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Crude Oil Prices Plummet // Americans Support for More Nuclear Power
Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: Global sell-off sinks crude oil prices, a majority of Americans support the expansion of nuclear power, and Xcel’s data center pipeline.
Crude Oil Prices Plummet
Fears of a recession have pushed crude oil prices down in the U.S.
Friday’s unfavorable jobs report found that hiring slowed down and the unemployment rate reached the highest level since May 2021 (4.3%) in July. With fears of a recession looming, global equity markets have been selling off and on Monday the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all slid. The VIX—Wall Street’s fear gauge—jumped to its highest level since 2020 before pairing back somewhat.
Oil prices have also been impacted by the global sell-off, closing at $73 per barrel on Monday—the lowest level since February 5. This marks the fourth straight week that oil futures have declined.
To be sure, geopolitical concerns, including Iran’s response to Israel’s assassination of a Hamas official on Iranian soil, are also fueling crude’s price decline. OPEC+, who has hinted at increasing production in October, is now unlikely to go forward with this plan, according to Spencer Kimball of CNBC.
Majority of American Public Favors Nuclear Energy
A new poll from the Pew Research Center found that 56% of Americans favor the expansion of nuclear power, a share that is statistically unchanged from last year.
While a surprisingly large share, nuclear’s support pails in comparison to other clean energy sources. According to the poll, 76% and 72% of Americans favor the expansion of solar and wind, respectively. Since 2020 support for these two renewables has fallen by double digits.
A party breakdown below:
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Conversation Starters
Policies to improve nuclear power’s momentum (RealClearEnergy)
With the passage of the ADVANCE Act, nuclear’s prospects look bright in the U.S. However there is still more work to do to put it on an even playing field with other energy sources.
Xcel draws for 6.7 gigawatts of data centers (UtilityDive)
The utility has 6.7 GW worth of data centers in the pipeline, driven by requests from Meta and Microsoft. Xcel has stated that it will need to build more transmission and generation to meet this demand, the cost of which is still being calculated.
South Africa announces new energy strategy (Power Magazine)
Last week South Africa announced that it would emphasize new nuclear and renewable projects to bolster its grid and shift away from coal-fired generation. 86% of South Africa’s electricity was generated by coal in 2021, according to IEA.
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