Texas ERCOT Grid Holds Beyond 91 Gigawatts in Heat Wave – At what cost?

On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, extreme Texas heat drove air-conditioning demand that pushed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid past 91 gigawatts for the first time. Unofficial real-time figures from ERCOT’s website showed a peak around 91,300 megawatts near 5 p.m. CT, with system-wide demand data indicating highs near 91,089 MW. This shattered […]

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The Next Generation of Nuclear Energy: A Conversation on Growth, Grid Reality, and Public Trust

A wildly fun podcast with Grace Vanderhei and Alina Voss. In this Energy Newsbeat podcast episode, host Stu Turley sits down with nuclear experts Grace Vanderhei (nuclear fuels engineer and former Miss America) and Alina Voss (NX Atomics) to explore the nuclear industry’s pivotal moment. As the U.S. restarts decommissioned reactors and deploys advanced reactor […]

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Data Center Growth on Track to Absorb a Fifth of US Power Use by 2035: Nuclear Had Better Be Implemented Before We Get There

The explosive growth of data centers, driven primarily by artificial intelligence, is reshaping America’s electricity landscape. High-end projections now show data centers potentially consuming up to 20% of total U.S. electricity by 2035 in aggressive scenarios—roughly a four- to five-fold increase from today’s ~4-5% share. Even as AI model developers announce efficiency gains, the underlying […]

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U.S. Needs 5,000 Miles of New High-Voltage Lines Annually — It Only Built 392

The U.S. electric grid faces a critical bottleneck: explosive growth in electricity demand from AI data centers, manufacturing resurgence, and electrification is outpacing the physical expansion of the high-voltage transmission network that moves power across regions. According to energy economists Leonard Hyman and William Tilles in a new OilPrice.com analysis, the country needs roughly 5,000 […]

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US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites Left Inoperable Under Biden Administration — Trump and Energy Secretary Wright Race t

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the world’s largest emergency crude oil stockpile, is facing serious operational challenges after years of massive drawdowns, deferred maintenance, and mismanagement. One of the four primary storage sites has been left inoperable, equipment purchased with taxpayer dollars was left exposed and unusable, and critical infrastructure repairs were neglected. President […]

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President Trump Orders a Review of the Green Graft and False Research Provided

In a forceful move against what he describes as entrenched waste, bias, and politicized science in the energy sector, President Donald Trump has ordered a comprehensive review, suspension, and potential debarment of officials tied to fraudulent climate research and manuals used to justify massive regulatory and litigation costs against American energy producers and taxpayers. The […]

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WellDatabase Weekly Rig Report for July 18, 2026: US Rig Count Climbs Up 11 with Strong Horizontal and Oil Activity

The latest WellDatabase US Rig Report (dated July 18, 2026) shows the U.S. active drilling rig count at 567, marking a solid +11 week-over-week (WoW) increase and +37 year-over-year (YoY) gain. This reflects resilient drilling activity amid a stable-to-rising trend over the past 12 months, with the count holding in the mid-to-high 500s range. Key […]

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