US-Iran, Steel River & Omterra: This Week's Top Five Stories
1. Strait of Hormuz Shut Again as US-Iran Fighting Restarts
The US & Iran have traded strikes over the Strait of Hormuz, leaving oil prices surging and the Commonwealth Bank warning of a return to triple-digit crude
The fragile truce between the US and Iran has broken down.
Air raid sirens have sounded across Gulf states in recent days as both nations resumed hostilities following a few weeks of relative calm.
The immediate trigger came on 6 July, when Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck three commercial vessels near Oman, including a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, after they reportedly ignored warnings and attempted to pass through a route lined with sea mines.
Washington responded with retaliatory strikes on Iranian military targets the following day.
Tehran answered with missile and drone attacks on Gulf military bases hosting US forces.
By 8 July, US President Donald Trump had declared the ceasefire “over”.
Iran then shut the Strait of Hormuz once again, accusing Washington of interfering with the waterway by facilitating alternative transit routes.
2. Steel River: Google Breaks Ground on US's Largest Solar Farm
Google and Cypress Creek Energy have begun work on the Steel River Energy Center in Arkansas, pairing solar and battery storage to power AI infrastructure
Construction has officially begun on what will become the largest solar facility in the US.
The Steel River Energy Center, located in Mississippi County, Arkansas, is being developed by Cypress Creek Energy with Google acting as both the anchor investor and offtaker, meaning that the tech giant has committed to buying the power the project will generate.
When the project is completed in 2029, Google expects it will be capable of generating 2.5GW at peak performance, while it will also add 2.9GWh of new energy storage capacity.
Michael Terrell, Google's Global Head of Advanced Energy, views this as a significant moment for the company.
“Today we reached a milestone in Google's global clean energy portfolio: we're purchasing power from our largest solar and storage facility to date,” he says.
“Steel River Energy Center, which broke ground today in Arkansas, will also be the largest solar project in the US once fully operational.”
3. Omterra: Why Are Siemens Energy & Siemens Gamesa Rebranding?
The two entities are set for a phased rebrand with new name ‘Omterra’, solidifying an independent identity after spinning off from Siemens AG in 2020
Six years after separating from Siemens AG, Siemens Energy has taken one of its most symbolic steps yet towards independence.
The company has announced its plan to retire the Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa brands in favour of a new global identity, Omterra, with a phased rollout beginning later this year.
The name – a portmanteau of “om-” (all) and “terra” (land) – was chosen to reflect the company’s “global footprint, its technological expertise and its commitment to contributing to reliable energy supplies worldwide,” according to Siemens Energy's President and CEO, Christian Bruch.
The move marks the conclusion of a transition that has been expected since Siemens Energy was spun off in 2020.
The company retained the right to use the Siemens name under a licensing agreement with its former parent, but that arrangement was always intended to be temporary.
Now, with the business reporting improved financial performance and positioning itself for further growth, its leadership team believes now is the time to establish a standalone identity.
4. Wood Mackenzie: Falling Birth Rates to Curb Energy Demand
The firm’s research suggests that declining fertility rates could reshape energy demand as population growth could peak decades earlier than expected
New analysis from Wood Mackenzie suggests that falling fertility rates could pose a structural risk to long-term projections for global energy demand.
For its research, the firm looked at how the United Nations’ low-birth-rate scenario could affect the energy sector across the 21st century.
In this scenario – which is one of three total – the UN sees global population peaking at 8.9 billion in the year 2053. The projection then has population shrinking to seven billion by 2100.
That represents a significantly earlier and lower ceiling than the UN's current central projection, which has population rising to 10 billion by 2060. The high-birth-rate scenario, meanwhile, sees the population reaching 12.6 billion by the end of the 21st century.
5. Mission Gobi: Envision's Plan for a 5GW Desert Data Campus
Lei Zhang, CEO at Envision, says the firm aims to build sustainable data centres in arid regions, using AI to solve critical infrastructure bottlenecks
The Gobi Desert is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Spanning 1.3 million square kilometres across Mongolia and China, it is the world's sixth largest desert and is known for its harsh climate and nomadic culture.
It may not, then, seem like the logical place to build a data centre, but Envision Energy, the Shanghai-based renewables giant, is about to do just that.
Speaking at VivaTech 2026 in Paris, Envision announced 'Mission Gobi', an initiative that will see the firm develop 5GW of data centre capacity across the desert by the year 2030.
Generally, data centres tend to be located reasonably close to metropolitan areas, with suburban hubs like Slough in the UK or Ashburn in the US being prime examples.
But with the race to power data centres heating up, the sector is increasingly seeing developers build where they can access a reliable supply of energy.
This is the notion that has taken Envision to the Gobi Desert, where conditions are considered excellent for both wind and solar energy.
Through the project, Envision intends to demonstrate how renewable generation, storage and computing infrastructure can be deployed together to support the next phase of AI development while reducing dependence on fossil fuel-powered electricity.
The company will build on the AI Power System technology it has already deployed commercially, integrating clean energy assets directly with high-performance computing facilities.
