SHALE Magazine Volume 2 Issue 3 by SHALE Oil & Gas Business Magazine

Red and Swing States

Reaping IRA Benefits

U.S. AND CHINA COMPETE FOR LATIN AMERICA’S ENERGY WEALTH

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Vision for the Future

while

Finding and producing the oil and natural gas the world needs is what we do. And our commitment to our SPIRIT Values—Safety, People, Integrity, Responsibility, Innovation and Teamwork— is how we do it. That includes caring about the environment and the communities where we live and work – now and into the future.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Robert Rapier

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Suzel Diego

PUBLICATION EDITOR Tyler Reed

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

David Porter

VIDEO CONTENT EDITOR

Barry Basse

STAFF WRITERS

Felicity Bradstock, Tyler Reed

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Elisa Giordano

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING James Moreno / james@shalemag.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

John Collins, Ashley Grimes, Doug Humphreys, Matt Reed

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Courtney Boedeker

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Gargi Bhowal

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Amanda Villarreal

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Felicity Bradstock, Jess Henley, Robert Rapier, Tyler Reed

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Fonzie Munoz

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Malcolm Perez

EDITORIAL INTERN

LeAnna Castro

FACILITATING TRADE ACROSS THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

The Port of Corpus Christi’s Foreign Trade Zone 122 program helps increase global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies. Foreign Trade Zone 122 can defer or reduce duty payments, streamline supply chain costs and help companies thrive in competitive domestic and foreign markets.

LEARN MORE

IN AUGUST, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF PRESENTING AT THE LAS VEGAS MONEYSHOW, WHERE I WAS INVITED TO SPEAK ABOUT THE ONGOING ENERGY TRANSITION. THIS IS A CRUCIAL TOPIC, ONE THAT IS OFTEN MISREPRESENTED OR MISUNDERSTOOD, MAKING IT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY THE REALITIES.

While there is a widespread belief that we are quickly shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the truth is much more complex. Historical data and current trends reveal a different story—global energy demand is rising faster than renewable energy capacity can grow, which means the world remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels to meet this increasing demand.

What this really signifies is that we need a balanced, pragmatic approach to energy policy. Renewable technologies, while promising, have their limitations, particularly when it comes to reliability, storage, and scalability. These limitations need to be acknowledged alongside the need for energy security.

Ignoring the crucial role fossil fuels continue to play could lead to policies that undermine our ability to meet future energy demands. If the assumption is made that we will no longer need fossil fuels within the next decade or two, we risk under-investing in domestic production, making us dependent on foreign nations when fossil fuel demand inevitably continues. This was the case with oil for decades before the shale boom in the U.S. altered the landscape.

Today, a similar situation exists with lithium—a critical resource for producing electric vehicles (EVs) and for renewable energy storage. The United States has fallen behind other nations, particularly China, in securing and producing lithium resources. As the transition to EVs and renewable energy accelerates, ensuring domestic lithium production will become increasingly important. If we fail to develop these resources, we may once again find ourselves reliant on foreign suppliers for a key element of our energy future. This parallels the oil dependency issues the U.S. faced before the rise of domestic shale oil production.

This underscores why energy policy is so important, and why it must be rooted in a clear understanding of the realities we face. Policymakers need to create strategies that account for both the promise and the current limitations of renewable energy technologies. It’s not enough to focus solely on transitioning away from fossil fuels; we need to ensure that we are building a bridge that sustains energy security along the way. A short-sighted approach could lead to energy shortages, price spikes, and an over-reliance on foreign imports—all of which could have serious consequences for the U.S. economy and national security.

Here at Shale Magazine, our mission is to inform and engage in thoughtful discussions about these critical issues. We aim to cover the good, the bad, and the unintended consequences of energy policy decisions, helping our readers stay informed in an ever-evolving energy landscape. In this issue, we dive deeper into many of these topics, offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of the energy sector.

I hope our insights inspire meaningful discussions and thoughtful progress towards a sustainable energy future. And speaking of inspiration, be sure to check out our cover story on Rudy Garza, the leader of CPS Energy. His journey from humble beginnings to the head of the country’s largest community-owned utility for electric and natural gas services is a testament to vision, perseverance, and the power to drive change in the energy industry. His story highlights the kind of leadership that will be essential as we navigate this complex and important transition in the years ahead.

Thank you for reading. Until next time.

ROBERT RAPIER Editor-in-Chief

RUDY D. GARZA

RISING THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION

By:

and

Robert Rapier

Kym Bolado

RAISED

IN

THE

INDUSTRIAL HEART OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, ONE MAN’S JOURNEY FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO A POSITION OF PROFOUND INFLUENCE SERVES AS A BEACON OF INSPIRATION AND DEDICATION. IN THE VIBRANT AND HISTORIC CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, RUDY D. GARZA, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CPS ENERGY, STANDS AT THE INTERSECTION OF TRADITION AND TRANSFORMATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR.

Rudy’s story is deeply interwoven with the values of hard work, community commitment, and an unwavering pursuit of innovation. Rudy’s ascent to the leadership of the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States is more than a tale of professional achievement; it is a narrative rooted in personal growth, community impact, and a vision for the future that balances economic viability with environmental stewardship. As CPS Energy faces the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly evolving energy landscape, Rudy’s leadership is characterized by a forward-thinking approach that honors the past while boldly stepping into the future.

His commitment to his community and heritage is palpable, drawing on the lessons learned from his family’s legacy in the bustling refinery towns of South Texas. The values instilled by his close-knit family have shaped Rudy’s approach to both life and leadership. These early experiences cultivated a sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to the greater good, driving Rudy to pursue a career that aligns personal values with professional objectives.

In this candid conversation with Robert Rapier and Kym Bolado, Rudy opens up about his journey, sharing insights into his personal and professional milestones, his vision for CPS Energy, and his deep-rooted connection to the communities he serves. Through his story, we explore the complexities of leading a major utility company in today’s dynamic energy environment and the personal philosophies that guide him in navigating these challenges.

Robert Rapier: Rudy, you grew up in Corpus Christi, and your grandfather worked in the refineries. Did that influence your interest in the energy sector?

Rudy Garza: Absolutely. Growing up within about two miles of refinery row in Corpus Christi, that’s all I knew. My grandfather worked for American Smelting (ASARCO), which is a zinc smelter in Corpus Christi, about a block away from my elementary

school, St. Theresa. My grandfather was a laborer and eventually became a foreman at ASARCO. He would always say I needed to go into engineering because all the bosses at the plant were engineers. When I started to think about what I wanted to do educationwise, engineering stuck in my head. I was good in math and science, and it made sense. But absolutely, the refinery business and my exposure to it because of my granddad had a lot to do with my career trajectory.

Robert Rapier: What are some of your memories from living near the ship channel, and how did that environment shape your perspective on energy and the industry?

Rudy Garza: The Corpus Christi economy is driven by the jobs along the ship channel corridor. I rode bikes up and down River Road, where all those refineries are, and I practiced baseball at some of the parks in and around that area. For me, that’s how my grandfather put food on our table. I always appreciated the jobs and the economic activity that it created. We had a lot of friends whose parents worked at the refineries, and I have friends and family to this day that work there. It was very much a part of who I was, and we’ve recently purchased two plant sites down in Corpus Christi. So, the fact that we own a power plant within line of sight of the neighborhood I grew up in is cool.

Robert Rapier: I know with me, nobody in my family ever expected me to go to college. Nobody in my family had ever been to college. What was it like for you growing up, or was that something that was expected?

Rudy Garza: My grandparents raised me. I grew up like a lot of Hispanic kids in a multigenerational household. My grandmother finished at the top of her class at La Jolla High School, and she expected every one of her grandchildren to graduate from college. All eleven of my grandparents’ grandchildren got degrees, including me. So, while I didn’t grow up with a ton of college-educated

people around me, it was an expectation that everybody would earn a degree, and I’m proud of that. My grandmother was an amazing lady.

Robert Rapier: That’s incredible. Can you tell me about that? Tell me about your journey through the University of Texas and the University of North Texas and what motivated you to pursue the degrees that you pursued.

Rudy Garza: I’ve always been drawn to the University of Texas (UT). That’s the college I grew up loving. I had no connection to UT necessarily, but, like most Texas kids, you usually align around Texas or Texas A&M. I had an aunt who was pushing me hard to consider A&M and I had an uncle in California who took me on tours of all the California schools. I applied and ended up getting into Stanford. But I ultimately chose Texas because they gave me a scholarship that covered my schooling. I was always a UT guy. It’s a huge part of who I am. I met with an academic advisor when I got to UT and asked what the most difficult engineering program you could get into was, and it was Electrical Engineering. So, I started there and figured I might have to transfer to a different engineering program if it was too hard. But I was able to make it. I’m an active Longhorn alumnus and I’ve served on their advisory board for the College of Engineering.

Robert Rapier: How did your educational background prepare you for the challenges you face today?

Rudy Garza: You learn how electricity works. You don’t learn what you need to know about the job that you’re doing until you get into it and the company you work for teaches you that. That’s universal in the energy industry. After my freshman year in college, I joined the Intern Inroads Internship Program for minority students and started working for TXU in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

So that’s how I got into the business. It was through an internship. However, college teaches you the discipline you need to be a lifetime learner. To this day, I’m still learning

things to be the best CEO I can be. There’s no rule book or training program for being a CEO. You have to know the business and you need to figure out what you don’t know and hire people better and smarter than you to cover the areas that you’re not as strong in, and you put it all together.

I received a great foundation at UT for a broad engineering mindset, and then TXU taught me what I needed to know about the utility business. That foundation is what got me to where I am today.

Robert Rapier: Did you start as an engineer or did you go straight into the business side?

Rudy Garza: The way TXU set up their internship program is they moved me around the business. I interned in a customer service role for one summer, had an engineering role for a couple of summers, and they moved me back to a customer service role my last summer. I started my career off in a customer service environment and then transitioned to an engineering role for two or three years. I didn’t spend a lot of time in the engineering discipline once I got out of school.

My mentors figured out early that I was good with people, and they started putting me in roles where I could take advantage

of that skill set. But the time I did spend in engineering gave me the fundamentals I needed to understand the business. And again, there are a few things you need to have to be capable of being a CEO. You have to be technically sound. You do not have to be an expert, but you have to understand the basics of the business. You have to understand how the business makes money and you have to understand the policy side of the business. I finished at the top of my MBA class at the University of North Texas (UNT). The business foundation of leadership and management are also important because you have to have a good management structure in place to be a good leader. When you consider it all, I think I have a lot of well-rounded experience and educational background that made this opportunity possible for me.

