China’s power sector delivered a clear reminder in April 2026 that even the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy giant still leans heavily on coal when the wind doesn’t blow or nuclear plants go offline for maintenance. According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, thermal power generation (overwhelmingly coal, with a smaller share of natural […]
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The European Commission has just proposed handing out billions more in free carbon emission permits to European industry under its flagship Emissions Trading System (ETS). According to Bloomberg, the updated benchmark values for 2026–2030 would deliver roughly €4 billion ($4.7 billion) worth of additional free allowances to manufacturers covered by the cap-and-trade program. The official […]
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The ongoing conflict in the Middle East — sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in early 2026 — has delivered an unexpected windfall to the Kremlin. Global oil prices surged as threats to the Strait of Hormuz disrupted supplies from the region, pushing benchmark prices above $100 per barrel at peaks and lifting […]
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UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is under fire for blocking the release of a key government document that critics say would expose how Labour’s net zero policies are set to drive up household electricity bills while protecting profits for offshore wind developers. The controversy centers on Miliband’s decision last year to scrap proposals for zonal […]
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The standard Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) has dominated energy policy discussions for years. Policymakers, media, and even some industry reports cite it to claim that wind and solar are now the “cheapest” forms of new electricity generation. But as Germany’s Energiewende and certain U.S. states demonstrate, this metric is dangerously incomplete. It ignores the […]
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As of April 23, 2026, the European Union finds itself in the throes of a deepening oil crisis, one that underscores the fragility of its post-Russia-sanctions energy strategy. Russia’s strategic redirection of Kazakh oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline—announced today by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak—has pushed Germany and much of the EU into what […]
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The Net Zero movement, long heralded as the inevitable path to a fossil-free future, has encountered a profound reality check. The 2026 Iran war—marked by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—has triggered one of the most severe global energy crises in decades, disrupting roughly 20% of the world’s oil and significant liquefied natural […]
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As Europe enters the critical summer refill season in April 2026, its natural gas market faces significant headwinds. Underground storage levels are starting from an unusually low base after a harsh winter, compounded by geopolitical disruptions to LNG supply chains—particularly from the Middle East. With refill operations already underway but volumes constrained, the continent is […]
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President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell yesterday in the White House Oval Office: Iran just handed the United States a “very big present” worth a tremendous amount of money. It wasn’t nuclear-related, he stressed. It was “oil-and-gas-related” and tied directly to the flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump called it a “significant prize” that […]
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In the wake of escalating tensions in the Middle East, triggered by the U.S.-led military operation against Iran under President Trump, global energy markets are reeling from sharp price increases. European governments are scrambling to mitigate the inflationary pressures on energy and food, with measures like price caps and restrictions on fuel price fluctuations. The […]
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