Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King, in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), spoke with Brandon Williams, the nominee to serve as the Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security, about the grave importance of keeping the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) staffed amid reckless cuts and buyouts inflicted upon the department by the White House at the urging of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). During the exchange, Senator King pressed Williams for his commitment to protect the NNSA workforce and ensure it is properly staffed to meet the demand as the United States seeks to bolster its nuclear arsenal and keep pace with global foes. The hearing comes on the heels of the Trump Administration firing — then scrambling to rehire — more than 300 NNSA employees without realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile.
I am gravely concerned about this memo that was mentioned on Friday of the possibility of 500 people in the National Nuclear Security Administration(NNSA) as non-essential. That is 20% of the workforce. The testimony is it is one of the greatest scientific engineering organizations in human history. I just do not understand how that wonderful organization, if that’s true, how 20% are non-essential. I did a little calculation. That is 2/10th of 1% of the budget. What is to be gained by reducing the staff by 20% of this essential agency at this moment with the rebuilding of our nuclear triad,” asked Senator King.
“Senator King, thank you for that question and your attention on the workforce which I think is absolutely critical. If confirmed, I commit to you that I will stand up for the men and women of NNSA, that I will advocate for them. We are facing a moment in history where NNSA must perform. I think there are opportunities for us to innovate at NNSA, to deliver on the program record and the expectations that this committee has set and that we will stand up to our adversaries,” replied Williams.
“You are absolutely right. This is a no fail mission. Because of the modernization program we are in the midst of, the demands on NNSA have never been greater, probably since the founding of the agency. I hope you will stand up for that workforce. There is an issue here not only of the people, the 500 people being non-essential, the effect on morale in the workforce is something to be considered. I hope you can address this early in your tenure and be sure that the workforce is protected, and that the morale of the agency can be maintained. Will you commit to that,” questioned Senator King.
“If confirmed, I will certainly commit to that,” responded Williams.
Senator King is a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and also serves as the ranking member of the subcommittee on Strategic Forces — which performs critical oversight of America’s nuclear weapons arsenal. He has been a steady voice on the need to address the growing nuclear capacity of our adversaries and has previously expressed concern about Russia and China’s emerging “nightmare weapon” hypersonic missiles. Senator King has also warned extensively of the carelessness of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) antics, and raised the alarms on Constitutional overstep as the White House continues to pare down the federal workforce. He wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alongside 36 senators, sharing the detrimental effects of the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He also joined fellow Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) colleagues in writing a letter to the White House about the risks to national security by allowing unvetted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff and representatives to access classified and sensitive government materials.
“The Trump administration does not stand with the people of New Mexico, but we always will”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) have reintroduced their Pecos Watershed Protection Act after the Trump administration confirmed to Source New Mexico that it will reverse the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.
The Pecos Watershed Protection Act would permanently withdraw all federally managed minerals in the watershed from development — preventing the leasing, patent, or sale of all publicly owned minerals.
“The Trump administration’s decision to reverse the community-driven Pecos Watershed withdrawal is disturbing and insulting, especially after they canceled the only public meeting on the proposal. This is a rural community that overwhelmingly supports protecting the Pecos River. The Trump administration just blatantly disregarded that, and the value of the Pecos River with it,” Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, and Stansbury said.
“The Trump administration won’t have the last word: We will continue to push for permanent protection of the watershed through our Pecos Watershed Protection Act. New Mexicans deserve clean water free from harmful mining pollution. The Trump administration does not stand with the people of New Mexico, but we always will,” the lawmakers stated.
Background on Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, and Stansbury’s Advocacy to Protect the Pecos Watershed:
The Pecos Watershed Protection Act has been introduced every Congress since 2020 to protect portions of the Pecos Watershed in northern New Mexico from new mining claims.
In 1991, a toxic waste spill from a closed mine in the Upper Pecos Watershed caused more than 11 miles of fish kill in the river and resulted in decades and millions of dollars to clean up the mine. For years, there has been a community-led effort to protect the area from future mining claims to avoid similar threats and pollution.
In December 2024, Heinrich, Luján, Leger Fernández, Stansbury, and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service strongly urging the completion of the initial steps of the mineral withdrawal process in the Upper Pecos Watershed. Completion of these initial steps was key to begin safeguarding the lands, waters, and way of life in the Pecos from the dangers of future mining claims for two years.
In response to their letter, President Biden’s BLM and Forest Service initiated a process to propose a 20-year withdrawal to help secure the region’s water and air quality, cultural resources, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. The withdrawal, for lands in San Miguel and Santa Fe counties, encompassed multiple Pecos River tributaries, including Dalton Canyon, Macho Canyon, Wild Horse Creek, Indian Creek, and Doctor Creek.
On December 16, 2024, the BLM and Forest Service initiated a 90-day public comment period to gather input on the proposal. During the comment period, the two agencies were scheduled to host a public meeting for the proposed Upper Pecos River Watershed Protection Area withdrawal on February 26, 2025. This public meeting was cancelled by the Trump Administration on February 19, 2025, with no further explanation. Local supporters speculated the action was in response to Secretary Burgum’s Order No. 3418, which requires agency reviews of all protected public lands. Despite the cancellation, the administration has received hundreds of public comments in support of the administrative mineral withdrawal.
On April 7, 2025, reporting from Source New Mexico revealed the Trump administration plans to reverse the BLM and the Forest Service’s decision to protect the Upper Pecos Watershed from new mining operations.
Protection of the Upper Pecos Watershed has garnered widespread support from local leaders, farmers, business owners, acequia parciantes, Tribes, and recreationists alike.
The Village of Pecos, Santa Fe County, and San Miguel County have passed resolutions in support of the legislation.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, secured full committee passage of the Youth Poisoning Protection Act, her bipartisan legislation to ban the consumer sale of products containing high concentrations of sodium nitrite, a meat-curing chemical that can be lethal when ingested. The legislation was introduced earlier this year alongside Congressmen Joe Neguse (CO-02) and Mike Carey (OH-15) as well as U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Curtis (R-UT), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH). “I introduced the bipartisan Youth Poisoning Protection Act to address an alarming and growing public health crisis: the promotion and use of Sodium Nitrite, a dangerous and toxic chemical, as a method for suicide,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “It is a simple, effective step forward in saving lives, and I believe we have a shared responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us.” CLICK HERE or the image below to view Trahan’s remarks during the Committee’s consideration of the legislation. A transcript is embedded below.
A 2021 New York Times investigation into an online suicide forum found that sodium nitrite was being popularized and encouraged as an easily accessible method to die by suicide. The forum, which is disguised as a safe place to discuss suicidal ideation, hosts threads where anonymous users provide detailed instructions and real-time guidance on how to die by suicide using sodium nitrite. A 2021 toxicology publication based on data from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), one of the data sources used by the CDC, points to a rise in self-poisonings using sodium nitrite in the United States since 2017. There is no known recreational use for highly concentrated amounts of sodium nitrite, but at the time of the Times’ investigation, highly concentrated amounts of the poison were widely available on multiple e-commerce platforms, including with free two-day shipping on Amazon. Following outcry from lawmakers and victims’ families, Amazon and a number of other online marketplaces began removing sodium nitrite listings. In May 2023, a Canadian citizen was arrested and charged for shipping packages containing lethal amounts of sodium nitrite to over 40 countries, including 272 sales to individuals in the United Kingdom, of whom at least 88 people died. The Youth Poisoning Protection Act bans the sale of consumer products with a concentration of sodium nitrite greater than 10 percent. The legislation now moves to the House floor for consideration. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, feeling at risk of suicide, or experiencing a state of distress, it is crucial to find help immediately. There are many resources available, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline which provides free, confidential support 24/7, and the Crisis Text Line which offers free crisis counseling 24/7. Dial 988 or text HOME to 741741 to connect with these services. ——————————————– Congresswoman Lori Trahan Remarks As Delivered House Energy and Commerce Committee Markup April 8, 2025 Thank you. I introduced the bipartisan Youth Poisoning Protection Act to address an alarming and growing public health crisis: the promotion and use of Sodium Nitrite, a dangerous and toxic chemical, as a method for suicide. Three years ago, the New York Times brought to light a disturbing trend: an online suicide assistance forum – hidden in the dark corners of the internet – are actively encouraging individuals to take their own lives. These forums have been instrumental in the rise of suicides using Sodium Nitrite, a chemical that, in its safe, low-concentration form, is often used to cure meat and fish. However, in high concentrations, Sodium Nitrite becomes highly toxic – at levels comparable to cyanide. If the story ended there, it would still be tragic, but sadly, it gets even worse. While anonymous users of these online forums tout Sodium Nitrite as a painless way to end one’s life, survivors of this method share a different, haunting reality. They describe excruciating experiences – nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, and heart palpitations – as the poison deprives the body of vital oxygen. When my office became aware of the growing availability of this substance as a suicide method, we acted immediately. Many websites we contacted took swift action to remove listings for Sodium Nitrite or restrict sales to businesses with legitimate, proven uses for it. But despite these efforts, there are still bad actors out there – websites designed specifically to sell this poison as part of a “suicide kit,” preying on individuals in their darkest moments. Unfortunately, there are currently no federal laws that can effectively stop these dangerous transactions. The Youth Poisoning Protection Act changes that. This legislation would prohibit the sale of Sodium Nitrite to consumers in concentrations higher than 10 percent – the threshold established by independent experts for safe use. This bill is not aimed at affecting legitimate business operations. Some businesses – like those that cure meat or fish in large quantities – require high-concentrated Sodium Nitrite as part of their process. This bill will not disrupt those operations. Its sole focus is on preventing the direct sale of highly concentrated Sodium Nitrite to consumers, specifically, stopping the bad actors who are exploiting vulnerable individuals by promoting this deadly chemical for suicide. This is a straightforward solution with the potential to save countless lives. I urge all members of this Committee to join us in supporting this essential bipartisan legislation that was advanced through this committee and passed overwhelmingly on the House floor last year. It is a simple, effective step forward in saving lives, and I believe we have a shared responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. ###
CALGARY, Alberta, April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gibson Energy Inc. (“Gibson” or the “Company”) announced today that it expects to release its 2025 first quarter financial and operating results on Monday, May 5, 2025, after the close of North American markets. The 2025 first quarter management’s discussion and analysis and unaudited consolidated financial statements will be available on the Company’s website at www.gibsonenergy.com and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.
Earnings Conference Call & Webcast Details A conference call and webcast will be held to discuss the 2025 first quarter financial and operating results at 7:00am Mountain Time (9:00am Eastern Time) on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
To register for the call, view dial-in numbers, and obtain a dial-in PIN, please access the following URL:
Registration is currently open and recommended at least five minutes prior to the conference call.
This call will also be broadcast live on the Internet and may be accessed directly at the following URL:
The webcast will remain accessible for a 12-month period at the above URL.
Annual General Meeting & Webcast Details Gibson is holding its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 6, 2025, at 10:00am Mountain Time (12:00pm Eastern Time). This meeting will be held in a hybrid format (virtual and in-person). Applying technology to the meeting by allowing virtual participation will make the meeting more relevant, accessible and engaging for all involved, permitting a broader base of shareholders to participate, regardless of their geographic location.
Attending In-Person:
Lumi Experience Studio
Suite 1410, 225 6 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta
Attending virtually can be accessed using the following URL:
The webcast will remain accessible for a 12-month period at the above URL.
Additionally, information and materials related to the annual general meeting of shareholders can be accessed using the following URL:
About Gibson Gibson Energy Inc. is a leading liquids infrastructure company with its principal businesses consisting of the storage, optimization, processing, and gathering of liquids and refined products, as well as waterborne vessel loading. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the company’s operations are located across North America, with core terminal assets in Hardisty and Edmonton, Alberta, Ingleside and Wink, Texas, and a facility in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Gibson shares trade under the symbol GEI and are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.gibsonenergy.com.
Strike in Dnipro Region Last Friday Marks Deadliest Attack Involving Children
Russian Federation airstrikes in Ukraine continue to kill and maim civilians — including children at a playground last week — the United Nations top humanitarian official told the Security Council today. In what he called an “era of savage cuts”, he also appealed to Council members to provide at least the security and resources needed to save as many survivors of this war as possible.
“A massive strike in the densely populated city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipro region last Friday resulted in multiple civilian casualties,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator addressing the 15-member Council.
According to local authorities, 18 civilians were killed — including nine children — and 75 others injured when a children’s playground and nearby residential area were struck. The Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ukraine, which verified many of the casualties, confirmed it was the single deadliest attack involving children since the start of the war in February 2022.
Fighting has also continued unabated in the frontline regions of Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk and in the border areas of Sumy, where more than 90 civilian casualties were recorded last week alone. From 24 February 2022 to 31 March 2025, OHCHR has verified at least 12,910 civilian deaths, including 682 children, and nearly 30,700 injuries across Ukraine, he said. Meanwhile, 3.7 million people remain internally displaced, with new waves of displacement in the country’s north-east, and nearly 7 million Ukrainian refugees recorded worldwide. The UN remains unable to access an estimated 1.5 million civilians in Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Underscoring the plight of women in this war, he said that since February 2022, pre-term births have accounted for nearly half of all deliveries, putting both mothers and newborns at high risk. Gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, has surged by 36 per cent, with displaced and refugee women suffering the most severe mental health challenges and facing critical gaps in protection and care, he warned.
Despite Scale of Crisis, $2.6 Billion Ukraine Humanitarian Response Plan for 2025 Only 17 Per Cent Funded
Despite the scale of this crisis, only 17 per cent of the $2.6 billion required for the 2025 Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has been secured. As a result, the UN is prioritizing limited resources for frontline support, emergency response, evacuations, and aid for the displaced — but more funding is urgently needed.
“We welcome the announcement of a ceasefire focused on energy infrastructure, as well as negotiations to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea,” Fletcher said. But as talks continue, so do the bombardments. Indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited under international law, he recalled. “Even wars have rules,” he also stressed, urging the Council to ensure that “this era of increasingly belligerent, transactional, self-defeating, nationalism is not also remembered as one of callous impunity and brutal indifference, in which the rights of civilians are discarded again and again with a shrug”.
