Current conditions: The wildfires in Spokane, Washington, have now incinerated 850 structures, most of which were homes • Thunderstorms are rumbling over Des Moines, Iowa, breaking the dense “corn sweat” humidity evaporating off crop fields • Severe storms in Brazil’s southeasternmost Rio Grande do Sul province have left at least one dead.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Trump puts up $2 billion for critical minerals
The paradox of President Donald Trump’s critical mineral policy, as my colleague Matthew Zeitlin put it last year, remains unresolved. His administration did away with the main domestic market signal for minerals by eliminating the electric vehicle tax credit with incentives for U.S. content last year. But the White House has pulled out the stops to support projects that aim to produce lithium, rare earths, and other minerals needed for weapons and energy manufacturing. On Friday, the Department of Defense announced a package worth more than $2 billion in funding for companies churning out batteries and the minerals contained in them. The funding includes $1.4 billion for the battery company Sila Nanotechnologies and $400 million for Sunrise Energy Metals, a producer of scandium, which is needed for high-heat aluminum alloys for fighter jets and spacecraft. “We want these essential products to be mined, refined and made right here in the USA,” Trump said at a press roundtable, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump isn’t the only one throwing money at minerals. The world’s top 50 mining stocks are now worth $2.3 trillion, up $18 billion for the month, according to a Mining.com analysis.
2. Amazon is building America’s biggest gas plant
Amazon is reportedly behind plans to build a data center campus powered by a 7.7-gigawatt gas plant in Texas. In January, the project, known as GW Ranch, received a permit to build a gas plant with a pollution output of 33 million tons of carbon dioxide. While the developer behind the facility had been secret, the clean energy consultancy Cleanview reviewed satellite imagery that identified how much land the project was clearing and matched that to public filings for permits. In a post on X, Michael Thomas, the company’s founder, wrote that he confirmed with Amazon that it had acquired the site and planned to buy power from the plant, which is being developed by Pacifico Energy. “Partnering with GW Ranch marks Amazon’s first major investment in an off-grid data center,” Thomas wrote. “In doing so, the company joins Microsoft, Google, and Meta who have all invested significantly in natural gas power this year.”
3. The U.S. is enduring ‘one of its worst wildfire seasons in years’
The U.S. is facing its most brutal wildfire season in years, with blazes “scorching millions of acres.” That’s according to a new analysis by Bloomberg, which found that the 17 fires raging across Washington State have now displaced more than 60,000 people — roughly 10% of the Spokane area’s population. Across the U.S., there are at least 44,722 fires raging across about 5.2 million acres, data from the National Interagency Fire Center shows.
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4. Kia’s electric minivan is taking over Europe
Ah, the electric minivan. The dream of every emissions-conscious parent or hauler of large things. Rare in America, but taking over Europe. That is, of course, what’s happening with Kia’s PV5. The small electric van now accounts for a third of Europe’s market for similar vehicles. Kia’s first electric van, according to Electrek, is the most popular electric light commercial vehicle on the continent and the United Kingdom.
5. Colombia puts up $5 billion for green hydrogen
Under Colombia’s last president, the far-left Gustavo Petro, the country moved to quash its oil drilling industry and embrace green energy. The new right-wing government of President Abelardo de la Espriella isn’t abandoning the effort. Edwin Palma, the minister of mines and energy, just approved a new National Hydrogen Policy that establishes a roadmap for $5 billion in investments into electrolyzers and other infrastructure through 2031, according to Hydrogen Insight.
THE KICKER
The Mochovce nuclear plant. Janos Kummer/Getty Images
Europe just got another new nuclear reactor. Slovakia split atoms for the first time at its Mochovce-4 nuclear plant after nearly 40 years of on-again, off-again construction, NucNet reported. The Russian-designed reactor could be among the country’s last purchases from the Kremlin-owned Rosatom as the conservative European Union nation embraces U.S. nuclear technology.
The Mochovce nuclear plant. Janos Kummer/Getty Images
