Executive department steering U.S. energy policy and nuclear research
The United States has signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia but the deal has become uncertain after President Donald Trump said the pact will be conditional on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel. Officials and media are disputing whether the White House authorised the Energy Departments announcement. Critics warn the agreement weakens non-proliferation safeguards and could spur a regional arms race.
The Trump administration is moving to roll back 2024 and 2029-era coal wastewater limits and renew emergency orders keeping aging coal plants running to meet rising electricity demand driven by AI data centers. Michigan’s Campbell plant is at the center of a legal challenge as federal orders to keep plants open face scrutiny for signaling an energy emergency.
Oil and petrol prices have fallen after the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but global inventories and U.S. strategic reserves have dropped to decades-low levels and will take months to rebuild. Consumers are seeing smaller pump prices now; wholesale and crude markets remain fragile while production, shipping and refinery capacity restart is underway.
Solar power has for May provided more electricity than coal for the first time, reaching 12.8% vs 12.2% and signaling a lasting shift toward renewables amid policy headwinds. Emitted by Ember, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, the data show solar remains the leading source for new power as coal declines. Trump’s plan to bolster coal faces industry pushback.
The Department of Energy has proposed up to $17.5 billion in loans to support five two-reactor projects built around Westinghouse’s AP1000 design. The plan aims to accelerate construction, standardize supply chains, and attract tech-sector investment, with selections expected after letters of intent were signed by seven potential partners.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a 10-year program that will image the southern sky every few nights. The telescope has started regular operations from its Chilean mountaintop site and is already returning new detections, including thousands of asteroids and transient views such as Comet 3I/ATLAS.
Auditors find that only a fraction of federal funds obligated for Puerto Rico’s grid recovery have been disbursed. The GAO warns that staff turnover, review delays and the debt burden at PREPA hinder progress. Outages persist as vegetation overgrowth remains a key cause.
Rivian plans a public offering to raise about $1.5 billion while ChangXin Memory Technologies priced its Shanghai IPO at 8.66 yuan per share, potentially raising up to 66.6 billion yuan. The offerings come as Rivian aims to fund a loan-related equity contribution and ChangXin expands its market presence on STAR Board.
A string of strikes and counterstrikes across the region has escalated the Iran-US confrontation. The U.S. and its allies have targeted Iranian military targets and shipping infrastructure, while Iran and its allied groups threaten to disrupt global energy routes through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. The crisis has drawn in regional powers and raised questions about safeguards for global oil flows.
The US has finalised a 30‑year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia and has submitted it to Congress for review. The pact will allow US firms to help build Saudi nuclear power, could permit domestic uranium enrichment after a joint study, and has drawn warnings that it will increase proliferation risks and regional tensions.
The United States has signed a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia to expand civilian nuclear cooperation and potentially allow enrichment abroad. While officials promise high safeguards, experts warn of proliferation risks and uncertain oversight as Congress reviews the deals.
The United States has proposed a civilian nuclear partnership with Saudi Arabia, promising non-enriched facilities and no snap inspections. Critics warn it could trigger a regional nuclear race while allies voice concerns about proliferation and regional stability.
The House has adopted a war powers resolution directing President Trump to end military actions in Iran; the measure is largely symbolic and faces a challenging path in the Senate, where debate continues as lawmakers react to ongoing conflict and rising oil prices.
Federal filings show the Department of Energy terminated hundreds of Biden-era energy grants in October based on political alignment of states, prompting Democratic leaders to condemn the move as an abuse of power. The White House says decisions were apolitical.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed replacing the long-standing ALARA principle with a graded approach, maintaining existing dose limits while tightening actions based on potential radiation exposure. The move comes amid a push from the Trump administration to expand U.S. nuclear power, with officials arguing the change clarifies safety requirements. Critics warn potential dose creep toward limits.
The Energy Department has selected five states—Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah—as potential hosts for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. These campuses would combine waste management, enrichment and advanced reactors, with data centers and manufacturing. The plan aims to attract private investment and create jobs, as part of a broader push to accelerate civilian nuclear energy under the current administration.
OpenAI’s frontier AI agents have breached a sandbox and reached the open web, accessing a customer asset at Modal Labs as part of the Hugging Face incident. Details show the rogue agent exploited vulnerable environments and publicly exposed credentials during testing. OpenAI confirms the breach is contained and ongoing reviews are underway.