Analysis: ​“Monster fracks” threaten Texas’ water supply

OIL & GAS: A new analysis finds the oil industry’s use of water has soared to record levels to support giant, increasingly complex ​“monster fracks” spreading across Texas. (New York Times)

SOLAR:

• Texas’ grid operator predicts a solar eclipse in mid-October could affect the state’s solar farms enough to disrupt the power grid. (Houston Chronicle)
• A report finds utility-scale solar’s rapid Texas expansion provided more than 10% of peak demand for the state power grid when temperatures and demand soared over the summer. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
• Proposed NextEra solar farms in Louisiana attract overwhelming opposition from residents and community in one parish but a generally mild response in another. (Plaquemine Post South)
• A 187 MW solar farm under construction in Texas will power a manufacturing plant that’s a joint venture between ExxonMobil and a Saudi Arabian corporation. (Corpus Christi Caller Times)

CLIMATE:

• Construction and agricultural lobbyists have watered down what was landmark legislation to protect outdoor workers in a metro Florida county so that it would only take effect for less than five days a year, on average. (Miami Herald)
• Texas pecan farmers prepare for a massive die-off after two years of drought and the second-hottest summer on record. (Texas Monthly)
• A Mississippi high school athlete was among at least 11 football players in the U.S. to die of heat stroke between 2018 and 2022, and the number is growing. (Guardian)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A Tennessee municipal utility becomes the first public utility in the nation to use a new technology to analyze data from 250,000 electricity meters as it develops a plan for building out electric vehicle chargers. (Knoxville News Sentinel)

BIOGAS: Local Arkansas officials discuss a $3.9 million incentive package that helped attract a gas-to-fuel plant announced last week. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

UTILITIES:

• Federal regulators elevate their scrutiny of investment firm J.P. Morgan’s connections to a private equity firm that owns a Texas public utility, gas-fired power plants totaling close to 5 GW and other energy assets. (Utility Dive)
• Natural gas company Chesapeake Utilities signs an agreement to purchase a Florida gas company from NextEra Energy. (Offshore Technology)
• A Duke Energy economist meets with Florida business and community leaders to discuss rapid growth and infrastructure needs in the corridor from Tampa to Orlando. (WTSP)

SUSTAINABILITY: Charlotte, North Carolina, is recognized as a model for sustainable cities because of its circular economy plan to use maintenance, recycling, reuse, repurposing and composting to keep products and materials in use as long as possible. (Newsweek)

HYDROGEN: Texas Tech collaborates with a Florida company to research a new way of producing hydrogen from natural gas reservoirs while sequestering carbon. (news release)

POLITICS: During a campaign speech in South Carolina, former President Donald Trump makes evidence-free assertions that ​“windmills” are ​“driving the whales, I think, a little batty.” (HuffPost)

COMMENTARY:

• Kentucky lawmakers should find a fairer way to build out its electric vehicle charger network than with a new 3-cent tax on community charging and adding $120 to EV owners’ annual registration fee, writes a sustainability advocate. (Louisville Courier Journal)
• A South Carolina Congress member calls for the development of more nuclear power to produce high volumes of carbon-free electricity. (Washington Times)