** NextEra Energy plans to make improvements to the original design of an Iowa nuclear plant that closed in 2020 following damage from a major storm as it looks to restart the facility.
** A coalition of 143 solar companies and industry representatives call on Congress to override a Trump administration policy that they say threatens hundreds of solar projects that touch land managed by the Interior Department.
** Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said China has an AI infrastructure advantage over the U.S., namely in construction and energy. While the U.S. retains an edge on AI chips, he warned China can build large projects at staggering speeds. While it takes 3 years to build a data center in the U.S., Huang says China can build a hospital in a weekend.
** Clean energy industry officials ask Congress to overrule a Trump administration policy subjecting proposed solar and wind projects on federal land to increased scrutiny.
** A pipeline fails in southern Monterey County, California, spilling more than 4,000 gallons of oil and related wastewater.
** Arkansas’ largest not-for-profit health care organization invests in a 13 MW solar farm, which it expects will provide about half of its energy needs.
World
** Bulgarian maritime authorities on Saturday launched efforts to evacuate the crew of the oil tanker Kairos stranded off the Black Sea port of Ahtopol and believed to be part of the “ shadow fleet ” used by Russia to evade international sanctions linked to its war in Ukraine. Last week, the Gambian-flagged 274-meter Kairos caught fire after an alleged attack with Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea near the Turkish coast.
** The protective shield built around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in Ukraine can no longer do its job to confine radioactive waste as a result of a drone strike earlier this year, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
** As Bloomberg reports, local law enforcement is hunting down about 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining operations in Malaysia, which they say have stolen around $1.1 billion in electricity over the last five years.
** The Falkland Islands is set to open its first major oil field using a North Sea drilling ship, with hopes of unlocking a windfall equivalent to £1m per islander. Navitas, the lead operator of the Falkland’s field, has told investors it has signed contracts to move the Aoka Mizu floating production vessel from Shetland to the Falklands and plans a formal “final investment decision” this month.
** Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, meaning another winter of power outages for Ukrainians as Vladimir Putin tries to crush their resolve.