Texas Energy Report NewsClips
Tuesday May 26, 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 were mixed Tuesday as U.S. military operations in southern Iran and President Donald Trump’s mixed messaging on the negotiations between Tehran and Washington kept traders on edge.
July futures for international benchmark Brent crude gained 2% to $98.26 a barrel in Asia trading, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for July were trading 5.1% lower at $91.73 per barrel.
The U.S. military said it “conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today,” targeting vessels allegedly trying to deploy mines, as well as missile launch locations. The U.S. Central Command said the actions were intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
Complicating peace talks, Trump said in a social media post Monday that he had encouraged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords aimed at normalizing Arab nations’ ties with Israel.
President Donald Trump said Monday talks with Iran were “proceeding nicely,” although he warned that the U.S. could go back on the offensive if their discussions fall apart.
Earlier, Trump said that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, among other issues, was largely negotiated and would be announced soon.
Top Stories
CNBC – May 25, 2026
Oil market at ‘tank bottoms’ in Asia, and Europe isn’t far behind, warns market veteran Jeff Currie
Oil markets are nearing minimum operating levels in Asia, with Europe likely next and the U.S. potentially facing shortages by July, said veteran market strategist Jeff Currie on Monday, underscoring the global energy shock due to the Iran war. Headline global inventory figures can be misleading as much of the oil stored worldwide cannot be used immediately, said Currie, Carlyle’s chief strategy officer of energy pathways and co-chairman of Abaxx Markets.
A large portion of that oil is needed to keep pipelines and storage systems running safely, leaving only a smaller share available for the market. Asia is already close to these so-called “minimum operating levels,” Currie told CNBC on the sidelines of the UBS Wealth Conference in Singapore. Global oil markets have been under strain since the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year, after disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz sharply curtailed energy exports from the Middle East.
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KTBC – May 22, 2026
Roy files legislation to track data center water, power use
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy filed legislation Friday that would require the Department of Energy to track and report water and energy used by big data centers that received expedited permitting under an executive order The Public Oversight of Water and energy Reporting Act would mandate a federal report to Congress tracking resource consumption of data centers qualifying for benefits under Executive Order 14318. The Trump administration executive order allows for AI data centers that require more than 100 megawatts of electrical load to apply for accelerated federal permitting.
What they’re saying: “As data centers spring up across the country, we need to be mindful of our water and energy resources. States like Texas have been enduring extreme drought conditions, and as we build out energy intensive data center infrastructure, we must have a clear picture of how much water and energy these projects are consuming. The Public Oversight of Water and Energy Reporting (POWER) Act ensures the Department of Energy collects an honest accounting of exactly how much water and energy these projects will use,” Roy said.
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Rigzone – May 23, 2026
NYSE Owner, OKX to Launch Perpetual Futures Tied to Oil
Intercontinental Exchange Inc., owner of the New York Stock Exchange, is working with crypto exchange operator OKX to launch oil futures contracts that never expire. ICE’s futures prices for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate, known as WTI, will underpin the new perpetual contracts offered on OKX’s platform, the companies said in a statement Friday. The new contracts will be available on OKX, in which ICE holds a stake, across territories where the crypto company is already licensed to offer perpetual futures.
“Oil markets are critical to the world economy,” Haider Rafique, global managing partner at OKX, said in the statement. Bringing ICE’s benchmarks “into regulated perpetual futures is exactly the kind of bridge between traditional and digital markets that market participants have been asking for.”
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May 24, 2026
The US-Israel war with Iran was predicted to cause the worst energy crisis in history, according to the International Energy Agency. Around 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 25% of its seaborne oil supplies were affected. The impact should have eclipsed the oil shocks of the 1970s.
But despite early panic, the crisis hasn’t been as widespread as anticipated. Oil prices have dropped, even though the Strait of Hormuz hasn’t fully reopened. Why? Four reasons. First, oil markets are behaving as if the conflict will be over soon. Second, other oil producers have seized the opportunity. Third, demand for oil has fallen. And fourth, nations have been burning through their oil reserves.