Russian Federation’s Representative: Strike on Kryvyi Rih was Precision Missile strike on Military Meeting of Unit Commanders and Western Instructors
In the ensuing discussion, the Russian Federation’s delegate said the strike on Kryvyi Rih was a precision missile strike on a military meeting of unit commanders and Western instructors. The strike succeeded in damaging the command of the Ukrainian forces, he said, adding that a gathering of service members and Western officers is a legitimate target for his country’s army. The fact that a military meeting was happening in a civilian area shows that the Ukrainian army is using civilians as human shields, he said, adding that Ukrainian eyewitnesses have confirmed that a cluster munition was not used. Dismissing the efforts of the “Ukrainian propaganda machine” regarding this and other strikes, he said video clips by ordinary citizens refute their claims.
Civilians must stay far away from gatherings of military officers, he said, adding that Ukrainians are not being told the truth — Kyiv is milking the tragedy that it is responsible for. Nor will the Ukrainians be told of the continuous shelling of Russian border towns, he said. The goal of Ukraine and Western countries is to undermine the Russian Federation-United States dialogue, he said, adding: “What you are doing is far too obvious.” The ceasefire cannot be misused so “Ukraine can lick its wounds and resume its war”, he said, adding that it is essential to do away with the root causes. No one will be allowed to use the negotiation process to strengthen Ukraine’s military — the demilitarization of that country is essential, he stressed.
United States Representative: Russian President Vladimir Putin Does Not Want to End War
The United States representative said that in its bilateral engagements between both Russian Federation and Ukraine, the United States had tabled a proposal in March. While Ukraine was ready to accept, she recalled, Russian Federation representatives insisted on a more limited agreement which would cover only strikes on energy infrastructure and the elimination of the use of force in the Black Sea. She called on both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to exercise restraint and demonstrate their commitment to peace. The Russian Federation must bear in mind that strikes like the one on Kryvyi Rih and executions of prisoners of war have the potential to damage peace efforts. “We will ultimately judge President Putin’s commitment to peace by Russia’s actions,” she stated.
“We can see that Putin does not want to end the war; he is looking for ways to preserve the option of reigniting it in any moment with even greater force,” Ukraine’s delegate said. Moscow has “not moved one inch away from its genocidal and maximalist war aims”. On the other hand, Ukraine has taken concrete steps towards peace, while the Russian Federation “continues to drag its feet and commit atrocities”. “Every missile, every strike killing people every day proves that Russia only wants war,” she went on to say. Moscow has not only failed to cease its attacks on Ukrainian civilians, but it has also significantly escalated the scale of its assaults.
On 4 April, a missile landed near a playground, tearing through homes, schools and restaurants, killing 20 people, including nine children. She rejected Moscow’s falsehoods about alleged military targets in the area. “All witnesses and footages from cameras inside and outside the local restaurant debunk Russian representatives’ lies and disinformation,” she said. It confirms that there was no military presence in the restaurant or in the surrounding area at the time of the strike. Staying silent about the fact that the Russian Federation is killing children with ballistic missiles is wrong and dangerous. “It only emboldens the scum in Moscow to continue the war and keep ignoring diplomacy,” she said.
Several European Speakers Criticize Russian Federation
Several speakers from Europe strongly criticized the Russian Federation, with Denmark’s delegate stating that Moscow’s deliberate delays and new preconditions raised for even a partial ceasefire seem particularly cynical given reports that the missile that struck Kryvyi Rih was fired from the Black Sea. “Russia has said it only attacks military targets”, but the missile strike on Kryvyi Rih on 4 April hit residential buildings and a playground. “We heard claims that a high precision strike has been launched to target a military group that was meeting at a restaurant at the time — trying to justify it as a military target,” Slovenia’s delegate said. But these claims have been disproved.
“Russia is not negotiating in good faith; it’s procrastinating, and its goal continues to be the capitulation of Ukraine,” echoed France’s delegate, Council President for April. But France and other Europeans “are not sitting on our hands” and continue to work to secure a just and lasting peace. “It is time for the Kremlin to end its aggression against Ukraine and to uphold its obligations under the UN Charter and it is time for President Putin to agree to a full and immediate ceasefire,” added the United Kingdom’s representative.
The representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as observer, stressed that “there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine, and no negotiations that affect European security without Europe”. He reaffirmed the bloc’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. There is no doubt “who truly seeks peace and who instead is determined to prolong a ruthless war of territorial conquest”, Czechia’s delegate added. “Moscow is trying to falsely present itself as a victim” and expecting the world to provide security assurances, “preferably at the expense of legitimate security interests of its neighbours”, Poland’s representative also stated.
Focus on Plight of Children
Estonia’s delegate, speaking also for Latvia and Lithuania, said that Moscow has killed over 600 Ukrainian children since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, while the real numbers might be higher. That country deserves to be listed in the annexes of the annual Children and Armed Conflicts report for carrying out grave violations against children in Ukraine. Other Council members, including the delegates of Pakistan, Guyana and Panama, echoed concerns for children living under conflict in Ukraine, with the latter underscoring that “children must never be targets in a war”.
Global Impact of War in Ukraine: Food Insecurity, Energy Crises
Some speakers shared ways the war in Ukraine was affecting them with Algeria’s delegate stating that the food insecurity and energy crises resulting from this conflict also hits the civilian population in other regions around the world. Greece’s delegate pointed out that freedom of navigation in the Black Sea will be a crucial contribution to global food security and supply chains. The representative of the Republic of Korea expressed concern that the military cooperation between the Russian Federation and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “is intensifying rather than waning”, as exemplified by last month’s high-level reaffirmation in Pyongyang to implement their Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Momentum for Peace Talks
Other Council members, including the delegate from China, said that although the situation on the battlefield remains complicated, the momentum for peace talks has emerged. “The window of peace is opening,” he stated, adding that talks must address the root causes of the crisis. The Ukraine conflict is complex and restoring peace will require persistent efforts.
“The path forward requires sustained commitment to diplomatic solutions and unwavering adherence to intentional humanitarian law,” echoed Somalia’s delegate. His counterpart from Sierra Leone urged negotiators and intermediators to approach ceasefire discussions objectively, mindful of the contextual underpinnings of this conflict. “We call on all parties to negotiate in good faith in the US-led talks, taking into consideration the legitimate concerns involving both parties,” she said.
The EU funds, consisting of a €60.5 million grant under the Western Balkans Investment Framework and a €30 million loan from EIB Global, will help to modernise the 34 km railway line.
The financial package was signed at a ceremony held in Tirana, attended by high-level representatives from the European Commission, the government of Albania and EIB Global.
The project will facilitate safer and more efficient and sustainable passenger and freight transportation, contributing to socioeconomic growth and regional integration.
During High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas’ official visit to Albania, an EU financial package worth €90.5 million for the reconstruction of the Durrës – Rrogozhina railway section was signed by the European Investment Bank (EIB Global) and the government of Albania. The funds consist of a €60.5 million EU grant channelled under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) and a €30 million EIB Global loan. The agreement was signed by EIB Global Director of the Enlargement and Neighbourhood Department Lionel Rapaille and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania Belinda Balluku, in the presence of Vice-President Kallas and Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama.
The funds will make it possible to modernise a 34 km railway line between the port of Durrës and Rrogozhina in central Albania, which lies on the multi-modal Pan-European Corridor VIII connecting the southern Italian ports, Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. This project is of strategic importance, extending the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), and also as part of the European Union’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. The project is expected to cost a total of €121 million and €30 million in co-financing will be provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas said: “The signature of the European Investment Bank loan for the construction of the Durrës – Rrogozhina railway track as part of Corridor VIII, co-funded by the EU, is an important milestone. This project will create new jobs, enhance trade and improve connectivity by bringing Albania closer to its neighbours and close to the European Union. It will also serve as a critical route between Member States and NATO for military mobility in Southeast Europe which is extremely important in the current security environments.”
EIB Vice-President Rober de Groot, in charge of the Western Balkans, said: “We are delighted to be part of this significant Team Europe effort, which underscores our shared commitment to developing safer, smarter and greener transportation links in the Western Balkans. As a key segment of Corridor VIII, this project will enhance Albania’s socioeconomic development by improving accessibility and facilitating trade and economic connections within the region and with the European Union. Going forward, EIB Global will continue to provide technical and financial assistance to support Albania’s EU accession process, as well as through the New Growth Plan.”
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said: “The signing that took place is part of a massive investment program in railway infrastructure. This is why the five-year period that separates us from the end of this decade will also be a period where railways return to Albania. This is one of many reasons not only to believe but also to fight for our membership in the EU. Thanks to this relationship, we are able today to carry out a series of investments that would otherwise be impossible for us.”
As one of the leading financiers in the transportation sector in the Western Balkans, EIB Global is backing several rail projects in Albania. This includes a loan for the Vorë to Hani-Hotit railway line and technical support provided under the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative for the second phase of the Pan-European Corridor VIII railway. The JASPERS advisory programme has also supported the development of an action plan to strengthen the management capacity of Albania’s railway infrastructure.
Background information:
About the EIB and EIB Global:
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by the Member States. It finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives.
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Global Gateway. It aims to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027 – around one-third of the overall target of this EU initiative. Within Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through its offices across the world.
About EIB Global in the Western Balkans:
The EIB is a leading international financier in the Western Balkans. Since 2009, the Bank has financed projects worth almost €11 billion in the region. Alongside its continued support to help rebuild and upgrade public infrastructure, since 2010 the EIB has expanded into many new areas, such as healthcare, research and development, education and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For detailed information on EIB activities in the Western Balkans, please visit: www.eib.org/en/publications/the-eib-in-the-western-balkans
About EIB Global in Albania:
EIB Global has been active in Albania since 1995. To date, 27 projects have been financed and over €700 million has been invested, predominantly in key transport, energy, water and wastewater infrastructure. For more information about EIB projects in Albania, please visit: https://www.eib.org/en/projects/regions/enlargement/the-western-balkans/albania/index.htm
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies require tremendous amounts of stable electricity generation, and some reports estimate that data centers could consume up to 12% of total U.S. energy production in 2028.
Nuclear power plants have the potential to be a great partner for data centers to provide the constant, reliable, and secure power required to keep data centers running 24/7.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy works with industry and other stakeholders to extend the life cycles of our current fleet of reactors and to develop new technologies that will help meet future environmental and energy goals.
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Source: United States House of Representatives – Reprepsentative Kathy Castor (FL14)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the United States grapples with rapid new growth in electricity demand and high household energy prices, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14), U.S. Senators Peter Welch (VT) and Angus King (ME) introduced the Advancing Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) Act, legislation to boost investments in grid-enhancing technologies that expand the capacity of existing transmission infrastructure.
“Consumers deserve lower electric bills and a more reliable electric grid. By optimizing the existing grid infrastructure and decreasing the need for costly upgrades, GETs can build a more stable power supply. These technologies pave the way for a more efficient, affordable, and sustainable energy future for everyone,” said Rep. Castor. “In order to quickly bring these projects online and meet growing electricity demand, we must upgrade our old, congested transmission infrastructure.The Advancing GETs Act will help us do that by supercharging the deployment of grid-enhancing technologies that enable transmission operators to maximize the capacity of existing power lines, increase reliability, and lower prices.”
“We’re at a crucial turning point in our work to achieve a clean energy transition, and meeting this moment requires new investments in clean energy technologies that strengthen the capacity of our transmission system,” saidSenator Welch. “The Advancing GETs Act will motivate grid operators and developers to bring new projects online that expand transmission capacity by guaranteeing returns for these targeted, cost-saving investments. Our legislation will be crucial to boosting transmission capacity and will help the United States cost-effectively achieve its clean energy goals while lowering electricity bills and for working families.”
“As technology improves and grows more efficient, we should incorporate this innovation into our energy grid to better serve American homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure,” said Senator King. “As we work to create a sustainable clean energy future, streamlined transmission is urgently needed. The Advancing GETs Act will create an incentives program to help spur new, smart solutions expanding existing transmission infrastructure. This bill is another step forward in meeting the need for reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.”
“Delivering the cheapest power is not part of the business model for utilities who own the grid. This regulatory problem means that grid constraints that could be addressed with low-cost technologies add $3-8 billion to electricity costs every year. The Advancing GETs Act aligns utility and consumer incentives for technologies that can save money and improve grid reliability and security. GETs can be deployed in less than a year to open up the grid for cheaper energy and new industries,” said Julia Selker, Executive Director of the WATT Coalition.
“At a moment where our country faces unprecedented growth in energy demand, expected to surge 35-50% by 2040, evolving the way we deliver power is as critical as ever. Grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) will be needed to quickly and affordably increase transmission capacity. ACP commends Sen. Welch and Rep. Castor for introducing the Advancing GETs Actwhich creates incentives for these technologies. We look forward to working with them as this bill moves through the legislative process,”said Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association (ACP).
GETs are a crucial part of achieving a diversified clean energy transition. They increase grid capacity by allowing grid operators the ability to more dynamically manage the flow of electricity. However, current financial incentives are not encouraging developers to implement GETs. The Advancing GETs Act aims to spur developer investment in GETs by creating a shared savings incentive program to split savings for GETs installation between installers and ratepayers while increasing the U.S.’ grid capacity.
The Advancing GETs Act requires FERC to establish a shared savings incentive for GETs, which would allow a developer to be reimbursed for the cost of a GETs project, plus some of the cost-savings generated by it. The rest of the savings would go to ratepayers. The bill also includes important cost qualification guardrails to protect consumers.
Additionally, the Advancing GETs Act includes an annual reporting requirement that directs transmission owners to report costs associated with congestion to FERC and directs FERC to analyze and make this data available to the public. Lastly, it charges the Department of Energy (DOE) with creating an application guide for implementing GETs projects. providing technical assistance to stakeholders interested in GETs, and managing a clearinghouse with examples of implemented GETs projects.
The Advancing GETs Act is endorsed by the WATT Coalition, American Council on Renewable Energy, Electricity Consumers Resource Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Solar Energy Industries Association, and Sierra Club.
