Daily Debrief

DESNZ touts solar as 'one of the cheapest forms of power available' in the UK as it approves plans for Springwell Solar Farm

“We expect a positive first-quarter update, supported by strong order intake following major contract wins in the UK offshore wind and US onshore wind sectors,” the investment banks says.

International Energy Agency warns that China’s continued dominance of rare earth material supply chains is putting up to $6.5tr of global economic activity at risk every year

Planning decisions for major clean energy projects to be accelerated by appointment of Environment Agency as single lead environmental regulator, according to Defra

Sandra Laville has been reporting on England’s sewage crisis for years. She answered your questions on the water privatisation scandal. Guardian environment correspondent Sandra Laville’s reporting on the sewage crisis in English water has helped to expose a scandal of privatisation that has created a swell of fury across the political divide. Sandra has now finished answering your questions. Read the Q&A below. The government has put the cost of renationalising water at £100bn. But this is a disputed figure. Academics working with the People’s Commission on the Water Sector say this figure is ‘serious scaremongering created on biased evidence’ which was paid for by water companies. It is based on the Regulatory Capital Value of companies as determined by Ofwat, not the” true and fair value in law”, which reflects losses from market failures, like the cost of pollution or the monopoly profits taken by shareholders and banks. The route to renationalisation could come via the system set up legally when the companies were privatised. Under the law companies can be put into special administration if they are unable to pay debts, if they breach licence obligations, such as on sewage pollution, or failing to supply water, and if it is considered in the public interest to do so. Special administration is a form of temporary renationalisation. This is the million dollar question! While tackling separation across the whole network at once is considered too disruptive and costly, particularly in urban environments, the chartered institute of water and environmental management says moving towards separated systems is their key focus to address urban pollution and storm water sewage releases. New developments, for example, are now mandated to have separate pipes for foul wastewater and surface water run off. They also want to see the increased use of sustainable drainage systems like water butts, and storage basins for existing properties, to reduce the amount of runoff into the system. Keeping gardens rather than paving them over, and creating so called sponge cities is also key to tackling pollution. The UK was described as the dirty man of Europe back in the 70s and 80s, due to levels of pollution. For example in coastal towns there were no water treatment plants to treat sewage, raw sewage was just pumped and dumped into the sea. It was only when the EU directives came in that the clean up began. Chief amongst these was the Urban Wastewater directive, the Water Framework directive, and the Bathing Water directive. Since leaving the EU there have been fears that these pieces of legislation could be watered down. James Bevan, as CEO of the Environment Agency, talked about changing the Water Framework Directive, essentially to make it easier for rivers to pass tests for chemical and biological health. Currently no river is rated as in good overall health under the WFD where rivers have to pass both chemical and biological health tests. Continue reading...

The newbuild offshore installation ship from Cadeler competitor Deme reflects clients’ demand for vessels that can match the rapid growth in turbine size and capacity.

Both Cummins and Alstom lost with hydrogen, but they lost in different ways, and that difference matters. Cummins spread capital and management attention across a broad set of hydrogen pathways, including fuel cells and electrolyzers, then ran into the market reality that hydrogen demand for energy applications was weaker, slower, ...

28MW battery storage facility with storage capacity of 112MWh will enable better utilization of solar power at times of high demand.

FTSE 100 group expects a drop in gas production because of hit to facilities in Qatar

Crude oil and petroleum product prices increased significantly in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q26), particularly following military action in the Middle East on February 28 and the subsequent de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In this quarterly update, we review petroleum markets price developments in 1Q26, covering ...

Decision on an application for a solar farm in North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, under the Planning Act 2008.

Rio Tinto’s $800mn revenue hit highlights growing costs of business interruption

Countries in Asia and Europe are turning to coal to power their economies but analysts argue solar will be a long-term winner

Analysts say doubts over stability of the ceasefire and damage to production sites mean the energy crisis is far from over Middle East crisis – live updates If the US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran holds, it could offer the clearest hope of an end to the energy crisis since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assumed control of the strait of Hormuz after the conflict began 40 days ago. The deal is already looking shaky, with Iran arguing late on Wednesday that Israel’s attacks on Lebanon breach it and state media claiming that the key waterway had again been closed. Continue reading...

Company earnings expected to soar to between $200m and $700m in first quarter Business live – latest updates Shell is expected to report “significantly higher” profits from its commodity trading desks in the first quarter of this year after weeks of market volatility triggered by the Iran crisis. The surge in energy commodity markets over recent weeks is expected to drive up trading results at Shell’s chemicals and products unit, which includes its main oil trading desk. Continue reading...