International
US Energy News
Iran Asserts Control over Hormuz, Setting Stage for Tolls as Oil Tankers Hold Back Amid Lingering Uncertainty
Iran is tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, with new rules requiring ships to obtain permission and secure insurance from Tehran. This move explicitly paves the way for future tolls, even as a fragile U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed earlier this week aimed to normalize flows. […]
Finance
Electrical Generation / Utilities
Maintaining grid stability in a wind and solar world
ENB Pub Note: This is from the Great Kathryn Poter, at Watt-Logic, and it is on point. Here is a transcript of a speech on grid stability that I gave to the International Energy Credit Association in Valencia on 16 June 2026… …………………………… Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to speak here today. […]
US Grid Equipment Shortage Deepens Impacting Repairs and New Installations
The U.S. power grid faces a deepening equipment crisis, with power transformer lead times reaching record highs and constraining everything from routine repairs to major new infrastructure projects. According to recent industry data, standard power transformer delivery times now average 128 weeks (nearly 2.5 years), while generator step-up (GSU) transformers average 144 weeks, with some […]
AI / Data Center
Ohio Business Lobby Pushes Eminent Domain Reforms That Critics Say Could Enable Faster Land Takings for Data Center Infrastructure on Farmland — Raising Serious Property Rights Concerns
Ohio farmers and property rights advocates are sounding the alarm over a recommendation from the powerful Ohio Business Roundtable (OBRT) to reform the state’s eminent domain laws. The proposal would allow faster “possession” and construction on private land for energy infrastructure projects once a court establishes public use and necessity — even while compensation disputes […]
Texas Gov. Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center and Infrastructure Costs
AUSTIN, Texas — In a decisive move to protect residential electricity ratepayers amid Texas’s explosive data center boom, Governor Greg Abbott today directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to ensure that data centers fully fund their own electric infrastructure costs — preventing any of those […]
US Trade Gap Narrows as Oil Exports Offset AI-Driven Imports
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in April 2026, with exports hitting a record high as surging crude oil and petroleum product shipments more than offset a sharp rise in imports of computers, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment tied to the AI data center boom. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the trade […]
China Starts Prefabricated Power Hub for Data Centers, CCTV Says. – There is a right way to do Data Centers Emerging
China is moving fast to solve one of the biggest bottlenecks in the global AI race: powering data centers quickly and cheaply. According to state broadcaster CCTV, the country has just launched its first prefabricated computing power hub in the eastern city of Qingdao, Shandong province. This modular power solution promises to slash construction time […]
Illinois Joins Ohio in Ordering Pause on Data Center Tax Credits
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has joined Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in hitting the pause button on tax incentives for new data centers. On June 5, 2026, Pritzker directed the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to stop processing new agreements under the Data Center Investment Program effective July 1. This move mirrors Ohio’s […]
















