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ESG Today – May 25, 2026
Enbridge to Develop $1.2 Billion Solar & Storage Project to Power Meta Data Centers
Canada-based energy infrastructure company Enbridge announced a new $1.2 billion solar and battery energy storage (BESS) project in Wyoming to support tech giant Meta’s growing data center operations, expanding the companies’ clean energy partnership to approximately 1.6 GW of contracted capacity across North America.
According to the companies, the new Cowboy Project, located near Cheyenne, Wyoming, will combine 365 MW of solar generation capacity with a 200 MW/1600 MWh battery energy storage system, and is designed to deliver dispatchable power, improve grid resiliency, and support greater integration of renewable energy into the regional power system.
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Texas Tribune – May 21, 2026
Hurricane season expected to be mild in 2026, but officials urge Texans to stay prepared
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting a below-normal Atlantic hurricane season, officials said Thursday, citing the expected El Niño weather pattern which tends to suppress hurricane formation. The agency forecasts eight to 14 named storms, with up to three potentially becoming Category 3 or higher hurricanes — which have wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour.
Hurricane season starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Last year was particularly quiet in the Gulf of Mexico — no named tropical storms or hurricanes made landfall in Texas. In 2024, Texas was struck by Tropical Storm Alberto and Hurricane Beryl — a Category 1 that left millions of Texans without electricity for days.
The Latest TERse Tips
Some social media posts indicate that the price of gasoline is up considerably in Russia, with long gas lines in at least one area, the city of Tver, and gas lines in other cities
A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at another Russian oil terminal over the weekend, local officials in Russia’s Krasnodar region said Saturday, in what appeared to be the latest attack on Moscow’s vital oil industry — Associated Press
Automakers are rationing synthetic motor oil and dealerships and distributors are stockpiling as the Iran war diminishes supply of the specialized lubricant that most vehicles need to meet strict manufacturer specifications and protect against engine wear — Auto News
Average power prices in Mexico’s main wholesale electricity market fell 45% year-on-year in April, reflecting a fall in natural gas prices and the rising share of combined cycle gas turbine plants — natural gas, imported from Texas, is used to generate most of Mexico’s electricity — BNAmericas
“Greenland could be exporting 2 million barrels of oil a day right now” — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), who is serving as President Trump’s special envoy to Greenland after what he called an “eye opening” visit there, “Think about what that could mean. Think about what kind of pressure that would relieve in the Strait of Hormuz.” — The Hill
Frontier Power USA has inked a deal to buy a 480-MWh portfolio of battery energy storage system development projects from US battery storage developer and IPP firm Bimergen Energy Corporation, marking the first acquisition under its exclusive project pipeline — Renewables Now
Will This ‘Miracle’ Battery Finally Change Your Mind About EVs? — a Finnish startup claims to have perfected a revolutionary new battery. Whether the hype is to be believed, solid-state technology is coming—and it’s a potential disruptor for the entire EV industry — The Wall Street Journal*
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Matador Resources Company and MRC Energy Company’s Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings at ‘BB’ — Fitch
Sunraycer Renewables secures $901 million for solar and BESS projects in Texas — Renewable Watch
Bimergen Energy agreed to sell a 480 MWh ERCOT battery energy storage development portfolio to Frontier Power USA –– the three-project portfolio includes two “Texas 10” assets and a 100 MW / 400 MWh project, with NTPs expected mid-2026 — Stock Titan
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Oil & Gas Texas
Oil Price – May 22, 2026
Higher Oil Prices Tempt US Drillers To Turn Up The Volume
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 558, down just 8 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 10 to 425 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 30 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3. Gas rigs now sit at 125, which is 17 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during week ending May 15. US crude oil production averaged 13.702 million bpd during the reporting period—just 160,000 bpd under the all-time high. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending May 15 by 5 again this week, reaching 184 crews—the highest level since last June.
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E&E News By Politico – May 22, 2026
Republicans propose emissions carve-out for small oil producers*
Congressional Republicans introduced legislation in both chambers Thursday that would exempt small oil and natural gas producers from emissions tracking requirements. The “Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act” is the latest in a flurry of Republican bills seeking changes to the Clean Air Act. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) are sponsoring the proposal.
The bill would create a Clean Air Act carve-out for “marginal wells” — low-producing onshore oil and gas wells — so they would not need to comply with federal reporting requirements for emissions such as methane. It is intended to give operators “the long-term certainty that EPA rulemaking alone simply cannot guarantee,” according to Lummis’ office.
