This analysis and news roundup come from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday.
It’s been a month since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran, sparking a conflict that has all but shut down the critical shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz and sent oil prices on a roller coaster. The effects have been obvious in the U.S.: Average gasoline prices are hovering at just under $4 a gallon, a threshold they haven’t hit since 2022.
Elsewhere, it’s not just petroleum products that are causing price shocks. While the U.S. produces much of its own natural gas, many countries rely on imports from the Middle East to cook, heat homes, and run power plants. Governments, especially in Asia, have had to enact retail fuel price caps and other mechanisms to stop costs from becoming unbearable.
But some countries have another shield against the price hikes: wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and other fossil fuel–free technologies that provide power unbothered by global upheaval.
Spain’s prime minister boasted that on a recent Saturday, electricity in his country cost about seven times less than in France and Germany, thanks to its investments in clean energy. That margin typically isn’t so high, The New York Times notes: A rainy spring season has unlocked more hydropower than usual in Spain, which will have to turn back to gas in the summer. Still, the United Kingdom, too, hit a record for renewable power output this week, reducing the country’s gas usage and its exposure to the fuel’s rocky prices.
China, meanwhile, is the world’s largest importer of oil and natural gas. Much of that gas comes from Qatar, which has curbed its production amid the attacks. But China is also a renewable energy powerhouse, installing tons of wind and solar over the past decade. That clean power supply, along with some fossil fuel stockpiles, is now helping insulate China from the price spikes and supply disruptions wracking other countries.
While China still relies heavily on fossil fuels, experts say the conflict in Iran could speed its energy transition — and boost business for its cleantech manufacturers, which churn out most of the world’s wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles. Over the last month, investors have already ramped up spending on these firms.
At the same time, used EVs are seeing surging interest in both Europe and the U.S. — and rising costs are already giving some consumers the final push they need to install solar panels, heat pumps, and other appliances that get them off fossil fuels and their volatile prices for good.
More big energy stories
Trump’s latest offshore wind attack is — surprise — legally dubious
The Trump administration is trying a new route on its journey to upend offshore wind, but some critics say the scheme may not pass legal muster.
On Monday, the Interior Department said it had worked out a deal with TotalEnergies, in which it would reimburse the company nearly $1 billion to forfeit its leases, signed in 2022, for offshore wind development near the coasts of New York and North Carolina. In exchange, TotalEnergies agreed not to work on further offshore wind projects in the U.S. and to put the refund toward gas investments, Canary Media’s Maria Gallucci reports.
The deal raises a ton of questions. For starters, as is often a concern: Is the Trump administration allowed to do this, and can anyone sue to stop it? Former U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management head Elizabeth Klein told Maria that it’s legally dubious, though it’s unclear who could challenge the deal in court.
And another question: Where will that money come from? Federal officials haven’t clarified, but because TotalEnergies’ lease payment hasn’t been sitting untouched in a vault for years, taxpayer funding is its likely source.
But there’s a bit of good offshore wind news this week, too: The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project has started sending power to the grid.
The Iran war is driving a clean energy wake-up call | Canary Media
Leave a Reply