Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday, September 1, 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
Oil prices gained on Tuesday as the resumption of fighting between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East renewed fears of supply disruptions from the world’s key crude-producing region.
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 83 cents, or 1%, to $86.59.
Brent crude futures were up 56 cents, or 0.6%, to $91.05 a barrel at 0044 GMT.
In the previous session, Brent closed up 2.7%, at one point reaching its highest since August 25, and WTI settled up 2.8%, touching its highest since August 21.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further strikes against Iran following the first exchange of direct attacks between the countries in a month on Sunday, raising tensions in a conflict that had recently shifted into an economic standoff.
“These bring the potential for Iranian retaliation back into the equation. That in turn raises the prospect of damage to energy infrastructure around the Gulf and adds fresh uncertainty for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Both of those risks are being reflected in the firmer tone in crude prices,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM.
.
Top Stories
CNBC – August 31, 2026
Venezuela grants U.S.-backed oil firm NABEP 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields, White House says
Also see: Firms including Chevron, ONGC, GE Vernova on track to sign final pacts in Venezuela, sources say* under “Oil & Gas Texas” below
Venezuelan interim authorities have granted U.S.-backed North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields, with proven reserves of about 65 billion barrels, the White House said on Monday. NABEP is the second-largest private oil producer in Venezuela. The company has granted the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital an equity stake of 35% in its corporate parent, according to the White House, representing up to “hundreds of billions in value and dividends for the United States.”
President Donald Trump announced Friday a deal with Caracas that would give the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels, or about 20% of the South American nation’s massive oil reserves. The U.S. had about 46 billion barrels in proven oil reserves as of end-2024, according to official figures. In a fact sheet published Monday evening stateside, the U.S. government said it would enjoy the right to purchase, at production cost, a guaranteed 20% of the off-take from all current and future fields NABEP will operate, as part of an effort to facilitate refilling the U.S. strategic petroleum reserves.
________________________________
Reuters – August 31, 2026
Motiva, Exxon preparing East Texas refineries for storm, sources say*
Motiva Enterprises and Exxon Mobil Corp are preparing their East Texas refineries for high winds and possible flooding as a developing tropical storm nears the U.S. Gulf Coast, people familiar with plant operations said on Monday. Motiva and Exxon have not reduced production at their Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas refineries, respectively, but they have secured loose items and equipment that can be blown by high winds or drift in flood waters should those be produced by the developing storm expected to make landfall on Tuesday, the sources said.
Exxon spokesperson Kelly Davila said on Monday the company was monitoring the storm and both its Beaumont and Baytown, Texas, refineries continued to operate normally. A Motiva spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. Cheniere Energy and Freeport LNG said they were monitoring the storm. Cheniere added it would take steps to modify operations if necessary, but there had been no impact on production so far.
________________________________
Bloomberg – August 31, 2026
Oneok to Buy Natural Gas Assets With $9 Billion Apollo Stake*
US pipeline operator Oneok Inc. said it agreed on a $9 billion investment by Apollo Global Management Inc. and affiliates to buy Brazos Midstream Holdings LLC’s natural gas operations in West Texas and pay down debt. Oneok is acquiring Brazos Midstream’s Permian Midland Basin natural gas gathering and processing assets for $4.4 billion as part of the deal, which involves a nonvoting minority equity investment by Apollo, Oneok said in a statement Sunday.
The deal significantly expands Oklahoma-based Oneok’s operations in the prolific Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, enabling it to capture more of the fast-growing volumes of natural gas and natural gas liquids from the region and funnel them through the company’s existing pipelines and processing equipment. It will more than double Oneok’s processing capacity on the Midland Basin side of the Permian, as data centers and liquefied natural gas exports drive up the value of infrastructure in the region. “These assets add a premier Permian Midland Basin platform supported by long-term contracts and attractive growth opportunities,” Oneok Chief Executive Officer Pierce Norton said in the statement. Oneok shares rose about 1.3% before the start of regular trading in New York.
________________________________
Fox News – August 31, 2026
Texas becomes testing ground for new defense against attacks on America’s water systems
The Trump administration is launching “Project Watershed 250” Monday, Fox News Digital exclusively learned, deploying American artificial intelligence and cybersecurity tools to protect Texas water systems from cyberattacks in a pilot the administration plans to scale nationwide. “Project Watershed 250 is another example of President Trump putting American families and communities first. President Trump is relentless in his work to secure our critical infrastructure against our most determined adversaries,” National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross told Fox News Digital.