Midland Reporter-Telegram – May 23, 2026
Western Midstream eyes revenue stream from produced water*
Three revenue streams support Western Midstream’s growth: natural gas gathering and processing, crude oil and natural gas liquids gathering and transportation, and produced water services. “Brazos is important for us. It’s an important growth opportunity that expands our footprint,” said Chad Unrau, senior director, beneficial reuse at Western.
“That’s focused around natural gas, but we need growth across three revenue streams to continue to grow,” he said. Produced water services will become an important revenue stream, Unrau told the Reporter-Telegram, especially as beneficial reuse becomes more prevalent. “This is one of those unique opportunities like to create a winning situation for everyone,” he said. “The industry has large water volumes. Communities are water challenged.”
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Midland Reporter-Telegram – May 23, 2026
Northern Oil eying billions in asset acquisitions*
Rising oil prices are bringing less-developed oil properties to market, and Northern Oil & Gas is ready. “People are willing to sell in every market (but) with undeveloped potential, it’s only when oil prices are high. We see $70 as the magic number where quality assets come to market,” said Nick O’Grady, CEO. The company is evaluating more than $10 billion in oil and gas assets as well as tracking several high-quality Permian Basin packages.
That figure could rise, O’Grady said. “Some of the majors are putting packages on the market and some are quite large,” he explained. Adam Dirlam, the company’s president, said the upstream sector has seen significant consolidation in recent years. “Integration takes time, so now it seems noncore assets (to consolidated companies) are coming to the market in different ways, either unit by unit or in larger packages.” The company, the nation’s largest publicly traded nonoperated upstream energy asset owner, is seeing a pickup in interest in developing the Barnett and Woodford benches, but the challenge is the cost, O’Grady said. They will be costlier until they are fully developed, he added.
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Financial Times/Streamline Feed – May 24, 2026
Can Exxon Build the World’s Biggest Carbon Capture Business?
Towering steel pipes rise above the Texas coastline, representing billions of dollars staked on a singular, controversial premise. ExxonMobil is racing to construct the largest carbon capture business on earth, betting its future on burying the emissions it helped create.
The energy behemoth faces mounting backlash from Gulf Coast communities and environmental advocates who view the carbon capture initiatives as a dangerous diversion rather than a climate solution. The outcome of this colossal industrial gamble will redefine the future of the fossil fuel industry and shape global decarbonization strategies for the next fifty years.
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Fortune – May 24, 2026
It took over a decade, but NextDecade’s longshot bet to lead LNG in Texas is finally paying off*
The war in Iran and the disruption of flows from Qatar have placed renewed global focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which must be chilled into liquid form for overseas tanker transport. The U.S. has emerged as the world’s top LNG exporter in recent years, supplying energy-hungry markets across Europe and Asia. Most U.S. LNG capacity is concentrated along a corridor stretching from Corpus Christi, Texas to south of New Orleans. NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG is an outlier—located another 160 miles south of Corpus Christi to the southern tip of Texas.
“The geopolitical volatility that we’re now seeing has made people aware of the fragility of our global energy system, and it’s more vulnerable than people thought,” NextDecade CEO Matt Schatzman told Fortune. Founded in 2010, NextDecade is finally bringing Rio Grande LNG online—slated to begin production early next year and continue expanding through 2036, adding roughly one new liquefaction unit, called a train, per year. The first phase of three trains—capable of powering more than 20 million households—is expected to be complete by early 2029. Ten trains are planned in total, half of which are now under construction, producing enough energy for 65 million households.
Oil & Gas National & International
S&P Global Platts – May 25, 2026
Carbon markets face governance risks seen in financial markets
Carbon markets are now grappling with the same governance, legal, and financial risks that have long challenged global financial markets, industry experts at Innovate4Climate during Ecosperity Week in Singapore said during a May 22 panel, raising questions about market integrity and long-term viability. One of the prominent themes throughout the discussion was that integrity now sits at the center of the carbon market, as the market attracts more compliance buyers and institutional capital, with confidence in the credibility of carbon credits becoming essential.
