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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Fossil Fuels Still Generate 57% of the World’s Electricity — But We Remain Deeply Dependent on Them for Transportation, Manufacturing, and Building the “Renewables” Themselves

Recent data confirms that fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) still supply 57% of global electricity generation. Wind and solar together reached about 17% of electricity in 2025, according to Ember’s Global Electricity Review. This marks progress from a decade ago, yet it tells only part of the story. Electricity represents a minority slice […]

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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 to Fix the Damage

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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China Indefinitely Suspends Power of Siberia 2 Negotiations: A Major Blow to Russia’s Energy Export Ambitions

A recent Wall Street Journal report has confirmed that China has effectively put negotiations for the Power of Siberia 2 (PoS2) natural gas pipeline on indefinite hold. This development, highlighted in a July 19 X post by commodities analyst Jack Prandelli, underscores Beijing’s hardball tactics and Russia’s increasingly desperate position in pivoting its energy exports […]

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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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