“President Trump has cemented America’s leadership in AI security and innovation and is now bringing those exquisite tools to local communities and utilities in Texas and ultimately, across the nation through the launch of Project Watershed 250 – a scalable cyber water pilot program.” The Trump administration is bringing federal, state and private-sector cyber defenses together in a six-month Texas pilot aimed at finding vulnerabilities in water systems before adversaries can exploit them — while testing whether the model can be expanded across the country.
________________________________
Politico – August 31, 2026
Is electricity dimming oil’s political power?
Political fortunes across the globe once rose and fell with the price of gasoline. Increasingly, they are tied to the monthly electric bill. That new reality has political leaders across North America and Europe rushing to stave off spiking power prices with an urgency unimaginable even a year ago.
.
The Latest TERse Tips
Tanker struck in Hormuz, raising worries over escalation, as Trump vows to hit Iran ‘hard’ — CNBC
Tropical Storm Edouard formed Monday night in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, prompting tropical storm warnings for coastal Southeast Texas — Houston Chronicle*
Ross fire remains at 31% contained a week after the historically large North Texas fire started — the fire has grown into one of North Texas’ largest wildfires since igniting Aug. 24 in Palo Pinto and Jack counties — Dallas Morning News*
SpaceX to fund up to $220M in Brownsville water projects in exchange for land –– Texas Tribune
Westinghouse Electric Wants to Ride a Nuclear Power Revival to an IPO — the company has a powerful ally with incentive to see it grow: the U.S. government — The Wall Street Journal*
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is announcing a new Texas General Land Office (GLO) initiative: The Texas Engine: Fueled, Fed, and Fortified – a vision for putting Texas’s land and natural resources to work to strengthen our state today and to secure America’s future — through five interconnected pillars, this Texas-sized plan will highlight how the GLO is delivering on dependable energy, unlocking new revenue streams, strengthening domestic manufacturing, securing food production, and protecting Texas’s land, water, and critical resources — see the press release
Estonia’s spy chief: ‘Russia is in a very bad place – revolution could come overnight’ — in his first interview with a British newspaper, Kaupo Rosin discusses Putin’s fractured inner circle and the looming threat against Nato — The Telegraph
.
Oil & Gas Texas
Reuters – August 31, 2026
Firms including Chevron, ONGC, GE Vernova on track to sign final pacts in Venezuela, sources say*
U.S. companies Chevron and GE Vernova, India’s ONGC, Italy’s Eni and Colombia’s GeoPark are on track to sign final agreements in Venezuela after months of negotiations to firm up energy projects in the OPEC country, five sources close to the preparations said. Most of the pacts imply completion of a six-month migration of oil contracts to an amended hydrocarbon law now giving more flexibility to foreign firms to expand and operate oilfields, export the barrels and cash sale proceeds, the sources said. Others set terms for new energy and electricity projects.
The list of companies lining up to sign has not been finalized as executives are rushing to complete negotiations at the last minute, two of the sources said. Chevron’s agreements with Venezuela are expected to be “of significant size,” according to one of the sources. The company is trying to add a block in the vast Orinoco Belt to its portfolio, which would allow one of its joint projects with state-run PDVSA to expand, two sources said, and Chevron also aims to negotiate an area in Monagas North that could become a key source of diluents for its extra-heavy oil output.
________________________________
Houston Chronicle – August 31, 2026
Houston’s SLB, formerly Schlumberger, to acquire data center firm Kelvion for $3.4 billion*
Oilfield services giant SLB announced plans Monday to acquire Kelvion, a German thermal management company focused on the data center industry, for $3.4 billion in cash. Formerly known as Schlumberger, SLB’s multi billion-dollar bet on the data center boom comes as oil and gas companies jump deeper into the industry while political tides in both Texas and nationally may be turning against data centers. “AI is driving the most significant infrastructure investment cycle in our lifetime,” Olivier Le Peuch, SLB’s chief executive officer, said in a statement of the deal.
Houston-based SLB has spent billions in the last few years developing a dedicated data center division, and the acquisition of Kelvion would expand its offerings. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027 and includes $3.4 billion in cash and the assumption of $700 million in debt. Data centers make up more than half of Kelvion’s total sales. The German firm specializes in the cooling and heat-transfer technologies needed for data centers to operate. While Texas’ energy companies are going all-in on data centers – Chevron and Microsoft announced a partnership on a massive West Texas project in June – state and federal lawmakers are considering pausing the country’s rapidly growing data center plans.
