World:
¶ “Oil Surges To $110 Per Barrel After Israel Strikes Iran’s Energy Facilities” • Brent crude oil prices surged to $110 per barrel after Israel attacked part of the South Pars gas field, the largest plant in Iran, and the Asaluyeh oil facility. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reacted by announcing that some Gulf energy sites are “legitimate targets.” [Euronews]
South Pars gas field (Alireza824, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Cheaper Energy Bills Could Be Here Overnight” • Europe is in another energy crisis, and the cost of war is making its way onto household bills. The long term solution is to invest in renewables and cut reliance on imported fossil fuels. A short term solution could appear overnight, if governments reduced electricity taxes, which are far higher than fossil fuel taxes. [Euronews]
¶ “China Treads Carefully On Iran War As It Balances Energy Security And Neutrality” • China has taken a cautious approach to the Iaran war, avoiding direct involvement while making itself a neutral actor. “China has very little to lose by staying quiet and a lot to gain by being seen as a neutral party,” Ben Cavender of the China Market Research Group said. [Euronews]
Oil tanker in Shanghai (D Z, Unsplash)
¶ “Wales Strikes Deal To Speed Up Renewable Energy Schemes” • Plans to speed up delivery of windfarms, solar parks and tidal power schemes have been set out as part of a new deal between the renewable energy industry and the Welsh government. It follows warnings from the sector that Wales was “behind the rest of the UK” in getting new projects built. [MSN]
¶ “The Baltic Whale Enters Battery-Electric Freight Service On The Fehmarn Belt” • Scandlines has deployed a high-capacity battery-electric freight ferry, introducing scheduled service with zero direct emissions under normal operating conditions on the 18.5-km Fehmarn Belt crossing. The Baltic Whale has completed its first commercial rotation. [CleanTechnica]
Baltic Whale (Photo from Scandlines)
¶ “FuturEnergy And Form Energy Agree On A Battery Project” • FuturEnergy Ireland and Form Energy agreed on a 10-MW iron-air battery system in northwest Ireland. Form Energy said the project will demonstrate multi-day energy storage. It is expected to come online in 2029 and is Form Energy’s first international deployment of iron-air battery technology. [reNews]
¶ “Low Carbon Adds 240 MW Of Solar Capacity” • Low Carbon put nearly 240 MW of large-scale solar capacity into operation in the UK over the last year. The company said it advanced seven projects in Exxex, Shropshire, and Warwickshire. Collectively they will produce enough electricity to supply annual needs for over 64,000 UK homes. [reNews]
Solar array (Low Carbon image)
US:
¶ “Union Pacific Train Derailment In Texas Causes An Ethanol Leak, No Injuries Reported” • More than two dozen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed in a Texas town near Houston. This caused an ethanol leak from two of the cars that officials said didn’t pose a threat to the public. Ethanol, typically made from corn, can be used as a fuel additive. [ABC News]
¶ “Lawsuit Aims To Stop Trump Administration From Dissolving Largest Climate And Weather Research Lab In The US” • The consortium of universities that leads the National Center for Atmospheric Research is suing the Trump administration over the move to dismantle it. It is the nation’s largest weather and climate research center. [ABC News]
NCAR buildings in Boulder (Paju, CC BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Sierra Club Statement On Western Arctic Oil And Gas Lease Sale” • The Trump Administration held a massive auction for oil and gas drilling rights in the largest contiguous area of US public lands. The auction in the Western Arctic, mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was to lease 1,334,967 acres for drilling by oil and gas companies. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Groups Take The Trump Administration to Court Over Illegal Craig Coal Plant Extension” • Public interest organizations filed a challenge in federal court to overturn a Trump administration illegal emergency order extending the life of Colorado’s Craig Unit 1, a coal-burning plant. The order threatens to raise electric bills and worsen air quality. [CleanTechnica]
Craig Station (Jimmy, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “Trump Tries To Vanquish His Offshore Wind Demons With A Billion-Dollar Bribe” • Having lost a humiliating year-long battle to stop five new offshore wind farms in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the President is trying to bribe away two other offshore leases held by the French firm TotalEnergies, using $1 billion in taxpayer money. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Empire Charges Push Equinor Renewables Into The Red” • Equinor reported an operating loss for its renewables division largely driven by an impairment on the 810-MW Empire Wind 1 array in the US. The $1.6 billion loss includes the effect of a $1.4 billion in impairment losses mainly related to Empire and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. [reNews]
Offshore windpower work (Equinor image)
¶ “Renewable Energy Defies Trump’s Attacks, Reaching A New Record” • US utilities generated a record amount of energy from renewable sources last year, even as the Trump administration put policies in place to stymie green energy. Renewable sources generated 1,162 TWh of the country’s electricity in 2025, a 10% increase over 2024. [MSN]
¶ “Licensing Of Oklo pilot Reactor Facilities Advances” • Nuclear technology company Oklo got US Doe approval for the Nuclear Safety Design Agreements for its first Aurora powerhouse at the Idaho National Laboratory and at the Atomic Alchemy’s Groves Isotopes Test Reactor in Texas. Atomic Alchemy was also given a materials licence. [World Nuclear News]
Have a deliciously fruitful day.
geoharvey 
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