Today India Opens New Frontiers in Himalayan Climate Research, Says Dr. Jitendra Singh Jammu & Kashmir spearheads India’s global initiative in climate research in Himalayas, says the Minister
India’s First-ever “High-Altitude Climate Research Station” Inaugurated in J&K by Union Minister, Launches Indo-Swiss Project ICE-CRUNCH
Jammu & Kashmir Joins Global Climate Leadership with Cutting-Edge Himalayan Research Centre
Posted On: 08 APR 2025 6:36PM by PIB Delhi
Today India opens a gateway into climate forecast and research in the Himalayas, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh while inaugurating the first-ever “Himalayan High Altitude Atmospheric and Climate Research Centre” in the higher hill reaches of Nathatop, near here today.
This is a move that marks a significant milestone in India’s global leadership in climate science, said the Minister, adding that Jammu & Kashmir spearheads India’s global initiative in climate study and research in the Himalayas.
The state-of-the-art facility, situated at one of the highest altitudes in the region, is expected to serve as a crucial gateway for cutting-edge climate research in the north-western Himalayas.
Coinciding with the inauguration, Dr. Jitendra Singh also flagged off the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Project “ICE-CRUNCH(Ice nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei properties in the North-Western Himalayas)” – a collaborative study between Indian scientists and researchers from ETH Zürich, Switzerland, aimed at exploring the properties of ice nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei in the region.
“This is not just a scientific milestone—it is a historic moment,” Dr. Jitendra Singh said, adding, “With the setting up of this station, we are opening up a new gateway into climate research and studies in the Himalayas. And India will be pioneering it.”
The minister underscored that the choice of Jammu and Kashmir for this facility was a conscious one, leveraging its high-altitude advantage for more accurate atmospheric and climate measurements. “The implication is that J&K also joins India’s global headways in addressing the climate concerns,” he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh reflected on how, India is now regarded seriously on the global stage in matters of climate action and research. “Today, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have become a leader,” he asserted, citing India’s commitment to net-zero targets and the increasing credibility of its climate strategies worldwide.
The Nathatop centre is a product of multi-tier collaboration—between the Government of India (through the Ministry of Science & Technology), the Government of Jammu and Kashmir (which provided the land), the Central University of Jammu (whose scientists will participate in research), and the Swiss National Science Foundation (which is providing international expertise).
Calling it a “synergised model” of governance and global partnership, Dr. Jitendra Singh said this collaboration mirrors India’s broader approach to climate resilience through coordinated efforts. He cited dedicated Himalayan missions such as the Aroma Mission and the Floriculture Mission, which are unlocking the region’s potential and adding value to India’s economy.
“Preserving the Himalayas is not a regional concern but a global imperative,” Dr. Jitendra Singh said, emphasizing that the region’s vast unexplored resources could play a pivotal role in India’s future economic growth.
He also highlighted major strides taken by the government in meteorological infrastructure, including the installation of three weather radars in Jammu and Kashmir, the setting up of a seismological observatory in Udhampur, and a massive 185% hike in budgetary allocation for climate and atmospheric research under Mission Mausam.
The newly Inaugurated Centre, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the J&K Forest Department, and the Central University of Jammu, is located at an altitude of 2,250 meters above sea level. The site was strategically chosen for its clean air and minimal pollution, providing a rare opportunity to study atmospheric processes in free tropospheric conditions — a key requirement for understanding cloud formation, weather patterns, and aerosol interactions.
The Centre’s first set of measurements will be conducted under ICE-CRUNCH, bringing together Indian and Swiss scientists to study ice-nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei. These studies are crucial in understanding the role of aerosols in cloud microphysics and their broader implications on climate systems and precipitation in the Himalayan region.
According to experts, the Centre will serve as a long-term research hub affiliated with the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) Programme. In partnership with the Indian Meteorological Department, the aim is to conduct continuous atmospheric monitoring and eventually integrate data into global climate models.
Beyond scientific research, the Centre is expected to contribute to capacity building, training of young scientists, and development of climate modelling capabilities in India. It will also serve as a knowledge hub, offering training schools for students and professionals in atmospheric sciences.
As the curtains rose on this high-altitude research centre and the Indo-Swiss partnership took shape, it became clear that the Himalayas are no longer just the ‘water towers’ of Asia—they are fast becoming the nerve centre of global climate inquiry, with India leading the charge from the frontlines of Jammu and Kashmir.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alectra Utilities (Alectra) announced today its commitment to prioritizing Canadian businesses, suppliers, and vendors through its procurement processes for equipment and services for its electricity grid.
Alectra Utilities is the largest municipally owned electricity utility in Canada based on the number of customers served, totalling approximately 1.1 million homes and businesses and a population of approximately three million people. In 2024, Alectra Utilities invested more than $297 million in net distribution capital, including labour and materials, with approximately 86.2 per cent of these purchases directed to Canadian providers.
Looking ahead, Alectra plans to more than double its capital spending by 2031. This will fund essential grid renewal and replacement of aging equipment, grid expansion to accommodate increases in electricity demand caused by organic growth, and modernization to expedite remote power restoration operations and communications to customers during outages. This increase in capital spending provides an opportunity to seek and prioritize Canadian vendors where possible and where the reliability and safety of the distribution system will be maintained.
“With the current increases to United States trade tariffs and the economic uncertainties that these changes are causing, it is more important than ever to strengthen our domestic supply chains where we can,” said Brian Bentz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alectra Inc. “We are committed to cost-effective procurement that prioritizes Canadian suppliers, strengthens our economy, and supports the well-being of our communities. By sourcing Canadian whenever possible, Alectra Utilities is reinforcing its commitment to helping build a resilient supply chain while continuing to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to our customers.”
“$11 trillion has been wiped from the stock markets since the U.S. President’s inauguration–a key indicator that we need to continue to stand up against Trump’s unjustified tariffs and bolster a Team Canada approach to strengthen our economy here at home,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines. “Ontario has what the world needs and we are leading the way, with full support of the energy sector including Alectra, stepping up with a Canada-First procurement policy. I have made clear to utilities across Ontario to buy Canadian and prioritize domestic supply chains, creating more Canadian jobs and helping us in the fight against unfair U.S. tariffs.”
Serving more than one million homes and businesses and approximately three million people in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served. We contribute to the economic growth and vibrancy of the 17 communities we serve by investing in essential energy infrastructure, delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity, and providing innovative energy solutions. Our mission is to be an energy ally, helping our customers and the communities we serve to discover the possibilities of tomorrow’s energy future.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
PARIS, France, April 8, 2025/APO Group/ —
Michael Kelly, Chief Advocacy Officer, World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) will speak at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2025 Forum in Paris next month. As a key leader in global energy advocacy, Kelly’s participation will provide valuable insights into the growing role of liquid gas in the global energy transition, particularly within the African context.
The WLGA is dedicated to promoting the use of liquid gas as a cleaner alternative to conventional fuels, advocating for policy reforms that support the global expansion of this energy source. In Africa, the association’s efforts focus on helping governments and businesses explore liquid gas solutions as part of the broader energy mix, driving both energy access and economic development across the continent. In December 2024, the WLGA launched a new roadmap aimed at expanding access to clean cooking solutions across Africa, specifically through increased availability and uptake of LPG. This comprehensive roadmap not only emphasizes the establishment of a clear regulatory framework to scale the LPG market, but also calls for the implementation of consumer financing and payment plans to address economic barriers and highlights the need for investment in infrastructure and roads.
IAE 2025 (Invest-Africa-Energy.com)is an exclusive forum designed to facilitate investment between African energy markets and global investors. Taking place May 13-14, 2025 in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors and policymakers. For more information, please visitwww.Invest-Africa-Energy.com.To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contactsales@energycapitalpower.com.
Africa’s LPG sector is experiencing significant growth, with several large-scale projects focused on expanding production, storage and distribution capabilities. Last month, Nigeria commissioned its first modular LPG extraction plant and a 20 MW gas-to-power project, both of which are set to boost domestic gas utilization and enhance energy access. Sahara Group is developing a 12,000-ton LPG storage facility in Ivory Coast, which will increase the country’s LPG storage capacity by 60% and significantly improve imports and distribution for neighboring countries in the region. The company is also in talks with Kenya to construct a 30,000-ton facility for handling and storing LPG.
Meanwhile, Petredec and South Africa’s state-owned Transnet announced a rail freight project in September 2024, featuring a dedicated train system and a modern LPG intermodal hub and storage facility. This hub will receive bulk LPG via rail, introducing the country’s first scheduled LPG train system. Other high-profile projects include the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, a $20 billion initiative designed to meet the country’s fuel demands while reducing dependency on imports and introducing LPG into the Nigerian market. These projects reflect Africa’s growing commitment to leveraging its natural gas resources to enhance energy infrastructure, drive economic development and improve access to cleaner, more affordable energy across the continent.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Maxwell Frost Florida (10th District)
April 07, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, and Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Iris Lan, Chief Legal Officer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), requesting documents, information, and answers as to how NASA is ensuring Elon Musk is not exploiting NASA to enrich himself and his companies in violation of federal ethics rules. As Elon Musk and his DOGE lackeys gut and terminate Americans’ vital programs and services under the guise of “efficiency,” he has conveniently ignored the potential waste, fraud, and abuse stemming from his own companies’ lucrative contracts worth billions in taxpayer dollars. Ethics laws prevent political appointees, including Special Government Employees (SGEs), from taking part in any matter that might impact their personal finances.
“At NASA, where Mr. Musk has both benefited from significant contracts and has the potential to receive vast amounts of new business, his defiance of recusal laws and control of operations directly benefit his businesses,” wrote the Ranking Members. “The known conflicts of interest presented by this arrangement … are illegal and must be addressed immediately.”
As of February 2025, Mr. Musk and his companies have received a combined total of at least $38 billion in contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits from the federal government and state governments. In fact, Mr. Musk’s businesses have been more reliant on government funds than many of his competitors.
Financial Benefits to Musk’s Companies from NASA include:
Mr. Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, has received more than $15 billion in funding from NASA, making SpaceX the agency’s largest private sector contractor.
NASA has obligated more than $525 million to SpaceX since President Trump took office, including contracts NASA awarded to SpaceX in February with a combined value of approximately $400 million. On March 28, 2025, NASA also added an additional SpaceX rocket to an existing contract.
Mr. Musk has criticized the Space Launch System (SLS), a multibillion-dollar project led by Boeing, one of SpaceX’s competitors. The White House reportedly plans on cancelling the SLS program to free up funding that can instead be allocated to Mr. Musk’s priority of sending people to Mars.
In addition to these financial gains, Mr. Musk reportedly personally selected his friend and business partner, Jared Isaacman, to be President Trump’s nominee for NASA Administrator. Mr. Isaacman’s personal stake in the contracts between SpaceX and the Polaris Program – his private spaceflight program launched in partnership with SpaceX – is valued at more than $50 million. Notably, the extent of Mr. Musk’s own interests in Mr. Isaacman’s businesses has not been reported because the Trump Administration has not required Mr. Musk to file a public financial disclosure.
Furthermore, reporting indicates that individuals in Mr. Musk’s orbit are operating at the highest levels within NASA. For instance, a longtime Tesla engineering manager is reportedly part of the DOGE team at NASA and has participated in conversations regarding mass layoffs at the agency.
In order to ensure that NASA is complying with federal ethics and other relevant laws with respect to Elon Musk, the Ranking Members requested that NASA provide information, documents, and answers by April 21, 2025.
Click here to read the letter to NASA Chief Legal Officer Iris Lan.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Young Kim (CA-39)
Washington, DC – Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed out of markup the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025 (H.R. 1479), a bipartisan bill to improve cost transparency for stays in short-term lodging, such as hotels, motels, and inns.
The Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025 prohibits unfair or misleading price advertising for places of short-term lodging and requires accurate price listings that include all mandatory and resort fees.
Reps. Kim and Castor introduced this bill in the 118th Congress, which passed the House in June 2024.
“Deceptive fees add up and create more pain for families already struggling to make ends meet due to rising living costs. The last thing Americans need when planning a trip are costly, unexpected fees,” said Rep. Young Kim. “The Hotel Fees Transparency Act makes costs transparent so families can better budget. I thank the House Energy and Commerce Committee for supporting this bill, and I’ll keep fighting to get this through the finish line so we can make life more affordable.”
“Families shouldn’t have to play a guessing game when planning a trip. Sneaky hidden fees are a burden. They drive up costs and leave families frustrated at checkout,” said Rep. Castor. “Our bipartisan Hotel Fees Transparency Act will rein in out-of-control junk fees and lower costs, ensuring that the price you see for hotel stays is the price you pay—no hidden fees, no surprises. It’s about fairness, transparency and saving hardworking families both time and money so they can focus on making memories together, not worrying about unexpected charges. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am happy to see this bill get passed and look forward to championing its passage on the House Floor.”
“Those planning a vacation shouldn’t be blindsided by hidden hotel fees when they check out,” said Congressman Russell Fry. “The Hotel Fees Transparency Act is about basic fairness—making sure the price you see is the price you pay. This legislation will give travelers the clarity they need and is a smart, commonsense solution that supports both consumers and businesses. I’m glad to see the House Energy and Commerce Committee supporting this effort to bring greater transparency and accountability to the tourism industry.”
“Families have to budget carefully for travel, and they deserve to know how much resort fees and taxes will add up before booking accommodations,” said Rep. Kevin Mullin, CA-15. “I co-led the Hotel Fees Transparency Act because consumers have a right to know what they’ll be paying for upfront and not get caught off guard with hidden fees. As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I am pleased this bipartisan, common-sense bill is moving forward.”
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) in introducing the Advancing Grid-Enhancing Technologies Act, bicameral legislation to boost investments in grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), a type of transmission technology that expands the capacity of existing transmission infrastructure. The lawmakers’ billwould increase U.S. grid capacity by requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish an incentive that splits savings generated by GETs implementation between the installer and ratepayers.
“We’re at a crucial turning point in our work to achieve a clean energy transition, and meeting this moment requires new investments in clean energy technologies that strengthen the capacity of our transmission system,” said Senator Welch. “The Advancing GETs Act will motivate grid operators and developers to bring new projects online that expand transmission capacity by guaranteeing returns for these targeted, cost-saving investments. Our legislation will be crucial to boosting transmission capacity and will help the United States cost-effectively achieve its clean energy goals while lowering electricity bills and for working families.”