________________________________
KIII – August 31, 2026
When President Donald Trump visited the Port of Corpus Christi in February, he was already talking about what more Venezuelan oil could mean for Texas and the Coastal Bend. Now, months later, a new 25-year partnership between the U.S. government and a major Venezuelan private oil company could significantly increase the amount of Venezuelan crude entering the American market.
Trump said during an exclusive interview with 3NEWS during his February visit that Venezuelan oil was already being sent to Texas and Corpus Christi. “We took over the oil and we’re working very closely with the Venezuelan representatives and the president of the country,” Trump said. “A lot of that oil is being sent to Texas and a lot of it is coming right here to Corpus Christi.” Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and much of its crude is heavier than oil produced in other parts of the world.
________________________________
Offshore Energy – August 31, 2026
Cheniere hits 5,000-cargo mark as project in Texas lifts LNG capacity to 56 mtpa
U.S. energy player Cheniere Energy has reached substantial completion at the third stage of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Texas and exported its 5,000th LNG cargo, marking a major expansion of its U.S. liquefaction capacity and a decade of rapid growth in the global LNG market. The Stage 3 project milestone at its Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) facility in Texas was achieved on August 28, 2026, when Bechtel Corporation, the firm’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, turned over care, custody and control of Train 7 to Cheniere. Bechtel got the full notice to proceed on CCL Stage 3 in June 2022, with LNG production from the first train achieved in December 2024.
According to the company, CCL Stage 3 increases LNG production capacity at CCL by more than 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to more than 25 mtpa, raising the firm’s overall production capacity by over 20% to approximately 56 mtpa across its two U.S. Gulf Coast liquefaction facilities. The project was completed safely, on budget, and ahead of schedule.
________________________________
KIII – August 27, 2026
A $1.2 billion refinery is coming to South Texas, and it’s being built on farmland
A longtime San Patricio County farmer is preparing to make a major change to his land, selling part of his farmland for a $1.2 billion refinery project that developers say could become one of the first new oil refineries built in the United States in more than 50 years. Bobby Nedbalek has spent decades farming cotton in the area. Now, he is preparing to become a partner in an industrial project expected to bring hundreds of jobs and significant investment to the region.
“It’s better to grow a refinery than it is to grow cotton,” Nedbalek joked. The CCR refinery is planned for about 150 acres of farmland just south of Taft along Highway 631. The site is about three miles from Taft and eight miles from Portland. Construction is expected to begin in October. But developers say the facility will be different from some of the major refineries already operating along the Texas coast. David Luetchford, P.E., with CCR Refinery, said the plant is being designed specifically to process a very light, sweet crude oil rather than the heavier crude processed by larger conversion refineries.
________________________________
Houston Chronicle – August 28, 2026
Three minutes was already too little. Now the Texas Railroad Commission — the powerful agency that decides what the Texas oil and gas industry can and cannot do — wants to take even that. Odessa to Austin is five and a half hours behind the wheel. Kingsville is closer to four. People make that drive every month to stand at a podium in front of the three elected officials. The speakers get up to three minutes. Then they drive home. On August 18, two of those three officials voted to take the three minutes away.
Start with what the old rule already denied Texans, because most people do not know it. You had no guaranteed right to comment on anything already posted on the agenda. If the commission was voting that morning on a permit, a penalty or a rule that would affect your property, you often could not say a word about it. The three minutes at the end were reserved for relevant matters not posted. That was the entire window: The only subject you could raise was whatever the commission had not scheduled itself to discuss. Last week, two commissioners closed that window too.
The new public participation policy passed 2-1. The old policy automatically put a general public comment item on the agenda for every regular open meeting. The new one does not. Now a commissioner has to request it in advance. If none of them asks, the public doesn’t speak at all. Commissioner Wayne Christian, who introduced the policy, said comment would be “at the discretion of the commissioners.” That is the whole problem in six words.
Oil & Gas National & International
US News – August 31, 2026
Depleted US Oil Stash Loses Potency as Iran War Grinds On
Six months into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Washington may find it harder to calm jittery oil markets after U.S. presidents drained the aging Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the last five years. The SPR, which Washington created after the oil crises of the 1970s, holds crude in a series of 60 underground salt caverns along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. After years of releases by former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, the reserve is at its lowest level since 1982, holding just 289.7 million barrels.
