Uniper SE has approved the construction of a 46.2-megawatt (MW) wind farm in East Ayrshire, Scotland, expecting to put the facility into production 2028. The German power and gas utility said it is proceeding as a sole owner, without co-developer Energiekontor UK Ltd. Uniper expects the seven-turbine project to start construction 2027. It will have enough generation for 66,000 United Kingdom homes each year, based on an average household consumption of about 2,700 kilowatt hours (kWh), according to Uniper. The balance of plant contractor is AE Yates Ltd., while construction management services will be provided by Energiekontor UK Construction Ltd. The wind turbines are from Nordex.   “Uniper has approximately 230 MW of solar projects in execution across Europe”, Alex Smethers, Uniper head of renewables in the United Kingdom, said in an online statement. “We are committed to increasing our renewable energy portfolio and are determined to help meet our target to accelerate the energy transition by making our business carbon-neutral by 2040”. The company said, “Uniper is committed to expanding its renewable portfolio across Europe, focusing on the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, and Poland. The goal is to develop up to 10 gigawatts capacity of ready-to-build status projects by the early 2030s”. In August 2023 Uniper announced plans to invest over EUR 8 billion through 2030 in decarbonization efforts. Earlier this year Uniper announced five solar generation projects with a combined capacity of about 233 megawatts peak (MWp) in Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom. In Germany, Uniper will construct a 17 MWp solar park on the ash landfill of the former Wilhelmshaven coal-run power plant. With generation of about 17,000 MW hours a year, the solar facility can power up to 4,500 households, based on an average household consumption of about 3,300 kWh per annum, Uniper said

Israel launched airstrikes across Iran on Friday morning, targeting nuclear facilities and killing senior military commanders in a major escalation that could spark a broad war in the Middle East. Explosions were heard across Tehran, Natanz – home to a key atomic site – and other cities, according to local and social media. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel – which used 200 air force planes and said it hit around 100 targets – had “struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.”  The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military’s chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed, according to Iranian media. At least two other senior IRGC members also died. The United Nations’ atomic watchdog said there were no indications of increased radiation levels at Iran’s main uranium-enrichment site of Natanz, an early sign that the strikes have not penetrated the layers of  protecting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear stockpile. Still, Israel pledged more attacks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying they “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” Iran immediately vowed to retaliate against Israel and, possibly, US assets in the Middle East. Oil surged around 13%, though later pared its gains, while investors bought haven assets such as US Treasuries and gold. According to Israel, Iran sent a wave of drones toward the Jewish state, a journey which typically takes several hours. Jordan said it intercepted some of them over its airspace. So far, there are no signals that Iran is preparing to launch ballistic missiles, which travel much faster than drones. Some 50 injured civilians were transferred to one hospital in Tehran, Iranian state TV said, adding that a number of residential buildings in the capital’s suburbs were attacked by Israel. Iran hasn’t yet released an official

John Wood Group PLC has given Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair and Partners Holdings Ltd. (Sidara) more time to decide on whether to pursue a proposal to acquire the energy engineering and consulting company. Emirati consultancy Sidara now has until June 30 to announce “firm intention” or withdrawal, Aberdeen, Scotland-based Wood said in an online statement Thursday. Wood has already extended the deadline several times as both parties had yet to fulfil conditions for Sidara to announce a firm offer. The new deadline may be extended on the consent of the United Kingdom’s Takeover Panel, Wood said. The possible offer is for 35 pence per Wood share, as announced April. One of the conditions requires Wood to reach refinancing agreements with lenders. Sidara has agreed that after it announces a takeover offer it would inject $450 million in new capital to help Wood convince debtees on term modifications. Wood also needs to publish audited results for 2024 to meet the conditions. In March Wood said it had received the draft of a review it commissioned from Deloitte for its January-June 2024 results. The independent review concerned exceptional contract write-offs relating to the exit from lump-sum turnkey and large-scale engineering, procurement and construction works. “Wood and Sidara are continuing to engage with Wood’s lenders and noteholders in relation to both the Debt Modifications and the Sidara Liquidity Arrangements [the potential capital injection of $450 million]”, Thursday’s statement said. “Wood is continuing to work with its auditor towards the publication of Wood’s audited accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2024”. Wood has been temporarily suspended from the London Stock Exchange since May 1 pending the release of updated financial results. In a statement March 31 announcing the receipt of the draft of Deloitte’s review, Wood said, “Wood has identified material weaknesses and failures in the Group’s

