energy

Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, authored Senate Bill 1929, which passed the Senate Committee on Energy on Thursday.

Federal data show electricity consumption is up in the U.S. after more than a decade of little growth, partly because of data centers and other energy-hungry facilities. Average electricity prices are following the trend nationwide.

Among the largest single recurring budget requests before lawmakers this year is the Oklahoma Water Resources Board's $50 million investment into fixing the state's dire water infrastructure needs. One state senator hopes his bill will jumpstart the work.

Ahead of the 2026 legislative session, elected officials filed dozens of environmental bills that range from reckoning with data centers to banning dams on a southeastern Oklahoma river.

States, territories, tribal governments, municipalities and nonprofits were set to get $7 billion to develop residential solar installations in low-income communities. The grant program was designed under the Biden administration and recipients were announced in 2024.

The act, signed into law on July 4, will eliminate incentives for investing in wind and solar projects.

The commissioners voted in mid-June to deny a conditional use permit for a proposed solar farm near the town of Porter and the Arkansas River.

Planned wind farms on the east side of Interstate 35 are seen as a potential asset to some landowners, while receiving opposition from others.

The governor shared concerns over the regional transmission organization during an interview with News 9 this month.

A federal court has sided with a refinery in Southern Oklahoma over the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the EPA couldn’t go back on an exemption it had issued for renewable fuel requirements.