Juan Carlos Arredondo, director of knowledge and policy at Abatable, a member of the Technical Advisory Body for the CORSIA carbon-cutting scheme, explained that within such systems, liability revolves around two fundamental questions: whether credits genuinely represent real emissions reductions, and whether host countries correctly account for those transfers under the Paris Agreement framework.
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Pipeline & Gas Journal – May 23, 2026
Dakota Access Pipeline Cleared to Operate Under Stricter Rules
The Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating with stricter environmental and safety mandates, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on May 21, in a blow to Native American tribes and green groups who fought the pipeline’s route across a crucial water supply for years. A U.S. court in 2020 ordered the Army Corps, the federal agency overseeing permit approvals, to undertake a more intensive environmental study of the pipeline’s route under a lake that straddles the border of North Dakota and South Dakota.
The pipeline, known as DAPL, has continued to operate during the review. It is the biggest oil pipeline from the Bakken shale oil basin and can transport up to 750,000 barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. A portion of the line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer, runs under Lake Oahe, an artificial reservoir on the Missouri River.
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The Wall Street Journal – May 25, 2026
Peace May Not Be at Hand in Iran: Walter Russell Mead*
Is peace at hand between the U.S. and Iran, or is talk of an end to the war just more hype and spin? Is the potential agreement, as President Trump insists, a good deal that is much tougher than anything the Obama administration managed to negotiate? Or is it the thinly disguised surrender of a Trump administration desperate to liquidate a war the president now privately feels he should never have launched? As of Memorial Day, nobody, possibly including both Mr. Trump and Iran’s supreme leader, seems to know. That shouldn’t be surprising. Both the American president and his Iranian opponents believe that the purpose of speech is less to inform than to spin. Add this to the sensitivity and secrecy with which delicate diplomatic negotiations must proceed, and we have a fog of misleading statements, dramatic but disingenuous social-media posts, and intentionally obfuscatory leaks.
Both sides have an interest in proclaiming an imminent peace. Fuming American motorists want prices to drop at the pump. Mr. Trump’s political allies, haunted by falling poll numbers before the midterm elections, pine for good news. Anxious American allies in the region and beyond long for an end to the war’s energy and trade disruptions. Rumors of peace set financial markets surging. Rumors of renewed hostilities leave traders reeling in despair. On the Iranian side, the rattled political authorities need some good news about sanctions relief to mollify a restless public. Leaders, not unreasonably fearing more waves of Israeli decapitation strikes, yearn for an end to that anxiety. And any result that can be spun as a victory for the Islamic Republic against Israel and the U.S. would provide badly needed legitimacy to an untested, unloved and nepotistically selected supreme leader.
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Politico May 15, 2026
Carney pitches Alberta pipeline pact as proof Canada still works
Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a pipeline agreement with oil-rich Alberta on Friday, presenting it as proof of a “Canada that works” amid a separatist strain in the province. Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met in Calgary to sign a deal that could eventually move more than 1 million barrels of Canadian oil a day to the Pacific, creating a direct export route to major energy markets in Japan, South Korea, China and India. The agreement marks a major shift in the Liberal government’s energy policies. Under Carney, Ottawa is now embracing Alberta’s decadelong push to expand oil production and export capacity. It’s an effort made possible by President Donald Trump’s trade war, which exposed vulnerabilities in Canada’s economic dependence on the U.S.
And as the Alberta separatist movements flares up, Carney is attempting to show he is listening to the concerns of the province, which has long accused Ottawa of restricting resource development. “Today, is also about building trust in a Canada that works, a Canada rooted in cooperative federalism, where we build together pragmatically and ambitiously to achieve our shared ambitions,” Carney said Friday
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Associated Press – May 11, 2026
Bolivia’s fuel shortages and ‘junk gasoline’ drive a surge in electric cars
Tired of gasoline shortages and skyrocketing prices, Simón Huanca took matters into his own hands. The 53-year-old Indigenous artisan imported a Chinese electric car to navigate El Alto, Bolivia’s highest city, using the vehicle to transport both his family and the alpaca wool for his weaving workshop. He also installed a dedicated charger in his own garage, mainly for convenience, but also because there are only three public charging stations serving the vast metropolitan area of El Alto and neighboring La Paz, home to more than 1.6 million people.
