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Maxine
Joselow, The New York Times
Senior
officials in the Trump
administration are drafting
settlement agreements that
would pay nearly $1bn in
compensation to TotalEnergies
for cancelling the leases of
two proposed windfarms in the
waters off New York state and
North Carolina, according to
the New York Times. The
newspaper says the proposed
agreement – which it has
“reviewed” – would see the US
justice department pay more
than $928m to the French
fossil fuel giant after the
interior department cancelled
the leases of the two
projects, which are earmarked
for federal waters. In
exchange, TotalEnergies would
abandon the plans to begin
building the wind farms and
commit to investing in gas
infrastructure in Texas. The
New York Times says the plan
“reveal[s] a significant shift
in the Trump administration’s
approach to targeting the
country’s nascent offshore
wind sector following [a]
series of legal setbacks”. Reuters
picks up the story.
Bloomberg
reports on the impacts of war
on US farmers, who it
describes as “one of Donald
Trump’s most loyal
constituencies”. It says the
new “financial strain on
American agriculture driven by
the war” could have
“significant ramifications”
for the US midterm elections.
Sources reportedly told Reuters
that Trump has invited farmers
and biofuel producers to the
White House next week as the
administration works to
finalise new biofuel blending
quotas for 2026 and 2027. The
quotas, which determine how
much renewable fuel must be
blended into US fuel supply,
have “sweeping implications”
for the energy and
agricultural sectors,
according to the newswire. It
adds that US refiners have
made a “last-minute push to
persuade the administration to
temper” increases agreed last
year.
MORE
ON US
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Trump
said he wanted “no
windmills” built in the US
during his presidency,
arguing they were “very
bad environmentally”,
reports Bloomberg.
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A
new lawsuit opposing the
breakup of the National
Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR) alleges
that the move is “part of
a Trump administration
retribution effort against
the state of Colorado”,
according to the Hill.
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Six
months before the US
started bombing Iran, the
administration laid off
staff who would have been
responsible for gaming out
possible scenarios if the
Strait of Hormuz was
closed, reports US news
outlet NOTUS.
-
The
Los Angeles
Times says that
Southern California
entered its second day of
the “potentially worst
heatwave for March ever”,
with temperatures reaching
97F (36C). The Associated
Press also reports
on the “rare winter
heatwave” in the US west.
-
The
Guardian
reports that oil has begun
to flow from a
“controversial” oil
pipeline in California for
the first time in a decade
after a Trump
administrative order.
-
New
York governor Kathy Hochul
has said that the state
needs more time to achieve
the greenhouse gas goals
in its 2019 climate law,
reports Politico.
Sudarshan
Varadhan, Emily Chow and
Ariba Shahid, Reuters
There
is an abundance of coverage
looking at how countries
reliant on oil and gas
transported through the
blocked Strait of Hormuz are
responding to the war. In
Asia, Reuters reports that
industry officials have
confirmed plans to boost
coal-power generation in
Bangladesh, Pakistan, the
Philippines, South Korea and
Vietnam. It adds that gas has
accounted for a “declining
share” of Asia's power
generation for nearly a decade
due to “surging renewables
usage”. The Associated
Press has a round-up of
energy-saving measures
introduced by governments in
Asia – including a four-day
work week in the Philippines
and a work-from-home push in
Vietnam. It says that analysts
have warned that the “same
hard choices” could soon
spread to “fuel-importing
economies in Africa and
elsewhere”. Bloomberg
says the war is triggering a
“hunt” for “new fuel supplies
in Africa”.
The
Economist
says that, despite renewables
and “vast stockpiles” of
crude, China “cannot shield
its economy entirely” from the
shock. It says: “Higher costs
will ripple through supply
chains and raise freight
costs”. In an article looking
at the countries most
vulnerable to oil shock, Forbes
notes that China will add
about 500 terawatt hours of
new renewable generation this
year, which will cover “the
entirety of its electricity
demand growth” and be “helpful
for offsetting missing oil and
[liquefied natural gas] from
Hormuz”. BBC News
considers whether the conflict
will “squeeze” India’s
“rapidly expanding network of
piped natural gas”.
This
comes against a backdrop of
oil prices rising again after
Iran’s “successfully attacked”
energy infrastructure in Iraq
and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), reports the Guardian.
On Tuesday, Brent crude – the
international benchmark oil
price – climbed 3% to $103.2
(£77.52) a barrel, marking a
near-50% increase since the
start of war, it says.
