In brief | 6 May '26

IRENA: 24/7 Renewables outcompete fossil fuels on costs

New IRENA report confirms the cost-competitiveness of round-the-clock renewable power through hybrid solutions of solar and wind with battery storage.

Reuters: EU energy ministers to discuss domestic gas drilling, document says

European Union countries' energy ministers will take the unusual ‌step of discussing domestic natural gas production next week, as governments seek ways to limit the economic impact of the Iran war.

Bloomberg: ECB’s Lagarde urges Europe to cut reliance on energy imports

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said soaring energy costs due to the Iran war should act as a wake-up call for Europe to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and energy imports.

Reuters: Europe's solar glut shunts power system into tricky new transition phase – commentary

Steadily rising solar generation is no longer just displacing fossil fuel output. It is ‌reshaping how Europe's electricity prices behave and power markets function, writes Gavin Maguire.

Notes from Poland: The ETS bogeyman: is the EU’s climate tool as costly as the Polish right claims?

The ETS has become drawn into growing political and public debates over rising energy costs, climate policy and Poland’s broader relationship with Brussels.

Bloomberg: Germany’s Klingbeil renews call for EU windfall tax on energy

German vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil continued to push for a European Union windfall tax to cushion the fallout from the energy price spike for households and companies.

The Guardian: ‘Stuck in the mud’: one year on, Friedrich Merz struggles to find his footing

Just 19 percent of Germans approve of the chancellor’s leadership – with some of his comments causing offence amid spats with the White House. 

The Times: Will Germany resurrect the Nord Stream pipelines? 

Economy minister Katherina Reiche said the government "will do everything in our power to ensure that [a return of Nord Stream] does not materialise,” but Germany had carried out a report into the technical feasibility of resuming the gas supply, reports The Times.

Reuters: Britain's Octopus Energy invests 584 million euros in European wind portfolio expansion

Octopus Energy Generation said it had invested 584 million ​euros to acquire a portfolio ‌of onshore wind farms across France, Germany and Poland, as part of a push to ​expand renewable energy capacity in ​Europe.