Power crisis in Cuba, due to US blockade of the island.
China swoops in with solar panels, winning hearts, minds and markets.
Good job, team.
First, We Fire the Ebola Police. Now, Nuclear Waste.
First, fire the Ebola police.
Now nuclear waste.
There is a cost to hollowing out a government that was built for a reason – supposedly to support the solutions to nuclear waste that the industry has always told us was easy, and right around the corner.
Government Accountability Office:
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management’s federal staff oversee nuclear cleanup work across the U.S. In 2024, we reported that the office was understaffed, with a 17% vacancy rate—and that workforce challenges had caused delays, cost overruns, and accidents.
At the end of FY 2025, it had even fewer staff, with vacancy rate of 45%. Almost half of its vacancies were in mission-critical positions, such as nuclear safety specialists. Many in the remaining workforce are or will soon be eligible for retirement.
We maintain that the office should implement the recommendations from our 2024 report as it’s rebuilding its workforce.
Chikungunya is the New Climate Virus to Watch
This is going to tick you off.
Pronounced “chicken – gun-ya”. Never heard of it till my daughter went to India last year and had to get the shot.
I looked it up. It ain’t Ebola, but not a day at the beach either.
As climate change drives mosquitoes north, Europe and North America are emerging as hotspots for chikungunya virus, a new study warns.
Warmer temperatures may expand mosquito habitats, increasing chikungunya risk areas globally, a new study has found.
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiologyand carried out by scientists in China, found that 139 countries or regions are risk zones for chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease. This accounts for 21.3% of the world’s land mass.
“But we show that under climate change models, the virus will further expand northward into temperate regions, especially northeastern North America, central Europe, and East Asia,” said Dr Ye Xu, co-author of the study.
Chikungunya has been mainly transmitted by the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, a species that thrives in human settlements in the tropics.
Continue reading “Chikungunya is the New Climate Virus to Watch”America’s LNG Dreams in Danger from Hormuz Fiasco
Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie posits 3 scenarios for how the latest war for Oil will play out – short, medium and long term impacts modeled.
An extended war plays havoc with Trump administration plans for global domination with US Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
Quick Peace scenario: LNG prices soften soon after a peace deal is announced, but global LNG markets are tight until summer 2027. LNG supply from undamaged Gulf facilities take time to return to full capacity, with delays to projects currently under construction in the region. The anticipated oversupply, albeit delayed until 2028, remains inevitable once the strait reopens from June, however.
With a major expansion in global LNG capacity under construction, supply is set to increase by about 50% from current levels, restoring confidence in LNG and driving a new phase of demand growth in emerging Asian markets. However, the combined impact of short-term demand destruction and levels of new supply results in a market imbalance. US LNG cargo cancellations are likely to be required to balance the market, more than halving European prices by 2031. Prices then recover slightly between 2030 and 2035.
Summer Settlement scenario: prices continue to increase through summer 2026 and remain strong well into 2027. Additional delays to Gulf projects under construction reduce supply further, but this only pushes the oversupply into 2029. As countries look to reduce their exposure to LNG, demand downside risk cannot be ruled out, potentially exacerbating the oversupply after 2030.
Extended Disruption scenario: the global LNG market is fundamentally reshaped. Prices skyrocket, potentially reaching US$40/mmbtu if the conflict restarts. Persistent geopolitical risks and sporadic Strait closures could reshape the LNG market in the long term.
Wall Street Week: What China Knows that the US Doesn’t About Clean Energy
Worth a watch.
Reshaping the Grid for Renewables and AI
Bloomberg has a crackerjack video production unit.
The piece above is a great historical overview of global grid development, and includes a discussion of last year’s Iberian blackout – which have spotlighted a vulnerability of renewables on the grid – the lack of spinning mass to even out fluctuations on the grid.
The spotlighted solution includes adding in some equipment to replace that mass – and below, Undecided has a nice discussion of Flywheels – a technology with a long history whose time might have come again.
Below, there are other solutions as well, involving Batteries, which seem to be good for damn near everything.
Continue reading “Reshaping the Grid for Renewables and AI”UK as a Global Offshore Wind Power
Offshore wind price didn’t just go down, it “collapsed”.
Offshore wind generating more than gas. Beating new gas, and nuclear on price, putting downward pressure on rates, buffering against Hormuz closure effects.
In Asia: Hormuz Impact Accelerates Transition
One negative blowback: In Indonesia, expanded use of biofuels, specifically palm oil, could put additional pressure on forests.
Otherwise, big push into renewables, a feared revival of coal seems less and less likely.
The Hormuz crisis has already triggered an electrification drive in south and Southeast Asia as consumers struggle with fuel price spikes and even shortages in some countries. Europe and Asia are accelerating plans to install wind, solar, and battery storage capacity to protect against the highly volatile oil and gas markets in increasingly uncertain geopolitical developments.
Investors overwhelmingly expect financing for renewable energy projects to surge in the wake of the Iran conflict, a new poll by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) showed last week.
Investment firms managing a total of around $7.4 trillion (£5.5 trillion) in assets under management completed the UKSIF survey last month, which showed 87% of respondents expect both global and UK-specific investment in renewable energy projects to increase following the war.
The survey also showed 78% of respondents felt global renewable energy investments were now “less risky relative to oil and gas” after the outbreak of the war.
“Despite the narrative that LNG can provide energy security through diversifying supply routes beyond fixed natural gas pipelines, in reality, we’ve seen that this has not been the case with all the cards held by a few LNG suppliers,” says Amy Kong, energy transition researcher from Zero Carbon Analytics (ZCA) in a media briefing. “In essence, we’re seeing the same problems with new dealers.”
Continue reading “In Asia: Hormuz Impact Accelerates Transition”Music Break: Theo Katzman – For Superman
Recommended by May Erlewine, no slouch musician herself.
Why “Drill Baby Drill” is Not Happening
About Troy W. Eckard
Since 1985, Troy W. Eckard has dedicated his entire career to the U.S. energy industry, giving him a wealth of knowledge and expertise for qualified individuals who seek direct ownership of oil & gas assets.
Troy has been blessed, challenged, and seen major cycles both up and down! The company’s direction today is to aggregate, maturate, and prudently liquidate as we build wealth for our partners and our firm!
Below: Oil/gas veteran Matt Randolph aka “Mr Global” on the current Iran impasse.
Continue reading “Why “Drill Baby Drill” is Not Happening”