Reading and Podcast Picks is a collection of what we’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so about energy topics.
In addition to these R&P Picks, paid subscribers receive access to the full archives, Grid Roundups, and select episodes of the Energy Capital Podcast. Please subscribe today.
Trump says he’s ending restrictions on climate-warming methane from oil drilling | NPR
The Trump administration is rolling back Biden-era methane regulations requiring oil and gas companies to detect and repair leaks, including at smaller wells.
“Operators also would have needed to plug leaking methane from smaller wells that produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas while accounting for up to half of all methane emissions from oil and gas fields.”
This is an important distinction in the administration’s argument that the rollback primarily benefits smaller operators as these wells account for a disproportionately large share of methane emissions.
TCEQ shuts down permit filing system amid data center dispute | Texas Tribune
After watchdog group FracTrack Alliance found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality continued issuing stormwater permits for data center construction despite Abbott’s permitting pause, the agency temporarily shut down its automated online filing system.
“If our own environmental regulator can’t figure out which permits belong to data centers or have to take down their entire system because of them, it’s a real sign that we need a real moratorium backed by legislation” [writes FracTracker Alliance’s comms manager Sam Law].