Robert Rapier: You are the first Hispanic leader of CPS Energy. What does that mean to you personally and professionally?

Rudy Garza: I’m proud to be the first to do anything, not a lot of people get that opportunity. And certainly, being the first Hispanic leader at CPS Energy is an honor that’s so humbling. It also means that I need to do a good job.

In an environment where somebody like me has never been given this opportunity, it takes Board Members who care about diversity and are willing to give somebody a shot. Our Board of Trustee members, Dr. Willis Mackey, Janie Martinez Gonzalez, and San Antonio Mayor Nirenberg, took a chance on me. I’ve done everything I can to make the most of this opportunity and to make the community proud. That’s what drives me.

When I go out to schools or to visit elderly folks in the community, they react to me in a way that makes me feel proud. I didn’t think it was possible for me to be a CEO growing up because I never saw a CEO who looked like me. That’s why it’s important. At the end of the day, it’s not about me. It’s about what my opportunity means for people of color and kids who are trying to aspire to do great things. Now, at least, they have a role model to say, “Hey, somebody’s gotten there.”

Robert Rapier: In my experience, every CEO who comes in wants to put their stamp on the job. What are some of the initiatives you implemented at CPS Energy? How did you make that job yours?

Rudy Garza: The first initiative was stabilizing ourselves financially. We were in a tough spot after Winter Storm Uri, and that’s how this opportunity came about for me. We had trust issues with the community, and I immediately got to work stabilizing the organization by getting a rate increase passed through our Board and City Council. Once we got stabilized in that regard, we put a strategy together. Vision 2027, our strategic plan, is a means for us to prioritize billions of dollars’ worth of needed investments to get us from where we have been to where we need to be. That means additional gas supply infrastructure, over a billion dollars of transmission work, the retirement of old gas power plants and building new power plants to replace them. And I need to manage an energy transition that gets us from a traditional-style utility into the Future.

Once you have a good strategy, then it’s up to you to execute, and that’s where we are right now. We’re executing our Vision 2027 strategy ahead of schedule, and I’m proud of my team and the community for getting behind us.

Robert Rapier: One of the things I do is write Utility Forecaster for Investing Daily. A dominant theme recently is the growth of AI data centers and how that’s going to affect power demand. Is that something you see in your area and is that something you’re planning for?

Rudy Garza: Absolutely. We have roughly ten data centers in San Antonio right now and another ten or twelve waiting in the wings. My

job is to provide them service, but these larger loads are more complex. We’re going to have to build transmission in a lot of instances to be able to serve these customers which will include the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and a state regulatory process that takes three to five years.

There are probably some customers that are frustrated because of the time horizon that it will take to get them the service they’re looking for.

We can’t build transmission fast enough to get them serviced immediately. But I feel good that we will figure it out.

Robert Rapier: You talked a lot about the challenges going ahead here. How will the adoption of renewables and increasing sustainability play into all that? It seems like that’s yet another complication in your job with trying to integrate all that into the grid.

Rudy Garza: I don’t subscribe to the notion that renewables are bad and gas is good. The only way you’re going to serve load growth right now is with renewables. San Antonio is number one in solar in Texas and number two in wind. And we’re the fourth largest generator in ERCOT. We have nuclear and coal power as well. So, we’ve figured out a way to balance it all successfully, as has the state.

We’re getting solar built and it’s getting built quickly and we’ll be building a gigawatt worth of battery storage over the next four or five years. You have to have all available resources when you’re in a constrained environment. Do we need natural gas generators? Absolutely. We have to build more of that, too.

When you’re in a growing state, you need to have it all. You don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing what type of resource you can get. You need to have as many resources as you can get on the system.

Robert Rapier: Shifting gears a little bit, what advice would you give to young professionals, especially those from underrepresented communities looking to enter the energy industry?

Rudy Garza: I don’t think there’s a better time to be in the energy industry. I’ve hired 1,200 new employees over the last three years, which is a third of my employee base. I have 40% of my employees who are eligible to retire over the next five years. That’s 70% to 75% of my employee base that will turn over in an eight to ten-year period. That means there’s going to be a ton of opportunity for people coming out of school who are looking for a career.

I think that the utility sector is a great place for young folks or for those seeking a change in industry. I always tell my new employees, it’s not rocket science. You have to show up to work every day with a good attitude and treat people right. You have to be inquisitive and figure out what kind of leader you’re going to be—whether you’re an individual contributor or you’re a leader of people, either way, it takes leadership. There are some fundamentals that you need to get right, and we’ll do the rest.

It all leads to the possibility that somebody could end up in my seat someday who’s not even thinking they could be a CEO. I really didn’t even think about the possibility that I could be a CEO until about eight years ago, when Doyle Beneby, one of my former CEOs, put the idea in my head that I was capable.

Robert Rapier: Where were you at that point in your career?

Rudy Garza: At that point in my career, I was vice president of external relations at CPS Energy.

Robert Rapier: Okay, so you were getting close to the top.

Rudy Garza: I was close. But again, nobody had ever put that thought in my head. Nobody had ever had a mentoring conversation with me and said, “Hey, Rudy, you can do this, you know?” And the minute he opened that door for me, my dream changed. My concept of what I thought was possible grew exponentially. I always thought I’d have to leave CPS Energy and go be a CEO of a smaller utility, maybe a co-op, and then maybe I could come back. But the good Lord blessed me with this opportunity. I was the right guy at the right time. The organization needed my particular skill set based on where it was in the moment. Having somebody tell you it’s possible, I can’t underscore how significant that was for me.

Robert Rapier: How does CPS Energy ensure you meet the needs and expectations of your customers and the community? And what role do you play in the economic development of the community?

Rudy Garza: I’ll take the second question first. Nothing happens in San Antonio without CPS Energy. You can’t build a home or start a business without reaching out to us first. Nothing happens without the utilities being the best they can be. Economic development doesn’t happen without a good supply of energy and water. The job Robert Puente does at San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is equally important to economic development in San Antonio. You have to have water and you have to have energy.

The way that we remain successful, which is what I focused on when I became CEO, is you have to be willing to engage your customers, engage your community, and listen to what

they want. I know exactly what my customers want because I’m out in the community every day talking about the job that we’re doing. They want their electric and gas service to be reliable, and they want it to be affordable, and then they want us to be innovative and sustainable. I need to reduce carbon, but I can’t do that at the expense of reliability or affordability. I need to balance and achieve these priorities in a time horizon that allows us to continue to meet the growth of the community.

For a publicly owned utility like us—the largest combined electric and natural gas utility in the United States—where the rubber meets the road is ensuring that we are always paying attention to our customers’ expectations. I want my customers to feel good about the job we’re doing. The reason we exist is to be the best electric and gas utility we can be for San Antonio.

That’s what drives me. I want my customers to look me in the eye and say, “Rudy, I think you’re doing a good job.” That’s what’s important to me.

Robert Rapier: What trends do you foresee having the most significant impact on the energy industry over the next decade? And how are community-owned utilities evolving in response to these trends?

Rudy Garza: The utility industry isn’t super innovative by nature. Thomas Edison could come back and still recognize the

system he invented. We have to partner with organizations that are pushing innovation, like the Electric Power Research Institute. EPRI is thinking about the future and how we evolve our system. But you do have to make some investments right now by picking technologies that you think have a chance of getting to the scale that we need them to be. For a big utility like CPS Energy, one megawatt is not going to make a difference. I need technology that’s going to give me 100 or 1,000 MW. The only way innovative technology is going to get where we need it to is to actually invest in it. I think we’re doing a good job of that. We picked partners like Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). They’re doing research for us that I think will make some of these new technologies get us to the future sooner rather than later.

But again, when you’re in a transition state, you either let change happen to you or you make it happen. At CPS Energy, we’re going to make the future happen. There’s no doubt about it. We’re going to be proactive, we’re going to invest thoughtfully, but in a meaningful way, and we’re going to create the future that our customers demand of us.

Robert Rapier: Who or what has been the most significant influence on your leadership style, and how has that shaped your approach?

Rudy Garza: I just had this conversation with an employee. I’ve always been good at developing mentoring relationships with leaders at the highest levels. And every leader has things about them that you want to emulate and probably some things that you don’t want to emulate. And that’s okay. I’ve been able to take certain elements of every one of my leader’s leadership styles and create my own leadership accountability profile. For me, I want to be a humble leader. I don’t ever want it to be about me. I want it to be about the people that I’m responsible for. I want to be approachable.

I want to feel like my role is no more or less important than any other role in our company. I want our community to feel like they can get to me if they need me. And all of that has come through different leaders that I’ve been exposed to throughout my career that have taught me what good leadership looks like. Leaders like Doyle Beneby, Paula GoldWilliams, and former Mayor Joe Adame down in Corpus Christi who I worked with when I was at the City of Corpus Christi. Mayor Adame is one of the humblest Christian men I’ve ever known and a lot of who he is as a servant leader, is what I’ve tried to be.

Leaders I worked with at the state capitol, like Curt Seidlits, who was a former state affairs chairman and was my boss when I

was at TXU. He taught me how to have a people strategy. If you’re paying attention and you’re asking the right questions, your journey through your career should be a culmination of all those mentors who have had a hand in making you who you are. I like to think that the leader that I am today is because I paid attention to the advice all those people have given me throughout my career.

Robert Rapier: What are some of those important qualities that you consider in a successful leader?

Rudy Garza: I’m a leader that expects humility out of my team. It shouldn’t be about us; it should be about the people that we serve. From a leadership standpoint, we have to be open to criticism. I have this analogy that when my leaders and I are in a room, we’re like the Knights of the Round Table. There’s no head. There’s no tail. We’re all equal in that room. And everybody can bring their perspectives and their ideas to the table. And guess what? They don’t have to agree with mine.

In fact, if my leaders aren’t telling me the things I need to hear, just the things I want to hear, then they’re not doing their jobs. I want our leaders to follow through on their commitments. That’s important to me,

especially when employees don’t understand our strategy and they come to us asking questions about why we’re doing certain things. If we don’t get back to them in a timely manner, if we’re not answering those questions, then how are they ever going to get on board with what we’re trying to accomplish? That approachability and that kind of servant leadership is tremendously important to what I want my leadership team to be at CPS Energy.

I think we’re doing a good job of being accountable leaders, leading with integrity, and being transparent in why we’re doing what we’re doing. All those things are aspects of our core values. It’s not just about what we do; it also needs to be about how we’re doing it.

Robert Rapier: Yeah, integrity is something I always tell people. If you have integrity, everything else kind of falls into place. I want to ask about how you balance the demands of your job with your personal and family life. What’s a day like in your life?

