Solar smashes more records

Hey there,

Thanks for the patience on this one; been a bit busier of late and anticipate being so for much of the summer and fall. As such, I may start sending the news roundups on a biweekly versus weekly basis. TBD. Figured I’d still get this one out as there’s notable movement on the Iran war and its impact on oil market dislocations, plus some sunnier updates on solar power as it continues ‘eating the world,’ as the saying goes. All that and more below.

P.S. - hope all of you have a great father’s day this coming weekend!

ONE STORY IN A SENTENCE AND A CHART

• Solar power overtook gas-fired power in Asia for the first time in April, 2026, though coal-fired power still reigns supreme on the contient. Link.

NEWS, DATA, AND HEADLINES

• El Niño has officially begun, per NOAA, with a modeled 63% probability of sea surface temperatures reaching 2°C above norm, which would constitute a "very strong" event. There’s even a likelihood sea surface temperatures exceed 3°C of warming this year, which would make this year’s the largest El Niño on record. Forecasters warn extreme heat and weather could drive disruptions to food supplies, agriculture, and energy infrastructure, though the predominance of the impact will likely fall into 2027. Link.

• A new UN World Ocean Assessment covering 2021–25 finds the rate of sea level rise has doubled from ~2mm/year to 4.3mm/year, with 16% of total ocean heat accumulation since 1955 taking place after 2018. The report, drawing on nearly 600 scientists across 86 countries, warns of "severe and accelerating" anthropogenic pressure on ocean systems, widespread biodiversity loss, and notes that large-scale ocean current systems, which redistribute heat globally and regulate temperatures considerably, including in places like Europe, are themselves changing in ways that remain poorly understood. Link.

• Antarctica's Bellingshausen Sea is almost completely ice-free during what should be peak winter sea ice expansion season. Satellite data shows ~650,000 sq km of missing ice relative to typical ice extents, though this is the third such record low level in four years. Scientists warn the loss is likely linked to ocean warming—which is particularly intense this year given the mounting El Niño event, and may have intensified a peninsula heatwave last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4°C, more than 20°C above average; one Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania said flatly: "I don't think we will see sea ice there any more. It's done." Link.

Energy market x Iran war updates

• We have a deal! The U.S. and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire and a framework for nuclear talks, with a formal signing ceremony set for Friday in Geneva. The deal includes a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global seaborne oil and LNG trade flows; full shipping volumes will take time to recover, given ongoing mine-clearing operations and the time it will take to rebuild trust generally. There are still many gaps between the parties that they’ll need to work through in the 60-day negotiating window, ranging from terms of nuclear enrichment, uranium stockpile disposal, sanctions relief, and Iran's missile program. Crude oil prices are now at their lowest levels since the war started, with both WTI and Brent trading close to $80. Link. Link.

• The agreement comes right in time, as the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve is approaching critical lows. Specifically, the SPR is hovering around its Biden-era nadir; if it dips further, it will fall to the lowest level since 1983. Link.

→ With that, barring major updates, I’ll stop covering this topic all that closely.

More solar power milestones

• Solar generated more electricity than coal in the U.S. for the first time in history in May, supplying 12.8% of generation versus coal's 12.2%, according to Ember. The Trump administration still won’t let coal go down without a fight; last week, it announced plans to invest $700 million to “revive” the industry. Link. Link.

• New York set a new solar generation record on June 3, with solar meeting approximately 29% of the state's electricity demand around noon, primarily from behind-the-meter systems. That said, the New York Independent System Operator also noted the state’s grid is facing declining reliability margins. Link.

• Qcells has begun commercial production of silicon solar cells at its Cartersville, Georgia facility, the country's only vertically integrated solar manufacturing plant and the largest solar cell factory in the U.S. The plant will reach 3.3 GW of cell capacity by Q3, more than doubling current U.S. operational solar cell capacity. Link.

Elsewhere in energy and electrification

• Ormat Technologies has designed what it says will be the largest geothermal power plant in the industry at 100 MW, double the capacity of Ormat's current largest operating facility. Link.

• The UK is preparing to extend the life of Sizewell B nuclear power station by 20 years; owners and operators ECF and Centrica are close to agreeing a contract-for-difference with the government running from 2035–55 at approximately £70/MWh (~$93.85), a notably cheaper price than the £91.20 that new offshore wind plants in the UK recently negotiated. Link. Link.

• Separately, the new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant faces more potential delays due to, checks notes, fish protection requirements, which could effectively sink the UK government's 2030 grid decarbonization pledge given the plant's expected 7–10% share of UK power supply. Link. Link

• Elsewhere, Canada's Bruce nuclear power station brought its Unit 3 CANDU reactor back online after refurbishments completed seven months early and $107 million under budget, a welcome contrast to other recent nuclear projects in North America and Western Europe. Link.