“Since last year, I’ve been trying to get an electric car to save on costs,” Huanca said while driving his electric off-road vehicle through a working-class neighborhood. Huanca is one of a small but growing number of Bolivians abandoning their fossil fuel-powered cars for electric vehicles as the South American country grapples with fuel shortages and a presidential decree that ended long-standing fuel subsidies, effectively doubling the cost of gasoline.
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Yahoo! News – May 8, 2026
Pipeline company Enbridge unfazed by rival oil shipping projects
Related; Enbridge CEO says it’s ‘game on’ for growth amid surging energy demand — ‘The best growth opportunities I have seen in 10 to 15 years,’ says Greg Ebel — Financial Post
Related: Gas giant met with White House about New England pipeline project — the plan to increase gas supply comes as the region’s Democratic governors seek reelection, pledging to both green their states’ economies and address high energy prices — Politico*
An executive with Enbridge Inc. says the company is unfazed by rival oil pipeline expansions likely to jockey for oilsands producers’ business, including a revival of sorts for the defunct Keystone XL proposal. If anything, the stepped-up competition is a good sign, said Colin Gruending, who leads Enbridge’s liquids pipelines business.
“We’ve seen other competitors respond to the quite favourable outlook in the Canadian basin, which is not surprising,” Gruending told analysts on a conference call to discuss first-quarter results Friday. If customers do sign long-term contracts on a competing proposal, Gruending said he would “view it as a positive sign and a vote of confidence in the basin and in the outlook.” Chief executive Greg Ebel said the macroeconomic landscape is the strongest he’s seen in more than a decade, as the global oil and gas supply crunch, triggered by the war in the Middle East, drives up demand for the services Enbridge provides.
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Houston Chronicle – May 14, 2026
Gasoline and diesel prices are taking a toll on the economy, and consumers welcomed President Donald Trump joining Democrats in calling for a gasoline tax holiday. But the biggest winner will be Big Oil. Trump surprised Republican allies on Monday when he called on Congress to suspend the federal fuel tax that pays for roads and bridges. The tax adds 18.3 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon for diesel fuel and goes into the Highway Trust Fund. U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Richard Blumenthal, D-N.Y., first proposed a suspension in March after Trump ordered an attack on Iran and fuel prices spiked.
Last month in Texas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — a San Antonio Republican facing his toughest re-election campaign in a decade with stout challengers from the left and the right — told Fox News 4 in Dallas that a suspension “would explode the deficit” and would “not be a solution.” State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee to replace Cornyn, blasted him. “Every day, families are choosing between putting gas in the tank or putting food on the table,” Talarico told a press conference on April 21. “Politicians say we don’t have the money to make gas, or groceries, or utilities, or healthcare, or childcare cheaper. But there’s always enough money for a new forever war.”
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MedPage Today – May 18, 2026
Don’t Let Big Oil Off the Health Liability Hook: Elizabeth Del Buono, MD; Steven Schroeder, MD
As healthcare professionals, we understand the gravity of our responsibilities. We are held to exacting standards, and we accept that our decisions may be scrutinized in malpractice claims. Many of us have been named in such suits; we devote significant time and energy to defending clinical judgments often made under urgent, high-pressure conditions and grounded in the best available evidence. When errors occur and harm results, we recognize the necessity of accountability.
But consider a different kind of responsibility. What if your role were to design, manufacture, or market products that — according to well-established scientific evidence — pose substantial risks to public health — products such as tobacco, opioids, firearms, or fossil fuels?
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The Dispatch – May 20, 2026
We Can’t Sue Big Oil Out of Existence: Alex Trembath
Since the Democrat-led Congress in 2009 tried and failed to pass a cap on carbon emissions, climate activists and policy entrepreneurs have come up with a number of creative ways to impose limits on fossil fuel consumption by other means. These included the misguided but relatively inoffensive civil protests against projects like the Keystone XL pipeline and the anti-Big Oil #ExxonKnew public relations campaign. But more recently, advocates have advanced a wave of coordinated lawsuits against oil and gas companies and the government regulators who have failed to bring the industry to heel.