The level will drop to about 243 million if Trump releases a final batch of 39 million barrels from a March agreement with the International Energy Agency. More than 30 countries agreed then to release a record 400 million barrels, with the U.S. contributing 172 million, in an effort to calm markets after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28. Oil in the caverns, some of which are as tall as the Empire State Building, floats on top of water. The water level rises as more oil is released, which can damage cavern walls and pipes and pumps that draw out the crude.
________________________________
Marketplace – August 31, 2026
Can U.S. refineries afford to slow down for maintenance season?
U.S. refineries typically start doing fall maintenance in September. But this year is a little different. American refineries are running at 97% capacity. Conflict in other parts of the world has taken out other refineries, squeezing global refined products markets and pushing up prices. Now, upcoming run-of-the-mill maintenance adds even more pressure on markets. U.S. refiners don’t want shut down parts of their refineries: they’re raking in high margins right now from every barrel they make.
“You’re going to do everything you can to keep that refinery running,” said Tom Seng, a professor of energy finance at Texas Christian University. “We’re not talking band-aids. You’re going to do the required maintenance at a minimum.” Across the U.S., companies have been running their refineries to make as much gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as possible. Seng said that at some point, their equipment will need some work. “You can’t be running 97% continually for months and not have something break,” he said.
________________________________
NPR – August 31, 2026
The U.S.-Venezuela oil deal won’t lower your gas prices. Here’s what you need to know
The U.S. doesn’t have a national oil company, which raises questions about how this will work The idea that the U.S. government becomes a shareholder of this joint venture is “extremely unusual,” says Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University. Unlike Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco, or Mexico’s Pemex, the U.S. doesn’t own a national oil company.
“We have no government-owned operational capability per se in the oil and gas sector,” says Gerald Kepes, president of Competitive Energy Strategies, an energy consultancy in Washington, D.C. “The question is, who’s going to operate on the ground?” There’s a private Venezuelan company involved in the deal, according to the U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. It’s still unclear how this partnership will work.
________________________________
S&P Global Platts – August 31, 2026
Legal questions cloud reported US stake in Venezuela oil fields
Reports that the Trump administration is exploring an ownership stake in Venezuela’s oil resources have raised questions among legal experts about whether such an arrangement is permissible under Venezuelan law. Axios reported Aug. 27, citing unnamed US officials, that discussions are underway over a possible ownership structure covering Venezuelan oil fields. “There is talk of creating a new US-Venezuelan company, but that’s all we know so far; it’s an issue being handled on a government-to-government basis,” a PDVSA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Platts Aug. 28.
The White House and State Department could not be reached for comment Aug. 28. Venezuela holds close to 364 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves, according to S&P Global Energy CERA, among the largest crude endowments of any country.
________________________________
August 31, 2026
Trump Takes the Oil in Venezuela: The Wall Street Journal*
President Trump has long said he favors “taking the oil” when the U.S. intervenes overseas, and now he is doing so in extraordinary fashion. His deal announced late Friday with unelected President Delcy Rodríguez for rights to 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves looks less like a normal commercial transaction than it does the famous scene of U.S. businessmen meeting with the Cuban strongman in “The Godfather Part II.”
“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said he’ll use Venezuelan oil to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve that has been extensively tapped by him and Joe Biden.
Official details of the agreement are scarce, but the facts reported by the Journal over the weekend aren’t cause for enthusiasm. The U.S. will take a 35% stake in a private company run by Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan businessman close to Ms. Rodríguez. The Betancourt firm, North American Blue Energy Partners, will be able to develop those 65 billion in reserves, and the U.S. will have preferential rights to 20% of what the firm produces at the cost of production.
The U.S. investor here will be the Pentagon, of all agencies, which will structure the investment through penny warrants that will gain the equity stake without taxpayer cash. The legal authority for this is far from clear, since the Defense Department is investing in a foreign entity. Can the Pentagon Office of Strategic Capital take such equity stakes? Why is the Pentagon even playing in global oil markets when it has enough to do buying new weapons in short supply and reforming its broken procurement process? The global oil market is under stress from the Iran war, but by and large it does a good job of matching supply and demand.