“As technology improves and grows more efficient, we should incorporate this innovation into our energy grid to better serve American homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure,” said Senator King. “As we work to create a sustainable clean energy future, streamlined transmission is urgently needed. The Advancing GETs Act will create an incentives program to help spur new, smart solutions expanding existing transmission infrastructure. This bill is another step forward in meeting the need for reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.”
“Consumers deserve lower electric bills and a more reliable electric grid. By optimizing the existing grid infrastructure and decreasing the need for costly upgrades, GETs can build a more stable power supply. These technologies pave the way for a more efficient, affordable, and sustainable energy future for everyone,” said Rep. Castor. “In order to quickly bring these projects online and meet growing electricity demand, we must upgrade our old, congested transmission infrastructure. The Advancing GETs Act will help us do that by supercharging the deployment of grid-enhancing technologies that enable transmission operators to maximize the capacity of existing power lines, increase reliability, and lower prices.”
The Advancing GETs Act is endorsed by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Electricity Consumers Resource Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Solar Energy Industries Association, and the WATT Coalition.
“At a moment where our country faces unprecedented growth in energy demand, expected to surge 35-50% by 2040, evolving the way we deliver power is as critical as ever. Grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) will be needed to quickly and affordably increase transmission capacity. ACP commends Sen. Welch and Rep. Castor for introducing the Advancing GETs Act which creates incentives for these technologies. We look forward to working with them as this bill moves through the legislative process,” said Jason Grumet, CEO of American Clean Power Association (ACP).
“Delivering the cheapest power is not part of the business model for utilities who own the grid. This regulatory problem means that grid constraints that could be addressed with low-cost technologies add $3-8 billion to electricity costs every year. The Advancing GETs Act aligns utility and consumer incentives for technologies that can save money and improve grid reliability and security. GETs can be deployed in less than a year to open up the grid for cheaper energy and new industries,” said Julia Selker, Executive Director of the WATT Coalition.
Grid-enhancing technologies provide crucial opportunities to upgrade America’s aging infrastructure by enabling grid operators to more dynamically manage the flow of electricity and increase cost-effective capacity of existing infrastructure. However, current financial incentives have proven inadequate in encouraging developers to implement GETs. Currently, utilities see guaranteed returns on investment for building larger, expensive infrastructure such as new transmission lines and power generation plants, but get little or no return for targeted, cost-saving investments like GETs.
The Advancing Grid-Enhancing Technologies Act would increase U.S. grid capacity by requiring FERC to establish an incentive that splits savings generated by GETs implementation between the installer and ratepayers. The legislation would motivate developers to invest in GETs by rewarding deployment of GETs projects that result in savings of at least four times their upfront cost and deliver a net benefit to ratepayers. Additionally, the Advancing GETs Act includes an annual reporting requirement that directs transmission owners to report costs associated with congestion to FERC and directs the Commission to analyze and make this data available to the public. The legislation also charges the Department of Energy with creating an application guide for implementing GETs projects, providing technical assistance to stakeholders interested in GETs, and managing a clearinghouse with examples of GETs projects.
Last year, Sens. Welch, King and Reps. Castor and Paul Tonko (D-NY-20) sent a letter to FERC leadership urging the Commission to implement shared savings incentive that promote the deployment of GETs to expand transmission capacity and meet rapid growth in electricity demand.
Learn more and read a section-by-section summary about the Advancing GETs Act.
Read and download the full bill text.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Washington, DC – Today,Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, celebrated APA Solar’s announcement of a major $19.5 Million expansion in Northwest Ohio, which includes the construction of a new headquarters in Henry County and a manufacturing facility in Williams County. The project will bring 133 new jobs to the region, solidifying Northwest Ohio’s leadership in clean energy manufacturing and marking another proud moment in the region’s industrial resurgence.
Founded in 2008, APA Solar has grown into one of the largest fixed-tilt racking manufacturers in the United States, employing over 200 people and delivering innovative solutions to meet the growing demand for renewable energy infrastructure.
“This is a win for our workers, our Great Lakes region, and America’s clean energy independent future,” said Congresswoman Kaptur. “APA Solar’s investment reinforces what we in Northwest Ohio have always known: our skilled workforce and proud industrial legacy can drive the future of American innovation. I applaud APA for believing in our communities as much as I do and leading the way toward a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow for generations to come.”
The company’s expansion includes a 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art headquarters to be completed by early 2026, and a new manufacturing operation in Bryan expected to begin this summer. The Bryan facility will bring 80 new manufacturing jobs and over $5 Million in payroll over the next three years.
“The renewable energy industry is growing rapidly and APA continues to grow with it. APA has been in business 17 years and is one of the top manufacturers in the solar racking hardware space. Northwest Ohio has been a great location for APA due to the large amount of local manufacturing to help support our supply chain, along with great skilled employees,” said Josh Von Deylen, APA Solar’s CEO.
The project was made possible by strong collaboration between APA Solar and local, regional, and state economic development organizations, including JobsOhio, the Regional Growth Partnership, the Henry County Community Improvement Corporation, and the Williams County Economic Development Corporation.
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
The best-in-class summit crystalized modern conservative policy, national security, the economy, and energy dominance in the first three months of the Trump Administration
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) last week headlined the star-studded fourth annual Cherry Blossom Policy Summit, hosted by 21st Century Policy Institute. Hagerty gave opening remarks, and moderated numerous discussions with high-ranking Trump Administration officials, his U.S. Senate colleagues, and several special guests.
Hagerty’s participation attracted the summit’s other experts to attend the marathon discussion, which served as the most relevant such gathering since November’s election.
“I was deeply honored to headline the fourth annual Cherry Blossom Policy Summit and to invite so many of my friends to join me,” said Senator Hagerty. “The discussions opened unparalleled opportunities to bring fruitful, productive, and insightful policy to light in an era that requires clear thought and communication to cut through media narratives. When 21st Century Policy Institute asked me who demonstrates the bold thinking and decisive action needed to implement President Trump’s new vision for liberty, innovation, and prosperity on the world stage, I turned to friends new and old—many now dutifully serving in the Trump Administration.”
At the summit, Hagerty engaged with the following officials he invited to join him as special guests for the event:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Energy Secretary Chris Wright
HUD Secretary Scott Turner
Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Stephen Miran
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller
Director of the Domestic Policy Council Vince Haley
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, this Administration is stocked with some of the brightest experts in our country,” Hagerty continued. “The months since President Trump took office have been nothing short of incredible. I look forward to working hand-in-hand with this Administration as a close ally in the United States Senate, and 21st Century Policy Institute has been a key partner of mine in advancing policies that support American economic and military strength. I was also pleased that so many of my illustrious Senate colleagues, and distinguished special guests outside government, responded to the invitation to contribute at this special event.”
In addition to the many key Trump Administration speakers, Hagerty appeared alongside important Congressional colleagues, including:
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Senator Deb Fisher (R-NE)
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)
Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA)
Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH)
Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Congressman August Pfluger (R-TX-11)
Private sector guests featured at the summit alongside Hagerty included:
Marc Andreessen
Jason Cummins
Kevin O’Leary
Safra A. Catz
Alex Karp
Alex Epstein
Scott Strazik
Ruthless podcast hosts John Ashbrook, Michael Duncan, Josh Holmes, and Comfortably Smug
Hagerty helped formulate and moderate these policy discussions at the summit:
American Technological Dominance in the 21st Century
An Outlook on the U.S. Economy and Fiscal Policy
How to Strengthen the U.S. Economy for the Next Generation
The Intersection of National Security and Technology
An All of the Above Approach to U.S. Energy Dominance
Promises Made, Promises Kept
A Fresh Look at the Indo-Pacific Region
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A study published in PLOS Medicine looks at food additives type 2 diabetes incidence.
Dr Nerys Astbury, Associate Professor of Diet & Obesity, Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, University of Oxford, said:
“This prospective study conducted in France explores the association between the amount of common mixtures of food additives and the risk of future development of type 2 diabetes.
“The study reports that there was no association between the consumption of three of the mixtures studies and type 2 diabetes. There were positive associations between the consumption of two of the mixtures investigated including a mixture including emulsifiers/gelling agents including modified starches, pectin, guar gum, carrageenan and xantham gum which the authors show were linked with the consumption of dairy desserts and fats and sauces; as well as a mixture including artificial sweeteners and acidity regulators which were linked with consumption of low-energy/diet soft drink consumption.
“Previous studies have reported associations between some of these individual food additives and risk of type 2 diabetes, but additives are commonly included in foods in mixtures where they may have interactive effects. Indeed the authors showed in their exploratory analysis that there were both synergistic and antagonist interactions between several food additives.
“One limitation of this study is that the mixtures of additives investigated include a range of different additives with different functional properties, with some additives included in more than one mixture group, meaning it is not possible to ascertain whether the effects observed can be attributed to groups of additives with similar functional properties.
“The authors controlled for typical type 2 diabetes risk factors including age, sex, body mass index, physical activity level, smoking status, educational level and profession. But it is possible that other factors that were not controlled for may have influenced the relationship.
“Some of the findings may subject to reverse causality, where the outcome (in this case type 2 diabetes diagnosis) precedes, and therefore influences the presumed cause (in this case the consumption of the food additive mixtures). For example, if a person knew they were at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, because they either had a family history of the condition, or that a doctor conducted tests to show they had pre-diabetes, they may decide to make lifestyle choices to reduce their risk of developing the condition. One thing they might decide to do is replace sugar sweetened beverages for low-energy or diet versions.
“It is important to note that by design this study can only demonstrate association, it cannot say whether the consumption of these additives (or the foods that contain then) caused or contributed to the development of type 2 diabetes. To determine causality large scale complex clinical trials are required.
“The growing interest in the effects of consuming ultra-processed foods, which contain additives to enhance taste, flavour, texture and improve shelf life of food products, means this study is important and timely and adds to the growing body of evidence of association between increased consumption of common food additives and adverse health outcomes. Further research is needed to ascertain a causal link and establish the mechanisms.”
Prof Nita Forouhi, Professor of Population Health and Nutrition, and Programme Leader of the Nutritional Epidemiology programme, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, said:
“The researchers in France once again tapped into the only existing research study that has the relevant data to investigate links between different types of food additives and risk of chronic diseases. They have extended their previous findings on the links of individual additive emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners with risk of type 2 diabetes to now identifying food additive mixtures that are frequently consumed together, reporting that the associations were not strongly driven by a unique additive alone and suggesting that interactions between types of food additives may play a role.
“The authors identified 269 food additives consumed by over 100,000 study participants, quantifying additive intakes from repeated 24h recalls over a long time using multiple sources and they hence provide probably the most comprehensive additives database to-date. Using 75 of these additives that were consumed by at least 5%of the study participants, they statistically derived five food additive mixture groups, of which two were associated modestly with the development of type 2 diabetes. It is important to note that these associations are present at population level intake doses of additives in their usual diets. However, it is unknown if additives consumed by a smaller proportion of the study population but in higher doses would have been related with the risk of type 2 diabetes. A sensitivity analysis testing this would have been informative.
“This research helps to an extent with understanding mechanisms through which ultra-processed foods (UPFs), that typically contain mixtures of additives, may be related with disease risk. This is an important research gap to fill because a lack of evidence on mechanisms by which UPFs may be related with health harms, over and above the links already established for foods high in (saturated) fat, sugar and salt, is part of the reason for withholding a specific government policy on UPF reduction in the UK.
“It is important to distinguish between additive mixtures by their food sources as we know from other research that not all UPFs are the same, with some being potentially harmful and others not. Moreover, their analysis has not accounted for the proportion of UPF in the diet. Also, the five food additive mixture groups the researchers identified were related with a limited set of food groups, largely cakes, biscuits, savoury snacks, broth, dairy desserts, fats and sauces and sugar sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks. Thus, it is unclear if additives from other food groups not identified in this study population may be relevant in other populations.
“Several of the current analyses were appropriate, such as adjusting for a comprehensive range of factors (including accounting for saturated fat, salt and added sugar), doing sensitivity analyses, checking the stability of food additive mixture intakes over time, and testing whether the additive mixtures found associated with type 2 diabetes contributed to mediating the associations between the food groups most associated with these mixtures and incidence of type 2 diabetes. But, there were also important limitations the authors did not or could not address.
“Exposure to food additives could not be validated against blood or urine biomarkers due to a lack of specific biomarkers. Many tests for interaction were performed but it is unclear if there was adequate statistical power. The data variables used in analysis, such as dietary intakes or health behaviours like physical activity or smoking and alcohol intake, are likely to vary over time but only baseline data, not time-varying data were used. The authors showed several participant characteristics in the cohort at the study baseline but did not show these characteristics by total food additive or food additive mixture types, which is relevant to understanding the appropriateness of their analytical strategy. This research included mostly women (80% of participants), so the findings in men remain under-studied. The authors acknowledge that they could not collect data on ethnicity so the generalisability of findings to different population sub-groups is unclear but there seems no strong reason to expect that findings would vary in different ethnic groups. Nonetheless, future studies in diverse populations should apply the current study methods to test the reported findings. The authors appropriately acknowledged the limitations of observational research, but such research remains an important part of the evidence base.
“More investment in research is needed to replicate the findings of this currently sole resource of the NutriNet-Sante’ study that has generated relevant data for the study of food additives. In the meantime, we should take these current findings seriously and build further upon them to help understand the mechanistic links between UPF-related additive mixtures and human health.”
Prof Tom Sanders, Professor emeritus of Nutrition and Dietetics, King’s College London, said:
“This new report from a French prospective study (NutriNet-Santé) is an analysis of food additive intake based on estimates of dietary intake based on recall, and subsequent risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 79% of the participants were female and the average age was 42. After 7.7 years of follow up, they found 2 out of 5 mixtures of additives were associated with very small increases in risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The first mixture was associated with an 8% increase in risk – this consisted mainly of food additives used to thicken foods and drinks (guar gum, carrageenan xanthan gum), polyphosphates (that help retain water), curcumin (a naturally occurring yellow food colour used mainly in margarine) and potassium sorbate (a preservative). The second mixture was associated with a 13% increase in risk, this consisted of a diverse mixture of additives but included several that are used in soft drinks – citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, sulphite ammonia caramel (used in cola drinks), acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose, arabic gum, malic acid, carnauba wax (a glazing agent), paprika extract, anthocyanins (purple natural colours), guar gum, and pectin.
