Cerulean Winds has moved toward submitting the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its 1GW Aspen floating offshore wind farm. This follows the completion of aerial surveys of the planned site in the Central North Sea. The developer completed 72 digital aerial surveys (DAS) for both Aspen and its sister projects, Beech and Cedar. This saw ecological data collected from across around 1,077 square miles (2,784 sq km) of ocean. The work was performed by HiDef Surveying using fixed-wing aircraft, taking place between April 2023 and March 2025. HiDef Surveying CEO Nicholas Tompkins said: “Completing 72 digital aerial surveys across these sites marks a significant milestone in offshore wind development. “This large-scale data collection effort supports comprehensive environmental assessments, aiding the consenting process and ensuring sustainable project planning. “By using ultra-high-resolution digital surveying technology, we have achieved precise species identification while minimising environmental impact – reinforcing our commitment to innovation in offshore monitoring.” Environmental impact assessment Having completed the survey stage, Cerulean Winds is now set to submit its EIA for the Aspen project. In addition, the data gathered during the surveys will be used in the assessments for Beech and Cedar’s consenting phase. The findings will also help optimise the project’s designs, such as determining turbine placement and infrastructure planning. Cerulean Winds founding director Dan Jackson: “The completion of this best-in-class work, delivered at scale, is another milestone in the development of the UK’s floating offshore wind industry. The HiDef team have provided the accurate data we need to make our projects as sustainable as possible. “We’re now looking ahead, alongside our consortium of partners, to developing the project and capturing the benefits of a UK-based FLOW industry.” © Supplied by Cerulean WindsDan Jackson, Co-Founder and Director, Cerulean Winds. Aspen, Cedar and Beech, which have over 3GW of capacity between

GB Energy will receive £300 million of funding to invest in domestic supply chains for the UK’s offshore wind sector. The new investment aims to boost jobs, secure manufacturing facilities for critical clean energy supply chains like floating offshore platforms, and according to the UK government, could “directly and indirectly mobilise billions in additional private investment”. The latest funding forms part of the previously announced £8.3 billion for GB Energy over the current parliament, with individual companies able to apply for grants if they can show that they will produce long-term investments in UK supply chains. The fast-tracked funding is being brought forward by prime minister Keir Starmer ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The public investment complements the £43 billion of private investment pledged for clean energy projects since July. Starmer said: “Delivering the Plan for Change means winning the race for the clean energy jobs of the future, which will drive growth and help us reach clean power by 2030. “That is why I am bringing forward much-needed investment in our domestic offshore wind supply chains, strengthening our security and creating good jobs for our welders, electricians, and engineers. “Let my message to the world go out: come and build the clean energy future in Britain.” GB Energy The funding forms part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy and aims to help build the supply chains for components which are essential to delivering clean power by 2030. His comments come as Starmer, along with energy secretary Ed Miliband and GB Energy chairman Juergen Maier will write to global clean energy developers and investors calling on them to invest in the UK’s economy. Energy secretary Ed Miliband added: “It is only by taking back control of our energy that we can protect families and businesses from the rollercoaster of

Oil prices may decline further this year as new production swells and demand remains capped by China’s faltering growth, the head of the International Energy Agency said. While crude futures have recovered over the past two weeks to trade near $68 a barrel on London, they remain roughly 9% below levels traded before President Donald Trump announced a blizzard of tariffs on China and other nations on April 2.  The IEA sees “slow demand growth in the markets, mainly driven by what is happening in China,” Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview with Bloomberg television. “If there are no other surprises, we may expect oil prices to see a downward pressure further.” There’s still lots of uncertainty and a “change in the trade war’s context in a positive direction may increase the global economic outlook, and we may see oil demand slightly higher than what we have now,” Birol said. It’s also hard to predict a direction for Iran’s oil exports amid the country’s talks with the Trump administration, he said.  Birol is visiting London as the IEA and the UK government convene a two-day summit of more than 60 countries and numerous companies to discuss the future of energy security. The Paris-based agency was founded by the US and other oil—importing nations in the 1970s to monitor energy issues. Last year, the IEA — which has predicted that global oil demand will stop growing this decade — drew criticism from some US Republican lawmakers, who accused the agency of focusing on the transition to clean energy at the expense of its core mandate on supply security. Birol said the agency works with the Trump administration and other member nations “in a respectful way,” and that it continues to forecast that oil demand growth will “slow down considerably