________________________________
CNBC – August 31, 2026
The $3 trillion oil market has just gotten more accessible than ever: No longer a ‘rich man’s game’
Oil trading was once largely the preserve of commodity houses, institutional investors and professional traders able to make bets involving thousands of barrels at a time. That barrier has gotten much lower. CME Group began offering a new futures contract Sunday that represents 10 barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude, which means a trader would pay about $860 at current prices. This compares with 100 barrels for CME’s Micro WTI contract and 1,000 barrels for its standard contract.
The move marks the latest step in what some market watchers describe as the “democratization” of oil trading, following years of growth in online brokerage platforms, exchange-traded funds and smaller futures contracts. “Trading oil used to be a rich man’s game,” said Zavier Wong, market analyst at eToro Singapore.
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
San Antonio Express-News – August 31, 2026
Timeline: How long were some San Antonio residents without power?
Nearly 2,000 San Antonio residents remain without power on Monday, August 31, after severe storms swept through the region. Some residents say they have been without power for several days as CPS Energy works to restore service. Local Sofia Gonzales tells MySA her home lost power on Friday, August 28, around 9 p.m. Temperatures neared the triple digits over the weekend, making it “unbearable” indoors, she said. Her home thermostat reached 87 degrees.
“We lost food in the freezer,” Gonzales said. “I couldn’t even make a hot cup of coffee. I can’t believe how much I take electricity for granted.” The San Antonian spent one night at their sister’s home and another night with her aunt at a downtown hotel. Gonzales says San Antonio seemed to help residents amid the inconvenience. “We had communication; they set up accessible emergency shelters and provided vital resources,” Gonzales said. Her home regained power sometime on Sunday, August 30. For more than a hundred homes on the west and central sides of town, the story is different; they are still waiting for power to be restored. Some social media users have called on San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and CPS Energy to make changes so this doesn’t happen again. Here’s everything we know about how it started.
________________________________
Business Insider – August 31, 2026
Elon Musk says SpaceX will build its own gas turbine parts to meet surging AI power demand*
SpaceX is building a gas turbine blade factory as it grapples with a global scramble to secure energy supplies for AI data centers. Elon Musk said on Saturday that the rocket company will manufacture its own gas turbine parts, adding that solar power alone would not be enough to power its massive AI infrastructure buildout.
In a post on X, Musk wrote that SpaceX and Tesla were both racing to build their own massive solar panel factories “as fast as possible” — but added that this would not be enough to meet surging demand for electricity. “Natural gas will still be needed to supplement and bootstrap solar for several years,” Musk said, adding that SpaceX would seek to build its own gas turbine blades and vanes — which are notoriously difficult to manufacture — to speed up production.
“By doing in-house casting at SpaceX, we can accelerate natural gas turbines coming online by up to 18 months, which is a profound game-changer,” the billionaire said.
________________________________
Utility Dive – August 31, 2026
California sues Trump administration over offshore wind ‘extortion racket’
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration and the developer of Golden State Wind over the “buy back” agreement the two parties reached for an offshore wind lease off the state’s central coast. Golden State Wind’s lease area in Morro Bay, OCS-P 0564, had an estimated 2 GW of installation capacity. The Canada Pension Funds Investment Board and Ocean Winds, a joint venture owned by Engie and EDP Renewables, submitted the $150.3 million winning bid for that lease. In April the developers reached an agreement with the Trump administration to receive $120 million in exchange for the lease being cancelled.
The Trump administration has made similar deals with several offshore wind developers, starting with a March deal with TotalEnergies, a French multinational energy and petroleum company. Under that deal, TotalEnergies agreed to “relinquish” two offshore wind leases off the coasts of North Carolina and New York with a combined capacity of 4.2 GW in exchange for $928 million.
________________________________
Oil Price – August 29, 2026
Mexico’s Green Energy Push Is Finally Gaining Momentum
After a delayed start under the previous government, Mexico is now well on its way to undergoing a green transition. President Claudia Sheinbaum has launched an energy reform that opens Mexico’s energy sector to greater private investment and focuses on expanding the country’s renewable energy sector. Meanwhile, the approval of several solar and wind projects demonstrates the government’s commitment to the accelerated deployment of clean energy.
In February, Sheinbaum launched Mexico’s strategic energy transition roadmap, which includes achieving oil production of 1.8 million bpd and deploying a $43.6 billion investment package. The government aims to add more than 32 GW of new electrical generation capacity by 2030, at least 70 per cent of which should come from renewable sources.
