Coal has been given an unlikely reprieve by the combination of U.S. support and the Iran War. Don't call this a comeback. In the first weeks of Tehran’s war against the U.S., and Israel, the global seaborne thermal prices of coal rose by over 25%. Prices rose to the highest level since late-2024, adding new momentum to a 'unexpected' rebound. This price rise reflects short-term market conditions, not a structural improvement in the?coal economy, as is evident by the fact that prices are only 15% higher than pre-war levels. These recent steps come after coal achieved several positive milestones in...

Taiwan's economy minister announced on Saturday that the energy minister of a "major country" producing liquefied gas had given Taiwan assurances about supply. He was speaking in relation to the?impact of the Iran War on Middle East energy imports. Taiwan, which is a major producer of semiconductors, relied on Qatar to supply around a third its LNG prior to the conflict. It has now said that it has secured alternative supplies from countries such as Australia and the United States for the months ahead. Kung Ming Hsin, Taiwan's Economy Minister, told reporters in Taipei that Taiwan enjoys good relations with...

In times of high demand for electricity, the U.S. tech industry is being pressured to reduce its power consumption. This comes amid growing public concerns that Big Tech's massive energy needs in expanding data centers will'max out' the country's electrical grid. When utilities and grid operators ask for it, the power industry and its regulators are increasingly pushing tech companies to make a concession that was previously unthinkable - they're asking them to?scale?back their energy consumption in giant server farms called data centers. The majority of the attempts to make data centres more flexible are in pilot mode. Data centers...

JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, is not facing a shortage of liquefied gas, despite the U.S. and Israel’s war against?Iran. However, JERA is in talks with long-term suppliers about possible additional supplies, according to a senior executive on Saturday. Global CEO Yukio KANI said that Japan's biggest LNG buyer, Global, handles around 35 million metric tonnes of super-chilled gas annually. Around 27 million tons of this fuel are used in Japan, with about 5% passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has disrupted the shipping in the'strait', which is a conduit for 80% of the world's fossil fuel?supplies. Kani, speaking...

Katherina Reiche, Germany's Economy minister, said that the International Energy Agency has recommended the release 400 million barrels from its stockpiles. This is the largest?such move? in IEA's history. Reiche confirmed to reporters in Berlin that the government intends to limit petrol price increases to one per day at filling station and introduce "more stringent antitrust regulations of the sector." She did not provide a definite time frame for these measures but said that the United States, Japan and other countries would contribute the most to the release. Reiche stated that the situation is tense as oil supplies are strained...

Two Greenpeace activists rushed onto the stage during a global nuclear summit held in France on February 2, interrupting Emmanuel Macron, President of France and Rafael Grossi, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief. The protesters were dressed in black suits with ties and held banners that bore the Greenpeace logo, and read "Nuclear Power= Energy Insecurity", and "Nuclear Power fuels Russia's War". Macron was shouted by one of the protesters, "Why are we still buying Uranium from Russia?" The president responded, "We produce nuclear power ourselves." According to the latest data from the French government, France not only has its own uranium-enrichment...

Petroliam Nasional Bhd, the Malaysian state-owned energy company Petronas, or Petroliam Nasional, reported a profit after tax of 45.4 billion ringgit ($11.68 billion) in 2025 compared to 55.1 billion ringgit in 2024. Revenues fell from 320 million ringgit to 266.1 billion rmb ($68.44billion) over the same period. Petroliam Nasional (or Petronas) reported a profit of $45.4 billion after taxes in 2025, compared to $55.1 billion in 2024. Revenues fell from 320 billion to 266.1 billion Ringgit ($68.44 Billion) during the same time period. Tengku Taufik Tengku, the Chief Executive Officer of Tengku Muhammad Tengku Aziz, said that oil prices were...

The race for artificial intelligence dominance by Big Tech may soon hit a bump in the road as U.S. power grids struggle with keeping up with hyperscalers who spend big. Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, among other technology giants in the US, announced in recent months that they plan to spend $600 billion in AI by 2026. Some investors are already concerned about the profitability of this strategy due to the investment wave. The ambitious U.S. AI plans will be hindered by severe power-infrastructure bottlenecks including turbine shortages and slow grid expansion. The processing and cooling of data centers that are...