These “climate liability” suits have reached as far as the appellate court system. In 2024, the 9th Circuit heard, and dismissed, the famous children’s climate lawsuit that argued for a constitutional “right to a stable climate.” More recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, a suit filed against Suncor Energy and Exxon attempting to hold the oil and gas companies liable for damages associated with climate change. A ruling in that case is expected next year, with implications for more than 3,000 similar suits filed by activist groups, attorneys general, and other plaintiffs.
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The Conversation – May 21, 2026
In recent years, at least two dozen local and state governments have sued petroleum companies to recover the billions in costs they have incurred responding to and rebuilding after flooding, storms and wildfires – all of which have been worsened by changes to the climate resulting from burning fossil fuels. Most of these lawsuits, often filed in state courts, make a simple claim: Fossil fuel companies knew for decades that their products were harmful but concealed that fact to protect their profits. The lawsuits ask judges to order companies that have profited from the extraction and sale of fossil fuels to pay for the costs their products have imposed on the taxpaying public.
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear one of these cases, Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, in the term beginning in October 2026. In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the oil companies are asking the nation’s highest court to block state courts from even considering holding the companies liable for climate-related damages.
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Fox News – May 25, 2026
Democrats are powered by high gas prices, forgetting they loved expensive energy: Daniel Turner
Nearly four years after the Biden green agenda sent the price of gasoline past the $5 mark, leftists have found their religion on high prices – or so they say. The Trump administration “needs to stop its crazed policies that cause so much economic pain,” declared former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The American people are paying the price” for “Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran,” added former Vice President Kamala Harris.
As America enters a record-breaking summer driving season and with a midterm election looming shortly thereafter, the overheated political rhetoric from opponents of the Trump administration is predictable. Sadly, missing from the conversation is the wisdom of the economist Thomas Sowell who observed: “there are no solutions, only trade-offs.”
Utilities, Electricity & Renewables
Dallas Morning News – May 22, 2026
Atmos settlement would raise average Dallas residential gas bill by $9.46 monthly*
Dallas has reached a settlement with Atmos Energy that scales back a proposed $11-a-month increase in residential gas bills for the average customer. The gas company initially sought a $38 million revenue increase from Dallas customers under its annual rate review, according to a city memo released Friday. That’s equal to a 10.5% increase for a typical residential customer, or roughly $135 per year.
Under the settlement, the average residential customer would see an increase of about 9.4%, or about $9.46 more per month, according to a presentation for a City Council committee. The average commercial bill would increase by about 6.5%, or $32.35 per month. The new rates would take effect June 1. The memo from Dallas’ chief financial officer, Jack Ireland, comes ahead of a Tuesday briefing with the council’s finance committee. It then goes to full council for consideration May 27, ahead of a May 30 state deadline to act on the request.
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San Antonio Express-News – May 22, 2026
Austin approves $1B to build controversial gas plants*
Austin City Council has approved a controversial plan to build new natural gas plants that Austin Energy officials say are needed to protect residents and the city-owned utility from power shortages and extreme price spikes during severe weather and other grid emergencies. The late Thursday vote came after council members, acting as the board of Austin Energy, discussed the proposal privately in executive session. The council later announced that the item had passed, though the breakdown of the vote was not disclosed. The council also authorized Austin Energy to move forward with wind and battery projects, part of a broader effort to add more power generation as the utility faces rising demand, severe weather risks and mounting financial pressure.
Though the exact price tag is not public due to the competitive nature of the agreement, Austin Energy estimates that the natural gas plants could cost about $1 billion. The controversial proposal came as Austin Energy faces a critical energy crunch marked by soaring demand and cost. Utility officials say the plants are necessary to protect Austin residents and the utility itself from increasing costs. Critics say the decision threatens Austin’s climate goals, commits the city to more fossil fuel use and raises major transparency concerns because basic details — including vendor names, pricing and contract amounts — have not been publicly released.
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Yahoo! News – May 25, 2026
Tesla is building a massive Texas solar factory in its clearest push yet for 100 GW
What if Tesla’s next major energy move was not a vehicle at all, but a sprawling solar manufacturing campus outside Houston? A new report suggests that may be exactly what is taking shape in Brookshire, Texas. According to Electrek, Tesla is developing a major solar manufacturing operation at its Brookshire site, alongside the Megapack battery factory already under construction there. The property is located in Empire West Business Park, about 35 miles west of Houston.