Rudy Garza: I learned from Doyle early in my career about work-life balance. It was not his job to ensure that my work-life balance was right, it was up to me.

Having said that, I try hard to not bother

my employees when they should be having dinner with their families. You may have a one off about an emergency. That’s normal; we’re a 24/7 operation. But you should be able to work efficiently enough during the day to not bother people in the evenings when they should be with their families. I don’t bother people on weekends if I can help it.

At the end of the day, it’s the leader’s job to create an environment where worklife balance is possible. But I can’t keep somebody from working 20 hours a day if they’re just wired that way. So, part of it is the individual accountability of knowing when to shut it off. And the other part is the managerial accountability of creating an environment that respects people’s private time.

Kym Bolado: Rudy, one thing struck me very deeply when you said you had never really thought about your pathway to being the CEO until somebody mentored you. How important is mentoring in the CPS culture?

Rudy Garza: It’s immensely important. We have multiple mentoring programs that exist to ensure that we’re paying attention to the diverse talent at CPS Energy. I’m a product of successful mentoring programs, and that is fundamental to our leadership training program. We have formal mentoring programs that our People and Culture team manages in addition to employee resource groups that have their own mentoring programs. I’m constantly looking for that spark in somebody that says they are ready to do bigger things. There are people that just stand out because of how inquisitive, positive, or committed they are to helping us achieve our goals. You have to find a way to recognize people like that and help them along.

I didn’t dream that I could be a CEO because I didn’t see it. It takes leaders wanting to reflect their community to develop people in a way that gives everybody the same chance to be successful. What’s important about mentoring programs is that you’re mining for talent, trying to figure out who stands out and who’s the most capable. When I look at my daily priorities, interacting with my employees is absolutely at the top of the list. I am talking to employees in some part of the organization every single day. I make that a priority because that’s how I help develop people. They have to get inside my head and know how I think about things.

Robert Rapier: Rudy, thank you so much for taking us deep into your world today. We thoroughly appreciate your time and look forward to speaking with you again.

Rudy Garza: My pleasure, thank you for having me.

Pioneering Progress: Janie Gonzalez’s Vision for the Future of CPS Energy

By: Felicity Bradstock

In an exclusive interview with SHALE, Janie Gonzalez, Chairperson of CPS Energy and CEO of Webhead, shared insights on how technology is transforming the energy industry and why community engagement is crucial.

Founded in 1860 in San Antonio, CPS Energy has grown to become the nation’s largest community-owned provider of electric and natural gas services, serving over 950,000 electricity and 389,000 natural gas customers across the region.

Elected as the first Mexican-American Chairperson of CPS Energy in 2019, Gonzalez, alongside CEO Rudy D. Garza, has made history by leading the organization with two Hispanic executives at the helm for the first time. She has focused on enhancing transparency, accountability, and strategic planning in response to a rapidly changing energy landscape. Re-elected for a second term in February, Gonzalez is determined to accelerate CPS Energy’s Vision 2027 strategy and position the organization at the forefront of the energy sector’s next evolution.

Reflecting on her role, Gonzalez emphasized her commitment to strengthening governance and preparing CPS Energy for the challenges ahead. She highlighted key accomplishments, including $350 million in funding for energy-saving initiatives, $1 billion invested in local and diverse businesses, and $60.4 million dedicated to infrastructure improvements for enhanced energy resilience.

Looking to the future, Gonzalez underscored the growing importance of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies in optimizing energy distribution and enhancing customer service. As the energy sector faces regulatory changes, policy shifts, and the increasing prevalence of extreme weather events, CPS Energy’s Vision 2027 plan is designed to address current needs while preparing for future challenges. Gonzalez is committed to a future that balances sustainability, resilience, and innovation, supporting Garza’s goals to expand the renewable energy portfolio, strengthen grid infrastructure, and integrate advanced technologies.

Gonzalez’s journey in the tech industry, where she faced stereotypes and biases as a woman and minority, has shaped her leadership at CPS Energy. Her experience in operational and technology disruption, cybersecurity, and digital transformation has been critical to her success, and she believes that modernization drives innovation.

Community engagement has been a cornerstone of CPS Energy’s strategy, especially following the pandemic and the Winter Storm Uri. Gonzalez highlighted the importance of rebuilding trust through extensive outreach, including 3,000 town halls where she and Garza actively listened to and addressed community concerns.

As she continues to lead, Gonzalez hopes to inspire the next generation of professionals. Her advice: “Be unapologetically ambitious and persistent. Take risks without hesitation, and don’t wait for opportunities—create them. Cultivate a strong network, seek out mentors, and never stop learning. Most importantly, stay true to your values and leverage your unique perspective as a strength. The challenges you encounter can become your greatest assets if you remain resilient and focused on your goals.”

About the author: Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specializing in Energy and Industry. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK, and is now based in Mexico City.

By: Felicity Bradstock

The U.S. and many other countries are addicted to plastics, with consumers finding it impossible to move away from a wide variety of plastic products. This inevitably equates to huge quantities of plastic waste. As companies continue to rely heavily on plastics for the production and storage of millions of products, several major companies are assuring consumers that they can rapidly shift away from polluting plastics in favor of recyclable, compostable, and all-around more sustainable plastic products. However, many industry experts doubt the validity of these bold claims as they ask – if a transformation is possible, why has it not already happened?

The Current Situation

Around 36 million tons of plastic are thrown away every year in the U.S., a figure higher than that of any other country. There are 10 chemical recycling facilities across the country at present, with a total capacity of 456,000 tons of plastic when operating at full capacity – which many are not. The U.S. is falling short when it comes to plastic recycling, with no clear indication of how or when this might change. When consumers throw their waste into the recycling, they expect these products to be recycled. However, without the facilities needed to process all this waste, most of it is ending up in landfills.

A New Way to Recycle

Several big corporations are promising a major shift in the coming years to make their products more sustainable. Companies such as L’Oreal, Nestle, and Procter & Gamble are promising to reduce the use of plastics and make plastic products that remain more sustainable. Several companies plan to do this by developing innovative “advanced” or “chemical” recycling plants that they believe will be capable of recycling a much wider variety of plastic products.

Rather than grinding up or melting waste plastic, as is done in conventional recycling practices, new, advanced-recycling methods include breaking down plastics much further, into more basic molecular building blocks, and making them into new plastic. It promises to turn plastic polymers back into their original molecules, using methods such as dissolving with chemicals or heat, to be processed and used again and again.

Is Advanced Recycling Viable?

Nestlé, L’Oréal, and Procter & Gamble are just some of the major players that are investing in advanced recycling methods, with all

three funding PureCycle Technologies to help them achieve their plastics targets. The company runs a $500 million facility in Ironton, Ohio, with a processing capacity of 182 tons of waste polypropylene. PureCycle promises to help companies transform hard-to-recycle products, such as single-use cups, yogurt tubs, and coffee pods. The firm’s CEO Dustin Olson stated, “We believe in this technology. We’ve seen it work… We’re making leaps and bounds.”

However, the reality is very different. The plant was set to commence operations in 2020 but PureCycle has faced several hurdles in getting it up and running. There have been technical issues at the facility, shareholder lawsuits, and concerns over the efficacy of the technology.

Meanwhile, an Agilyx and Americas Styrenics-managed chemical recycling facility in Tigard, Oregon, has been forced to shut down following the loss of millions of dollars. Other plants across the U.S. are underperforming as the technology has not lived up to initial expectations. One plant in Ashley, Indiana fell severely short of its aim to recycle 100,000 tons of plastic annually by 2021, having processed just 2,000 tons in total by late 2023. Fires, oil spills, and worker safety complaints were some of the issues cited at the plant.

In 2023, a report by Beyond Plastics and the International Pollutants Elimination Network found that several chemical recycling projects have failed in previous decades and these types of operations also produce large quantities of hazardous waste, release toxic air pollution, threaten environmental justice, and contribute to climate change. Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics stated “For many of the same reasons why traditional recycling of plastics has been an abysmal failure, chemical recycling has also failed for decades. Plastic waste is expensive to collect, sort, and clean, and its variety of different chemicals, colors, and polymers makes it inherently too difficult to be made into new plastic products.”

A Global Effort

In June last year, negotiators met in Paris to develop a global plastics treaty. While the plastics industry is pushing for more recycling, other sectoral experts believe this will not solve the global plastics problem. A U.N. Environment Program report published prior to the talks raised concerns about the chemicals found in plastics and the potential for the chemicals to be released during the recycling process. A Greenpeace report showed that toxicity can build up in recycled plastics, either through contamination or as a result of the recycling process itself.

Several big corporations are promising a major shift in the coming years to make their products more sustainable. Companies such as L’Oreal, Nestle, and Procter & Gamble are promising to reduce the use of plastics and make plastic products that remain more sustainable.

Plastics manufacturers and several major corporations are optimistic about the potential for advanced recycling technology, believing that it could transform the plastics sector and make products more sustainable. However, several failures at facilities in recent years, coupled with underperformance and concerns over the chemicals used and produced at plants, suggest that advanced recycling may be a pipedream. Whether or not chemical recycling improves, the sector must be strictly regulated to ensure public safety and prevent companies from greenwashing when it comes to their plastic promises.

U.S. Oil Production Develops Massive Lead Over Russia and Saudi Arabia

By: Robert Rapier

In June, the Energy Institute released the 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy. The Review provides a comprehensive picture of supply and demand for major energy sources on a country-level basis. Each year, I do a series of articles covering the Review’s findings.

Today, I want to cover the global production and consumption of petroleum.

Defining Oil

The Review lists several categories of oil production. When the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports U.S. oil production, they are reporting crude oil plus lease condensate. The latter consists of light liquid hydrocarbons recovered in the field at natural gas wells. These are mostly hydrocarbons in the gasoline and higher range, and they normally enter the crude oil stream after production.

Another category that may be lumped into oil production is natural gas liquids (NGLs). These are hydrocarbons that are separated at natural gas processing plants. These hydrocarbons do overlap with the lease condensate hydrocarbons, but they include lighter hydrocarbons like ethane, propane, and butane, whereas lease condensate consists of primarily pentane and higher hydrocarbons.

The Review reports oil production as the total of crude oil, lease condensate, NGLs, and oil sands. However, they report a separate category of crude oil plus condensate, which would be consistent with the EIA’s definition of oil production. The differences in definitions are why the oil production numbers and oil consumption numbers may seem inconsistent.

Overview

For the first time, global oil consumption surpassed 100 million barrels per day in 2023. The demand for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene has re-

turned to or exceeded pre-2019 levels, although there are variations across different regions. Global gasoline consumption slightly exceeded its pre-COVID level at 25 million barrels per day, while kerosene, despite showing strong growth of 17.5% in 2023, has not yet returned to its peak levels from 2019.

