Catherine Flax

Recent federal actions have redefined the risk profile not only for offshore wind and other renewables but for any major infrastructure project in the US. On August 22, BOEM froze Ørsted’s Revolution Wind at roughly 80 percent completion under a “national security” review, despite binding contracts to deliver over 700 MW of clean power to Rhode Island and Connecticut in 2026. Earlier this year, a Presidential Memorandum imposed a moratorium on all new and renewed federal actions for onshore and offshore wind. Equinor’s Empire Wind, which had secured its Construction and Operations Plan approval and started the construction phase, with seabed preparation, was forced to halt work pending a multi-agency assessment of legal, environmental and security risks. In late August, the Department of the Interior filed court papers to voluntarily remand and vacate its COP approval for US Wind, Inc ’s 2 GW MarWin project off Maryland’s coast, threatening to strip the lease of federal authorization altogether. Insurers are expected to adjust policy wordings by carving out coverage for regulatory stoppages and anticipating notable premium increases. Meanwhile, lenders will likely embed explicit “regulatory risk surcharges” into financing structures, widening spreads and shortening tenors to guard against abrupt policy interventions. Left unchecked, elevated cost of capital could slow project bankability, squeeze returns and delay deployment of critical clean-energy infrastructure. As Jason Grumet from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) warns, when extreme partisan politics derail sound energy policy, there is a material impact on the U.S. image as a reliable place for long-term energy investments https://lnkd.in/eewmEgQH

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FINANCING NEWS: Catalyze, a developer and independent power producer of distributed renewable-energy assets and a portfolio company of EnCap Investments L.P., has closed a $200 million three-year HoldCo revolving and term debt and letter of credit facility from Deutsche Bank. https://lnkd.in/dk9e9BJx

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Exports are playing an increasingly critical role in the U.S. energy industry. This week’s chart highlights the historic rise in U.S. exports of hydrocarbons and biofuels over the past decade. In 2025, that momentum continued as domestic demand remained relatively flat. Key trends in 2025 • LNG exports delivered their largest jump yet, with year-over-year growth near 19% as new liquefaction projects came online.  • Refined products stayed resilient, with exports holding near record levels despite global market volatility.  • NGL exports edged higher, supported by strong petrochemical demand in Asia and Europe.  • Crude oil exports continued to climb, driven by overseas demand and competitive pricing compared to global benchmarks.  • Coal exports remained steady, while policy uncertainty weighed down biofuels exports growth. Exports have become a cornerstone of U.S. energy strategy, influencing where capital flows and how infrastructure evolves. The question now is, how will U.S. producers sustain this advantage as global competition and policy pressures intensify? #OilAndGas #EnergyTrends #EnergyInsights #Biofuels

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With global energy markets in flux - what does this mean for US shale and natural gas? How can private equity unlock new energy infrastructure? Paul Chapman, Executive Director at Enco Insights explores this with Jason Downie from Tailwater Capital LLC in the latest edition of the HC Commodities Podcast - links below ⬇️ 💡 Learn more about Enco Insights' advisory capabilities in oil and gas: https://lnkd.in/d8yqQ7Wi #HCCommoditiesPodcast #EnergyAdvisors #AdvisoryNetwork #ExpertWitness #PrivateEquity #CommodityTrading

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"Market observers are anticipating that oil prices could reach 'demand destruction' levels—so high as to cause consumers and businesses to pull back on oil consumption—to rebalance supply and demand," writes the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4SxbyNQ

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Blaming asset managers for coal’s decline misses a basic reality: it’s no longer economically competitive. It's more expensive to keep an existing coal plant operational than to build a new clean energy plant in most locations (and has been for several years now) even without factoring in the impacts of pollution . The backlash in the US against the sustainable finance sector and #ESG highlights how climate policies are working. Yes, some major firms (BlackRock, State Street, JPMorgan, Vanguard) have stepped back from public climate commitments like @NZAM and @ClimateAction100+, but that doesn’t change the underlying economics or the direction of opportunity. The upside to investing in the clean energy transition still far outweighs the risks with maintaining the fossil fuel status quo. I'm interested to hear what others think on this. 🔹Is investor retreat from climate commitments a sign of pragmatism under the current US government or a short-sighted strategy? 🔹Do you think economic fundamentals without #ESG mandates are enough to drive the clean energy transition? #CleanEnergy #SustainableFinance #EnergyEconomics #ClimatePolicy #NetZero https://lnkd.in/dNRkTy2f

