Trump, Duke, Spain & SF₆: This Week's Top Energy Stories
1. Trump Pays Duke Energy US$129m to Scrap its US Wind Projects
Duke Energy has accepted a multi-million-dollar settlement from the US Government, agreeing to relinquish its offshore wind leases in North Carolina
Duke Energy, one of the US’s premier energy providers, has agreed to scrap its plans to build a wind farm off the coast of North Carolina following discussions with the Trump administration.
Duke has accepted a settlement of US$129m from the White House with the proceeds expected to go instead towards investments in nuclear power and natural gas, as well as upgrades to the grid.
The termination of the company’s offshore wind lease is just the latest scalp of US President Donald Trump’s campaign against wind energy, which has already seen TotalEnergies axe its plans for two arrays on the Eastern Seaboard.
The agreement, announced by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on 29 June, covers Duke's Carolina Long Bay lease, a site located around 22 miles south of Bald Head Island in Brunswick County.
The site had been earmarked to generate enough electricity to power more than 300,000 homes.
Under the terms of the settlement, Duke has agreed to relinquish the lease and reinvest an equivalent sum into other projects in the Carolinas.
The deal is the fourth of its kind struck by the Trump administration since taking office.
As well as the deal with TotalEnergies in March (which saw the White House pay compensation of around US$1bn), Trump has paid settlements to Ocean Winds and Invenergy, to the tune of US$885m and US$765m respectively.
2. Spain's Decree to Keep Telco Networks Live During Blackouts
A new decree from the Spanish Government forces mobile network providers to guarantee at least four hours of mobile coverage during blackouts and outages
When the lights went out across Spain and Portugal in late April last year, everything ground to a halt.
The blackout was one of the most severe to hit Europe in decades. Offices had to close, planes and trains were cancelled and, perhaps most devastatingly, mobile connections vanished in an instant.
For a region used to constant connectivity, the incident has stuck long in the mind.
The vulnerability of the grid was shocking. What was more frightening, however, was how quickly the countries' digital infrastructure collapsed after its source of electricity was compromised.
Now, more than a year on, Spain's government is looking to address this issue. Oscar Lopez, Spanish Government's Digital Transformation Minister, announced on 25 June a new decree that will require mobile operators to guarantee at least four hours of network coverage for most of the population during power cuts.
In Spain, a decree is the most powerful legislative tool that politicians have because they can be enforced without the need for ordinary parliamentary process.
To use such powers in this instance shows not only how seriously the government is taking its response to the incident but also how much value it places on keeping mobile connections alive in emergencies.
3. SF₆: How to Phase Out the World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas
Schneider Electric & Southern California Edison are set to install SF₆-free switchgears across the Californian energy grid as the race to ditch SF₆ begins
Carbon dioxide tends to dominate conversations about greenhouse gases.
And while CO₂ accounts for roughly 74% of total emissions, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, it is by no means the most potent of these gases.
Methane, which is at least 80 times more damaging than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe, is increasingly being addressed by climate action campaigns.
But even the harmful potential of methane is dwarfed by a lesser-known greenhouse gas – sulphur hexafluoride, more commonly referred to as SF₆.
SF₆ has been used in energy grids for decades to insulate electricity and extinguish high-voltage electric arcs, preventing fires and damage to equipment.
The problem? Sulphur hexafluoride is around 23,500 times more damaging to the Earth’s atmosphere than CO₂, according to the World Economic Forum.
As such, finding a replacement has become a matter of urgency.
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technology, is one of the companies developing cleaner alternatives.
4. London's ULEZ Validated by 40% Drop in Air Pollution Deaths
The expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone has had a hugely beneficial impact on public health according to a new study from Imperial College London
When London's Ultra Low Emission Zone was first introduced in 2019, it was only 21 square kilometres in size, covering only the most central part of the city.
Today, after several expansions, the ULEZ covers an area of around 1,500 square kilometres, spanning all 32 London boroughs and encompassing the homes of more than nine million people.
The policy, which mandates that motorists with older, more polluting vehicles must pay a charge of £12.50 (US$16.71) to drive in the zone, was and continues to be a fairly radical policy.
While low-emission zones can be found elsewhere in Europe, never has one of such scale or standard been implemented.
It was introduced by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as a public health measure after several shocking reports were released showing that poor air quality had played a contributing role in several deaths across the capital.
A new study, published by Imperial College London, reveals that the ULEZ has made a marked impact on this front. The research shows that from 2019 to 2024 deaths linked in air pollution dropped by 40%.
Khan, who has had to defend his policy for years, has celebrated this as a validation of ULEZ.
“The evidence is now overwhelming and unarguable: the bold action we have taken in London has reduced pollution, improved public health and saved lives," he says.
5. The Sustainable Story of Start Campus' SINES Data Centre
Nscale's latest investment in Portugal's SINES Data Campus has shown the appetite for renewable energy and water conservation in modern data centres
The SINES Data Campus is one of Europe’s most remarkable data centre projects.
When the facility is fully constructed in 2030, its computing capacity is expected to top 1.2GW, placing it amongst the world’s most powerful data centres.
More pertinently, given the ever-growing scrutiny on the environmental impacts of AI, the campus is – and will continue to be – powered wholly by renewable energy, while it also uses seawater for all its cooling needs.
A new investment of €695m (US$812.6m) from Nscale (which operates the site alongside Start Campus and Microsoft) has put a fresh focus on the project lately, reminding data centre operators and hyperscalers alike what sustainability can look like in this burgeoning, resource-intensive sector.