Metlen, a Greek company, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shell to collaborate on the supply and trading of liquefied gas. Greek energy companies are seeking to replace Russian gas with U.S. LNG in central and southern Europe. Metlen is a London and Athens listed energy and metals company. The agreement will allow it to trade and secure between 0.5 billion cubic metres of LNG per year from 2027 until '2031. Deliveries are routed through Greece's Revithoussa terminal and Alexandroupolis. The agreement also envisages the use of the Vertical Gas corridor, a route...

The administration of President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Japan would?finance three projects worth $36 billion, including an oil-export facility in Texas, a diamond plant in Georgia, and a natural-gas power plant in Ohio. Trump stated on Truth Social that the projects were part of Japan's $550 Billion U.S. Investment pledge, as part a trade agreement that reduced Trump's tariffs against Japanese imports by 15%. Trump gave very few details on the projects. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Portsmouth, Ohio, power plant would be the world's largest natural gas-fired generation facility with a capacity?9.2...

Two people who have direct knowledge of the plan say that Saudi Arabian and U.S. firms will form a consortium to explore and produce oil and gas in northeastern Syria. Sources said that Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy, and Argent LNG plan to partner with TAQA on the project. The project would cover four to five exploration blocks in the northeastern area. The project is the latest in an array of large-scale business deals that have spanned Syria's entire economy, since the former autocrat Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown by Islamist rebels who became rulers a year earlier and after the U.S....

Dutch and British wholesale gasoline prices rose Friday morning due to colder weather forecasts, and a weaker wind output. The benchmark 'Dutch front month contract at TTF hub increased by 1.16 euros to 34.97 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) as of 0925 GMST, according to LSEG data. LSEG data shows that the contract reached a high intraday of 35.17 during earlier trading, its highest level since August 1, last year. The Dutch March price was 0.69 euros higher, at 33.42 Euros/MWh. The UK price for February was 3.67 pence more expensive? at 91.17 pennies per therm. This week, prices have...

Officials said that two people died after a chemical 'leak' at a sliver scatalyst?plant?in Kanawha County in West Virginia on Wednesday. In a?statement posted on Facebook by the county commission, it was revealed that the incident took place at Catalyst Refiners, located in the unincorporated Community of Institute. One?person is in critical condition, according to the statement. Kanawha County's Deputy Attorney Christopher Settles stated that more than 30 people were transported to hospitals, including?seven first responders. Some of these individuals traveled as a precaution. Ben Salango, President of the Kanawha County Commission, said that there would be national and state...

Officials said that two people died after a chemical spill at a silver catalyst production facility in Kanawha County, West Virginia, on Wednesday. In a Facebook post, the county commissioner said that the incident happened at Catalyst Refiners, in the unincorporated Community of Institute. They added that one person is?in a critical condition. Around 20 other people needed medical treatment. Ben Salango, the Kanawha County Commission president, said at a press conference that there would be investigations conducted on a national, state and even local level about this chemical release. County officials cited preliminary information to say they believe a...

Environmental activists will protest outside SpaceX Starbase launch 'facilities' on Tuesday, ahead of the highly-anticipated IPO 'of Elon Musk’s company. They'll be pressuring public pension funds to reject the deal because they're worried about safety and pollution issues. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network has announced that its members will protest Tuesday outside the main entrance of SpaceX as it begins three days tours and meetings with Wall Street analysts. Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of Network, has urged investors to boycott the IPO. She also lobbied against the purchase of shares by the New York City Comptroller Mark Levine for the...

U.S. legislators criticized Energy secretary Chris Wright for ordering that aging coal plant remain open in hearings held on Wednesday and Thursday, saying: 'the action will raise the already high power bills for steelmakers and consumers. Wright's department ordered in December that two Indiana coal plants, which had planned to?close permanently?, remain open. They said this would reduce the risk of power outages and provide affordable electricity. CenterPoint Energy's and Northern Indiana Public Service Company's coal plants were to be replaced with natural gas or other sources of power. NIPSCO estimates that it will cost them $100 million to maintain...

