Texas Holding Consumers Hostage for $33 B in a High-Voltage Heist

Texas ratepayers are on the hook for a $33 billion high-voltage transmission expansion that critics call a classic power grab—funneling guaranteed returns to transmission monopolies, condemning thousands of acres of private land, and primarily enabling more intermittent wind and solar that many of today’s assets won’t economically or physically outlast another decade. The Electric Reliability […]

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France Shuts Off More Nuclear Power as Heat Builds Across Europe, Sparking an Energy Domino of Failures

Electricité de France (EDF) has shut down the Golfech-2 nuclear reactor in southern France as a blistering heatwave drives temperatures toward 40°C across parts of Europe. This is the latest in a record number of heat-related outages hitting France’s nuclear fleet this summer, curbing output from what remains the backbone of Europe’s electricity system. EDF […]

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US Crude Oil Inventories Decreased by 7.2 mb to 404.5 mb

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its Weekly Petroleum Status Report on July 29, 2026, covering the week ending July 24, 2026. Commercial crude oil inventories (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) fell by 7.2 million barrels (precisely 7.167 million barrels) to 404.5 million barrels. This marked a sharp draw that far exceeded market expectations […]

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The Misconception of California’s Lower Demand for Gasoline and Diesel Sparks Debate

California’s energy debate often rests on a convenient narrative: gasoline and diesel demand is falling, so aging refineries can—and should—simply close. A recent CalMatters commentary by Ranjit Deshmukh, an environmental studies associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, advances exactly this view. Titled in essence “Aging oil refineries don’t need more public dollars. California should let […]

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German Industry Warns Energy-Price Shock is Crippling Investment and Growth

German companies are delaying investments and increasingly eyeing production moves abroad as stubbornly high energy costs erode competitiveness, according to the latest survey from the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). The findings, highlighted in a July 27, 2026 Bloomberg report drawing on the DIHK’s Energiewende Barometer 2026, underscore deepening structural pressures from Germany’s […]

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