in early January, with proceeds going to a U.S.-supervised fund in Qatar.
Since then, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura have been marketing and trading the lion’s share of the OPEC country’s oil under the pact, while partners of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, particularly Chevron, are boosting output and shipments. Earlier in February, Wright projected that oil sales from the country would reach $5 billion within a few months. The export increase is already returning Venezuela’s crude and fuel to markets that had not seen it arriving for months or years.
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Bloomberg – February 26, 2026
A Supreme Court Shield for Big Oil Would Come at Your Expense: Mark Gongloff*
When we talk about someone wanting to both eat their cake and still have it, we’re using a logical impossibility to highlight the cake-haver’s delusional mental state. When it comes to the fossil-fuel industry’s cake and its treatment by President Donald Trump’s administration and possibly the Supreme Court, almost anything is literally possible, logic be damned. Earlier this week, at the urging of Trump’s Justice Department, the Supreme Court agreed to consider an appeal by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc. to throw out a lawsuit brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, that seeks to recoup climate-change damage from the oil giants. It’s not clear whether the high court will ultimately take the case because it also asked the two sides to present arguments on whether the case is truly ready to be heard. Those are expected in the fall.
But the mere fact that the Supreme Court, which has passed on many similar cases before, has finally turned its gaze in Boulder’s direction is not reassuring to Boulder nor to the many other local and state governments taking legal action to help pay for the environmental chaos caused by global heating. The Supreme Court’s attention creates the very real possibility that conservative justices will find a way to give fossil-fuel companies a legal defense against all such actions. Complicating matters is the fact that Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has also declared that, contrary to its previous stance (not to mention earlier Supreme Court rulings and congressional declarations), it no longer considers greenhouse gases a dangerous pollutant needing regulation under the Clean Air Act of 1963.
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February 20, 2026
Newsom’s Climate Policy Backfires: The Wall Street Journal*
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week took a victory lap in London after signing a climate deal with the United Kingdom. California, he said, “is the best place in America to invest in a clean economy because we set clear goals and we deliver.” Yes, behold how Mr. Newsom’s climate policies are delivering higher energy costs, fewer jobs, and even more CO2 emissions. Phillips 66 announced this month it is laying off 277 workers at its Los Angeles refinery as it winds down operations there. Valero Energy plans to shut down a Northern California refinery this spring, which will cost hundreds of more jobs. All told, California has lost roughly a quarter of its refinery capacity since Mr. Newsom became Governor in 2019.
Refiners say the state’s burdensome regulations—e.g., its cap-and-trade program, low-carbon fuel standard and threatened tax on “excessive” gross margins—make it uneconomic to operate older facilities. As a result of refinery closures, California is having to import more gasoline at higher cost from abroad, including—get this—from the Bahamas off the East Coast. California’s refined fuel imports have increased by more than 30% compared to late 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. The top sources are Canada, South Korea, Japan, India and the Bahamas. Why doesn’t California get its gasoline from the energy-rich U.S. Gulf Coast? Because the state lacks pipelines to the region and the 1920 Jones Act requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on American-built, -owned and -operated vessels.
There are few Jones Act-compliant oil tankers in the world. However, some Gulf Coast shippers have devised a nifty Jones Act work-around that involves a circuitous route through the Bahamas. The ironic upshot of the state’s anti-fossil fuel regulations is higher CO2 emissions from all that transport to get the oil to California. In case Mr. Newsom doesn’t know, most oil tankers run on petroleum-based fuels.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
KTXS – February 25, 2026
A $3 Trillion AI boom is set to make Texas the largest data center market on Earth
Texas is projected to become the largest data center market on Earth, driven by an AI-powered infrastructure boom that is expected to funnel roughly $3 trillion into the global sector, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook anticipates global capacity will nearly double over the next decade to meet surging AI workloads. The firm’s North America Data Center Report — Year-End 2025 shows Texas capturing a significant portion of new construction, cementing its role as the world’s leading data center hub by 2030.
While analysts highlight the economic opportunities, residents across West Texas have mixed feelings about this rapid expansion. Abilene resident David Washington shared his perspective on the changes sweeping through the region. “West Texas is trying to grow. Maybe this will help. More people are coming to Texas from different states. I came here from California,” Washington said. “I think we need to just let it happen. People need the jobs. I think this will be great.”
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KLTV – February 26, 2026
ERCOT workshops how to support power requests from data centers
Texas is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top destinations for AI data centers, bitcoin mining operations, and other power-hungry facilities. But there’s a critical problem: the state’s power grid may not be able to keep up with the explosive growth. Massive data centers are sprouting up across Texas—sprawling buildings designed to power AI tools like ChatGPT and Grok. Bitcoin mining operations are expanding rapidly alongside them. All of these facilities share one critical need: enormous amounts of electricity. The numbers are staggering:
-2026: Requests to connect to the Texas grid from “large load” projects could reach 33,000 megawatts.
-By 2030: That number is projected to explode to more than 200,000 megawatts.
