The Trump administration has unveiled an Energy Department reorganization, eliminating two clean energy offices and establishing ones for critical minerals, fusion and hydrocarbons. It also renamed the Loan Programs Office, which will be called the Office of Energy Dominance Financing.

As electricity bills rise, a debate is raging over whether to cut utility profits, with utilities seeking higher returns on equity to attract investments while consumer advocates argue that the returns are already excessive. Utilities warn that lower returns could lead to negative consequences such as credit downgrades and reduced investments, but former Sempra Energy executive Mark Ellis suggests utilities could reinvest more profits instead of distributing dividends.

Meta has started trading power to procure energy for its artificial intelligence data centers. The company aims to accelerate power plant development by committing to long-term contracts, which is key for developers. "Without Meta taking a more active voice in the need to expand the amount of power that's on the system, it's not happening as quickly as we would like," says Meta's Urvi Parekh.

Negotiations at the COP30 summit in Brazil faced a major setback as a fire halted talks during their final scheduled days. Delegates had been working on a draft agreement addressing contentious issues, including climate finance, emissions and trade, but progress stalled with the evacuation and uncertainty over when talks would resume. Observers warn that the lost time exacerbates existing divisions, making it unlikely that negotiations will conclude as planned and raising concerns that any resulting agreement could be watered down.

The House Natural Resources Committee has advanced the SPEED Act, which is designed to accelerate the permitting timeline for energy infrastructure projects. The bill includes a provision that would prevent any president from rescinding already-approved permits, addressing concerns from both parties about the politicization of the permitting process. It now moves to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

The Ohio House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 303, known as the Community Energy Act, with a 73-2 bipartisan vote. This legislation establishes a 1.5-gigawatt pilot program for community energy facilities, aiming to broaden access to local energy generation and offer bill credits to subscribers. The bill, which also includes consumer protections and cost allocation rules, now moves to the Ohio Senate for further review.

Chinese state-owned investors control significant indirect stakes in major Italian utilities such as Snam and Terna, and some officials have expressed concern that the situation could make it difficult for Italy energy companies to expand in Europe. Apprehension has grown as other EU countries, particularly Germany, become more wary of Beijing-linked deals due to security considerations. Some Italian authorities see the Chinese stake as a potential obstacle to cross-border energy partnerships and investments.

The US solar and storage industries remain steady employers, with roughly 464,000 workers in 2024 and significant job growth in states such as Ohio, Georgia, Utah and Texas, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's National Solar Jobs Census. It remains to be seen what type of impact President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Act will have on industry employment levels, but the report serves as a solid baseline.

The construction industry is increasingly adopting Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) as a collaborative project management method, contrasting with traditional methods like Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Design Bid Build