Global oil production reached a record high of over 96 million BPD in 2023. The United States retained its position as the top producer, with an output increase exceeding 8.5%. This was a new record for U.S. oil production, smashing the previous record.

However, Russia experienced a decline in production by more than 1% due to the ongoing impact of international sanctions. Saudi Arabia, the other major global oil producer besides the U.S. and Russia, experienced an 8.6% decline from the previous year. This was attributed to ongoing voluntary production cuts from OPEC members.

The Southern and Central American regions saw significant growth in their oil production, with an 11% increase, marking the highest growth rate of any region in the year as they continued to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Asia-Pacific region, China’s oil production grew by 2%, contributing to about 57% of the total production in the region. China surpassed the U.S. as the largest oil refining market by capacity, reaching 18.5 million barrels per day, although its refinery utilization rate of nearly 82% was still lower than the U.S. rate of around 87%.

The Top Producers

In both the conventional categories of crude plus condensate — as well as the category that includes NGLs — the United States was the world’s top oil producer in 2023. The U.S. produced 15.6% of the world’s oil in 2023, extending its lead over Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Here were the Top 10 producers of crude oil plus condensate in 2023:

“Change” reflects the percentage change from 2022.

The countries in the Top 10 are the same as a year ago.

Although the U.S. enjoys a lead over Saudi Arabia and Russia of more than 2.4 million BPD, that lead is far greater when NGLs are considered. With NGLs included, U.S. production in 2023 was 19.4 million BPD. That’s 8.0 million BPD ahead of Saudi Arabia and 8.3 million BPD ahead of Russia’s numbers in that category. Those are massive leads driven by the increase in U.S. natural gas production over the past two decades, which substantially boosted U.S. NGL production.

About the author: Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer in the energy industry and Editor-in-Chief of Shale Magazine. Robert has 30 years of international engineering experience in the chemicals, oil and gas, and renewable energy industries and holds several patents related to his work. He has worked in the areas of oil refining, oil production, synthetic fuels, biomass to energy, and alcohol production. He is author of multiple newsletters for Investing Daily and of the book Power Plays. Robert has appeared on 60 Minutes, The History Channel, CNBC, Business News Network, CBC, and PBS. His energy-themed articles have appeared in numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist.

The Top Consumers

The United States also remained the world’s top oil consumer, averaging 19.0 million BPD in 2023. China was second at 16.6 million BPD, after a double-digit percentage increase from 2022.

The countries listed are the same as in 2022. On average, these countries increased consumption by 2.1% over 2022.

Crude Prices Abate

The Review reported that Brent crude prices averaged $82.64 per barrel in 2023, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $78.88. Both prices were nearly 20% below the 2022 average but were still elevated when compared to average annual prices over the past decade.

Conclusions

The 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy highlights an ongoing shift in oil production and consumption patterns worldwide. Notably, global oil consumption hit a new peak of over 100 million barrels per day in 2023, driven by the recovery in demand for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene post-pandemic.

In terms of production, the United States continues to lead, setting a new record and outpacing other major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia. Russia’s output decreased due to international sanctions, while Saudi Arabia experienced a decline linked to OPEC’s voluntary production cuts.

China’s increasing dominance in the Asia-Pacific region’s oil production and refining capacity further underscores the dynamic changes in the global energy landscape.

Global oil prices pulled back substantially in 2023, after soaring in 2022.

The U.S. remains at the forefront of oil production, bolstered by its substantial natural gas liquids output. However, the shifting dynamics, such as China’s rise in refining capacity and the impact of geopolitical factors on countries like Russia, highlight the ongoing challenges and opportunities within the oil sector.

Repurposing Abandoned Oil Rigs

By: Felicity Bradstock

As oil operations wind down in several depleted oilfields, energy companies are looking for ways to repurpose old infrastructure to cut costs and support environmental efforts. It is extremely expensive to disassemble and transport old oil rigs, meaning that many companies have sought out alternative uses for the structures in recent years. Further, governments and environmentalists have been putting increasing pressure on oil and gas firms to reduce their impact on the environment. This has led energy companies in the U.S. to invest in transforming their old infrastructure into offshore wind farms, coral reefs, and mobile defense systems, to name a few transformations.

The Situation

There are around 12,000 offshore oil and gas platforms worldwide and many of them are reaching the end of their lives. While decommissioning rigs safely and sustainably is complicated, it is vital. There are four conventional ways to decommission a platform; they can be partially or completely removed; rigs can be moved elsewhere; they can be abandoned in the deep sea, or they can be toppled and left on the sea floor.

Many companies now choose to dismantle and transport their rigs to a site where they can assess the materials for recycling and reuse. Over 90% of some structures can be reused or recycled in some cases. However, this option is costly and logistically complicated. For that reason, many companies are seeking alternative methods of disposal.

Transformation

Companies are exploring innovative ways to transform their old oil and gas infrastructure rather than paying for it to be taken apart and disposed of. This can help energy firms to both cut costs and reduce waste.

Offshore Wind

There are several benefits to repurposing oil and gas infrastructure, such as the potential to use existing cables, communications infrastructure, and other technologies without the need to build a new structure from scratch. This has led many

oil and gas companies to enter joint partnerships with wind energy firms to support the development of offshore wind farms located around out-of-use platforms.

One analysis reported, “It is estimated that approximately one-third of the total life costs (operation, maintenance, and service costs) of an offshore wind project can be favorably impacted upon by significant synergies with the O&G supply chain, by making it possible to electrify O&G offshore operations by installing wind farms nearby or by means of floating turbines, thus reducing the need to operate diesel or gas generators on the platform, reducing GHG emissions and air pollutants, and facilitating the energy transition, with platforms providing bases for wind farms.”

Coral Reefs

One idea that is winning the favor of environmentalists is the conversion of old platforms into coral reefs. While oil and gas companies don’t make a profit from this approach, they can significantly reduce the costs associated with dismantling and transporting the infrastructure for decommissioning.

The Rigs-to-Reefs program forms part of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) Environmental Compliance Program. BSEE works to transform decommissioned rigs into artificial reefs. Platforms that have been situated in the sea for several decades eventually become habitats for marine life, and removing the

structures can disrupt these habitats, which demonstrates the value of keeping these rigs safely in place.

By 2021, over 600 platforms had been converted into permanent artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. A typical eight-legged structure can provide a habitat for between 12,000 and 14,000 fish, while a four-legged rig can provide two to three acres of habitat for hundreds of marine species.

Mobile Defense Systems

Another use that is growing in popularity for old oil and gas platforms is mobile defense systems. The U.S. Navy unveiled a new initiative at the Sea Air Space 2024 expo – the Mobile Defense/Depot Platform (MODEP). The scheme aims to address security challenges in the Pacific Ocean by transforming old oil platforms into mobile missile defense and resupply bases.

The idea was developed by the engineering company Gibbs & Cox. Disused rigs could become large, self-sufficient island bases that can be strategically positioned and operated for up to 12 months at a time. Alternatively, they can be used as Afloat Forward Staging Bases, which provide logistical support for U.S. Navy surface combatants and nuclear submarines. These innovative bases are expected to help reduce the risks and costs associated with land-based defense systems. Transforming old rigs is also much cheaper than developing new Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems, reducing costs by around 90%.

Finding ways to repurpose disused oil rigs can help oil and gas companies cut costs by huge amounts, as well as support the development of infrastructure for other industries. The transformation of platforms can help wind energy companies produce clean energy offshore power, provide habitats to thousands of marine species, and boost national security, thanks to the development of several innovative projects. Other companies have used old platforms to create adventure parks and diving centers, as well as for many other alternative uses.

the author:

is a freelance writer specializing in Energy and Industry. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK, and is now based in Mexico City.

About

Felicity Bradstock

Why The Natural Gas Price Collapse May Not Last

By: Robert Rapier

WHENEVER I TRY TO GET A FEEL for the direction of natural gas prices, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report is the first place I stop.

This report provides an update on the levels of natural gas in storage facilities across the United States. It includes data on working gas in underground storage, with details on net changes, implied flows, and comparisons to historical data. It’s released every Thursday and covers data up to the previous Friday. The report is a key indicator of the natural gas supply and demand balance and can impact prices in the natural gas market.

Seasonality plays a big factor in natural gas prices. Because natural gas demand spikes in the winter, producers use underground pressurized storage that builds inventories from spring until mid-fall. During the winter heating season, this storage is depleted.

Note in the graphic above that the U.S. exited the 2023-2024 winter season with inventories above the 5-year maximum range. Natural gas inventories are 19% higher than they were a year ago, and 31% above the 5-year average.

Inventories are high due to a combination of U.S. production outpacing demand growth, but also due to soft demand due to more warmer winters in recent years. This can be seen in the following graphic on the next page.

In the case of a mild winter as in 2012, inventories were not significantly depleted before they began to rebuild. The winter of 2011-2012 failed to pull gas inventories below 2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) for the first time in over 20 years. Inventories in 2012 bottomed out in early March above 2 Tcf, which was also two to four weeks earlier than is typical. As a result, natural gas spot prices collapsed to under $2 per million Btu (MMBtu), and they didn’t recover back to the $4/MMBtu level for a full year.

The situation was quite different in the winter of 2013-14 when natural gas inventories were substantially depleted. That inventory situation resulted in natural gas price spikes which exceeded $8/MMBtu at one point, and elevated natural gas prices for the next year.

The current situation is reminiscent of those mild winters of 2012 and 2016, both of which ushered in an extended period of depressed natural gas prices. Unsurprisingly, given the current inventory situation, natural gas prices recently fell below $2/MMBtu. If history is any guide, prices are likely to remain depressed relative to historical averages until we once again have a colder winter season.

However, one significant difference between the situations in 2012 and 2016 and now is growing exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). Those exports have the potential to consume the excess supply and bring the supply/demand back in balance much sooner than happened in previous years.

POLICY

Which U.S. States Are Benefitting the Most From the IRA, CHIPS and BIL?

By: Felicity Bradstock

Since the introduction of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other funding policies, several states across the U.S. have benefitted from investment in green energy, tech, and other sectors. While recent funding policies offer widespread public spending across the U.S., some unexpected states are benefitting from the initiatives more than others. A few red states, such as South Carolina and Texas, have seen significant investment in their industry and energy sectors, helping to transform them into green energy and tech hubs. Meanwhile, swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Michigan, have also been major receivers of IRA funding.

Who’s Getting the Biggest Piece of the Pie?