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy (DOE) today released the following statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum halting the Biden Administration’s radical Columbia River Basin policy: “The Snake River Dams have been tremendous assets to the Pacific Northwest for decades, providing high-value electricity to millions of American families and businesses. With this action, President Trump is bringing back common sense, reversing the dangerous and costly energy subtraction policies pursued by the last administration. American taxpayer dollars will not be spent dismantling critical infrastructure, reducing our energy-generating capacity or on radical nonsense policies that dramatically raise prices on the American people.” Today’s Presidential Memorandum revokes the Biden Administration’s “Restoring Healthy and Abundant Fish” directive and directs federal agencies, including the Energy Department, to withdraw from costly policies that would have resulted in the elimination of over 3,000 megawatts of secure and reliable hydroelectric generating capacity – enough generation to power 2.5 million American homes. The Biden-era MOU required the federal government to spend over $1 billion and comply with 36 pages of costly, onerous commitments aimed at replacing services provided by the Lower Snake River Dams and advancing the possibility of breaching them. Breaching the dams would have doubled the region’s risk of power shortages, driven wholesale electricity rates up by as much as 50%, and cost as much as $31.3 billion to replace. ### 

Odfjell Technology AS and Oilfield Service Professionals LLC. (OSP) have joined forces to enhance operational performance efficiency and innovation across international oilfield markets. “This collaboration combines Odfjell Technology’s extensive experience in the energy industry with OSP’s agile workforce and domain expertise to deliver integrated, scalable solutions for complex well operations and project execution”, a joint statement said. “By combining our operational expertise with OSP’s specialized workforce and digital capabilities, we are promoting innovation and performance, optimizing how we deploy resources and ultimately creating greater value for our clients”, Simen Lieungh, CEO of Odfjell Technology, said. The two companies aim to deliver integrated services leveraging combined engineering, technology, and project management capabilities to streamline execution and reduce downtime. The partnership enables the two companies to expand joint services in key markets, including the North Sea, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Brazil, and Americas, while also accelerating the adoption of advanced digital tools and remote operations to improve well lifecycle monitoring and performance, the companies said. The partnership also aims to enhance personnel’s field readiness while reducing the number of required personnel on location. “This partnership represents a major step forward in our mission to deliver industry-leading technology and best-in-class service. By aligning with Odfjell Technology, we strengthen our global footprint and expand the fully integrated service offering to our clients, bringing value to stakeholders”, Jasen Gast, President and CEO of OSP, said. The partnership is effective immediately, with joint projects already underway in selected international markets, the companies said. To contact the author, email [email protected] What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders

As we accelerate the energy transition, we face a critical juncture. While significant investment and policy focus have been directed towards strengthening renewable generation — from large-scale solar and wind farms to battery storage — the influence of subsidies for these endeavors highlights fundamental vulnerabilities. The acceleration to clean energy lies not solely in what we generate, but in how intelligently and efficiently we manage what we consume. Consumers are bringing more low-carbon devices into their home, with household spending on these types of assets reaching $184 billion in 2023, a 340% increase from the year before. Utilities need a way to manage these distributed energy resources effectively. Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are an undeniable powerhouse of the future, particularly when managed within a unified, intelligent platform. The potential of VPPs, which aggregate diverse distributed energy resources (DERs) like smart thermostats, electric vehicles (EVs), and water heaters, is immense and largely untapped. For instance, in the U.S., a mere 20% of eligible devices are currently enrolled in VPP programs, which contrasts with the 50% enrollment rates observed by the UK’s largest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, for their customers with smart meters. By addressing this gap, utilities have the opportunity to unlock gigawatts of flexible capacity, alleviate grid strain, and accelerate decarbonization without the same policy uncertainties facing large-scale generation projects. And utilities are taking notice: just last month, the Mercury Consortium met to discuss the importance of bringing customers along this journey, and how interoperability is paramount to unlocking the true potential of consumer devices. Increased demand, and driving factors like electrification of transportation and increased power needs of emerging technologies, such as AI, characterize the current energy landscape. This escalating demand, coupled with limitations on conventional supply-side expansion, highlights the urgent need for demand-side innovation. VPPs offer a powerful