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Tuesday, 7 July 2026

75 briefs so farlast update 18:51 UTC

Key points

  • Drones Reach Moscow Oil Refinery in Overnight Attack on Russian Capital.
  • FERC Waiver Moves Three Mile Island Restart Target to 2027.
  • France Opens Tender for 11 Offshore Wind Projects Above 10 GW.
  • Antares Mark-0 Reactor Reaches Criticality at Idaho National Laboratory.
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United StatesPolicy & Geopolitics

DOE Closes USD 1.6 Billion Loan to DTE Gas for Michigan Infrastructure

The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing closed a USD 1.6 billion loan to DTE Gas Company to reduce electricity costs in Michigan and upgrade natural gas infrastructure, according to the Department of Energy.

The department projects the financing will yield more than USD 700 million in savings for millions of customers across the state, and attributes the loan to what it calls President Trump's Working Families Tax Cut.

Under the project, roughly 800 miles of distribution mains and service lines will be modernized and strengthened, the department said.

The work also covers a rebuild of an existing compressor station, which lets DTE Gas store natural gas when demand is low and cuts the price Michigan customers pay at peak periods, according to the department.

Secretary Wright said the loan would lower energy costs, create jobs and increase grid reliability for the people of Michigan.

Source: energy.gov (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Workers installing a yellow natural gas distribution pipe in a trench along a residential Midwestern street on an overcast day.
Photo: Mumtaz Niazi / Pexels (opens in a new tab)

Policy & Geopolitics

Pentagon Directs $124.6 Million to Lithium in Critical Minerals Push

The Pentagon directed more funding to lithium projects than to any other critical mineral, committing $124.6 million, according to Grist. Neodymium and boron projects received $94 million, graphite $48.8 million, and aluminum $45.4 million.

Of the 27 funding grants analyzed by Mongabay, 74 percent of the funding went to projects based within the United States.

The Trump administration issued an executive order stating that U.S. national and economic security are threatened by reliance on hostile foreign powers' mineral production, according to Grist. The order calls for immediate action to facilitate domestic mineral production to the maximum possible extent.

Congress established FAST-41 in 2015, a federal program covering environmental review and authorization for large infrastructure projects. The program can result in projects being approved up to 18 months sooner than projects not included in its portfolio, which currently contains 18 mining projects.

Source: grist.org (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Aerial view of turquoise lithium evaporation ponds arranged in a grid across an arid landscape near industrial processing buildings.
Photo: Matt Arellano / Pexels (opens in a new tab)

Policy & Geopolitics

All 31 Chinese Provinces Pledge to Peak Carbon Before 2030 in Five-Year Plans

All 31 provincial-level jurisdictions in mainland China have pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 in their 15th five-year plans, according to Carbon Brief.

The plans set out sharply different clean-energy ambitions across provinces. Zhejiang aims to add 90GW of solar capacity by 2030, Carbon Brief reported. Jilin set a target for new-energy vehicles to make up more than 50% of new car sales by 2030, though its current rate is already thought to be 47%, according to Carbon Brief.

Grid and generation strategies also feature prominently. Carbon Brief reported that 24 provinces will prioritise renewable power direct connection models, in which renewable generators supply industrial users through a dedicated line. Offshore wind is mentioned by 11 provinces and nuclear by 12, with both technologies mostly targeted in coastal provinces, according to Carbon Brief.

Around 19 provinces have set out plans to recycle old clean-energy equipment in their 15th five-year plans, Carbon Brief reported. At the same time, 17 local governments pledge to produce more fossil fuels, trying to peak consumption while also expanding output, opening new reserves or lifting production limits.

Anders Hove, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said the differences between provinces reflect primarily differences in economic development capabilities and industrial structure.

Source: carbonbrief.org (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Aerial view of a large solar panel field with wind turbines on hills and offshore wind turbines along a distant coastline.
Photo: NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland. / Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab)

Policy & Geopolitics

DOE Issues Series of Emergency Orders Keeping Coal Plants Running Across Three States

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a Section 202(c) emergency order authorizing Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress to run specified units up to maximum generation output despite air quality or other permit limitations under federal, state, or local law, according to the DOE.

That order took effect at 4:00 PM ET on June 11, 2026, and expired at 10:00 PM ET on June 12, 2026, the DOE said. The department framed the action as securing the Carolinas grid ahead of a period of hot weather.

In a separate order, Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed TransAlta to keep Unit 2 of the Centralia Generating Station, a coal-fired plant in Centralia, Washington, available to operate, the DOE said. Centralia Unit 2 had been scheduled to shut down at the end of 2025.

The Centralia order runs from June 15, 2026 through September 12, 2026, according to the DOE. Citing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, the department said Centralia generated an average of approximately 340,000 MWh per month in 2025.

Wright also issued emergency orders directing the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, CenterPoint Energy, and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator to ensure specified generation units at the R.M. Schahfer and F.B. Culley generating stations in Indiana remain available to operate, the DOE said. Those orders are in effect from June 22, 2026 through September 19, 2026.

The DOE said that in 2025 more than 17 gigawatts of coal-power electricity generation were saved from going offline.

Source: energy.gov (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Policy & Geopolitics

TVA Gets USD 46 Million Federal Pledge to Keep Cumberland Coal Plant Running

The Tennessee Valley Authority won a USD 46 million federal pledge to prolong operations at the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee, according to Inside Climate News.

A review by Inside Climate News found Cumberland among at least three of the 12 plants drawing Department of Energy grants that have faced repeated citations under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, or both.

The authority had planned to close Cumberland's units in 2026 and 2028, according to Inside Climate News. It abandoned that timeline in February, after the Trump administration swapped out four of the authority's board members.

Rising electricity demand and shifts in the regulatory landscape drove the February reversal, said Scott Fiedler, a Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman.

A study cited by Inside Climate News estimated that toxic fine particles from Cumberland contributed to 1,000 deaths as far as New York and Massachusetts between 1999 and 2020.

The Department of Energy also committed USD 28.5 million toward a USD 76.5 million project at the Grand River Energy Center in Oklahoma, according to Inside Climate News.

Asked about the violation records at three of the funded coal plants, an Energy Department spokesperson declined to address the specifics and said Trump is committed to "reversing the American war on coal".

Source: insideclimatenews.org (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink

Policy & Geopolitics

G7 Forms Critical Minerals Alliance, Sets Year-End Targets to Cut Supply Dependencies

The G7 agreed at its leaders' summit in France to coordinate on securing minerals for the energy transition, artificial intelligence and defence, and to move supply chains away from China with more cooperation between what the group called "like-minded partners".

Eight signatories backed the declaration at the close of the three-day summit in Evian, on the French shores of Lake Geneva: France, the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the European Union, according to Climate Home News. Australia, outside the G7, added its support to the text.

The group will build a joint crisis-prevention mechanism, backed by the International Energy Agency, to track disruptions in mineral supply and demand. Members also committed to harmonised platforms that trace where minerals originate, beginning with lithium and nickel.

Leaders committed to pool demand behind new minerals projects and to fix targets by the end of the year for cutting reliance on any single country outside the G7.

China dominates the processing of 19 out of 20 critical minerals the group depends on, according to Climate Home News. Nickel is the sole exception, with Indonesia leading both supply and processing.

Consensus fell short on two measures. A US proposal to regulate mineral prices and a French bid to set up a permanent secretariat tracking G7 minerals initiatives both failed to win agreement, according to Reuters.

Source: climatechangenews.com (opens in a new tab)1 sourcePermalink