The proposed operation would reportedly span nearly the entire solar manufacturing process — from ingot growth and wafer slicing to photovoltaic cell production and finished panel assembly — creating a vertically integrated facility supported by cleanroom-grade manufacturing space and more than $250 million in construction spending.
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Mexico Business – May 25, 2026
Why Mexico is Less Than 3 Days from a Blackout It Refuses to See: Miguel Medina
Eleven years ago I visited Cuba for the first time. The island was selling what it always sells — beaches, rum, music, 1950s American cars frozen in time — but you could sense something had stopped working long before my arrival: pharmacies with three products, hotels with hot water half a day, hospitals where families brought their own sheets. Cuba’s golden era ended 70 years ago; what remains is the inability to let it go.
In May 2026, Cuba is no longer stuck in the 1950s. It has dropped into the Middle Ages. Blackouts in Havana now reach 22 hours a day. On May 13, the grid registered a deficit of 2,113MW against demand of 3,250MW. The system has suffered seven full collapses in 18 months, including a March 16 blackout that left the entire island dark for 29 hours.
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electrek – May 25, 2026
Musk abandoned his own ‘solar electric economy’ to burn gas for an AI chatbot no one uses
Elon Musk spent years telling the world that solar power was the obvious answer to Earth’s energy needs — that a small patch of desert could power the entire United States. Now, he’s burning millions of tons of fossil fuels to run an AI chatbot that has lost 60% of its downloads, selling the unused compute to a company he called “misanthropic and evil” three months ago, and pitching space-based solar panels right as SpaceX files for a $2 trillion IPO. The contradictions are stacking up faster than xAI’s unpermitted gas turbines.
In July 2017, Musk stood before the National Governors Association and made the case for solar with the kind of clarity that made him an icon of the clean energy movement. “If you wanted to power the entire US with solar panels, it would take a fairly small corner of Nevada or Texas or Utah; you only need about 100 miles by 100 miles of solar panels to power the entire United States,” he said. He added that the battery storage needed for 24/7 power was “1 mile by 1 mile. One square-mile. That’s it.” He called the sun “a giant fusion reactor in the sky” that is “really reliable.”
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Korea News Plus – May 26, 2026
KOSPO partners with Hunt Energy for Texas power trading training
Southern Power (KOSPO) announced on May 26 that the firm has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hunt Energy Network to strengthen its power trading capabilities in the Texas electricity market.
The state-run utility noted that the agreement focuses on establishing a training program for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power trading system.
KOSPO said that the partnership is aimed at improving its understanding of the Texas electricity market while fostering practical expertise in local power trading operations. The agreement follows a separate memorandum signed by the two companies in January regarding the joint development of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Texas.
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S&P Global Platts – May 22, 2026
States espouse need for increased role at PJM as concerns mount over resources, costs
State officials called for increasing their role in PJM Interconnection decision making as the regional organization grapples with multiple challenges, including resource adequacy in the region. Speaking during a panel discussion on the future of PJM governance at a conference held by William & Mary Law School’s Center for Energy Law and Policy May 20-21, an official with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s office said the grid operator’s current structure is inadequate.
“We want PJM to work, but PJM also has to work, and right now, from our perspective, it’s not working,” Jacob Finkel, Shapiro’s deputy secretary for policy, said. “If it were working, we would not have a capacity market that’s in deficit, and capacity prices that are being capped.”
Regulatory
Canary Media – May 20, 2026
California cap-and-invest proposal would threaten state climate goals
California’s top air regulator wants to overhaul the state’s two-decade-old carbon market. But key lawmakers and environmental groups say the effort will undermine the program — and the state’s decarbonization goals. Last month, the California Air Resources Board proposed major changes to the state’s cap-and-invest program. The system was put in place in 2006, becoming the country’s first economy-wide emissions-trading mechanism for refineries, factories, power plants, and other major industrial sites. Together, these sources account for about 80% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The program effectively taxes major emitters and uses the proceeds to fund climate and decarbonization solutions throughout the state. CARB is in charge of managing the program, and ensuring it supports the state’s legal mandate to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030.