Limitations
“This was an observational study and not a controlled trial and can only suggest associations. A major limitation of this study is that the incidence of type 2 diabetes was low over the follow up period. Over the follow-period only 1% of the 108,643 participants developed type 2 diabetes. This may well be because the average body mass index (23 kg/m2) was close to the ideal level (22.5). A potential strength claimed is that multiple estimates of dietary intake were made over the follow-up period (on average 5 occasions). However, these estimates were based on what the participants remembered eating the previous day. A daily recall only provides data for one day and is not a good measure of usual dietary intake which needs a longer period of recording (preferable taking into seasonal variations in account). Dietary recalls also lack the granularity in terms of detail regarding portion size and brand which are important for estimating the intake of food additives.
“Dietary recalls are subject to reporting bias (over-reporting fruit and vegetable intake and under-reporting food and drink that regarded being less healthy, e.g. alcohol and confectionery). The reported dietary intake of sugar is extremely high (198g, equivalent about 50 cubes of sugar per day). This raises questions regarding the reliability of intake data.
“The statistical analyses involved creating mixtures of food additives by a form of statistical analysis by computer not by a prior hypothesis. Associations of mixtures of food additives are likely to be reflective of overall dietary patterns or components (e.g. fizzy drinks). While this type of exploratory statistical analyses can be used to create new hypotheses, the results should never be used as evidence of causality.
“There seems to be no scientific basis for relating the components of these mixtures of food additives to risk of type 2 diabetes. For example, citric acid probably accounts for the bulk of food additives consumed. The body makes enormous amounts in the citric acid cycle (the Krebs cycle) to generate metabolic energy. It is also present in quite high amounts in fruit and vegetables. Gums are used as thickeners in some foods like yogurt. There is no reason to suspect that gums would have an adverse effect on risk of diabetes especially as studies have shown that gums slow glucose absorption and can improve blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The association of artificial sweetener intake with risk of diabetes is well known but not thought to be causal, as recently discussed by SACN (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-statement-on-the-who-guideline-on-non-sugar-sweeteners/sacn-statement-on-the-who-guideline-on-non-sugar-sweeteners-summary).
Conclusion
“My concern is that a “toxic cocktail of food additives” narrative may detract from sensible dietary advice to maintain a healthy weight.”
Dr George Savva, Senior Research Scientist, Quadram Institute, said:
“This study adds to the evidence that people who consume more food additives associated with sugary and sweetened drinks have a higher risk of diabetes, after controlling for overall calories, sugar intake, saturated fats and other aspects of diet. A smaller association was seen for a second group associated with dairy desserts, broths, fats and sauces. Other major groups of additives, including those associated with cakes and biscuits, showed no association with incident diabetes.
“The study was large with a very detailed dietary assessment, but is limited by being non-randomised and being conducted in a volunteer cohort. The authors did try to control for demographic and lifestyle factors like exercise and smoking but this is difficult to do well. So, although the control for other aspects of diet was good, it is possible that other factors led to higher risk of diabetes in this group. Showing no association between diabetes and additives linked to cakes, biscuits and snacks may suggest that residual confounding isn’t a huge problem in this study (because if other aspects of diet and lifestyle were really causing this association we might also expect to see a positive association between diabetes and the group of additives associated with cakes and biscuits).
“Considering mixtures of additives is interesting because they are rarely consumed in isolation; as the study shows many difficult additives are often used together. The evidence was strong that consuming additives associated with sugary and sweetened drinks was particularly associated with getting diabetes later in life, but there was little evidence for any particular additive or combination of additives being the main driver of that risk.
“It is difficult to study the impact of food additives using randomised controlled trials, because they are highly prevalent in our diets and the effects are likely to take many years to manifest. So it is important to attempt to study their effects in studies like this, and to combine with evidence from other kinds of studies to understand whether and how additives might harm metabolic health.”
Prof Alan Boobis, Emeritus Professor of Toxicology, Imperial College London, said:
“My takeaway from this is that it is an observational study and as acknowledged by the authors, association does not necessarily mean causation. The findings are important in generating hypotheses, but further investigation would be necessary to inform advice to consumers. It is unclear whether the mixtures themselves or key components are involved, or whether, despite adjustments for other components of the diet, the mixtures are indicative of some other characteristics of the subjects.”
Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, RMIT University, said:
“I can see this paper leading to more scary headlines about food additives, but although the work is based on a large dataset, we need to be careful about what conclusions are drawn from it.
“As the authors themselves clearly state, the study does not prove that food additives cause diabetes. All that is reported are slight associations between certain mixtures of some additives and the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, and there are some large caveats to this.
“Firstly, an association between two factors does not mean one caused the other; it just means there appears to be an association between them.
“Secondly, the authors didn’t measure food additive intake directly. They relied on self-reporting of food intake from study participants and then estimated the additive intake from this. This is a reasonable approach, but self-reported data is often inaccurate. This means great care must be taken in interpreting the results.
“It is also not clear from the main paper how the authors classified someone as having diabetes. Diagnosis does not seem to have been done by a medical professional but rather estimated by self-reported health data and medication use from a linked database. This is far from conclusive.
“So, whilst this is an interesting theoretical study, people should not worry. In the end, all that can really be said is that, based on self-reported data and estimations of possible food additive consumption and health conditions, there is a possible, small association between two specific mixtures of additives and the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, and the error bars are pretty big on even this conclusion.”
Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, said:
“This is a complicated study in terms of the statistical and computational methods it uses. I think its results are pretty hard to interpret. The meaning of the word ‘mixtures’ in the findings is, I’d say, so different from the everyday meaning of the word as to be potentially pretty confusing. The researchers, rightly, warn that their study cannot establish whether consuming particular mixtures of food additives causes the associations with type 2 diabetes that they observed. The associations that they observed are, as the press release indicates, not very strong anyway. Also, there are questions, that might well be important, that just can’t be answered from this research.
“I take away two things from this study. First, there are some more indications that it may be important to consider potential associations between food additives and health by looking at several additives at once, rather than investigating them separately. Second, looking for such associations isn’t easy, and to do it convincingly would require other types of research than those used in this study.
“I’ll try to clarify what the researchers meant by a ‘food additive mixture’. You might expect that to mean that a participant in the study consumes a certain amount of a given set of additives, maybe two or three of them, and researchers would look at how their health is associated with consumption of this specific mixture.
“But what’s meant in this research is something wider and more complicated. The researchers collected data on how much each of the nearly 110,000 participants consumed of well over 200 different food additives. They then used a statistical method (called nonnegative matrix factorization) to summarize all this data into a score, for each participant, on five different scales that they called ‘mixtures’. And they then measured the statistical association between each of these five scores and the participants’ chance of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over time. They found associations between two of the scores and the risk of type 2 diabetes – the other three scores were not found to be associated with diabetes.
“The associations with diabetes risk were not particularly strong for either of these scores, though it’s difficult to explain in simple terms exactly how large they were, because of the difficulty of explaining what the actual scores are measuring.
“What makes this hard to link to an everyday idea of a ‘mixture’ is that each of the scores depends on the amounts of consumption of, potentially, a large number of different additives. Of the two ‘mixture’ scores that were found to be associated with diabetes risk, one mainly depends on the consumption of eight different additives, and the other on 14 additives, and in fact other additives than these 8 and 14 do come into the calculation as well.
“Also, two participants could get similar scores for one of these ‘mixtures’ by actually consuming different patterns of additives. So one participant could get a moderately high score on the first of these ‘mixtures’ by consuming food and drink containing a lot of modified starches but little or none of the other additives, while another participant could get the same score by consuming quite a lot of food containing other additives that contribute to this mixture, but very little or no modified starch. Others could also get the same score by a different pattern of consumption of additives that contribute to this ‘mixture’, possibly not overlapping much with the consumptions of the other two participants I’ve mentioned. In technical terms, this is an acceptable use of the term ‘mixture’, but it’s probably not what a non-scientist would think of.
“The researchers do emphasise that this study cannot establish causality. That is, although they found associations, that is, correlations, between the scores for two of their additive ‘mixtures’ and the risk of type 2 diabetes, they can’t say that it is the additive consumption that caused the differences in diabetes risk.
“That’s for several reasons. Mainly, it’s because the study is observational. The participants weren’t made to consume different patterns of additives by the researchers – they just ate what they would have eaten anyway, and the researchers recorded that as best they could (and there are always potential limitations on the accuracy of such recordings). So the observed associations could really be caused by some other factors that happen to be associated with food additive consumption, and also independently associated with diabetes risk. There’s just no way of telling what causes what, with any level of certainty, in this kind of study.
“In some circumstances, if a lot of different observational studies are all pointing in the same direction, one might be a little more confident about what’s causing what. But this is effectively the first study looking at data in this way on a major scale. As the researchers themselves say, in order to get good evidence on whether particular groups of food additives, when consumed alongside one another, do actually cause ill health, one would need to carry out studies of different kinds – so-called mechanistic studies, to learn more about what might actually be happening inside the body. This study might help a little in pointing to what further studies might be most useful, but it’s an observational study that did not itself measure anything going on inside the participants’ bodies or cells. I’m not a nutritional scientist so am not in a position to comment on how these mechanistic studies would best be done.
“The researchers did make statistical adjustments for several possibly factors that might have accounted for what they observed, and might be getting in the way of interpretations of cause and effect. But you can never adjust for everything potentially relevant, and data on some factors will simply not be available.
“In this study there’s an obvious question of whether the differences in diabetes risk could be due to the additives in people’s food and drink, or due to the non-additive parts of the food and drink that they consumed, or indeed due to other things entirely. After all, consuming a food additive generally involves consuming the food or drink that it’s been added to, and so will go along with consuming fats, sugars, proteins, fibre, and whatever else is in that food or drink.
“The researchers did investigate some aspects of this question, and did find limited evidence that the associations with diabetes risk depend on additives as well as other aspects of what’s in the food and drink, though I don’t feel that they really sorted this out very far. Anyway it would be very difficult to take account of all the possible food and drink components that are not classed as additives, as well as those that are, in a single statistical set of statistical analyses.
“Interestingly, among all the detailed results, the study found a limited amount of evidence that points to why it may be important to look at additives together rather than separately. In some cases, it appeared that consuming two additives, linked to diabetes risk, had a stronger association with the diabetes risk than you’d expect from looking at the additives separately; in other cases, it went the other way, with a lower risk from the combination of additives than you might expect from looking at them separately.”
Comments from our colleagues at the Australian SMC:
Professor Ian Rae is an expert on chemicals in the environment at the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne. He was also an advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme on chemicals in the environment and is former President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute
“Type 2 diabetes arises when various parts of the body becoming resistant to the normal action of insulin, which is to pack sugar away in cells.
The result is elevated blood sugar levels that can cause damage to the eyes and to organs like the liver. The chance of developing type 2 diabetes increases with age, and it is associated with increased body weight, obesity and lack of physical activity, all of which track with age, too.
Exposure to chemical substances is not believed to be a cause of type 2 diabetes. The French researchers whose work is reported in this paper were testing not a single substance but instead they surveyed the effects of mixtures of additives that are commonly included in processed food, such as starch, pectin, vegetable gums, and citric acid which is also naturally present in some foods).
They identified two mixtures – of 8 and 15 constituents, respectively – that did correlate with slight effects. Only one of the mixtures included the kind of ‘chemical suspects’ that one expects to find in such studies, the two synthetic sweeteners, aspartame and sucralose. The associations between the mixtures and the condition were very weak, and similar mixtures that included many of the same constituents showed no association. Of course, association does not equal causation.
Testing a single substance for toxicity or the ability to damage our bodies in other ways is difficult enough. Only in a very few cases have pairs of substances or small groups of substances that are chemically closely related ever been tested. The results have been ambiguous, to say the least. Testing mixtures of 8 or 15 substances is just not good science. The authors themselves suggest that ‘the potential synergies and antagonisms may be of interest in future mechanistic investigations’ but that’s really just an admission that their own approach was overly optimistic in its search for a definite cause of type 2 diabetes.
Although it has involved a lot of work – not just by the 23 authors of this paper, but by the 100,000 people who were surveyed – the results are weak. I wondered why this was ever published.”
Ian has not declared any conflicts of interest.
Dr Alan Barclay is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney
“This French prospective cohort study identified small associations between certain mixtures of food additives and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The mixtures of additives were identified using computer algorithms. Study participants were predominantly female (79.2%), relatively young (average age 41 years), well-educated, and within the healthy weight range (average BMI 23.6 kg/m2). Ethnic background was not reported (ethical reasons cited).
Australia’s food supply is different from France’s, and it is not known how common the additive mixtures identified would be consumed in this country, and by whom.
In Australia, type 2 diabetes occurs most commonly after the age of 45 years, in overweight or obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2) people (more frequently men than women), from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and incidence (new cases) has been decreasing over the past decade.
The observed associations are both less than 20%, so residual confounding is likely a significant problem within this study.
While novel, the generalisability of this French observational study to people at risk of type 2 diabetes living in Australia is unknown.
Our food supply is regulated by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the types and amounts of additives permitted to be added to foods and drinks is carefully assessed and reviewed on a regular basis.”
Potential conflict of interest: I consult to the National Retail Association.
Emeritus Professor Jennie Brand-Miller AM is from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, and Director of both the Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service and Glycemic Index Foundation
“I find these results surprising because both mixtures contain substances that occur naturally in food and are recognised forms of dietary fibre (xanthan gums, guar gums and carrageenan). This means they provide fuel for our large bowel microbiome. Guar gum is a highly viscous fibre known to slow down the rate of digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, more so than any other fibre. Citric acid is found in citrus fruits, and also slows down digestion and reduces glycaemia.
Both mechanisms would therefore be expected to REDUCE the risk of type 2 diabetes, not increase it. I suspect these findings are simply chance findings because the researchers looked at so many food additives.
At present, there is a bias towards finding fault with food additives and processed foods. In Australia, all food additives other than flavours are highly regulated with substantial data to back up their safety in the amounts used in food.”
Jennie’s conflict of interest declaration: I have no direct conflicts of interest. I receive royalties from popular books about nutrition, diabetes and health. I oversee a glycemic index testing company at the USYD. I consult to the China National Research Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries, the Novo Foundation and Zoe Global.