To date, major U.S. funding policies passed under the Biden administration, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, together offer $537 billion in infrastructure investments. In May, the White House released new data showing where most of this funding is going as the green transition gets underway. The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian stated of the investments, “We are breaking ground and completing projects across every single state and territory.”

The newly released data comes as part of the promotion for the Biden administration’s “Infrastructure Week”, which points towards some of

the failed attempts at major infrastructure works under the former Trump administration. Quillian explained, “While infrastructure week became an empty punch line during the prior administration, the Biden administration has committed to delivering infrastructure that will benefit communities for generations to come.”

The 10 states that came out on top in terms of investment so far are:

1. California: $45.1 billion

2. Texas: $33.2 billion

3. New York: $24.1 billion

4. Florida: $17 billion

5. Pennsylvania: $16.7 billion

6. Illinois: $16.6 billion

7. Arizona: $15.4 billion

8. Maryland: $12.9 billion

9. Ohio: $12.8 billion

10. Michigan: $12.4 billion

These states are scattered across the U.S. and have some of the largest economies in the country. Many of them, such as Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, are swing states that will be important voting areas in the 2024 presidential election. Georgia, another battleground state, has

received the 12th-biggest public investment, at around $10.8 billion. Despite questions about whether Biden is distributing funding with a focus on the upcoming election, White House officials have pointed out that around half of the funding from the policies is allocated using formulas. The rest of the funding is awarded by agencies via discretionary grants that states compete for.

Approximately 50% of the jobs announced from IRA and CHIPS-related investments are expected to be in red states, while around 17% are in blue states and 33% will be in swing states. This is largely based on the needs and history of the states in question. For example, manufacturing jobs have typically been awarded to states in the South and the West as they offer lower-cost operations, vast quantities of land, and a skilled workforce.

A Major New Green Hub

One of the unexpected states now rivalling California in terms of green energy and tech is

Texas. The Lonestar State has rapidly become a major hub for solar energy and cleantech, expanding its already impressive energy sector. Currently, Texas contributes around 14% of the solar power generated in the U.S., with much more solar capacity expected to be added over the next few years. The state has rapidly grown its solar power capacity, by around 14 times between 2017 and 2023.

Meanwhile, Houston is quickly becoming known as the Silicon Valley of Texas for its rapid expansion in the field of clean tech. In a 2020 survey by Blind, 29% of technology professionals from the Bay Area responded with the view that Texas is “the next Silicon Valley.” Public funding in energy and tech projects across the state has helped to attract high levels of private funding in the sector. By 2023, Houston was home to over 80 startup development organizations (SDOs), from incubators to accelerators, maker spaces, co-working spaces, non-profits, and academic institutions, many of which have a focus on cleantech and green energy.

One of the unexpected states now rivalling California in terms of green energy and tech is Texas. The Lonestar State has rapidly become a major hub for solar energy and cleantech, expanding its already impressive energy sector.

Unexpected Winners

In addition to the states receiving the largest quantities of funding, some others have seen major investments in specific sectors. For example, Idaho – a traditionally red state, has received the largest-ever federal funding for semiconductor manufacturing under the CHIPS Act. Micron’s $15 billion semiconductor plant and Meta’s $800 million data center mark two of the biggest investments in Idaho’s history. The two projects are expected to require more than 4,500 construction workers in the development stage, as well as 2,000 and 100 permanent workers respectively. The Micron plant is expected to create a further 15,000 indirect jobs.

Scott Gatzemeier, the Corporate Vice President of Front End U.S. Expansion at Micron Technology, stated, “There’s going to be more people in the community, there’s going to be more restaurants, more grocery stores, more dentist offices… (The Micron expansion) just drives economic activity at a large scale.”

New Legislation Set to Accelerate Nuclear Reactor Deployment in the United States

By: Tyler Reed

The Fire Grants and Safety Act (S.870) passed the Senate on April 20, 2023, but as many acts do, it faced a slew of amendments before finally being ready to present to the president. On July 9, President Biden signed the bill into law. Now, you may ask why should we care about fire safety in the energy world?

Nestled within the bill is incredibly important legislation for clean energy - the ADVANCE Act. The ADVANCE Act promises to allow the U.S. to produce cutting-edge nuclear reactors at the fastest rate in decades. We’ll unpack what this act contains and means for the future of American energy.

More Incentives, Less Red Tape

One of the hindrances to new reactor technology has been licensing. The ADVANCE Act will work to develop a streamlined process through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for licensing crucial reactor technologies. The new approach seeks to balance the benefit to the private sector’s intellectual property while providing the government

with access to the critical technologies required to construct advanced nuclear reactors.

As you might expect, advanced reactors require a host of advanced technologies and materials. The Act also provides incentivization for developing these cutting edge technologies through prize competitions put on by the Department of Energy (DOE). These awards require Congressional appropriation; however, they aim to reward and amplify the first mover advantage across many different required operational areas. The ultimate goal is to shorten the time between concept and reality for the innovators already creating the energy of tomorrow.

Mighty Mights: Microreactors Producing Big In Small Packages

The ADVANCE Act also looks at accelerating the development of pint-sized reactors called microreactors. Being compact in size, these reactors aim to be small enough to be transported around the country via a semitruck tractor-trailer. Such mobility allows for advanced power generation in remote areas, those affected by natural disasters, and other areas of need.

The Act empowers the NRC to provide guidance for the development and regulation of new microreactor designs in a shorter timeline–just 18 months. The Act also helps decrease costs for due diligence and permitting with an aim to expedite two separate pilot projects already underway. Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska has announced plans to deploy a microreactor as early as 2027 and the Department of Defense is working on a pilot for a high-temperature gas reactor following a similar timeline.

New Uses for Aging Coal Plants

The Act presents another win for clean energy with additional focus on cleaning up and reusing existing brownfield sites, which would include retired and soon-to-be retired coal plants. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) defines brownfield areas as “abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.”

Coal-fired power plants single-handedly generate 35 percent of dangerous mercury emissions in the United States, says the National Resource Defense Council. DOE studies are looking at hundreds of existing coal sites for the possibility of converting them into nuclear power plants. The benefits of this approach are multipronged including environmental clean up, reuse of existing infrastructure, and keeping jobs and contributing to the economic impact within communities that might have otherwise lost these with a coal plant’s closure.

Remarkably, the first permit application for converting a retiring coal plant into a reactor is already being considered by the NRC for a site in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Strengthening the U.S. Energy Supply Chain

The newest reactor designs are incorporating high-assay low-enriched uranium, known in energy parlance as HALEU. This advanced fuel is not yet commercially available in the U.S. but the ADVANCE Act seeks to help

Coal-fired power plants single-handedly generate 35 percent of dangerous mercury emissions in the United States, says the National Resource Defense Council.

strengthen the domestic nuclear fuel supply with new capabilities for producing HALEU.

Congress recently banned Russian uranium imports, as well as certain fuel products from China. The bans are expected to help bolster domestic production as the DOE opens up additional funding vehicles for acquiring HALEU domestically. The DOE has also created contract vehicles through the HALEU Availability Program to help develop, demonstrate, and deploy the advanced fuel to new reactors.

The DOE and NRC are also continuing to work in tandem on brand new fuel concepts such as accident tolerant fuels and TRi-structural ISOtropic particle fuel (TRISO) which are showing incredible promise for the future of clean energy. With the ADVANCE Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act all providing a steady tailwind for investments in American energy, the sky may very well be the limit for new technologies on the table.

About the author: Tyler Reed began his career in the world of finance managing a portfolio of municipal bonds at the Bank of New York Mellon. Four years later, he led the Marketing and Business Development team at a highprofile civil engineering firm. He had a focus on energy development in federal, state, and local pursuits. He picked up an Executive MBA from the University of Florida along the way. Following an entrepreneurial spirit, he founded a content writing agency. There, they service marketing agencies, PR firms, and enterprise accounts on a global scale. A sought-after television personality and featured writer in too many leading publications to list, his penchant for research delivers crisp and intelligent prose his audience continually craves.

Will Biden’s AntiChina Push Threaten Green Transition?

By: Jess Henley and Tyler Reed

Recently, the Biden Administration expanded tariffs on Chinese cleanenergy imports. The president moved to increase tariffs to 25% on Chinese solar and steel products, claiming such imports threaten American manufacturing. The move is said to counter Chinese overcapacity within the renewable energy market, of which China holds the majority.

At the same time, the president claimed to be making significant investments in American manufacturing of renewable energy resources, like solar panels and the steel they require. President Biden claims American steel manufacturing produces half the carbon emissions of Chinese steel production. However, some experts and Chinese officials claim increasing tariffs could put America at a disadvantage in the green energy transition.

Biden Escalates Tariffs On Chinese Imports

This new round of increased tariffs took effect shortly after the May announcement. The White House outlined a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum,

a 50% tariff on solar products from China, and a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. The president claims China has an unfair overflow of these products in the market, leading to an influx of “artificially cheap imports.”

While some see the president’s move as a win for American manufacturing, others call it a potential threat to the green transition. The tariff escalation potentially places two of the president’s primary platforms at odds. On one hand, President Biden has clearly outlined his stance on Chinese imports of clean energy products. On the other hand, severely limiting these imports from China could hamper global climate change efforts, as China remains the world’s top clean energy products producer.

As the Biden administration advances its duties against Chinese renewable energy products, many doubt that America’s manufacturing infrastructure is poised to fill the gap left by a lack of Chinese imports.

Chinese Solar Executive Warns US Falling Behind

A senior executive for one of China’s largest solar equipment

makers has warned America risks falling behind in response to climate change. The steep tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports could have significant ramifications on the energy transition.

Zhou Shijun, vice president of marketing for Arctech, which manufactures mounting systems for solar equipment, said this type of protectionism would “come back to haunt” the U.S. and the world in the climate transition.

Beijing promised to respond in kind to President Biden’s tariffs, launching an anti-dumping probe into EU, U.S., Japan, and Taiwan

plastics. The total retaliation from Chinese officials remains yet unseen as the American tariffs took effect in mid-July.

Striking the Balance

President Biden’s primary issue in imposing tariffs on Chinese renewable energy imports remains America’s manufacturing capabilities. As the president vows to move renewable energy production back to U.S. soil, the global energy transition must not be compromised in the process.

The administration certainly has its work cut out to strike a balance between creating American

A senior executive for one of China’s largest solar equipment makers has warned America risks falling behind in response to climate change. The steep tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports could have significant ramifications on the energy transition.

manufacturing jobs and creating sufficient clean energy practices and products to transition the power supply.

Experts Doubt the Effectiveness of Increased Tariffs

While increasing American production of renewable energy resources could certainly create American jobs and allow manufacturing on U.S. soil, many are skeptical of the president’s decision. Unfortunately, the U.S. remains many years behind in terms of electric vehicle development and renewable energy manufacturing.