ERCOT is currently fielding requests totaling more than 200 gigawatts. That’s equivalent to powering 140 million homes—far exceeding current capacity. To put this in perspective: one gigawatt of power can keep the lights on for 700,000 homes.
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Investing – February 26, 2026
New Era Energy signs LOI to acquire 54 acres in Texas
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. announced Thursday it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire approximately 54 acres of land adjacent to its Texas Critical Data Centers campus in Ector County, Texas. The acquisition emerged from ongoing lease negotiations with a hyperscale tenant and partners, according to a company press release. The additional acreage would expand the company’s TCDC campus to 438 acres, which is planned to scale to more than 1 gigawatt over time.
New Era has begun site advancement activities including land clearing, removal of abandoned pipeline infrastructure, relocation of active lines, and subsurface soil sampling to support civil engineering design.The expansion comes as the company trades at a market capitalization of $262 million, though InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is currently overvalued relative to its Fair Value. Shares have surged over 900% in the past six months, reflecting strong investor interest in AI infrastructure plays.
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Reuters – February 26, 2026
NextEra Energy to sell $2 billion of equity units to fund energy projects*
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The Hill – February 26, 2026
Power plant pollution rose last year, green group analysis finds
U.S. power plant pollution rose last year, according to a green group’s analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data. Emissions of sulfur dioxide increased by 18 percent in 2025, according to an analysis of the EPA data by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
The group found that plants’ nitrogen oxide emissions increased 7 percent and their carbon dioxide emissions increased by 4 percent. Both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can harm people’s respiratory systems. The analysis found that at the dozens of coal plants that President Trump exempted from strict Biden-era standards for Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS), sulfur dioxide emissions increased by 24 percent.
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Utility Dive – February 25, 226
Constellation Energy sees surging power, capacity prices in 2025
Wholesale electricity and capacity prices surged last year in key power markets, according to Constellation Energy, a major independent power producer. Average day-ahead electricity prices in the PJM West region, for example, jumped 49%, to $50.19/MWh; prices in the ComEd region surged 44%, to $36.62/MWh, Constellation said in its annual report, filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market grew 22% last year, to $32.94/MWh, while prices in New England jumped 64%, to $68.56/MWh, according to the report. Fuel prices, generating resources in a region, weather, competition, emerging technologies, as well as macroeconomic and regulatory factors all can affect electricity prices, Constellation said.
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The Hill – February 25, 2026
Trump to announce electricity ‘rate payer protection pledges’ from Big Tech
President Trump, during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, is expected to announce agreements with Big Tech aimed at mitigating data centers’ impact on rising electricity prices. A White House official confirmed to The Hill that Trump is expected to unveil “rate payer protection pledges” under which companies would pay increased electricity costs in areas where new data centers are built.
It’s expected to be one of several economic announcements that Trump makes during the highly anticipated speech. “The President will proudly tout his Administration’s many record-breaking accomplishments, and also lay out an ambitious agenda to continue bringing the American Dream back for working people,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement.
Regulatory
The Hill – February 26, 2026
EPA firing 22 environmental justice staffers, union says
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to fire 22 more of its staffers, a union representing agency employees said Thursday. Justin Chen, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, which represents EPA staff, said that the agency issued reduction in force (RIF) notices to 22 people who work on “environmental justice,” meaning they tackle pollution in overburdened or underserved communities.
“AFGE Council 238 is outraged by the EPA’s decision to issue RIF notices to 22 environmental justice employees whose work ensures that communities disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards receive the protections they are entitled to,” Chen said in a written statement.
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Texas Public Radio (NPR) – February 26, 2026
Secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules are made public
The Department of Energy has made public a set of new rules that slash environmental and security requirements for experimental nuclear reactors. Last month, NPR reported on the existence of the rules, which were quietly rewritten to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs.
The rule changes came about after President Trump signed an executive order calling for three or more of the experimental reactors to come online by July 4 of this year — an incredibly tight deadline in the world of nuclear power. The order led to the creation of a new Reactor Pilot Program at the Department of Energy.
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Politico – February 26, 2026
House approves bill to undo IRA energy efficiency programs*
The House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal energy efficiency programs from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ 2022 landmark climate law. The “Homeowner Energy Freedom Act,” H.R. 4758 from Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas), would scrap efforts to help low- and middle-income households make home improvements that save energy. “These green energy regulations fail to lower utility costs and increase overall costs of new homes,” Goldman said during floor debate. “This bill restores Americans’ freedom to make their own choices in their own homes.”
The bill passed 210-199 with only Republican support. One Democrat, Don Davis of North Carolina, voted present. House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and other bill critics framed their argument from the affordability lens. They say energy efficiency rollbacks hurt Americans’ bottom line. “Last night, the president finally admitted that the people — the American public — are concerned about price increases,” Pallone said about President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. “If you care about affordability, why would you repeal a rebate program that helps Americans with their electricity bills?”