Dr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz is an epidemiologist and Senior Research Fellow from the University of Wollongong
“The authors here looked at whether diabetes risks were impacted by different mixtures of food additives. They found a very small increased risk of diabetes associated with two mixtures of additives, and no increase for the other three mixtures that they tested – these mixtures included a wide range of additives such as aspartame, guar gum, curcumin, and more.
The study is reasonably strong, but suffers from weaknesses in the underlying cohort. These results are entirely based on self-report, which is to say that the only information that the authors had on how many food additives people ate was how much they said they were eating. This form of self-report is notoriously unreliable and impossible to correct for in large epidemiological studies of this nature.
It’s also unclear what meaning these results have. The biggest risk increase in the study was seen for Mixture 5, which contained 14 different food additives including citric acid and paprika extract. But due to the complex methodology the authors used to create these mixtures, it’s not clear how you could implement these findings in your daily life. The closest the authors come is saying that it might be a good idea to reduce your soft drink intake, but we didn’t really need this study to know that. It’s an interesting piece of research, but it’s hard to see how the results could be used outside of a strictly research setting.”
Gideon has not declared any conflicts of interest.
Dr Evangeline Mantzioris is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and the Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of South Australia
“This study has looked at the impact of commonly used additives in ultra-processed foods in our food system and their association with Type 2 diabetes. This study was conducted on a large group of over 108,000 adults in France over a 7 ½ year time period. Dietary data was collected from dietary records every 6 months, and from this the intake of additives was calculated.
The researchers found that there were two groups of food additives that were linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In the statistical analyses the researchers took into account the participants’ weight, sociodemographic factors, lifestyle practice and their diet.
The first group of food additives included modified starches, pectin, guar gum, carrageenan, polyphosphates, potassium sorbates, curcumin, and xanthan gum. The other group included citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, sulphite ammonia caramel, acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose, arabic gum, malic acid, carnauba wax, paprika extract, anthocyanins, guar gum, and pectin.
However, it must be remembered that this is an observational study and not an experimental study, and hence a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be drawn from it. Additionally, the intake of food additives in the diet of the participants could not be verified by any blood or urine tests.
There is a growing evidence base of the impact of UPF [ultra-processed foods] on both physical, cognitive and mental health. As well as containing low levels of nutrients, high levels of saturated and trans fats, sugar and salt, UPF also contain food additives to improve taste and shelf life of foods. This study adds to this evidence base of the health risks associated with a high intake of UPFs.”
Evangeline has not declared any conflicts of interest.
‘Food additive mixtures and type 2 diabetes incidence: Results from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort’ by Marie Payen de la Garanderie et al. was published in PLOS Medicine at 19:00 UK time on Tuesday 8 April 2025.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004570
Declared interests
Dr Nerys Astbury: “No conflicts.”
Prof Nita Forouhi: “None.”
Prof Tom Sanders: “I have been retired for 10 years but during my career at King’s College London, I formerly acted as consultant for companies that made artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes.
I am a member of the Programme Advisory Committee of the Malaysia Palm Oil Board which involves the review of research projects proposed by the Malaysia government.
I also used to be a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Global Dairy Platform up until 2015.
I did do some consultancy work on GRAS affirmation of high oleic palm oil for Archer Daniel Midland more than ten years ago.
My research group received oils and fats free of charge from Unilever and Archer Daniel Midland for our Food Standards Agency Research.
Tom was a member of the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee that recommended that trans fatty acids be removed from the human food chain.
Member of the Science Committee British Nutrition Foundation. Honorary Nutritional Director HEART UK.
Before my retirement from King’s College London in 2014, I acted as a consultant to many companies and organisations involved in the manufacture of what are now designated ultraprocessed foods.
I used to be a consultant to the Breakfast Cereals Advisory Board of the Food and Drink Federation.
I used to be a consultant for aspartame more than a decade ago.
When I was doing research at King’ College London, the following applied: Tom does not hold any grants or have any consultancies with companies involved in the production or marketing of sugar-sweetened drinks. In reference to previous funding to Tom’s institution: £4.5 million was donated to King’s College London by Tate & Lyle in 2006; this funding finished in 2011. This money was given to the College and was in recognition of the discovery of the artificial sweetener sucralose by Prof Hough at the Queen Elizabeth College (QEC), which merged with King’s College London. The Tate & Lyle grant paid for the Clinical Research Centre at St Thomas’ that is run by the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Trust, it was not used to fund research on sugar. Tate & Lyle sold their sugar interests to American Sugar so the brand Tate & Lyle still exists but it is no longer linked to the company Tate & Lyle PLC, which gave the money to King’s College London in 2006.”
Dr George Savva: “I have no conflict of interest.”
Prof Alan Boobis: “My interests are: until recently, chair of the UK Committee on Toxicity (COT); member of the joint Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)/COT working group on plant-based drinks; member of the External Advisory Committee, Michigan State University MSU Center for Research on Ingredient Safety (CRIS); member of the Board of Directors of ILSI (International Life Sciences Institute) Europe.”
Prof Oliver Jones: “I am a Professor of Chemistry at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. I don’t have any conflicts of interest to declare. However, many years ago, I worked on a project funded by the UK Food Standards Agency on the toxicity of pesticide mixtures.”
Prof Kevin McConway: “Previously a Trustee of the SMC and a member of its Advisory Committee.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)
April 08, 2025
The network of hydrogen hubs promotes American energy independence, lowers costs for consumers, and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across California
Washington, D.C.– Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49, Rep. George Whitesides (CA-27), and Senator Alex Padilla led a bipartisan, bicameral delegation of members of Congress to urge the Department of Energy (DOE) to preserve funding for hydrogen production hubs, specifically California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES).
In a letter to the DOE, the members write:
“As bipartisan members of the California delegation, we write with concern about reports that the U.S. Department of Energy is planning to cancel the hydrogen hub award commitment made to California’s Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES)… As California’s Hydrogen Hub, ARCHES anticipates the creation of 220,000 good paying jobs, from research and development (R&D) to manufacturing and maintenance of renewable hydrogen systems. This, in turn, promotes public-private partnerships to expand our STEM workforce.”
The letter followed reports that the Department of Energy is considering cutting funding for the development of four hydrogen production hubs. The City of Lancaster, in Rep. Whitesides’ district, was the first city to join ARCHES, alongside industry, government and academic stakeholders from across California. Their Element Resources project in Lancaster was predicted to generate over 200 construction jobs in the area.
“ARCHES is at the forefront of energy development in our state, and it is helping to create good paying jobs and lower energy costs,” said Rep. Mike Levin. “I’m proud to join my California colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to defend this project. We stand united in our efforts to protect energy projects that create jobs, lower costs, and promote energy innovation.”
“The bipartisan support for ARCHES shown in this letter underscores its importance to California and the nation,” said Rep. George Whitesides. “I’m proud to represent Lancaster, the first city to join ARCHES, and support this effort to bring many well-paid jobs to our area and California, while lowering our energy costs. I urge the DOE to support this crucial program and preserve its funding, therefore expanding our workforce and economic opportunity.”
“Kickstarting the market for hydrogen power across California will accelerate the creation of good-paying jobs while investing in key sectors across our economy,” said Senator Padilla. “Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that California’s ARCHES hydrogen hub is essential for lowering fuel costs and promoting American energy dominance and security. I will continue working hard to protect the resources I secured for ARCHES and other critical hydrogen hubs through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
In 2023, the Department of Energy awarded the ARCHES network an initial grant under the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program. As part of the H2Hubs, seven recipients were funded to establish a national hydrogen network. With this and private and state matching funds, ARCHES is projected to create over 200,000 jobs in California and generate more than $2.95 billion annually in economic value from 2030.
Sufficient uranium resources exist to support both the continued use of nuclear power and its significant growth through 2050 and beyond. However, timely investments in new exploration, mining operations and processing techniques will be essential to ensure that uranium becomes available to the market when needed.
These are among the main findings of the latest edition of Uranium – Resources, Production and Demand2024, commonly known as the “Red Book”, an essential global reference prepared jointly every two years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The 2024 edition of the Red Book provides the latest comprehensive review of uranium market fundamentals, based on official government data, and delivers a detailed statistical profile of the global uranium industry. Covering the calendar years 2021 and 2022, it features data on uranium exploration, resources, and production . The report also includes 62 country profiles, offering in-depth insights into mine development plans, the environmental and social dimensions of uranium mining, and national regulations and policies.
The Red Book indicates that global identified recoverable uranium resources amounted to 7 934 500 tonnes as of 1 January 2023. These represent all reasonably assured and inferred uranium resources that could be recovered at market prices ranging from $40 to $260 USD/KgU (equivalent to $15 to $100 USD/lb U3O8). Compared to the total reported in the 2022 edition, this represents an increase of less than 0.5%. Additions to the uranium resource base could however arise from undiscovered or unconventional sources, driven by the sharp rise in uranium spot prices since mid-2021 and the commitment first announced during COP28 and now signed by 31 countries to triple their nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Worldwide domestic exploration and mine development expenditures have increased dramatically after a period of decline due to poor market conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Annual expenditures reached USD 800 million in 2022 and preliminary data for 2023 suggest a further increase to USD 840 million.
The Red Book also provides projections for nuclear power installed capacity and uranium requirements through 2050, outlining both low-growth and high-growth scenarios, alongside an assessment of uranium supply and demand adequacy under each scenario. According to these projections, the uranium resource base is sufficient to meet the needs of a high-growth nuclear capacity through 2050 and beyond. However, this will require essential investments in new exploration, improved processing techniques and new production centres to replenish reserves.
Production increased 4% between 2020 and 2022 and the report suggests the increase will likely continue in coming years. The establishment of new production centres is anticipated to encounter significant lead times due to today’s risk-averse investment climate, and complex and lengthy regulatory processes in many uranium mining jurisdictions. Geopolitical challenges and technical difficulties related to developing new mines and milling facilities may further compound the situation. As a result, efforts must begin immediately to ensure adequate uranium supplies are available in the medium term.
Notes to editors
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is an intergovernmental agency which operates within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It facilitates co-operation among countries with advanced nuclear technology infrastructures to seek excellence in nuclear safety, technology, science, related environmental and economic matters and law.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Joint NEA/IAEA Group on Uranium (UG) contributes to the preparation of each edition of Uranium – Resources, Production and Demand. The Group also co-ordinates the preparation of periodic assessments of the world’s supply of natural uranium, examines the relationship of these supplies to demand projections and recommends actions that might be taken to ensure adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power development.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
Change of British High Commissioner to Malaysia: Ajay Sharma
Mr Ajay Sharma CMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Malaysia in succession to Ms Ailsa Terry CMG.
Mr Ajay Sharma CMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Malaysia in succession to Ms Ailsa Terry CMG. Mr Sharma will take up his appointment during April 2025.
Curriculum Vitae
Full name: Ajay Sharma
Year
Role
2024 to present
FCDO, Director and pre-posting training
2023 to 2024
Cabinet Office, National Security Secretariat, Director International
2022 to 2023
Ankara, Head of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires
2021 to 2022
FCDO, Cyprus Settlement Co-ordinator
2020 to 2021
FCDO, Deputy Political Director
2015 to 2020
Doha, Her Majesty’s Ambassador
2013 to 2015
FCO, Iran Co-ordinator and non-resident then resident Chargé d’affaires to Iran
2012 to 2013
FCO, Head of Iran Department
2008 to 2012
Paris, Deputy Head of Mission
2007 to 2008
Tehran, Deputy Head of Mission
2005 to 2007
FCO, Deputy Head of Security Policy Department
2003 to 2005
Ankara, First Secretary and Head of Political Section
2002 to 2003
Moscow, First Secretary and Head of Economic/ Energy Section
Source: Government of Ireland – Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation
8th April 2025
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, has announced the publication of the Powering Prosperity Implementation Progress Report for April 2025, which highlights significant milestones in Ireland’s journey towards becoming a global leader in offshore renewable energy.
Ireland has set ambitious targets to deliver at least 37GW of offshore renewable energy by 2050. The availability of abundant, reliable green energy will drive clean, sustainable growth in energy-intensive sectors, together with numerous opportunities for economic growth and job creation.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment launched Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy in March 2024, setting out to capture the value of the country’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) supply chain and maximise the economic impact of Ireland’s renewable energy goals. Over the past 12 months, substantial progress has been made, with 38 of the 40 actions outlined in the strategy either completed or underway.
The Implementation Progress Report, which was launched at WindEurope in Copenhagen, a major event in the wind energy industry attracting around 16,000 delegates each year, provided status updates on Powering Prosperity actions such delivering long-term funding options to support the scaling of Irish offshore wind supply chain companies. Notably, two significant projects received funding packages of over €1 million and €2 million, respectively.
It also highlighted how the development of an Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (OWCE) is well underway, with initial funding allocated and a steering group formed to drive the project. An annual joint offshore renewable energy event has been established with Scotland, with the inaugural event “Advancing the Offshore Wind Opportunity: Bridging Irish and Scottish Perspectives” held in Dublin and Cork in June 2024.
Another key action was the Offshore RD&I Showcase and Access to Finance Event, which highlighted supports available to organisations along the offshore wind supply chain, promoting participation in research, development, and innovation programmes.
Highlighting the significant progress made and work underway to deliver Ireland’s offshore wind ambitions, Minister Burke said
“Powering Prosperity’s first Implementation Progress Report is a strong signal of the momentum that is gathering behind Ireland’s offshore wind sector. Considerable progress has been made over the last year in Irish offshore wind, and our strong enterprise base in this sector is continuing to grow. It is vital that this work continues at pace across Government to ensure that we are well positioned to capture the full economic, environmental and regional development benefits offered by this significant opportunity, and that we overcome any remaining challenges that might impede our continued progress. This Government will continue to work alongside industry and the research community towards our shared goal of a successful, resilient Irish offshore wind sector.”
Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien said:
‘‘Developing an offshore wind sector requires an all-of-Government approach and a whole-of-economy mobilisation. By implementing an offshore wind industrial strategy, our colleagues in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are ensuring that Ireland will be in strong position to build a successful and resilient supply chain for offshore wind. Ahead of expected growth in the offshore sector in the coming years, it’s vital that expertise in areas such as research and development extend to the offshore wind sector, so we can take advantage of Ireland’s offshore wind potential.