It’s unclear whether buying more time would enable American manufacturers to ramp up renewable energy project production in time to avoid a significant climate crisis, experts say. As events unfold, you can rely on us to bring the latest insight on the energy transition and more.

About the author: Jess Henley began his career in client relations for a large manufacturer in Huntsville, Alabama. With several years of leadership under his belt, Jess made the leap to brand communications with Bizwrite, LLC. As a senior copywriter, Jess crafts compelling marketing and PR content with a particular emphasis on global energy markets and professional services.

began

career in the world of finance managing a portfolio of municipal bonds at the Bank of New York Mellon. Four years later, he led the Marketing and Business Development team at a high-profile civil engineering firm. He had a focus on energy development in federal, state, and local pursuits. He picked up an Executive MBA from the University of Florida along the way. Following an entrepreneurial spirit, he founded a content writing agency. There, they service marketing agencies, PR firms, and enterprise accounts on a global scale. A sought-after television personality and featured writer in too many leading publications to list, his penchant for research delivers crisp and intelligent prose his audience continually craves.

About the author: Tyler Reed

his

Were Gasoline Prices Lower Under President Trump

By: Robert Rapier

No energy topic elicits as much interest as gas prices. The three most popular articles I have ever written — one with more than a million views — were about gas prices. Most search phrases driving readers to my articles contain “gas prices.” What readers currently seem to be most interested in knowing is whether Donald Trump reduced gasoline prices when he was president. There is a widespread perception that Trump inherited high gasoline prices, and promptly reduced them to $2.00/gallon. I encounter this sentiment frequently.

Let’s look at what happened.

Thirty Years of Gasoline Prices

It is perhaps instructive to look at a 30-year history of gasoline prices to establish the patterns and provide explanations for why gasoline prices changed over time.

As economic recovery began in 2010, oil prices recovered. The U.S. then experienced elevated gasoline prices from 2011 through 2014.

However, the shale oil boom was adding millions of barrels per day of oil and finished products to the world markets. OPEC ultimately responded with a price war against U.S. shale producers. Oil prices subsequently collapsed.

In the face of the oil price collapse, consumers enjoyed low gasoline prices in 2015 and 2016, but then oil prices began to recover. Gasoline prices rose in 2017 and 2018, before easing slightly in 2019.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in 2020. Oil prices once again collapsed, and the average annual gasoline price fell to the lowest level since 2016.

There are several patterns we can observe in the graphic. Gasoline prices were relatively stable from 1994 to 2002. Then, oil demand growth began to outstrip supply growth, and oil prices steadily climbed. Fears that global oil production was peaking put further pressure on oil prices, which reached nearly $150 a barrel in the summer of 2008.

The housing crisis of 2008-2009 then unfolded. Additional pressure was put on the economy from high oil prices, and the economy went into recession. Oil prices — and in turn gasoline prices — fell sharply in 2009.

The 2020 oil price collapse caused significant disruptions in the oil industry. Some marginal production was shut in permanently, and some producers went bankrupt. Demand recovered quickly from the plunge, but supply lagged. In the second half of 2020, gasoline prices rose rapidly, and that rise would persist through 2021.

In early 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. A decision to stop Russian imports disrupted operations in many U.S. refineries. In

response, the price of oil surged to above $100/bbl, and the national average price of gasoline briefly topped $5.00/gallon. The average price of gasoline in 2022 was $4.06/gallon, the highest annual average on record. Prices pulled back some in 2023, at least partially in response to a record release of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

President Trump’s Impact

There are reasonable explanations for the movements of gasoline prices over the past 30 years. Few of those movements involve actions taken by a president.

President Trump took office in January 2017. The average price of gasoline had fallen for two years prior to his inauguration. Then the national average price of gasoline rose during Trump’s first two years in office, before pulling back some in his third year.

Trump took some actions designed to help the oil industry, but those actions take years to impact supply, and subsequently prices.

Although Trump is often credited with low gasoline prices, the average price during Trump’s first three years in office was higher than during Obama’s last two years in office. But this isn’t the general impression people seem to have. One shouldn’t read too much into this, as there were macro factors – like strong global demand – putting upward pressure on prices.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it upended the oil markets. By April 2020, stay-at-home orders caused oil demand to crash. Production, in turn, dropped by 3 million barrels per day in May 2020. Oil futures briefly went negative. The stock market was crashing, and the national average gasoline price briefly dropped below $2.00 a gallon.

Some fondly recall $2.00/gallon of gasoline, but they forget that it’s because there was little demand for gasoline since most people stopped traveling. To the extent you give credit to Trump for low gasoline prices, you would need to account for which actions of his caused gasoline

prices to fall. The stay-at-home orders? Yes, if you want to credit him for that, this was a major factor in the drop in gasoline prices.

But as soon as those orders ended, gasoline prices began to climb. In the last eight months of Trump’s presidency — following the decline to $2.00/gallon, gasoline prices climbed nearly 25%. The increase that began in the summer of 2020 continued throughout 2021.

Biden’s energy policies didn’t help, but supply chain disruptions made the biggest impact on gasoline prices during Biden’s presidency. (For a thorough comparison of the energy policies of President Trump and President Biden, see the cover story in the previous issue of Shale Magazine).

The truth is that gasoline prices did fall sharply during the last year of Trump’s presidency. But that drop happened primarily because of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, prices had begun to steeply climb before Trump left office in January 2021. Thus, those who credit President Trump’s energy policies for the drop in gasoline prices are presenting a misleading picture at best.

Solar Energy Could Power the Earth from Space

By: Felicity Bradstock

Solar farms are being seen in more and more locations around the globe as governments worldwide strive to undergo a green transition. Thanks to significant public and private investment into solar panel technology in recent decades, the technology has progressed significantly to allow solar power to be produced in a wide range of locations. Now, scientists believe they may have cracked code space-based solar power using power stations capable of beaming solar energy to Earth.

Space-based Solar Power

While solar energy projects have become cheaper and much more efficient in recent years, there are still significant limitations to producing solar power. Solar panels can only produce energy during daylight hours and rely heavily on batteries to store any excess energy to deliver to the grid at night. This means that there is no stable supply of energy provided by solar farms without the use of expensive, hightech battery storage. Further, the sunlight on the Earth’s surface is far less intense than that at the top of the atmosphere.

The potential for generating far higher levels of solar energy has led scientists worldwide to explore the possibility of space solar power over several decades. Researchers found that if they could access solar power at a high enough orbit, it could provide continuous power from sunlight that could be beamed to stations around the globe. The idea is to transform solar power into electricity using photovoltaic (PV) cells in a geostationary orbit around Earth. This power can then be transmitted wirelessly in the form of microwaves at 2.45 GHz to dedicated receiver stations on Earth, called ‘rectennas’, which convert the energy back into electricity and deliver it to the local grid.

As well as reducing the amount of land required for solar farms, these systems could serve remote parts of the world, providing rural communities with a stable, green energy supply. However, the technology is not yet available to launch such a project, and significant research and development is required to overcome the technical obstacles involved.

U.S. Solar Space Developments

In January 2024, NASA published a report entitled ‘Space-Based Solar Power’ focused on how NASA might support the development of this field of research. Charity Weeden, who leads NASA OTPS stated, “This analysis compares the lifecycle cost of two conceptual space-based solar power systems versus their potential for net emissions reductions. Weeden

As well as reducing the amount of land required for solar farms, these systems could serve remote parts of the world, providing rural communities with a stable, green energy supply.

added, “By considering scenarios like these, OTPS helps NASA understand the technological, policy, and economic implications that would need to be addressed.”

The report assesses the ways in which solar power generated in space could be competitive when it comes to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions compared to other green energy options. It also considers NASA’s potential role in the field.

While there is optimism around the potential generation of solar power from space, several capability gaps must first be addressed. Scientists must figure out how to assemble and maintain large systems in orbit, enable those systems to operate autonomously, and develop efficient power-beaming to bring the harvested energy to Earth. They must also assess how viable it is for these systems to operate in geostationary orbit compared to low-Earth orbit, where many satellites operate at present. In addition, it is important to fully assess the costs involved with transporting huge infrastructure into space and running solar space projects. NASA is currently developing technologies that could indirectly support space-based solar power systems including autonomous systems, wireless power beaming, and in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing.

Progress Elsewhere

In the U.K., several institutions are assessing the potential for launching solar space projects.

A 2023 study from the Universities of Surrey and Swansea found that it is viable to produce low-cost, lightweight solar panels that can generate energy in space. The study followed a satellite over six years and observed how the panels generated power and weathered solar radiation over 30,000 orbits. The researchers believe the findings from the study could pave the way for commercially viable solar farms to be developed in space.

Professor Craig Underwood at the Surrey Space Centre stated, “We are very pleased that a mission designed to last one year is still working after six. These detailed data show the panels have resisted radiation and their thinfilm structure has not deteriorated in the harsh thermal and vacuum conditions of space.” Underwood added, “This ultra-low mass solar cell technology could lead to large, low-cost solar power stations deployed in space, bringing clean energy back to Earth -- and now we have the first evidence that the technology works reliably in orbit.”

Meanwhile, Scientists at the California Institute of Technology achieved a successful test flight of technology that could generate power from space. The Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1) mission was a smallscale test of the technology needed for the potential power stations in space. After launching in January 2023, the SSPD-1 spent a year evaluating different solar cells and deployment methods and, in March, became the first technology to wirelessly beam power to Earth from space. The success of this mission shows great promise for the future of solar space power. However, it is important to note that it was a small-scale mission and there are still significant technical hurdles to overcome to achieve commercial solar power production in space.

U.S. Plans Massive Latin America Energy Investment to Rival Chinese Dominance

By: Felicity Bradstock

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the importance of strengthening supply chains became abundantly clear. Countries worldwide battled to sustain their industries as supply chains were severely disrupted. In addition, the U.S. government and several other international powers began to emphasize the importance of a green transition. A move away from fossil fuels in favor of cleaner alternatives would mean a shift in the global energy market, with China coming out on top, after spending decades investing heavily in renewable energy. China has steadily increased its renewable energy capacity and strengthened supporting industries, such as mineral mining and manufacturing. Now, the U.S. wants to ensure that it can maintain its energy security by investing in regional renewable energy and supply chains.

The Role of China in Global Energy China has become a renewable energy powerhouse thanks to massive government investment in wind and solar power, as well as mining and manufacturing. It dominates several industries associated with the green transition, including lithium mining needed to produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries and semiconductor manufacturing. China is home to over 80% of the world’s solar PV module manufacturing capacity and battery production. It is the biggest EV battery exporter, contributing 70% of global exports in 2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. and EU account for just 5% of the global battery manufacturing capacity each.

