World:
¶ “Does The War On Iran Prove It’s Time To Quit Oil For Good?” • Brent crude, a worldwide benchmark for oil prices, increased by 10% to over $82 per barrel. The price jump followed the attack on at least three ships near the Strait of Hormuz, a 38 km passage that carries around one-fifth of global oil supplies. That’s around 20 million barrels every day. [Euronews]
Ships in the Straight of Hormuz (PH1 Terry Cosgrove, USN)
¶ “European Gas Prices Jump By As Much As 45% As Qatar Stops LNG Production” • The benchmark European gas price, traded on the Dutch TTF hub, rose by up to 45% to around €46/MWh in early afternoon trading. Natural gas prices also surged in the UK, with the NBP benchmark climbing sharply in tandem with continental markets. [Euronews]
¶ “Nuclear Reactor Restart In Japan Will Likely Displace Natural Gas Electricity Generation” • As the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station returns to full operations, the resulting increase in nuclear generation is likely to displace generation from fossil sources, mainly natural gas, which accounted for 33% of Japan’s total electricity in 2024. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “IAEA Warns It ‘Cannot Rule Out’ Possible Radiological Release From Iran Strikes” • The International Atomic Energy Agency warned that the possibility of radiological release due to strikes in Iran can’t be ruled out. But IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said it doesn’t appear that any nuclear reactor or other nuclear facility had been hit. [ABC News]
¶ “Tesla Germany Operating At 40% Capacity, Report Says” • Handlesblatt reporters wrote that output at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide outside of Berlin has collapsed to the point that the factory is operating at less than 40% capacity. Tesla officials accused Handlesblatt of being a stooge of the trade council that represents many workers there. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla German Gigafactory (Tesla image)
¶ “The Falling Cost Gap Between EU And Chinese Batteries” • As the EU debates whether to set “Made-in-EU” criteria for public funding in the Industrial Accelerator Act, new analysis shows how scale will reduce the current cost advantage of Asian battery makers. Only with Made-in-EU criteria can the industry in the EU scale and learn. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nordex Wins 56-MW German Order” • Nordex Group has received a 56-MW order from Qualitas Energy Deutschland for the Wippershainer Höhe wind farm in Hesse. Nordex Group said the contract covers the delivery and installation of eight 6.X-MW turbines on 164-meter hybrid towers. Commissioning is planned for end of 2027. [reNews]
Wind turbine construction (Nordex image)
¶ “Energy Mix Facing Major Structural Transition” • In China, the energy landscape is set for a major structural shift this year as the nation begins its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), to achieve its 2030 carbon peak goal. A report from Wood Mackenzie says the year will be defined by a transition toward market pricing and change in technologies. [China Daily]
¶ “Largest Wind Power Project In Years Announced” • Hungary has had about 330 MW of installed windpower capacity, nearly unchanged for the past decade. Solar energy has played a leading role in the green transition of the domestic energy system so far, while wind energy has been untapped. Now, a 499-MW wind project has been announced. [Hungary Today]
Wind plant (Thomas Galler, Unsplash)
¶ “Nigerian Hospitals Turn To Solar Power As Grid Failures Cost Lives” • Nigerian healthcare providers are installing PV systems at a pace that would have seemed improbable just five years ago. The shift is driven by a collapse in grid reliability, falling global cost of solar panels, and a government increasingly willing to facilitate financing. [Businessday NG]
US:
¶ “War In Iran Jolts Final Day Of Campaigning In The Texas Primary” • Candidates in Texas’ tightly competitive US Senate primary were treading carefully in response to US and Israeli strikes against Iran, with some giving the war a glancing mention in the final hours of campaigning before the election voting began. Others didn’t raise it at all. [ABC News]
Texas Capitol (kel, Unsplash)
¶ “When 70% Of Stations Go Dark: The Fragility Of California’s Hydrogen System” • A recent pressurized hydrogen tanker truck explosion in California is first and foremost a human tragedy. One worker lost his life and another was seriously injured. But with the explosion, 70% of the state’s network of H₂ stations were not operating for one reason or another. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Vestas Finishes SunZia Installation In New Mexico” • Vestas has finished turbine installation at Pattern Energy’s 3,500-MW SunZia array in New Mexico. SunZia is the largest onshore wind farm in the US, and will provide power to some 320,000 households once connected. Vestas supplied 242 of its 4.5-MW machines for the array. [reNews]
SunZia wind farm (Vestas image)
¶ “Make America Carpool Again (With EVs, Preferably)” • The war on Iran has already backfired spectacularly into a regional conflict pushing up the price of gas. So, there goes Trump’s oft-repeated “I lowered the gas prices” talking point, up in flames. There are ways ordinary people can fight back, and benefit from doing so. Carpooling is one of them. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “NuScale Power Faces Securities Fraud Lawsuit After 12% Stock Drop” • A securities fraud class action was filed against NuScale Power Corporation. The suit alleges that NuScale misrepresented the experience and capabilities of its partner ENTRA1, which was responsible for making power generation facilities incorporating NuScale’s nuclear power modules. [National Today]
Have a cleverly comfortable day.
geoharvey 
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