Meanwhile, wholesale gas
prices rose nearly 3% to €52
(£45) a megawatt hour,
compared with about €30 before
the conflict. Bloomberg
reports that in the US, diesel
prices have reached $5 a
gallon for the first time
since November 2022 and are up
by “more than a third” since
the start of the war.
Separately, Bloomberg
says that UK petrol prices
have reached their highest
point since the start of the
war, with petrol at its
highest level since August
2024 and diesel at its highest
since “late 2023”.
MORE
ON OIL SHOCK
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Financial Times:
“Drone-struck Russian LNG
tanker threatens
‘ecological disaster’ in
Mediterranean.”
-
Slovakia’s
government is considering
regulation to set higher
diesel prices for foreign
drivers, or limiting their
refuelling, says Reuters.
-
Germany
has introduced a new law
which restricts gas
station operators from
increasing petrol and
diesel prices only once
per day, according to Bloomberg.
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Forbes:
“Economists have warned
rising oil prices may push
US into a recession.”
-
Norwegian
airline SAS said it was
cancelling a “limited
number” of short-term
flights due to high fuel
prices, reports Bloomberg.
-
The
Guardian:
“How Pakistan’s people-led
solar boom is easing
impact of Middle East
energy crisis.”
Eleanor
Thornber, Bloomberg
Bloomberg
covers a warning from the
World Food Programme that 45
million extra people could
face hunger if the Iran war
does not ease by the middle of
the year. The statement stated
that “increasing energy, fuel
and fertiliser costs” could
push 363 million people into
food insecurity, according to
Bloomberg. In an explainer on
how the conflict is impacting
fertiliser supply and costs, Reuters
notes that one-third of the
world’s fertiliser passes
through the blocked Strait of
Hormuz, alongside 20% of the
world’s LNG, a key feedstock
for fertiliser. The closure of
the channel means that
“fertiliser plants in the Gulf
and beyond” have shut, it
says. “Around half” of the
world’s food is grown with
fertiliser, according to the
newswire. In the Financial Times,
columnist Martin Wolf says the
closure of the shipping
channel is “not just about
oil” but about “gas,
fertilisers and
petrochemicals”. He says: “If
the strait is not reopened
soon, the world risks both
economic and political
disruption. Only one major
power, Russia, will be
unambiguously better off.”
Josie
Clarke, Press Association
UK
energy minister Michael Shanks
told a select committee
yesterday that — “despite some
scaremongering stories”
published over the past two
weeks – the UK has “very
strong energy supplies from a
diverse range of sources”,
reports the Press Association.
However, he added that there
was “no question that the
situation in the Middle East
and the uncertainty that that
brings does have an impact on
price”, the newswire notes. In
a frontpage
story, the Daily Mirror
says the war could add “£1,300
a year” to household bills,
noting: “Now energy suppliers
are warning gas and
electricity could surge by
£250 a year on the back of a
spike in wholesale costs.” The
Daily Telegraph
says consultants at LCP Delta
have predicted that UK
electricity prices will rise
40% this year and 18% next. It
adds the impact on bills will
be “softened” by the UK’s
electricity interconnector
links to Norway and France. It
notes that Norway relies
mainly on hydroelectricity and
France’s power is largely
nuclear generated – “meaning
both are less exposed to
spikes in gas”.
Meanwhile,
the hard-right, populist
Reform UK has promised to
scrap VAT and green levies on
household energy bills if
elected, arguing this would
save the average family £200 a
year, reports BBC News.
This includes a levy known as
“carbon price support”, as
well as the “renewables
obligation levy” – which will
be abandoned entirely, the
outlet says. At a rally in
London, Nigel Farage
reportedly said that the
“net-zero agenda" has “only
led to skyrocketing energy
bills for working people”. To
promote its announcement, it
launched a prize draw
promising to pay the energy
bills of the winner and their
entire street, the article
says. The Guardian
reports that the competition –
which requires entrants to
disclose their name, email and
telephone number on an online
form – could breach data
protection law. The Independent
says that digital rights
campaigners have urged the UK
investigation watchdog to look
into the competition. The Daily Mail
also covers Reform’s energy
pledges, while both the Times and Daily Telegraph
carry political sketches about
the stunt.