While other regions, such as North America and Europe, are investing in the rapid expansion of their renewable energy capacity, China is expected to dominate the sector for decades. The Asian giant relies heavily on other regions

of the world to support its clean energy sector, including minerals mining in South America, meaning that the U.S. and EU must rapidly step up their investment in key energy regions if they want to compete with China and ensure the future of their energy security.

Latin America’s Role in Global Energy

Latin America and the Caribbean is a resource-rich region that is expected to contribute heavily to the global green transition. There are biofuels in Brazil, hydropower in Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay, high-quality solar and wind resources in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, extensive copper and lithium reserves in Chile, Peru, and Argentina, and vast oil and natural gas resources in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Guyana.

Foreign Investment in Latin America’s Energy Market

The U.S. has long been involved in Latin America’s energy industry, with decades of oil and gas exploration and production projects across the region. Oil and gas majors such as Exxon and Chevron continue to hold major stakes in Venezuela and Guyana, with plans to pump “low-carbon oil” for years. In addition, the Biden administration has identified the region as key to the Americas’ green transition. In 2023, four of the top ten announced projects by value in Latin America related to green hydrogen or green ammonia. The region announced 19 megaprojects with a value of

over $1 billion each, with 17 supported by foreign investors, such as the U.S., Spain, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

There is significantly more potential for the U.S. to expand its role in the region to counter China’s position in the Latin American energy market. As the Biden administration looks to develop U.S. manufacturing capacity, particularly in terms of EVs and batteries, it could invest in mineral mining in South America, where many of the metals needed to fuel manufacturing are located.

Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, known as the lithium triangle, are home to the world’s biggest lithium reserves – around 58% of the global total. This has attracted heavy investment from China, which has several mining projects in the region, helping it to produce around two-thirds of the world’s lithium supply. There is huge potential for the U.S. to develop mineral mining operations in the lithium triangle to provide a regional supply of critical minerals. Further, investment in emerging extraction technologies could help the U.S. establish sustainable mining practices, in contrast to the majority being used in the region at present, further supporting U.S. climate aims. However, it will have to move fast, as China has already increased its investment in the region with plans to further expand its activities. Trade between Latin America and China increased from $12 billion in 2000 to over $445 billion in 2021, demonstrating the deepening of ties between the powers. Between 2005 and 2023, foreign direct investment from Chinese

Latin America and the Caribbean is a resourcerich region that is expected to contribute heavily to the global green transition.

firms to South America and Mexico totaled $212 billion. While this funding went to a wide array of industries, recent investments have been more focused towards solar, wind, hydropower, EVs, and mining in strategic materials such as lithium and rare earth minerals.

The U.S. has long-established ties with Latin America and the Caribbean, with strong trade links and major investments across a range of industries. As the

U.S. transitions to cleaner energy, greater investment in the region could help solidify regional energy security by developing the U.S. supply of critical resources needed to develop its manufacturing industry. However, the U.S. must act fast if it hopes to counter the role of China in the region, as the Asian giant continues to deepen its ties with Latin America through major investments in green energy and clean technologies.

Big Plans for U.S. Biofuels

By: Felicity Bradstock

The U.S. has big plans for its biofuel industry in line with aims for a green transition. Supported by funding from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the biofuels industry has been given a huge injection of funding for research, development, and expansion. Several hard-to-abate industries are now looking to use biofuels for future operations as companies are being encouraged to decarbonize.

Mandating Biofuel Use

Biofuel is a source of renewable energy, derived from microbial, plant, or animal materials, such as ethanol, biodiesel, green diesel, and biogas. They can come in solid, liquid, or gaseous form, but are most easily transported and burned in the latter two forms. Countries around the globe have increased investment in the biofuels sector in recent years, aiming to repurpose waste to produce clean fuel.

In June last year, the Biden administration mandated that oil refiners would have to increase the quantity of biofuel they blended into the U.S. fuel mix over the coming three years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that biofuel blending volumes should total 20.94 billion gallons in 2023, 21.87 billion in 2024, and 22.68 billion in 2025. However, the government faced backlash from the biofuel industry, which believed the mandated blend quantities were not meaningful enough to accelerate a green transition. The government reduced the quantity of biofuels required to be blended into the fuel mix from the original proposal, which promoted a vocal response from industry representatives.

Kurt Kovarik, the vice president of federal affairs with biodiesel group Clean Fuels, stated, “The industry responded to signals from the Biden administration and Congress aiming to rapidly decarbonize U.S. fuel markets, particularly aviation, marine, and heavy-duty transport, and make clean fuels available to more consumers… The volumes EPA finalized today are not high enough to support those goals.”

Nevertheless, the EPA said the final rule would decrease dependency on foreign sources of oil by between 130,000 to 140,000 bpd between 2023-2025.

Major Public Funding for Biofuels

Despite disappointment from the industry, the Biden administration has taken significant steps to accelerate the rollout of biofuels. In 2023, the

The USDA aims to increase the availability of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel derived from U.S. agricultural products, supported by the development of new and retrofitted biofuelrelated infrastructure.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to invest $500 million in boosting the availability of domestic biofuels. Funding comes from the IRA and the project is expected to give Americans greater access to clean fuel at the pump. This initiative followed the $50 million Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) launched by the USDA in 2022. The USDA plans to award $450 million in grants through the HBIIP to improve biofuel infrastructure across the U.S. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack stated, “President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a historic investment that will expand clean energy, lower costs for Americans, and build an economy that benefits working families and small businesses.” Vilsack added, “By expanding the availability of homegrown biofuels, we are strengthening our energy independence, creating new market opportunities and revenue streams for American producers, and bringing good-paying jobs and other economic benefits to rural and farm communities.”

The USDA aims to increase the availability of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel derived from U.S. agricultural products, supported by the development of new and retrofitted biofuel-related infrastructure. The agency aims to attract private investment in the sector by awarding grants for up to 75%, or $5 million, of the total project cost to help businesses convert facilities to cater for fuels with a minimum of 10% biofuel for ethanol and 5% for biodiesel.

Production Boom

Supported by biofuels policies and greater funding opportunities, U.S. biofuels output increased significantly in 2023. In

January 2023, the U.S. production capacity of renewable diesel and other fuels rose to 3 billion gallons a year, surpassing U.S. biodiesel production capacity for the first time. Between 2021 and 2023, the U.S. production capacity of renewable diesel and other biofuels more than tripled, while the biodiesel production capacity fell by 13%. In contrast to biodiesel, renewable diesel is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel, demonstrating similar performance characteristics, which makes it extremely popular.

Across the U.S., the total biofuel production capacity—which includes renewable diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, and other biofuels, grew to 23 billion gallons per year in January 2023, marking a 6% increase on the previous year. Fuel ethanol contributed 78% of U.S. biofuel production, while renewable diesel and other biofuels accounted for 13%, and biodiesel for 9%.

Thanks to high levels of public funding and greater pressure from the government for industries to decarbonize, the biofuel boom is set to continue over the next decade. Recent estimates suggest that biofuel production could reach 1.3 million bpd by 2035, an increase of around 53% from today. The role of biofuels is set to continue expanding as hard-to-abate industries search for ways to decarbonize operations in line with U.S. climate pledges.

The aviation industry will play a major role in the growth of the biofuels industry, as airlines blend higher levels of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into their jet fuel mix, following substantial investment in plane infrastructure to prepare aircraft for SAF use. Heavy industries are also expected to invest heavily in the biofuels sector to help power operations with low-carbon fuel.

Texas Solar Transformation

By: Felicity Bradstock

Texas is leading the U.S. when it comes to solar energy, far overtaking other solar-dominant states, such as California, in terms of new capacity additions. Alongside its successful oil and gas industry, Texas is rapidly developing its renewable energy capacity, supported by the expansion of its cleantech sector. This is turning the Lone Star state into an all-round energy powerhouse. There are several new utility-scale solar projects in the pipeline for the next decade, as well as big plans to develop the state’s battery storage capacity, to boost the reliability of the renewable energy source in providing stable power to the grid.

Texas Grows Solar Power Capacity

A recent report showed that in March, solar generation outpaced coal-fired power plants for providing electricity to the Texas power grid, contributing 3.26 million megawatt-hours (MWh). This was the first time in Texas that solar energy had ever surpassed coal in power generation. Texas contributes around 14% of the solar power generated throughout the U.S. at present, a figure that is expected to rise as the state adds several more widescale projects. The state generated around 14 times more solar power in 2023 than it did in 2017, demonstrating just how rapidly Texas is expanding its solar landscape.

Texas has been rapidly expanding its solar power capacity in recent years, adding 6,500 MW of new capacity in 2023. Texas attracted approximately $27 billion in investment in solar energy in Q4 of last year. And experts expect Texas to continue leading the way for new utility-scale solar capacity, contributing a projected 35% of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) expected 58%, or 62.8GW, of new solar capacity this year.

In addition to significant private funding for the solar power sector, Texas is attracting high levels of public investment. This year, the state was awarded part of a $7 billion federal grant to spur greater access to solar energy in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Solar power is becoming popular at all levels in Texas, from homeowners adding solar panels to their houses, to urban solar farms, and utility-scale projects.

Almost $250 million was awarded to Harris County for the installation of batteries and solar panels, as well as to provide training to residents looking to work in the industry. A further $156 million was awarded to the Clean Energy Fund of Texas, in partnership with Texas Southern University to install 172 MW of solar power and 84 MWh of battery systems across several campuses.

While wind energy continues to provide the largest quantity of renewable power in Texas, this could soon change, as the state invests heavily in the rollout of solar power. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) electricity grid operator is seeing solar power displace natural gas as the main source of energy during peak sun hours and during the summer months, as the state expands its renewable energy production. To support the provision of solar power-generated electricity to the grid in the hours when the sun is not shining, developers are planning to add 13 GW of additional battery storage to the electricity grid by 2025.

Major Projects

The company Lightsource plans to develop and operate two major solar farms in Texas, supported by $348 in funding. One will be located in Brazoria County and the other in Starr County, providing a combined capacity of 288 MW, enough to provide power to 50,000 homes. Both projects are expected to come online before the end of the year.

In 2023, Global Energy Corporation and TotalEnergies commenced operations at their new Myrtle Solar farm in south Houston. The 380MW project is expected to provide electricity for up to 70,000 homes.

The second phase of the Sunnyside Solar Farm is expected to be completed in 2024, transforming a 240-acre ex-landfill into a solar farm. This project is thought to be the largest urban solar farm to be built on a landfill in the U.S. to date.