Oil fell after a Reuters report that some OPEC+ members will seek an accelerated output increase overshadowed an optimistic turn in trade talks between the US and China. West Texas Intermediate futures sank 2.2% to settle just above $62 a barrel. The report compounded pressure from an earlier item from the news service that Kazakhstan’s newly appointed energy minister said the country is unable to reduce production at its three largest projects, which was later walked back. The commodity pared some losses on a Wall Street Journal report that US tariffs on China could be cut by more than half in some cases. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later told reporters that President Donald Trump hasn’t offered to take down US tariffs on China on a unilateral basis and that a full trade deal with the country may take two to three years. Trump’s earlier comments that he doesn’t plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spurred a relief rally in stocks and provided a floor to crude prices. Oil has declined sharply this month, touching a four-year low at one point, driven by investors’ fears that the onslaught of tariffs and counter-levies between the US and its biggest trading partners will sap crude demand. The drop has been compounded by the OPEC+ alliance’s decision to bring back production at a faster-than-expected pace, reviving concerns about a supply glut. That move was designed to keep perennial overproducers like Kazakhstan in line with their targets, and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said at the time the hike would be just an “aperitif” if those countries didn’t improve their performance. “It’s kind of hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube on this one,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group, in regards to Kazakhstan’s recanting of

Dive Brief: Enphase Energy expects to absorb most of the impact of the Trump administration’s China tariffs this year as it works to line up non-China battery cell supplies by early 2026, CEO Badri Kothandaraman said Tuesday on the company’s first quarter earnings call.  Though Enphase could raise battery prices by 6% to 8% later this year, it plans to bear the brunt of triple-digit duties on cells and other battery materials imported from China, which Kothandaraman said accounts for 90% to 95% of global battery cell supply. Enphase reported a 13% decline in U.S. revenue from Q4 2024 due to seasonality and softening demand, it said, amid broader uncertainty around U.S. trade policy and the fate of U.S. tax credits that benefit domestic battery manufacturers and installers. Dive Insight: Enphase’s geographically diversified manufacturing base provides some tariff protection for non-battery products, such as microinverters and electric vehicle charging equipment, Kothandaraman said on the call. Its battery business does face significant cost increases due to China’s dominance of the battery supply chain, however. Though the company makes about 25% of its batteries in the United States and plans to further increase that share, it remains reliant on China-made cells for now, Kothandaraman said. U.S. battery distributors and energy storage developers were already bracing for higher import duties on Chinese inputs thanks to an expected increase in tariffs imposed during the Biden administration — but the 145% duty on a range of Chinese imports far exceeds the double-digit tariffs Trump threatened during the 2024 campaign. Administration officials suggested this week that China tariffs could decline to 50% to 65% in the near term without offering details on the timing or scope of the potential change. Looking ahead, Enphase must weigh the impacts of import duties against the higher cost of U.S.

Calls have been made for the UK government to provide transitional support for North Sea oil and gas workers by a north-east Scotland MP. Leading a debate in Westminster, MP for Aberdeen north Kirsty Blackman urged the UK government to deliver a clear and credible plan to protect jobs and communities during the energy transition. “As of 2021, direct employment in oil and gas in Aberdeen has declined by nearly one-third since 2015,” Blackman said, citing evidence from the UK’s seventh carbon budget. “Household disposable income has fallen and poverty has increased… some estimates indicate that around 14,000 people in the region will need to have moved to other roles or sectors between 2022 and 2030.” The fate of North Sea oil and gas workers, along with those in services reliant upon extraction, is a key challenge of the UK’s energy transition. The Labour Party previously made banning future North Sea oil and gas licences a key part of its election campaign as it looks to move the country away from fossil fuels towards renewables. Aberdeen North MP, Kirsty Blackman.Photo: PARBUL/PA Wire Addressing the chamber, the SNP MP warned that political uncertainty and a lack of investment are threatening to derail the UK’s energy ambitions, with skilled workers increasingly looking overseas for opportunities. “We are at a tipping point,” Blackman added. “The risk is that these highly mobile, highly paid oil and gas workers will go abroad. They can up sticks and move to another country, because drilling is the same there—even if the carbon cost is higher and conditions are worse.” Support plan Blackman previously gave her backing to Unite the Union’s ‘No Ban Without a Plan’ campaign to preserve oil worker jobs throughout the transition The trade union launched the campaign to create 35,000 commensurate new energy transition