** Politico reports President Donald Trump used the world stage this week to sell American oil and gas. But U.S. oil and gas producers are increasingly feeling sour about the president. A quarterly survey of oil and gas companies released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas quotes industry executives who blast Trump on everything from tariffs and policy uncertainty to his attacks on renewable energy.
** In December of 2021, the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in Colorado’s Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County. Nearly four years later, a settlement involving Xcel Energy has been reached. The Denver Gazette’s Michael Braithwaite reports that Xcel Energy will pay “north of $640 million to resolve all the pending litigation,” with $350 million of that to be funded by the organization’s insurance. Xcel holds steadfast in their statement that their equipment did not cause or contribute to the fire, not admitting any wrongdoing, fault, or negligence.
** The estimated completion date on a $17.98 million project to increase barge capacity at the Port of Van Buren in Arkansas is running about a month and a half behind schedule, according to project planning documentation provided to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
** In the face of mounting criticism from governors, Manu Asthana, the president and CEO of the PJM Interconnection, said states need infrastructure siting and permit reform to make sure the PJM Interconnection has enough power to meet their needs, reports Utility Dive.
** Records show Tesla last year successfully pressured Nevada regulators to drop proposed rules that would have affected the firm’s battery production operations at its Gigafactory east of Reno.
** California developer KDC Solar Madera files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but plans to continue operating.
World
** Puerto Rico’s first solar module manufacturing facility will soon begin operations, where US company Solx will produce an annual 700 MW to 800 MW. The company said it will begin expansion into the US mainland in 2026, with a goal to reach 10 GW of manufacturing capacity by 2030.
** Eight international oil companies (IOCs) that represent together with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) share more than 90 percent of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s oil production announced that they have reached in principle interim agreements with the Government of Iraq (GOI) and the KRG to resume exports via the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline.
** Kuwait’s solar capacity, which stands at around 50 MW today, is expected to surpass 1 GW in 2029 before increasing rapidly over the first half of the next decade to surpass 10 GW by 2035, according to forecasts made by Rystad Energy.
** Thieves stole 50 km of cable worth about €100,000 ($117,400) from an 11 MW solar project in southern Germany, with repair costs expected to exceed the material loss, according to police.