Solar Power is Growing in Popularity Among

Texan Homeowners

Several initiatives have spurred the development of solar power capacity in Texas, including hyperlocal net metering, multiple rebate programs, the federal solar tax rebate, and a tax exemption. While Texas does not provide state-level solar rebates, several utility companies offer incentives for consumers who install solar panels. There are also tax breaks for residents whose property value has increased due to the addition of solar panels.

More consumers have made the switch to solar to ensure their energy security. The 2021 severe winter storm, that led to widespread power outages, encouraged many homeowners to investigate alternative methods to power their homes. Installing solar panels with battery power allows consumers to go off the grid, ensuring they continue to have access to power during blackouts.

Solar power is becoming popular at all levels in Texas, from homeowners adding solar panels to their houses, to urban solar farms, and utility-scale projects. The Lone Star state is now adding more solar capacity each year than any other U.S. state, adding to its already impressive wind energy capacity. Texas is fast becoming not only an oil and gas powerhouse but a major renewable energy hub, supported further by the rapid development of its cleantech sector.

Major Plans for Geothermal Energy Development Across U.S.

By: Felicity Bradstock

The U.S. is developing its geothermal capacity through investment in research and development, as well as several new production projects across the country. National policies and schemes, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office’s (GTO) 20222026 Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP), have spurred investment in the sector with more growth expected to follow. Some states are taking the lead when it comes to conventional geothermal energy development, while other regions are focusing on enhanced geothermal systems, which have the potential to offer far greater power from geothermal reserves in future years.

National Policies Support

Geothermal Development

There are a variety of geothermal energy systems, including direct use and district heating systems, geothermal power plants, and geothermal heat pumps, which use either the Earth’s high temperatures near the surface or drill miles down to access higher temperatures. Geothermal energy can be used for heating or cooling purposes, as well as to generate clean electricity by using high or medium-temperature resources in tectonically active regions of the world.

The GTO launched its MultiYear Program Plan in 2022 to build on the findings of the

previous GeoVision analysis and better understand the geothermal potential in the U.S. It establishes three strategic goals for 2022 to 2026, which are:

• Strategic Goal 1:

Drive toward a carbon-free electricity grid by supplying 60 gigawatts (GW) of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and hydrothermal resource deployment by 2050.

• Strategic Goal 2:

Decarbonize building heating and cooling loads by capturing the economic potential of 17,500 geothermal district heating installations and by installing geothermal heat pumps in 28 million households nationwide by 2050.

• Strategic Goal 3:

Deliver economic, environmental, and social justice advancements through increased geothermal technology deployment.

This plan is supported by the Biden administration’s 2022 IRA, which raised the geothermal federal tax credit from 26% to 30% until 2032 and offers other financial incentives to companies developing geothermal energy projects across the country. Since the launch of the IRA, the GTO has announced several funding opportunities for geothermal projects, with a particular focus on research and development into new technologies.

Some States are Taking the Lead

Some states are supporting the development of conventional geothermal projects, encouraged by the introduction of tax credits and other financial incentives. Minnesota is expanding its networked geothermal systems thanks to new bills introduced

by state legislators to encourage greater uptake. These systems consist of ground-source heat pumps that deliver low-carbon heating and cooling to buildings. Some examples include the thermal energy network developed in Rochester’s city hall, and the geothermal systems serving Carleton College and The Heights, a

development on St. Paul’s East Side where over 1,000 people will reside and another 1,000 will work. Projects such as these can help reduce both heating and cooling-related carbon emissions and cut energy costs.

Luke Gaalswyk, the president and CEO of St. Paul-based EverGreen Energy, stated, “There’s a lot of excitement building around networked geothermal.” Meanwhile, Joe Dammel, the managing director for buildings at policy non-profit Fresh Energy, explained, “We think that there’s tremendous potential from network geothermal… The studies being considered and the number of bills at the Legislature right now are only going to help us understand the technical and economic potential of geothermal.”

Massive Advances Being Seen in Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Other regions of the U.S. are investing in research and development into enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) with the hope of extracting even greater amounts of energy. Fervo Energy is one of the companies working to develop EGS, supported by government funding. In July last year, Fervo announced it had successfully operated Project Red – a geothermal well around 200 miles northeast of Reno – over a 30-day test period. During this test, it produced 3.5 MW of electricity,

more than any other enhanced geothermal facility worldwide. This offered greater optimism about the future of geothermal energy production in the U.S. EGS works by injecting water at high pressure into deep rocks to re-open natural fractures that have closed over time, allowing hot water or steam to flow into extraction wells. The continuous injection of water helps these fractures stay open for water to be heated and extracted to generate electricity.

The DoE is investing heavily in research into EGS, announcing plans to invest $60 million to demonstrate the efficacy and scalability of EGS in March this year. The DoE plans to award the funds to three projects – Chevron New Energies, Fervo Energy, and Mazama Energy. Currently, geothermal energy accounts for less than 1% of U.S. electricity, but that could soon change as EGS could more than double the amount of recoverable geothermal energy in the U.S. and lengthen the life of existing geothermal sites. The development of EGS technology is expected to increase the U.S. geothermal capacity by as much as 20-fold by 2050, which could contribute around 10% of the country’s electricity.

Solar Demand Expected to Surge with New Data Center Demand

By: Tyler Reed

As big tech companies like Google and Amazon require more data centers to maintain customer satisfaction, renewable energy CEOs are eyeing a potential surge in demand for solar and other renewables. This surge is expected to be exponential, presenting significant growth opportunities for the industry. Solar energy has boomed across the United States for the past decade as Americans use and require more power than ever before.

Power demand is surging as the tech industry’s energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure continues to grow. This trend is pushing the industry towards renewables, with solar energy leading the way. Its rapid growth compared to other electricity sources makes it an attractive option for large data centers. As data demand continues to rise, so too may the demand for solar energy.

State of Solar

In 2023, solar energy accounted for 5.6% of electricity generation in the United States, a notable increase from 4.8% in 2022. California and Texas were the leading solar energy producers in the country. California, in particular, stood out with 27.3% of its energy coming from solar, while its solar energy farms generated a total of 68,816 GWh. Texas followed closely, generating 31,739 GWh from solar energy alone.

From 2022 to 2023, solar generation increased a whopping 16%, reaching 238,121 GWh. For reference, the average American household consumed 10.8 MWh of electricity in 2022. All in all, solar has seen an exponential increase over the past decade. As world energy sources shift toward renewable energies, solar power remains a top contender for the highest capacity and generation in the future.

The increased use of solar energy is partly due to the dramatic decrease in cost. Although solar energy was a more costly option in the beginning, new technologies and advancements have made solar power accessible and reasonably affordable for both utility-scale and small-scale (those with a capacity limited to one megawatt or lower) installations. Solar panels have become a viable option for many corporations, individual households, and small organizations as their affordability has increased.

Historic High Demand for Power

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), United States power usage is set to reach record levels in 2024 and 2025. As American production facilities ramp up production within the United States, a corresponding spike in power energy demand was inevitable. Americans also purchased over 1.2 million electric cars in 2023, making it a banner year for EV automakers.

While some may think natural gas could be a viable energy source for the new data centers, others remain uncertain. Of course, natural gas is affordable, available, and abundant, providing a reliable energy source that could potentially meet the demands of AI-centric data centers.

However, these estimates could pale with the exponential rise in big tech companies building high-capacity data centers. Just why do Meta, Google, and other tech giants need new data centers? It is essential to keep up with AI processing necessities. According to Forbes, ChatGPT’s daily power consumption is equivalent to approximately 180,000 US households. No wonder Big Tech is building data centers faster than ever before.

Is Natural Gas an Option to Power New Data Centers?

While some may think natural gas could be a viable energy source for the new data centers, others remain uncertain. Of course, natural gas is affordable, available, and abundant, providing a reliable energy source that could potentially meet the demands of AI-centric data centers.

However, Dan Shugar, the CEO of Nextracker, a leading solar panel manufacturer, claimed that solar power demand is on the rise. Shugar pointed to the number of solar projects underway within the United States, citing the rise in capacity and generation over the past decade. As the cost of solar energy generation has declined, its ability to compete with natural gas and other energy forms has become much more apparent.

“There’ll be some gas, but we believe, based especially on the data published by the DOE, the predominant energy source for these data centers is going to be renewable energy,” Shugar told CNBC.

Shugar’s optimism is not unfounded, as more and more companies make promises to reach net-zero emissions. For data increases, solar could be poised for significant growth in the near future. In the meantime, you can count on us to bring you the latest energy news.

Stay Current With Shale

The energy sector is constantly evolving, so keep up by subscribing to Shale Magazine. If you want critical Insight on the go, check out our podcast, The Energy Mixx Radio Show, where we interview thought leaders and world changers in every episode.

About the author: Tyler Reed began his career in the world of finance managing a portfolio of municipal bonds at the Bank of New York Mellon. Four years later, he led the Marketing and Business Development team at a high-profile civil engineering firm. He had a focus on energy development in federal, state, and local pursuits. He picked up an Executive MBA from the University of Florida along the way. Following an entrepreneurial spirit, he founded a content writing agency. There, they service marketing agencies, PR firms, and enterprise accounts on a global scale. A sought-after television personality and featured writer in too many leading publications to list, his penchant for research delivers crisp and intelligent prose his audience continually craves.

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Social grades are a reflection of your business’s social media presence. Each grade in the Social section is determined by the percentile range your business falls into when compared to other businesses in the same industry.

WEBSITE

Website grades are a reflection of your business’s website performance, based on Google’s PageSpeed Insights. Each grade in the Website section is determined by the percentile range your business falls into when compared to other businesses in the same industry.

ADVERTISING

The Advertising grade is a reflection of your business’s online campaign performance. The grade is determined by the percentile range your campaign’s estimated cost per click falls into when compared to other businesses in the same industry.

SEO

The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) grade is a reflection of your business’s search engine visibility. The grade is determined by the percentile range your keywords’ estimated value per click falls into when compared to other businesses in the same industry.

PHOTOS

A PRIVATE OASIS IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

Our expanded Ranch Club complex is the perfect paradise for rest, relaxing and recreation. Just steps from Clubhouse Village, it now offers many additional resort-style amenities including four separate swimming pools, Jacuzzi, Ranch Club Grill featuring a wood burning pizza oven, a luxurious open-air pavilion for lounging and seating for up to 300, lighted hard-surface tennis and sport courts, and much more.

To learn more please contact Sean Gioffre at 830-990-7693 / sgioffre@bootranch.com or Andrew Ball at 830-997-6200 / aball@bootranch.com. bootranch.com