CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 4, 2026--
East Point Energy, an Equinor company, has announced completion of Citrus Flatts, a 100‑megawatt (MW) / 200‑megawatt‑hour (MWh) energy storage facility located in Harlingen, Texas. Citrus Flatts is East Point’s second operational project in Texas. At peak power, the project can power tens of thousands of homes for 2 hours. The facility solidifies the company’s role as a long-term, reliable partner with the city by generating tax revenue that supports critical local services residents rely on every day.
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“As energy demand surges across Texas, the project will bolster the electrical grid and help keep energy costs affordable for families and businesses throughout Harlingen and the surrounding area. Additionally, we’re proud that our project will provide millions in tax revenue to help fund local priorities,” says Andrew Foukal, CEO of East Point Energy.
As part of their commitment to the community, East Point Energy recently donated $175,000 for improvements to the Harlingen Soccer Complex. In addition, the facility's front wall will feature a locally inspired mural painted by a Harlingen artist.
“This project is an important driver of consistent tax revenue for our community. The company and city have worked hard to ensure that the project is safe and reliable, and that the project owner is committed to continued engagement with the local community. East Point Energy has been a consistent and reliable partner in all of the above,” says Orlando Campos, CEO of Harlingen Economic Development Corporation.
East Point worked closely with Harlingen’s Fire Department to provide extensive training and facility site visits to help inform the city’s emergency response planning. Trainings and engagement with first responders will continue on a regular basis.
“East Point Energy has been a reliable and transparent partner throughout the development of the Citrus Flatts project. They have shown a real commitment to project safety and continuous engagement with the Harlingen Fire Department as well as the community overall,” says Fire Chief Rafael Balderas. “We look forward to developing a long-term partnership focused on our mutual commitment to public safety."
Energy storage is a critical resource to help make the grid more reliable and electricity more affordable for Harlingen residents.
“I am proud to represent a community that takes its local governing responsibility so seriously. The City of Harlingen has worked for many years with East Point Energy to develop a safe project with significant and consistent local tax benefits and a long-term commitment to community engagement,” says State Representative Janie Lopez. “As our state deals with rising prices and demand for electricity, driven in large part by data centers, we should be encouraging more of these types of projects.”
About East Point Energy
East Point Energy develops, builds, owns, and operates grid-scale energy storage projects.
As an Equinor company and independent power producer, we are building a clean, resilient and affordable electric grid for the future.
From left to right: Christian Hansen, Gregg Black, Representative Janie Lopez, Andrew Foukal, Commissioner Delia Cavazos-Gamez, Drew Carlson
Ribbon cutting at Citrus Flatts energy storage facility in Harlingen, TX
WASHINGTON (AP) — The widow of an airman killed on a combat mission in the Middle East said it took a viral social media post to get resolution from the Pentagon on issues related to her husband's benefits and basic pay months after his death.
Maj. Alex Klinner, 33, was one of six crew members of a KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq in March while supporting operations against Iran. He's one of 18 U.S. service members killed, along with 790 wounded, since the war began more than six months ago.
The Air Force reached out to his widow, Libby Klinner, this week to clarify that his final paycheck would include hazard pay and combat-related tax breaks. This occurred after she voiced frustration on social media at being told by a military officer assigned to support her after her husband’s death that he was ineligible for those benefits because “we were not at war.”
“My husband lost his life because we’re in a war, and then I was told that because it’s not technically a war, we lose out on something,” Klinner told The Associated Press. “It all comes down to principle.”
Her post, made over the weekend, gained national attention. Vice President JD Vance promised to look into her case after being asked about it during a White House briefing on Thursday.
“We want to be as helpful as we can and ensure she gets everything that she is entitled to,” Vance said. “My message to her would be, ‘We love ya, we’re grateful for the sacrifice and we very much take very seriously our commitment to get you what you need to get.’”
In response to a separate question, Vance rejected the use of the word “war” to characterize U.S. fighting in Iran, saying that “there is no active shooting.” The military has launched strikes against targets in Iran twice this week, and Iran has retaliated by firing on U.S. allies in the Gulf.
On Friday, President Donald Trump called U.S. strikes “intermittent" and defended Vance's comments.
“I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
In late July, the Trump administration created a new, separate category in the Pentagon's casualty count system for those killed and wounded in renewed U.S.-Iran fighting. Pentagon officials said the change was necessary because “Operation Epic Fury,” the original name for combat operations against Tehran, had ended. Since July 7, all U.S. casualties in the Middle East have been tallied under “Overseas Operations.”
Libby Klinner said Air Force officials contacted her this week to say they were initiating a review of her husband's pay. The Air Force acknowledged to her Thursday that it had initially provided inaccurate information and clarified that she was receiving the full pay and benefits her husband was owed, she said.
She said she was told that her husband's paycheck had already included but incorrectly itemized the combat-related hazard pay and tax breaks.
The pay incentives commonly known as “combat pay” are $225 per month and are not conditioned on a formal war declaration but just that the service member be in an area where there is “grave danger of physical injury” or be “killed, injured, or wounded by a hostile fire event,” according to a military website.
Alex Klinner’s final paycheck would have included half that amount since troops are paid twice per month. It is difficult to calculate how much in federal tax breaks Klinner would have been receiving without more information.
Klinner declined to specify the amount of money she was initially told her husband, an eight-year Air Force veteran from Birmingham, Alabama, would be ineligible to receive.
The Air Force said officials spoke with Klinner this week to “ensure all her questions are fully addressed” and confirmed that “all eligible combat theater benefits were included” in her husband's pay.
“We remain committed to providing clear information and continued support to Mrs. Klinner, as well as all the families of the Airmen who died in the KC-135 crash,” the Air Force added.
Broadly, errors in pay in the military are very common because service members can often gain or lose eligibility for a variety of payments depending on their deployment status, duty location or even family factors. As a result, unlike their civilian counterparts, some troops can see their paychecks change many times a year depending on many factors — something that also increases the likelihood of errors.
A GoFundMe for Libby Klinner and her three young children, launched in the days after her husband’s death, has raised more than $1.5 million.
Klinner said she hoped that by speaking out, other grieving families receive clear information from the outset.
"I am very fortunate to have a significant support system around us and a platform to advocate for myself and for my kids. Other families may not have those resources," she said. “If I can do anything to make this awful situation a little bit easier for someone else to navigate, then I am more than willing to do so.”
Brook reported from New Orleans. Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
In this photo provided by the U.S. Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Capt. Alex Klinner, operations flight commander for the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, completes another lap during the Shell 77 Memorial Run at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham, Ala., May 2, 2025. (Paul Mann/U.S. Air National Guard via AP)