‘‘It’s clear that the implementation of actions in this progress report, along with the implementation of actions from the ‘Future Framework for Offshore Renewable Energy Policy’, published by my own department last year, will help Ireland deliver its ambitious long-term targets for offshore wind.’’
Timmy Dooley, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, who will be attending the WindEurope Annual Event later this week, said:
‘‘Ireland is already a global leader for installed onshore wind power capacity and for the integration of variable renewable electricity onto the grid. The publication of this progress report comes on the back of a number of significant milestones achieved in Ireland’s offshore wind sector, including; the publication of Ireland’s first spatial plan for offshore wind – the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan; and the agreed terms and conditions of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction, which will take place later this year. In the coming weeks, we will also publish a ‘Roadmap for Future Designated Maritime Area Plans’, which will provide additional certainty for the offshore renewable sector.”
Work will continue on implementing the remaining actions by the end of this year, as set out in Powering Prosperity.
Ireland has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world, providing a strong and consistent wind supply. To fully harness the vast potential for clean, renewable energy from our seas, a suite of policies across Government have been, or are in the process of being developed, to ensure offshore renewable energy (ORE) projects are delivered in line with the target to deliver at least 37GW of ORE capacity by 2050. A key enabler of these targets is the work of the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce (OWDT) chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. DETE, in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, leads on the work of Workstream 7 under the OWDT, which is focused on the supply chain, and also participates in a number of the other Workstreams, feeding into their work and the overall work of the OWDT.
Powering Prosperity – Ireland’s Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy was published in March 2024 to ensure that Ireland maximises the economic benefits associated with Government ambitions to deliver its 2030, 2040 and 2050 offshore wind targets.
Powering Prosperity aims to build a successful, vibrant and impactful offshore wind energy industry in Ireland, ensuring that the sector creates as much value as possible throughout Ireland. Powering Prosperity includes 40 actions to be implemented by the end of this year.
The strategy is anchored on 4 core pillars:
Offshore wind supply chains: to build capacity and capability to develop the offshore wind farms that deliver on the 37GW target and give Ireland an edge in exporting products and services related to offshore wind energy;
Research, development and innovation: to give Ireland a competitive cutting edge in new technology and know-how for the sector;
Balanced regional economic development opportunities: to drive growth from offshore wind energy in line with the Programme for Government priority of enabling all parts of Ireland to thrive so that Ireland as a whole can prosper; and
Future demand and end uses for offshore renewable energy: for example, to develop new Green Energy Industrial Parks, which can attract major foreign direct investment, establish new indigenous green businesses and serve as test beds for green technological innovation to power the Irish economy of the future.
Powering Prosperity sets out an intention to publish progress reports, beginning in 2025. A first implementation progress update report was published in April 2025. This report outlines the status of each of the Industrial Strategy’s 40 actions, providing detail on progress made by April 2025.
Of the 40 actions, 38, or 95%, are complete or in progress. Of these, 11 have been delivered as set out in the Strategy, with a further 3 completed by alternative means, or insofar as possible. A further 24 are currently in progress, though 5 of these are delayed. Of the final 2 actions, 1 is not yet initiated, and 1 will not be completed due to external circumstances.
Technology and Energy Secretaries chair first meeting of AI Energy Council
The UK’s new AI Energy Council held its first meeting in Westminster today (8 April).
Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, and Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband co-chair the first meeting of the AI Energy Council.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Peter Kyle and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband today convened the first meeting of the AI Energy Council in Westminster.
Joined by industry representatives from across the energy and technology sectors, this inaugural round of discussions centred on how the UK can drive forward its AI and power goals – supporting the growth, jobs and opportunities which are central to the government’s Plan for Change.
The Technology Secretary reflected on the desire across the country to benefit from the AI revolution – with over 200 applications from local areas putting themselves forward to become AI Growth Zones. Meanwhile the Energy Secretary highlighted how it is not only about making the UK’s energy grid fit for the age of AI, but how AI can serve the energy system too.
After delivering opening remarks, the Secretaries of State led discussions which included an agreement on the council’s 5 areas of focus for the coming year. These will be centred on ensuring the UK’s energy system is ready to support the country’s AI and compute infrastructure, promoting sustainability and the use of renewable energy solutions, and placing a strong focus on promoting the safe and secure adoption of AI across the energy system whilst also advising on how AI can be adopted to support the transition to net zero, unlocking opportunities to make the grid more flexible.
Attendees reflected on the importance of making sure sustainability is at the heart of efforts to take advantage of AI and the need to make sure the UK has what is needed to drive further investment – including quick access to the grid, accelerated planning permission and skills.
The 5 main areas of focus for the council were agreed, with attendees committing to meet quarterly – with an ambition to bring proposals to the table to make quick progress and deliver for people across the country.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)
Last week, all HHS staff who manage LIHEAP were fired, leaving the program at risk and the families that rely on it vulnerable to higher energy costs
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) announced he has joined Rep. Chris Pappas and 88 other House Democrats incallingfor the protection of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the rehiring of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff who manage the LIHEAP programthat were fired last weekby the Trump Administration.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, the lawmakers wrote, “This program is vital for millions of families, and in fact is oversubscribed. More than 25 million American households report foregoing food and medicine to pay their energy bills, and of those, 7 million households report that they face that decision every month. LIHEAP benefits target households who need the assistance the most, particularly those that have a high home energy burden and or have household members who are elderly, disabled, and or young children.”
“In Fiscal Year 2023, nearly 6 million households received LIHEAP assistance, and LIHEAP restored power or prevented disconnections over 2.7 million times for American families,” the lawmakers continued. “Moreover, LIHEAP supported 1.4 million households in crisis assistance. This is not funding that can wait; a team must be in place to support this program’s work. By removing the staff responsible for managing this vital program, this administration has directly burdened the families in our country who need our support most.”
“Gutting this program’s staff is a reckless and irresponsible decision which may cost these families’ lives. We urge you to immediately reverse this decision and do all you can to support the work of this vital program,” the members concluded.
LIHEAP assists low-income individuals and families with the costs of heating and cooling their homes and helps to mitigate the impacts of rising energy costs and extreme weather events. Across the nation, LIHEAP helpsnearly 6 million householdsafford their energy bills. In Fiscal Year 2023,over 130,000 Missouri householdsbenefited from an average savings of $1,533.
Congressman Cleaver has been a strong advocate for the LIHEAP program and efforts to lower energy costs for Missouri families. In 2023, Cleaverjoined 115 House lawmakersto request increased home heating assistance funding through LIHEAP. In 2021, Cleaver supported efforts to increase funding for LIHEAP in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which providedadditional investmentsthat lowered energy costs for Missouri households. Moreover, Cleaver supported the Inflation Reduction Act, which supported and created numerousfederal programs to lower energy costsfor Missourians.
The official letter from lawmakers is availablehere.
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.
China has unveiled a series of swift and robust measures to stabilize the capital market and restore investor confidence in the wake of the global financial turbulence triggered by U.S. tariffs levied against its trading partners. The Chinese stock market closed higher on Tuesday, rebounding from steep losses on the previous trading day, following a raft of measures announced by financial authorities, alongside coordinated moves by state-owned investment firms, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and insurance companies. On Tuesday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.58 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index went up 0.64 percent. The ChiNext Index, tracking China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, rose 1.83 percent. TIMELY, STRONG SIGNAL TO STABILIZE CAPITAL MARKET Chinese state-owned capital operation firms have moved quickly to increase their holdings of domestic equities, voicing strong confidence in the long-term outlook of the country’s capital market. The People’s Bank of China, or the central bank, also announced liquidity support through re-lending facilities on Tuesday. Central Huijin Investment Ltd., a Chinese state-owned investment company, said it had once again increased its holdings of exchange-traded funds and would continue to do so in the future to “resolutely safeguard” the stable operation of the capital market. As a controlling or participating shareholder in over 20 financial institutions, Central Huijin reaffirmed its pivotal role in stabilizing the capital markets in a statement Tuesday. Often likened to a “stabilization fund,” the company has been instrumental in bolstering market stability and resilience since 2008. Following the statement of Central Huijin, the central bank pledged to firmly support the company in increasing its holding of stock index funds and will provide sufficient re-lending support when necessary. Apart from Central Huijin, multiple state-owned investment firms also increased stock holdings or unveiled plans to accelerate share buybacks, including China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd., China Reform Holdings Corporation Ltd., and seven listed firms under the China Merchants Group. CHINESE SOES EXPAND SHARE PURCHASES, BUYBACKS China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said on Tuesday it fully supports central state-owned enterprises in expanding share purchases and buybacks to safeguard shareholders’ rights and consolidate market confidence. Multiple Chinese central SOEs have rolled out share purchase initiatives, underscoring their robust confidence in the long-term prospects of the country’s economy and capital market. China National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday disclosed that it will buy A-shares and H-shares over the next 12 months, with a total investment of up to 5.6 billion yuan (about 777.37 million U.S. dollars), while China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation announced a similar 12-month purchase plan worth up to 3 billion yuan targeting shares listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong. China Electronics Technology Group Corporation said it had already completed over 2 billion yuan in buybacks for its listed subsidiaries and pledged to accelerate further acquisitions to strengthen sci-tech innovation synergy and safeguard shareholder interests. Emphasizing its commitment to driving the green transition and pledging active share purchases, China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd. said that its subsidiary, Inner Mongolia MengDian HuaNeng Thermal Power Corp., Ltd., had already initiated share purchases. China National Coal Group detailed a multi-tiered investment strategy that included respective injections of up to 80 million yuan and 50 million yuan into its subsidiaries China Energy and Shanghai Energy, while it planned to advance ongoing repurchases for Xinji Energy. CONFIDENCE IN MARKET’S LONG-TERM OUTLOOK The National Financial Regulatory Administration on Tuesday announced measures to raise the cap on equity investments by insurance funds, with greater support for equity investments in strategic emerging industries and fostering new quality productive forces. Following the policy announcement, several major insurers, including China Life Insurance, China Pacific Insurance, and New China Life Insurance, voiced strong support, expressing confidence in China’s economic outlook and capital market. They pledged to ramp up long-term equity investments, with a focus on strategic emerging industries, contributing patient capital to market stability and the growth of new quality productive forces. The National Council for Social Security Fund, which handles the assets of the National Social Security Fund, said it is firmly optimistic about the development prospects of China’s capital market, adding that it has recently increased its holdings of domestic stocks, and will continue to increase the holdings in the near future. Analysts believe the coordinated moves sent a clear signal about China’s resolve to support the capital markets. In a time of heightened uncertainty in the global trade environment and dramatic fluctuations in international financial markets, the timely and decisive action of China’s state capital will effectively guide market expectations and mitigate the impact of external shocks, said Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating.
In 2023, the United States produced 578 million short tons (MMst) of coal, or less than half of the amount produced in 2008 when U.S. coal production peaked, according to our most recent Annual Coal Report. The production decline is spread almost evenly across each type of coal and continued in 2024. Rising mining costs, increasingly stringent environmental regulations, and competition from other sources of electric power generation have contributed to domestic coal production declines.
The rank of coal depends on the depth at which coal deposits are buried. Deeper coal deposits have experienced more heat and pressure over time, providing those coals with higher heat capacity, higher carbon content, lower moisture, and fewer impurities. When ranked by their carbon content, the highest-ranking coal is anthracite, followed by bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coal.
Coal mining companies produce bituminous coal primarily from the Appalachian and Illinois Basins, both of which cover large areas in the eastern United States. Subbituminous coal is found in various parts of the western United States, especially in the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. Mining companies produce lignite coal across several parts of the Midwest, mostly in North Dakota and Texas.
Coal producers mine and sell the four ranks of coal mined in the United States primarily as thermal coal, which operators at power plants burn to produce steam for electricity generation. Bituminous coal, particularly from the Appalachia region, also has metallurgical characteristics, making it a critical raw material used in blast furnace steelmaking. In 2023, the United States exported 51 MMst of bituminous coal as metallurgical coal.
Coal producers tend to sell subbituminous coal to coal-fired power plants across the United States, or, less often, export the coal to countries in Asia. Subbituminous coal’s low mining costs and relatively low heating value are partially offset by the high cost of transporting coal long distances, usually by rail. Coal producers tend to sell lignite almost exclusively to power generating plants located near mines. This proximity is a key economic factor given the low heat content of lignite coal.
Our Annual Coal Report provides detail on U.S. coal production, mining productivity, reserves, prices, and other series. More recent information on coal production from our Quarterly Coal Reports and Weekly Coal Production Reports shows that U.S. coal production continued to decline in 2024. Our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts U.S. coal production to decline from an estimated 512 MMst in 2024 to 483 MMst in 2025 and 467 MMst in 2026 because of coal’s continued competition with natural gas and renewables in the electric power sector.
Headline: New Report: Market Reforms to Harness Energy Storage and Strengthen Regional Grid Reliability
Analysis Details Electricity Market Design Reforms to Unlock the Potential of Storage
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 8, 2025 — Today the American Clean Power Association (ACP) released an Energy Storage Market Reform Roadmap and analysis produced by the Brattle Group, outlining several key reforms that regional grid operators can enact to leverage the unique capabilities of energy storage technologies.
While some regions of the United States have made progress integrating energy storage into energy resource portfolios, several organized electricity markets have yet to unlock the benefits of energy storage. Energy storage is designed to enhance grid reliability and improve the integration and operation of all energy resources. California and Texas have demonstrated that with updated market rules, energy storage delivers substantial value and complements both thermal and renewable generation to meet the unique reliability needs of each region.
“Energy storage technologies add a new dimension of flexibility and efficiency to our electric grid,” said ACP VP of Energy Storage Noah Roberts. “Energy storage has proven to boost reliability and lower energy costs. In Texas, the state added 5 GW of energy storage in one year, eliminating calls for customers to reduce electricity use during historic summer heat, stabilizing the grid through volatile winter storms, all the while delivering more than a billion dollars in energy cost savings. This roadmap outlines actionable steps to better utilize energy storage to deliver reliable and affordable power across the United States.”
