Hi there,

No cheeky intro today, I’m tired and wrapping this up late on a Sunday night 🥱 . Here’s the news I took the most stock of over the past couple weeks:

• The coming El Niño is shaping up to be a doozy, could well be the strongest on record by a wide margin (the National Weather Service putting the odds above 80% that it ranks among the largest since 1950), and might push global temperatures into truly outrageous ranges for the end of 2026 and the comprehensive 2027 average (via Zeke Hausfather). Link.

• Parts of northern Russia near the Arctic Circle hit temperatures above 90°F. Scientists point to sea-ice-loss feedback loops, among others such as permafrost thaw, as part of the reason the Arctic is warming up to four times faster than global averages. Link.

• University of Miami researchers put the odds at 35-40% that a single month in early 2027 could push global average warming past 2°C for the first time, as the emerging El Niño intensifies. Link.

• Nearly 65,000 people have been evacuated near Spokane, Washington, as wildfires that destroyed more than 800 structures. Link.

• Austria and Slovakia both set new temperature records above 41°C amid a sweltering central European heatwave and South Korea logged its hottest-ever temperature (42.5°C). Link. Link.

• Europe's rivers are running dry amid a third major summer heatwave: the Rhine hit its lowest level since 1880, stranding cargo barges and straining thermal power plants, while low Danube flows are hitting freight, hydropower, and nuclear across the region. For one example, Hungary shut down its only nuclear plant, which normally supplies 40% of the country's power, after drought dropped Danube cooling-water levels, forcing a scramble for fossil and more imported power. Link. Link. Link.

• California hit a world-first solar milestone, as solar supplied 51% of the state's electricity generation across the month of May. Accelerating battery energy storage penetration rates have also helped enable higher utilization. Link.

• Record heat pushed Chinese electricity demand to new highs across the north and east during the country's second-hottest July on record. Link.

• The average U.S. electricity bill hit an all-time high of $217 in July, up from $177 in June, per Heatmap/MIT data. Link.

• Developer Eolian Energy broke ground on Flint Grid, a 1 GWh battery storage project near Columbus, Ohio, that would be the first large-scale battery system to qualify for PJM's capacity market and the largest in PJM territory to date. Link.

• Dominion Energy's 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project pushed its final-turbine timeline to early 2027, citing weather and vessel scheduling rather than construction-rate issues. Link.

• RWE agreed to give up three East Coast and West Coast offshore wind leases in exchange for $1.22 billion from the federal government, the fifth such Trump administration deal to unwind offshore wind. The company says it will redirect capital toward a $900 million stake in a Louisiana LNG project. As we’ll see further down in the policy section, this may get contested down the line in some capacity. Link.

• A Canadian Solar subsidiary opened a $1 billion solar cell manufacturing plant in southern Indiana expected to create 1,200 jobs. Link.

• Home electrification startup BlocPower is reportedly exploring an asset sale and/or restructuring after losing nearly $737,000 last year and losing considerable momentum on sales and growth. Link.

• China approved 8 new nuclear reactors, six of which will use its homegrown Hualong One design. These are its first approvals under the new 2026-30 Five-Year Plan, and bring its fleet up to 59 operating reactors (62.5 GW) and 35 under construction (41.9 GW). Link.

• Oklo's low-power test reactor in Texas achieved its first sustained nuclear reaction, making it the fifth company to reach criticality under the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program. Link.

• Westinghouse filed confidential IPO paperwork just weeks after rival reactor developer Holtec filed its own S-1. Link. Link.

• NuScale Power reported Q2 revenue of just $75,000, badly missing the $8.9 million analysts expected. Link.

• Fusion startup Thea Energy won a $20 million DOE ARPA-E award to scale U.S. manufacturing of its high-temperature superconducting magnets, which it plans to mass-produce for its planned "Eos" stellarator system. Link.

• Amazon confirmed it's behind a massive off-grid gas power plant in Pecos County, Texa; specifically, it’s building a 7.65 GW natural gas-fired facility permitted to emit up to 33 million tons of CO2 annually to power a new AI data center campus. This would be one of the largest power plants in the nation, especially if you take out hydropower (dams). Amazon is also in talks for a 4.5 GW gas plant in Homer City, Pennsylvania. Link. Link.

• Anthropic is reportedly in advanced talks to borrow $15 billion from a Morgan Stanley-led bank group, backed by Google guarantees, to build a Texas data center and power complex that includes a 1.6 GW gas plant. Link.

• PJM, the largest U.S. grid operator, will start temporarily cutting power to data centers drawing 50+ megawatts during shortages beginning June 2027, after one of its capacity auction failed to secure enough new generation. Link.

• Opposition to AI data centers is reshaping U.S. politics and policy: progressive primary wins in Michigan and Kansas, a new Texas moratorium that could delay a fifth of the state's data center pipeline, New York's year-long halt on large-facility permitting, and more than 530 local ordinances nationwide restricting server farms. Link.

