r/energy

When energy expert Michael Webber was a boy, his mom chunked a Houston Oilers mug at his head. She missed. It smashed against the wall and then made him clean up the mess. That's basically what Trump has done to global energy markets, Webber writes in an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle. Here's a key quote:

>One time when I was a kid, my mother threw a Houston Oilers mug at me and my brother. She missed. The mug hit the wall above us and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Instead of apologizing, she screamed at us to pick up the mess she had made.

>That traumatic childhood memory popped into my mind as I was thinking about what President Donald Trump is doing to the global energy system. He smashed it and now is demanding that the rest of the world clean up his mess.

>Both Trump and my mother explained their actions with a “look what you made me do” tone. 

Tldr since its paywalled:

The Sohar LNG tanker is attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz eastward toward Oman's Qalhat LNG terminal. Its the first LNG tanker to try this since the war started. The ship is empty, signaling "Omani ship" on its AIS, and hugging the southern coastline instead of the usual northern route.

Important context though, this isnt supply coming back. An empty tanker repositioning to load at Qalhat is more of a test run than actual relief. Even if it makes it through, qatari exports are still offline and the ras laffan damage means that stays the case for years on some trains.

Still worth watching because if this transit goes smoothly it opens the door for more vessels to attempt crossings. That would be the first real step toward normalizing flows, even partially.

And then use the power during peak. So not even using solar, just having a battery that you use off peak to charge, and then use it during peak times.

China has officially broken ground on what is projected to be the world’s largest hydropower cascade — a 60,000 MW run-of-river system exploiting a 2,000-metre elevation drop over just ~50 km in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.Key engineering highlights:

• 4–5 subterranean diversion tunnels (12–20 km each)
• Expected annual output ~300 billion kWh (nearly 3× Three Gorges)
• Estimated cost: $137–167 billion
• Located <30 km from the Indian border in a seismically active, hyper-biodiverse region

Full independent analysis with technical specs, timeline, environmental risks, and downstream implications for India and Bangladesh:

This news about global crude oil prices potentially staying around $100 a barrel for months, even if the Iran conflict miraculously ends quickly, is really something else. tbh, I thought a resolution there would be the biggest factor in bringing some relief, but this analysis suggests "supply chain issues" are the bigger, more persistent headache now. What exactly are these persistent supply chain issues they're talking about? Is it primarily the Red Sea diversions becoming a permanent fixture, or global refining capacity constraints, or something else entirely in the logistics chain?

For India, this is huge. We're such a massive net importer, and consistently high crude prices just translate directly into higher inflation, a bigger import bill, and eventually, higher fuel prices at the pump for everyone. Our government has tried to manage these costs, but if $100 is the 'new baseline' regardless of active conflicts, how sustainable is that for our economy? It's not just about what subsidies can be managed, but the wider economic impact on manufacturing, transportation, and everyday consumer goods.

What I find particularly interesting is how this shifts the narrative from pure geopolitical risk to more structural, perhaps less visible, bottlenecks in the global energy infrastructure. Are we looking at a long-term recalibration of energy costs globally? Meaning the days of relatively cheaper oil are just fundamentally over due to these deeper, systemic supply chain challenges, rather than just transient wars? How does this constant pressure accelerate or even hinder our own renewable energy transition plans, which also rely heavily on complex global supply chains for components?

Honestly, I'm genuinely curious to hear what others think about this. What real, sustainable options does a country like India have to navigate this kind of 'new normal' where oil prices are structurally high, beyond just hoping for geopolitical stability?

Botley West Solar Farm, which was first pitched in September 2022, has a target of being connected to the grid by autumn 2029.