Progress Since FERC Order 841Before FERC Order 841, energy storage faced broad and significant barriers to participating in U.S. wholesale electricity markets. Participation was limited by market rules designed primarily for traditional power generation technologies. Where deployment is encouraged and barriers have been removed, energy storage resources have helped prevent blackouts and reduce pressure on consumers during historic winter and summer events, while delivering significant cost-savings.
Reforms to U.S. Markets to Deploy Energy Storage Boosts Reliability
In several regions, there are substantial opportunities for reforms that will enable energy storage to participate in boosting the reliability and resilience of our power grid – while also alleviating utility bill impacts from historically high capacity prices.
The American electric grid faces surging demand for more power, creating a need to quickly build and connect more resources and improve flexibility. Energy storage is a proven solution to affordably scale energy supply and grid capacity in a way that makes the grid more efficient and resilient. However, without modernization of market rules, energy storage resources will be restricted from contributing to regional grid reliability, risking economic growth and energy security.
“Many existing rules around energy markets were developed prior to the advancement of new technologies. As electricity grids struggle to keep pace with the feverish growth in energy demand across the country, every electron of power counts,” said Stephanie Smith COO of Eolian. “Battery energy storage helps both thermal and renewable energy technologies optimize their participation and increase reliability and resilience by providing power when and where it is needed quickly. By updating existing rules to account for new technologies, regional electricity markets can enhance grid performance and lower costs for consumers.”
Energy Storage Industry Advancing Reliability Solutions
Updates and reforms can make considerable improvements to electricity markets. Recently, PJM began changing its Surplus Interconnection Service (SIS) rules, which would accelerate the deployment of energy storage to support and enhance sites with existing energy generation. Regional grid operators are poised and well positioned to make additional impactful reforms.
In the central region of the United States, an updated approach to MISO’s capacity accreditation modeling can help realize the reliability benefits and operational flexibility that storage has delivered in states like Texas and California.
In the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, PJM can amend rules that would allow energy storage facilities to deliver power when it’s needed most, harnessing the technology’s ability to quickly react to real-time market conditions.
In New York, the ISO can make changes to better enable energy storage to efficiently match power supply with demand, saving money and improving grid stability.
ACP and its members are committed to collaborating with regional grid operators, state policymakers, and stakeholders to advance reforms that enhance grid reliability and lower costs for Americans.
“Alliant Energy is dedicated to pioneering energy solutions that benefit our customers and communities,” said Ben Lipari, Vice President of Commercial Operations for Alliant Energy. “Battery energy storage, including long-duration energy storage systems, such as our Columbia Energy Dome Project, represent our commitment to deploying new grid technologies supporting the evolving mix of renewable energy and traditional energy sources to deliver what matters most to our customers, communities and the region – reliably, responsibly and affordably”.
“As Jupiter Power is demonstrating by the near-term expansion of its operating portfolio outside of ERCOT, there is an opportunity for regional electric grids to deploy the unique attributes of storage to meet rising demand from data centers and other large new loads,” said Caitlin Smith, Vice President of Policy & Corporate Communications for Jupiter Power. “Batteries are the most dispatchable resource on the grid and this important roadmap highlights BESS as a tool not only for capacity but also to manage the quick fluctuations on the grid, day-ahead uncertainty, and local congestion.”
“Energy storage is a game-changing tool that is already making our nation’s grid stronger. As Clearway continues to harness the power of our existing storage fleet and expand with new investments across the country, we recognize the urgent need for energy markets to evolve and fully capture the unique benefits of storage technologies.” said Hannah Muller, Senior Director of External & Market Affairs for Clearway. “We look forward to collaborating with ACP and regional grid operators to update market rules, and this roadmap will catalyze the acceleration of this work.”
Find the full analysis, the executive summary, and the ISO-specific roadmaps on cleanpower.org.
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The election’s first debate, on Sky News on Tuesday night, was disappointingly dull. Viewers who’d been following the campaign would have learned little. There was minimal spontaneity.
Among the 100 undecided voters in the room, 44 said Anthony Albanese won, 35 thought Peter Dutton came out ahead and 21 were undecided.
Both camps will be satisfied, because each leader’s main aim was to avoid disaster. A bad mistake, an undisciplined moment, can sour the following day.
The Liberals will be especially relieved. After difficult days for Dutton, with Trump wading into the campaign and the fiasco over the work-from-home policy, the opposition leader needed to perform creditably. He did that, with commentators scoring the result variously (in some cases in line with the scorer’s political leaning).
Dutton was under added pressure – just before the two men faced off he learned his father Bruce had been taken to hospital.
Both leaders were well prepared, and carefully polite. Questions canvassed the “Trump pandemic”, education, health, cost of living, immigration, Albanese’s tax cuts, Dutton’s fuel excise promise, and Gaza.
When moderator Kieran Gilbert asked audience members to raise their hands if they were “doing it pretty tough” about half did so.
Albanese seemed to have more material to work with, and made sure he homed in on Dutton’s nuclear policy and his time as health minister.
Naturally, we saw Albanese’s well-worn Medicare card again.
The PM dodged an awkward reference to NSW premier Chris Minns’ returning public servants to the office, pivoting to Dutton’s dumping his working from home policy. “Peter hasn’t been able to stand up for his own policy, so I don’t know how he can stand up for Australia.”
Albanese had a good zinger countering Dutton’s spiel on gas: “The only gas policy that the Coalition have is the gaslighting of the Australia public.”
Dutton had a cut-through point on the PM’s promise to subsidise solar batteries. “He’s asking you to provide a subsidy or to support a subsidy for people on higher incomes like me to buy a battery at a subsidised price and I don’t believe that’s fair.”
Rather bizarrely, the Coalition used the cover of the debate to release its delayed modelling for its gas reservation policy, sending it out just as the debate started, embargoed until its finish.
“Modelling conducted by Frontier Economics has concluded that the Coalition’s National Gas Plan will see a 23% reduction in wholesale gas prices,” the statement said. This would “progressively mean
15% reduction in retail gas bills for industrial customers
7% reduction in retail gas bills for residential customers
8% reduction in wholesale electricity prices
3% reduction in residential electricity prices.”
And do the debates matter anyway?
Australian election debates are punctuation points in the campaign. They don’t necessarily carry much weight, although they can affect a candidate’s immediate momentum.
Ian McAllister, director of the ANU’s Australian Election Study, says fewer and fewer people are watching these debates. In 1993, about seven in ten voters watched; in 2022 only a third did.
McAllister also says our debates are low grade compared to some overseas. For example, in France, the two candidates sit across from each other, with two moderators and “go for it”. In Australia, debates are “stylised” and the candidates rely heavily on prepared answers.
Winning or losing the debates is not necessarily a guide to the election result. As the table shows John Howard performed better in elections than in debates.
NSW Premier Minns defends a back-to-the-office policy
Peter Dutton took a serious fall over his now-abandoned plan to force Canberra public servants back to the office. But Chris Minns already has many state bureaucrats back at their desks, and on Tuesday declared firmly he won’t be for turning.
The Minns policy, announced last year, admittedly has had a bumpy start, including problems with the unions. But Minns’ “sell” is very different from the Coalition’s unsuccessful attempt.
The federal opposition, which often seems obsessed with Canberra public servants, left the impression these bureaucrats working from home were ripping off the system and needed to be brought into line.
Contrast the positive spin from Minns on Tuesday. After noting most NSW public servants can’t work from home – they’re on the front line – for the rest: “We believe it’s the only way of mentoring the next generation of people, to come through offices and ensure that they’ve got good modelled behaviour, a sense of shared mission and an idea of where they’re going collectively together.
“In order for us to fulfil the mission of government and public service, it means that you’ve got to build a team culture. And that can really only be done in the workplace.
“I think our policy is different to Peter Dutton’s, but I just don’t want to mince words. We’ve got to be clear and consistent and we’re not changing our policy.
“I don’t want any ambiguity about our position. We made that call last year. It was the right decision. And in terms of the mentoring role that a senior person plays in a workplace, whether they’re a manager or not, if they’ve got years under their belt and they’ve got experience, it’s amazing the positive impact they will have on a junior recruit that we’ve just got into the public service and that doesn’t happen on zoom and it doesn’t happen on YouTube and it doesn’t happen over the phone.”
Minns has consistently proved himself a strong communicator. He often ran rings around Anthony Albanese in responding to the antisemitism crisis.
Jim Chalmers does the rounds on the tariff crisis
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is making the most of incumbency in the wake of the Trump tariff upheaval, undertaking an intense round of official activity.
Chalmers will convene a meeting on Wednesday of the Council of Financial Regulators to discuss the impact globally and locally. Those attending will include the heads of the Reserve Bank, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Treasury and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
He will also meet the heads of the Future Fund and the ASX. On Thursday, he will have talks with major employers.
Chalmers has already convened and attended a Treasury briefing for the prime minister. He has talked with Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, and been in touch with the CEOs of the major banks and superannuation funds representatives.
Chalmers is due to debate shadow treasurer Angus Taylor on Wednesday evening.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mike Thompson Representing the 5th District of CALIFORNIA
Congressional Republicans’ plan to slash health care to fund tax giveaways for the ultra-rich will harm care for everyone
Davis, CA – On Friday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Chief Behavioral Officer/Chief Community Health Officer for CommuniCare+OLE Health Sara Gavin, Interim Vice Chancellor of UC Davis Health Dr. Bruce Lee Hall, Yolo County Supervisor Sheila Allen, patient advocate Kate Laddish, and Susanna Hernandez of SEIU Local 2015 participated in a press conference at Yolo Health and Human Services’ Davis Office. The speakers warned that Congressional Republicans’ plan to cut at least $880 billion from the budget that funds Medicaid in order to fund tax breaks for the ultra-rich will devastate local access to care for everyone.
“Congressional Republicans have mandated an $880 billion healthcare budget cut, something that can’t be done without destroying Medicaid. And the destruction of Medicaid will hurt everyone,” said Thompson. “One-third of health care in California comes from Medicaid. Without this funding, hospitals and health centers in our community will be forced to slash services or shut down altogether. That means everyone loses access to care. All of this is for one purpose: to facilitate a tax giveaway for the richest people in our country.”
BACKGROUND
In February, Congressional Republicans passed a partisan budget bill that instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, to cut its spending by $880 billion. The non-partisanCongressional Budget Office has since analyzed the budget and confirmed that the Committee cannot meet Congressional Republicans’ mandated level of spending cuts without deep cuts to Medicaid. Millions of people would lose coverage entirely, and those who remain covered would see reduced benefits and fewer available providers.
Congressional Republicans’ proposed cuts to health care and nutrition programs in their budget bill add up to nearly the exact amount of savings the party needs in order to implement their tax bill delivering massive tax breaks for corporations and those making over $743,000 per year.
Sufficient uranium resources exist to support both the continued use of nuclear power and its significant growth through 2050 and beyond. However, timely investments in new exploration, mining operations and processing techniques will be essential to ensure that uranium becomes available to the market when needed.
These are among the main findings of the latest edition of Uranium – Resources, Production and Demand2024, commonly known as the “Red Book”, an essential global reference prepared jointly every two years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The 2024 edition of the Red Book provides the latest comprehensive review of uranium market fundamentals, based on official government data, and delivers a detailed statistical profile of the global uranium industry. Covering the calendar years 2021 and 2022, it features data on uranium exploration, resources, and production . The report also includes 62 country profiles, offering in-depth insights into mine development plans, the environmental and social dimensions of uranium mining, and national regulations and policies.
The Red Book indicates that global identified recoverable uranium resources amounted to 7 934 500 tonnes as of 1 January 2023. These represent all reasonably assured and inferred uranium resources that could be recovered at market prices ranging from $40 to $260 USD/KgU (equivalent to $15 to $100 USD/lb U3O8). Compared to the total reported in the 2022 edition, this represents an increase of less than 0.5%. Additions to the uranium resource base could however arise from undiscovered or unconventional sources, driven by the sharp rise in uranium spot prices since mid-2021 and the commitment first announced during COP28 and now signed by 31 countries to triple their nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Worldwide domestic exploration and mine development expenditures have increased dramatically after a period of decline due to poor market conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Annual expenditures reached USD 800 million in 2022 and preliminary data for 2023 suggest a further increase to USD 840 million.
The Red Book also provides projections for nuclear power installed capacity and uranium requirements through 2050, outlining both low-growth and high-growth scenarios, alongside an assessment of uranium supply and demand adequacy under each scenario. According to these projections, the uranium resource base is sufficient to meet the needs of a high-growth nuclear capacity through 2050 and beyond. However, this will require essential investments in new exploration, improved processing techniques and new production centres to replenish reserves.
Production increased 4% between 2020 and 2022 and the report suggests the increase will likely continue in coming years. The establishment of new production centres is anticipated to encounter significant lead times due to today’s risk-averse investment climate, and complex and lengthy regulatory processes in many uranium mining jurisdictions. Geopolitical challenges and technical difficulties related to developing new mines and milling facilities may further compound the situation. As a result, efforts must begin immediately to ensure adequate uranium supplies are available in the medium term.
Notes to editors
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is an intergovernmental agency which operates within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It facilitates co-operation among countries with advanced nuclear technology infrastructures to seek excellence in nuclear safety, technology, science, related environmental and economic matters and law.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Joint NEA/IAEA Group on Uranium (UG) contributes to the preparationof each edition of Uranium – Resources, Production and Demand. The Group also co-ordinates the preparation of periodic assessments of the world’s supply of natural uranium, examines the relationship of these supplies to demand projections and recommends actions that might be taken to ensure adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power development.
FREMONT, Calif., April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems, announced today that it will host a conference call and webcast on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its first quarter 2025 financial results for the period ended March 31, 2025. The live webcast can be accessed on the Enphase Energy Investor Relations website at investor.enphase.com, and a recorded version of the call will also be available there approximately one hour after the call.
What:
Enphase Energy’s First Quarter 2025 Financial Results Earnings Conference Call and Webcast
Enphase Energy, a global energy technology company based in Fremont, CA, is the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems that enable people to harness the sun to make, use, save, and sell their own power — and control it all with a smart mobile app. The company revolutionized the solar industry with its microinverter-based technology and builds all-in-one solar, battery, and software solutions. Enphase has shipped approximately 80.0 million microinverters, and approximately 4.7 million Enphase-based systems have been deployed in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit https://enphase.com/.