The largest U.S. Civil Rights group sued xAI and a subsidiary on Tuesday, claiming that they operated illegally more than?two dozen gas turbines to power Colossus '2 data center in Mississippi, posing a?health risk to local -residents. Earthjustice, the Southern Environmental Law Center and the?NAACP represented by Earthjustice sued xAI, a subsidiary of MZX Tech and alleged that they had violated the federal Clean Air Act, by operating 27 gas-fired generators without obtaining the necessary air permits to power xAI?s?Grok?chatbot. Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI invested more than 20 billion dollars to build a data center in Southaven, with...

Barbara Johnson, an organizer for Metropolitan Congregations United in North St. Louis' mostly Black neighborhoods, has been fighting coal pollutants for decades. The group is one of many activist groups that are campaigning for cleaner pollution in a city with some of the dirtiest air in the nation. Johnson believed that things would get better because the federal soot standard, adopted by Biden in 2024, was scheduled to take effect in 2027. This meant that plants had to reduce emissions or close. Ameren Labadie Energy Center, one of the region's largest polluters, would have been forced to reduce its soot...

Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet’s Google all abandoned the construction of multi-billion dollar?data centres due to community opposition. Now the companies face shareholder pressure regarding the environmental impact of the?projects. Interviews with have revealed that more than a dozen shareholders are putting pressure on tech companies to provide data about their water consumption and conservation efforts, as they look to increase computing power. Andrea Ranger said that Trillium Asset Management of Boston, with assets of more than $4 billion, had filed a shareholder resolution in December asking Alphabet to clarify how it would meet its existing climate goals, given the increasing...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that they would monitor the 'impact of microplastics and pharmaceutics on 'drinking -water. This is the first step towards assessing the health risks and forming new policies. The announcement by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was hailed as a victory for President Donald Trump’s "Make America healthy Again" agenda, whose goals have included reducing childhood vaccines recommended and promoting whole -foods in the new dietary guidelines. The EPA has now included microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants on its sixth...

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology entered into an agreement to transfer carbon credits generated in Europe and the UK over the remainder of 2026 to Stellantis subsidiaries. The agreement covers all credits generated from the sale and registrations of battery electric vehicles, range-extended models and electric cars under 'the Leapmotor Brand' between March 31 and December 31, said a company filing in an exchange on Tuesday. Leapmotor said that the deal would help it expand its revenue sources as well as fulfill its "corporate social responsibility". Stellantis and Leapmotor have a joint venture to sell the Chinese electric vehicle maker's vehicles in...

Mexican officials confirmed on Thursday that an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is due to both natural 'causes' and a petroleum 'tanker, which authorities are attempting to identify. Raymundo Morales is the Mexican navy's head. He said that satellite images showed an oil slick near the coast and that any of the 13 vessels which had passed by the area may have been responsible. Morales stated that four of the vessels were still in Mexican waters, and being inspected by the Navy. Mexico has asked for international assistance to inspect the nine remaining vessels, which are now in...

As EVs get cheaper and emissions targets are met, the market will be supported by a battery-electric vehicle share of 23% in 2026 in 'the European Union and Norway and a share of?28% in '2027. European 'campaign' groups say Europe is on the right track in its transition to electric vehicles and that it can be profitable for the carmakers. They pushed the European Commission last December to reverse the effective ban on the sale of new internal combustion engines cars starting 2035. T&E stated that 'battery-electric cars prices have fallen in average by 4 percent in 2025 due to...

Europol announced on Wednesday that more than 330?people?were arrested in 70?countries as part of a crackdown against organised crime 'networks' accused of?trafficking illicit waste?in Europe and exporting them to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The authorities seized 127.149 metric tonnes of waste and 602 tons of polluting agents, along with 75 tons?of plant protection chemicals and 2.3 tons?of mercury, as well as nearly?10 millions euros ($11.6 million) of cash and bank account. Officials said that the seized 'waste' could have generated illicit profits of at least 31 million euros. The Guardia Civil of Spain, which was involved in the operation...