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Do you subscribe to our newsletter? If not, here’s what you’re missing out on: 🔹 Woodside Energy trims costs, boosts output — Sangomar success and strategic sell-downs lift confidence in Louisiana LNG expansion. 🔹 #NetZero rift widens — Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack unite to challenge the 2050 target as Nationals splinter over climate policy. 🔹 #Wind under pressure — Clean energy rebound offset by headwinds facing Australia’s #renewables rollout. 🔹 Chevron's $500m clean-up tab — #BarrowIsland legacy fuels debate over #FossilFuel subsidies and decommissioning risks. 🔹 Cactus Wellhead in the spotlight — Lockyer Deep trial reveals gaps in testing, rogue parts, and project quality breakdowns. All that and more. https://lnkd.in/etZanhq

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The future of US DAC hubs is still in play, but it’s a waiting game. Carbon Direct’s Rory Jacobson tells Carbon Herald what milestones, policy hurdles & tax credit challenges mean for CDR progress. Read more:  https://lnkd.in/dk3XtyBr #CarbonRemoval #DAC #CarbonCapture #Climate #ClimatePolicy

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Natural gas futures fell Friday as market participants looked past outlooks for a near-term spike in demand from returning heat, focusing instead on forecasts for milder temperatures, potential tropical activity, and ample supply heading into September.

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Energy Market Report August 2025: Winter steadied markets. Futures held firm as renewables offset demand, coal outages still drove sharp price spikes, and gas stayed flat at $12–13/GJ with longer contracts carrying slight premiums. Environmental markets split, with LGCs easing, VEECs stable near $96, and ACCUs lifting to $37. Timing is everything. Read the report and move early:https://bit.ly/46nAwoz

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RM Funds has proposed a meeting of it and other Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF) investors to discuss changes to the board following 'sustained underperformance', it said. #energystorage

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Kore Energy Market Report for February 19, 2026: Energy gains on U.S.–Iran tensions. NBP front month up 4.70p to 81.11p; Day-ahead +2.78p. Warmer, windier outlook may cap upside. Brent rises 72c to $71.07. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/d9YhgppE

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For decades, natural gas peaker plants have served as the backbone of grid flexibility, providing fast-response capacity during peak demand and grid contingencies. Their role was unchallenged—until now. By 2026, the rapid decline in battery system costs, combined with advancements in power electronics and system design, has fundamentally rewritten the economics of grid balancing. According to BloombergNEF’s February 2026 Levelized Cost of Electricity report, the global benchmark cost for a four-hour battery project fell 27% year-on-year to $78/MWh—a record low since tracking began in 2009 . In contrast, the benchmark cost for combined-cycle gas turbines rose 16% to $102/MWh, reaching an all-time high . Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have reached a critical tipping point where they outperform gas peakers across nearly every technical and financial metric. This white paper presents a rigorous, data-driven analysis of the battery storage vs gas peaker cost comparison, demonstrating why replacing gas peakers with BESS is now the economically rational choice for grid operators, utilities, and infrastructure investors. https://lnkd.in/gfsTy2B7

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📍 New York Oil investors must understand ESG now Over 80% of companies are maintaining or accelerating climate objectives Deep Sky signed a Direct Air Capture carbon removal deal with Engie Octopus committed $500 million to U.S. reforestation-based carbon removal projects Full story: https://lnkd.in/d3YypJFQ #OilMarkets #EnergyNews #CrudeOil #ESGTrends #WTI #Brent #OilMarketCap

Read our latest blog — a guest piece by Brad Handler, Program Director at the Energy Finance Lab. Brad explores a powerful and timely question: How can the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) help fund orphan well remediation across the United States? There are an estimated 1 million wells in the U.S., most drilled in a pre-regulatory era, that are orphaned and have either never been plugged or not to current standards. States are responsible for plugging and remediation, but the scale far exceeds available resources — even with federal support. 💡 In the blog, Brad explains: 🔺 How the VCM can generate private capital to plug these wells. 🔺 Why methane avoidance from orphan wells meets high-integrity carbon credit standards — it’s measurable, additional, and benefits local communities. 🔺 How the VCM is evolving with stronger standards, transparency, and rising demand from nearly 10,000 companies committed to Net Zero by 2050. 🔺 Why the oil & gas industry is uniquely positioned to lead — improving social license, supporting local jobs, and bringing technical expertise to high-integrity offset projects. 📖 Read the full blog here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gscrxHUb

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The derivatives trading platform for North American commodity markets saw 3.1 billion megawatt hours of power futures and 749,222 lots of environmental futures and options traded in 2025. #energynews #energy

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