Big energy moves: loans, oil, and legal fights

The U. S. government just set aside $17. 5 billion to build ten new nuclear reactors by 2030. That’s enough power for a city like San Francisco at its busiest moment. The money won’t go straight to power companies. Instead, it will pay for parts that take years to make, like reactor vessels and steam generators. Westinghouse is the only U. S. company with large reactors already running. It will team up with five utilities to order these long-lead-time items now, so plants can break ground fast later. Meanwhile, a long-closed plant in Michigan is trying to reopen. The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant shut down in 2022 after half a century of service. Holtec bought it and says it will restart this summer. If it works, the plant will add 800 megawatts back to the grid. Energy officials also hint that Three Mile Island and a plant in Iowa might come back online by 2027. Restarting old reactors is cheaper than building new ones, but repairs and red tape can slow things down. Oil markets stayed calm today. Seven tankers broadcast their positions as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a sign that ship owners feel safer. Iran has been threatening tankers lately, so turning on the GPS is a bold move. Yet two ships still slipped through without sharing location data. Prices stayed in the low $70s per barrel, showing that traders aren’t panicking—at least not yet.Mexico is considering sending oil to Cuba, breaking a long pause. The island has faced blackouts and shortages for months. The U. S. has tried to block oil shipments to Cuba for years, but Mexico stepped in after Venezuela’s supply dried up. Now Mexico wants to use small private firms instead of state companies to avoid U. S. penalties. Cuba has also announced 176 economic changes to cope with the crisis. Whether these moves will help or just buy time remains to be seen. California is fighting back against the cancellation of a big offshore wind project. The state says the federal buyout deal violates its rights under ocean energy laws. It gave officials 60 days to fix the problem before filing a lawsuit. The administration calls the deal a waste of taxpayer money that kills clean energy projects. Meanwhile, seventeen states sued California over a law that forces plastic packaging to become recyclable by 2032. They say it will raise prices for everyone and overstep state power.