Paxton sues company for illegally disposing of turbine blades
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Global Fiberglass Solutions Inc. and other affiliated entities for illegally dumping thousands of wind turbine blades and materials at two disposal sites in Sweetwater.
Global was purportedly hired by numerous companies to break down, transport and recycle turbine blades. The company failed to properly dispose of the waste and instead created a stockpile of more than 3,000 wind turbine blades and parts, creating unpermitted, illegal disposal sites. The sites damage Texas land and threaten surrounding communities. Global’s actions violate Texas solid waste disposal laws and other administrative orders.
“Illegal disposal of wind turbines hurts our land and will never be permitted under my watch,” Paxton said. “Just because the radical left calls something a ‘green industry’ does not give any company a free pass to harm the Texas countryside, break our laws and leave Texans to deal with the negative impacts.”
Paxton’s lawsuit seeks significant civil penalties for ongoing violations, injunctive relief requiring complete removal and lawful disposal of all unauthorized waste, and other costs paid to the state.
TXOGA reports Texans stayed warm during winter storm
The Texas Oil and Gas Association reported Texans stayed warm and the state’s energy infrastructure showed resilience despite Winter Storm Fern.
According to TXOGA, natural gas supply remained resilient as Texas natural gas production declined by 7% to 10% during the peak of the storm, Jan. 23-26.
Statewide production of dry natural gas remained near 28 Bcf/d, roughly equivalent to peak winter consumption levels.
Electricity demand rose sharply but was met. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ average hourly electricity load increased by more than 40%, rising from roughly 50 GW to more than 70 GW between Jan. 22 and the coldest periods of the storm.
TXOGA reported storage played a key balancing role, and natural gas storage withdrawals increased materially, with gross withdrawals peaking near 12.8 Bcf/d, helping supplement flowing supply and meet elevated winter demand.
Dispatchable generation anchored grid reliability. From Jan. 22-26, thermal and other dispatchable resources supplied up to 92% of ERCOT generation, including roughly 70% from natural gas, supporting reliability through periods of peak load and cold-weather stress.
TXOGA said the data reflect a reliable and resilient system. Despite extreme cold and rapidly rising demand, the combination of strong natural gas production, storage flexibility and dispatchable generation enabled ERCOT to maintain reliability without widespread outages.
Cheniere to expand Corpus Christi location
Cheniere Energy, the largest liquefied natural gas exporter in the U.S., has submitted an application to build a 24 million metric tonnes per annum LNG plant at its Corpus Christi location, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Reuters reported.
The proposed project will be an expansion of Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant, which at present has a capacity of 18 mtpa but could soon produce as much as 25 mtpa with the ongoing Stage 3 expansion expected to be completed by the end of 2026. If the Stage 4 project is approved, Corpus Christi capacity would eventually rise to 49 mtpa.
The latest expansion would entail adding four new LNG processing plants, also called trains, that will each produce 6 mtpa of LNG, according to the filing with FERC. Cheniere expects that the Stage 4 expansion will require 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day and it hopes to get federal approval by May next year for the project.
In 2025 the U.S. exported 111 million metric tonnes of LNG according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG. The U.S. has another 100 mtpa under construction to come online between 2027 and 2030, leading to concerns by some energy majors that there could be an over supply of LNG by 2030.
With the more favorable permitting climate in the U.S., Cheniere has been in a race with Venture Global (VG.N), opens new tab to be the first U.S. exporter to get to 100 mtpa.
Cheniere has a present capacity of 52 mtpa with another 8 mtpa under construction. Venture Global has a capacity of 40 mtpa with another 28 mtpa under construction.