• Battery startup ZincFive has announced plans to go public via a SPAC formed by SparkLabs Group at a $600 million pre-transaction valuation. If successful, it will raise ~$125 million. The company makes nickel-zinc batteries that are capable of faster charge/discharge cycles and feature lower flammability than lithium-ion. It hopes to sell to data center and AI infrastructure applications (who doesn’t right now). Link.

• Hawaii's average electricity bill hit $248 in May, up from $203 in April. The state's dependence on imported oil both for transportation and for power generation makes it uniquely exposed to price spikes. Electricity prices reached 52 cents/kWh, more than triple the national average of 17.5 cents, though with oil prices now falling, perhaps the state will see some relief soon. Link.

Policy

• Trump's DOJ is abandoning its appeal of a federal court ruling that vacated the president's offshore wind permitting moratorium, filing a motion to dismiss on June 10 after failing to submit an opening brief by the court's deadline. The order pausing permits and authorizations for offshore wind projects remains vacated, though the withdrawal of areas eligible for new leasing remains in effect. Link.

• The Department of Energy has also reversed the termination of 11 clean energy grants to states that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, following a court ruling that the cancellations violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. The DOE itself admitted that projects being located in "blue states" was cited as part of its justification for the cancellations; red state projects had also been targeted in the original cuts. Link.

• The White House released draft regulations that would give political appointees final approval over federal research grants across government agencies; analysts worry the changes will stymie scientific research generally. Link.

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott has recommended sweeping data center reforms to state regulators, including requiring new facilities to add power to the grid, mandating closed-loop water systems, repealing data center sales tax exemptions, requiring annual reporting of electricity and water use, and making data centers pay their own interconnection costs. Link.

• The EU plans to extend its Emissions Trading System to cover foreign airlines flying to and from the region as part of a broader ETS reform package due July 15, aligned with the EU's 90% emissions reduction target for 2040. Link.

Transportation

• BYD Executive VP Stella Li told CNBC that China's EV market penetration could "very quickly" approach 80%, after already reaching 53% in 2025, up from just 6% in 2020. China's EV exports surged 78% in Q1 year-over-year, and BYD's new-car registrations in Europe jumped 115% in April, outpacing Tesla's 47% growth in the region. Link.

• The U.S. added BYD, Alibaba, and 186 other Chinese firms to the Pentagon's Section 1260H list of companies deemed to have ties to the Chinese military, flagging them as potential national security risks. The listing does not trigger immediate sanctions but alerts American organizations to risks of doing business with the named firms; BYD and Alibaba have both disputed their inclusion. Link

• General Motors made a strategic investment in sodium-ion battery startup Peak Energy, to explore alternative battery chemistries both for cars and for expansion into grid energy storage applications. Link.

• Einride, the 10-year-old Stockholm-based developer of electric autonomous freight vehicles and fleet software, has begun trading on Nasdaq following a SPAC merger valuing its equity at $1.35 billion. Shares traded up 70% in its first session. Investors include EQT Ventures, Northzone, Temasek, Norrsken VC, NordicNinja, and IonQ. Link.

Other noteable financing rounds

• Iceye, based out of Espoo, Finland, raised ~$520.5 million in a new quity round at an $11.6 billion valuation, alongside a $636 million secondary share sale, for its synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation that provides all-weather Earth observation data. General Atlantic led. Link.

• Climate First Bancorp, based out of St. Petersburg, Florida, raised a $67 million round co-led by Wellington Management and AllianceBernstein for its climate-focused bank and fintech platform. Specifically, it provides solar project financing and sustainable lending to community banks, credit unions, CDFIs, and green banks. Link.

• Endurance Energy, based out of Seattle, raised $54 million in Series A funding led by Founders Fund to develop deep-ocean geothermal energy systems near tectonic plate boundaries. Ascend, Construct Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Point72 Ventures, Riot Ventures, and Voyager Ventures also participated. Link.

• Evotrex, based out of Los Angeles, raised $30 million in Series A funding from GSR United Capital, Forebright Concerto Capital, TTGG Ventures, and Pegasus Capital, for its hybrid battery-powered RV travel trailers. Link.

• Galvany Energy, based out of Berlin, raised a €10 million (~$11.6 million) seed round co-led by SET Ventures and AENU to integrate acquisition, installation, and management of heat pump systems for multifamily buildings. Link.

• Skyfora, based in Helsinki, Finland, developing advanced atmospheric sensing technology to enhance weather forecasting and climate monitoring, raised €6.5 million (~$7.5 million) in a round led by Ugly Duckling Ventures, with Eviny Ventures, LUMO Labs, the European Innovation Council, and Business Finland participating. Link.

• Granarium Technologies, based out of Helsinki, raised €1 million (~$1.16 million) in pre-seed funding led by BSV Ventures to develop and commercialize nanocellulose-based supercapacitors from waste biomass for fast-response grid stability and industrial power quality applications, Beamline, FiBAN, EstBAN, and LatBAN also participated. Link.

My best,

— Nick