• AI companies are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into recruiting and training electricians and other tradespeople for data-center construction, where pay runs 42% above comparable roles. Link.

• The D.C. Circuit ruled the Trump administration can't terminate the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and must keep money flowing to green-bank nonprofits as the case proceeds, though this case could well still reach the Supreme Court. Link.

• Court documents show the Trump administration admitted it pulled $7.6 billion in clean energy funding from 16 states “based solely” on the fact that those states backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Link.

• A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to resume reviewing onshore wind permits after it ussed a halt in May, citing that the government missed statutory deadlines. Link.

• Police across five Amazon Basin countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) arrested 839 people and seized more than 280,000 cubic meters of illegal timber and 195 metric tons of minerals in one of the largest environmental-crime crackdowns ever. Link.

• BYD posted a 22% year-over-year jump in July EV sales based on overseas strength, even as domestic demand softens. Tesla's European sales have meanwhile recovered due to higher fuel prices, despite Europeans’ distrust of Elon Musk. Link. Link.

• Reuters analysis also suggests China's EV export boom is starting to visibly dent global gasoline demand. Link.

• Uber confirmed it will invest more than $10 billion in robotaxi efforts, even as its stock dropped on a disappointing Q3 profit outlook. Link.

• California's MyFirstEV program will offer $3,500 rebates on new EVs priced under $50,000 and $1,750 on used EVs under $25,000, replacing some of the subsidies previously offered at the national level. The program will be funded half by the state and half by automakers including Ford, GM, Toyota, and Tesla. Link.

• Ford unveiled a new compact electric pickup called the Fathom, built by a Tesla-alum-staffed "skunkworks" team, starting at $28,350 (just under $30,000 with delivery). It's slated to arrive in 2027, with preorders opening early next year. While the car is relatively cheap, the full cost is not; Ford is pouring a massive amount of money and resources into this bet. Link.

• Zoox began charging fares for its driverless robotaxi in Las Vegas after clearing a key federal exemption. The company has logged 3 million free miles and nearly 1 million rides across four other cities. Link.

• Lyft and Baidu began testing autonomous vehicles in London, joining Waymo and Uber in bringing robotaxi plans to the city this year. Link.

• Base Power, based out of Austin, Texas, closed a $1 billion equity financing round, pushing its valuation to $13 billion. Link.

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems, based out of Devens, Massachusetts, raised a fresh $1 billion equity financing round, mostly from new investors (predominantly pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and industrial partners. Link.

• Valar Atomics, based out of El Segundo, California, closed a $1 billion Series B led by Sequoia Capital, to make small modular nuclear fusion reactors. Link.

• Antora Energy, based out of Sunnyvale, California, raised a $550 million Series C co-led by G2 Venture Partners and Eclipse to make industrial thermal battery systems. Link.

• Antares, based out of Torrance, California, raised a $470 million Series C co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital to make nuclear microreactors. Link.

• Mariana Minerals, based out of San Francisco, raised a $310 million Series B led by Khosla Ventures to make software for mineral mining and refining. Link.

• Moove, based out of Dubai, raised $250 million in equity funding co-led by Mubadala and Woven Capital to expand its network of self-driving vehicle service hubs. Link.

• Claros Technologies, based out of Minneapolis, raised a $55 million Series B led by Treehouse Family Capital to break down and detect PFAS "forever chemicals" in wastewater. Link.

• Ore Energy, based out of Amsterdam, raised a $43 million Series A led by Plural to scale its iron-air battery technology. Link.

• Chargepoly, based out of Aix-en-Provence, France, raised €23 million (~$26.7 million) for its EV fast-charging network for trucks and buses. Meridiam led. Link.

• AEM, based out of Washington, U.K., raised £16 million (~$20.5 million) led by Barclays Climate Ventures to make electric motors without rare-earths. Link.

• Buzz Solutions, based out of Palo Alto, California, raised $20 million in a Series A led by S3 Ventures for its AI-based energy infrastructure imaging platform. Link.

• Metr, based out of Berlin, raised €10.5 million (~$12.2 million) in Series B funding from SBG, IBB Capital, and Brawo Capital for its building energy-efficiency IoT platform. Link.

• Naked Energy, based out of London, raised £8.9 million (~$11.4 million) led by Great British Energy for its rooftop solar-thermal systems. Link.

• Perceptual Robotics, based out of Bristol, U.K., raised $5.3 million from Investing for Purpose, Loggerhead Ventures, and One Planet Capital to use drones to inspect wind turbine blades. Link.

• Fast Metals, based out of Stamford, Connecticut, raised in $4.3 million in pre-seed funding from New Climate Ventures to recover valuable minerals from aluminum-refinery waste. Link.

Bye,

— Nick