________________________________
S&P Global Platts – August 31, 2026
US, Canadian battery sectors eye ‘huge potential’ to partner despite trade feud
Rising trade tensions between the US and Canada have cast a shadow over efforts to create an integrated North American supply chain for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, according to a panel of industry groups and market participants on both sides of the border. But previous initiatives and investments have built a foundation that can endure if the trade partners can end a deepening feud that threatens to hike materials prices and impede cross-border business, panelists agreed.
“We are kind of at a low point in trust between us,” Robert Tremblay, western policy manager at Energy Storage Canada, said on an Aug. 27 webinar co-hosted by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Energy Storage Canada. “That is going to be … a barrier to building a North American supply chain.” The US-Canada trade relationship has soured during President Trump’s second administration, with Canada recently announcing 15% to 50% tariffs targeting about $20 billion in imports from the US, starting Sept. 8. Those counter tariffs came after the US imposed 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian imports on Aug. 22 in response to failed trade talks.
________________________________
electrek – August 28, 2026
Renewables’ installed capacity to beat natural gas within a year – EIA data
Including new small-scale solar, renewables’ capacity is likely to surpass natural gas by summer 2027 or sooner, according to new data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign. Renewables and battery storage are projected to add about 82.9 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in the US by June 30, 2027, while total fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity will fall by almost 3.1 GW.
According to the EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through June 30, 2026), renewably generated electricity during the first half of 2026 was 10.9% greater than in the same period of 2025. The growth was led by utility-scale solar (up 21.6%), small-scale solar (up 13.0%), hydropower (up 10.1%), and wind (up 6.5%). By comparison, the electrical output of the US’s nuclear power and natural gas plants grew much more slowly – by 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively. Electricity produced by US coal plants fell by 11.3%.
________________________________
Reason – August 26, 2026
The Backlash Against Data Centers Is Bipartisan, Nationwide, and Wrong: Tosin Akintosa
Americans really don’t like data centers. According to a recent poll from Heatmap Pro, 75 percent of Americans “would oppose a new data center being built near where they live.” And as the responses from a March Gallup poll show, opponents of these facilities think data centers are noisy, bad for the environment, and bad for property values. Other commonly cited concerns include the data centers’ exorbitant water and electricity use. These would be valid reasons to oppose data centers if they weren’t unfounded. Yet, true to form, politicians are trying to capitalize on the misdirected public fury.
On Sunday, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott went on ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos to discuss why he had “pressed pause” on new data center construction in the state. After calling Texas the “epicenter of AI development” last November, Abbott recently mounted an about-face to slow data center buildout in his state. In June, he ordered the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to take steps to protect Texas residents “from the costs of data center expansion.” In August, Abbott escalated his campaign, directing the PUC and ERCOT to audit all data centers in the process of connecting to the state’s electricity grid and pause all new construction until the audit is complete.
Regulatory
KRIV – August 31, 2026
Texas approves $138B transportation plan, including Houston-area highway projects
Texas transportation leaders have approved a 10-year plan projecting $138 billion in investments for highways, road maintenance, congestion relief, safety projects and other infrastructure statewide. Gov. Greg Abbott announced the plan after the Texas Transportation Commission approved the 2027 Unified Transportation Program, or UTP, during its August meeting.
The plan includes $95 billion for transportation projects across Texas over the next decade, supported by another $43 billion in project development and routine maintenance funding, according to the governor’s office. “This $138 billion investment will strengthen our roadways, reduce congestion, improve safety, and support growing communities across Texas,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas’ booming economy and growing population demand a transportation system that keeps people and products moving safely and efficiently.”
________________________________
Reuters – August 31, 2026
US to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirements*
The Trump administration will soon announce sharply lower vehicle fuel-economy standards, reversing a push by the prior administration to force automakers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday. Under Republican President Donald Trump, the federal government has not detailed the final standard, but automakers expect it to be similar to a December proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That proposed a fleetwide average of 34.5 miles per gallon (14.7 km per liter) by 2031, down from 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) under former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“We are about to announce a common-sense fuel economy standard because we want Detroit to build cars that Americans want to buy — not cars that Democrats want Washington to build,” Duffy said at an appearance in Michigan. Biden focused on reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use, accelerating a transition to clean energy and making the U.S. a global leader in clean-energy technology and manufacturing.