Elsewhere,
Sky News
covers calls from AA president
Edmund King for the UK
government to delay plans to
end a temporary 5p cut in fuel
duty this autumn. The Daily Express
covers figures from the
Taxpayers’ Alliance, which
says households could pay
almost £40,000 in fuel duty
over an entire lifetime – up
from £36,300 – if the fuel
duty “hike” goes ahead.
MORE
ON UK
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The
UK government is expected
to publish its
long-awaited “green homes
plan” next week, with
ministers set to mandate
low-carbon heating for all
new-builds and solar
panels on the vast
majority, reports Politico.
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For
the first time, government
ministers will “set out
how much land is needed to
meet the UK’s net-zero
target through growing
forests and restoring
peatland…and through
energy generation from
solar and windfarms”,
reports the Guardian.
-
Francesco
Mazzagatti – “an energy
trader who has become a
key figure in the North
Sea industry” – is facing
a worldwide asset freeze
over allegations he
siphoned off funds from
former business partners
in Iran, according to Bloomberg.
-
The
Times looks
at why the UK pays more
for power than “any other
developed nation”.
-
The
Daily Mail has been forced
to correct its electric
car price claims after
misleading readers,
following a complaint made
by the Energy and Climate
Intelligence Unit to press
regulator IPSO, reports
the Byline Times.
-
Octopus
Energy data shows a “surge
of solar installation
inquiries” from UK
households since the start
of the Iran conflict,
according to BusinessGreen.
International
Energy Net
During
the first two months of the
year, China’s production of
wind turbines and lithium
batteries for energy storage
rose 28.7% and 84%
year-on-year, respectively,
reports energy news outlet International
Energy Net, citing data
released by the National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Financial news outlet Caixin
reports that the US has
“abandoned plans to impose
anti-dumping or countervailing
duties” on imports of Chinese
graphite anode material, a
“key” battery component.
Meanwhile, Reuters
publishes an article by
journalist You Xiaoying,
saying that Chinese
manufacturers have already
moved into “mass production”
of sodium batteries for both
transport and large-scale
energy storage as they look to
“find alternatives” to
lithium.
MORE
ON CHINA
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NEA
says China’s electricity
consumption rose 6.1% in
January and February,
reports BJX News.
-
Reuters
reports that Chinese state
oil majors have resumed
seeking Russian crude
cargoes after a
“four-month hiatus”.
-
Lianhe Zaobao
reports that China will
continue issuing green
sovereign bonds this year
to attract international
capital for low-carbon
development.
-
A
Global Times
editorial argues that
western outlets have
“undergone a noticeable
shift in their narrative
about China’s green
development”.
-
Science and
Technology Daily
says extreme weather is
climate change’s “new
normal”, citing China's
national Climate Centre.
-
Economic Daily
says that China’s solar
industry should shift from
“scale first” to “quality
first”.
The
Economic Times
Indian
state-run oil companies' sales
of liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG) fell 17% in the first
half of March, “as supplies
to commercial customers
decelerated sharply amid the
widespread logistical
bottlenecks” brought on by the
war, the Economic Times
reports. Manufacturing
companies reliant on LPG in
their production processes are
turning to “alternative
fuels”, including diesel and
oxy-acetylene, but warn that
there is “visibility for
commercial supplies for only
two days”, per another Economic Times
story. A Carbon Copy
story investigating the
“rippling” impacts of
shortages on India’s kitchens,
industries and supply chains
says that “[i]n many ways,
this is Covid redux”, warning
that large parts of India’s
economy are “about to see
either an energy shortage or a
raw material shortage”. The
decision to “stop supplying
gas” took “commercial
establishments by surprise,
because, over the past 10
years, the Indian government
has been evangelising [gas] as
an affordable and plentiful
fuel”, it writes. The story
adds that as some “fall back
on older forms of energy”, the
“larger costs will be
ecological”, concluding: “Such
are the costs of not
decarbonising sooner.”
MORE
ON INDIA
-
India’s
renewable energy ministry
wants clean energy firms
to use “only locally made
solar ingots and wafers
from June 2028” to “curb
Chinese imports”, Reuters
reports.
-
Over
35GW of renewable capacity
could face “grid
curtailment” as
“transmission expansion
struggles to keep pace
with rapid solar and wind
additions”, the Financial
Express writes.
-
A
Hindu
comment co-authored by
India’s former water
secretary argues that the
Belém indicators on
adaptation “are not a
bureaucratic checklist;
they are a dashboard for
survival”.
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