Energy Policy Perspectives Vol. 17 - March 24, 2026 At an energy conference yesterday, DOE Secretary Chris Wright announced that the U.S. DOE is on track to have three next-generation nuclear reactor pilot projects reach criticality by July 4 th . This target reflects the Trump Administration’s effort to revitalize the nuclear generation industry via a series of executive orders (EOs) amid rapidly rising power demand from AI/data centers. Criticality is a physics milestone at

Energy Policy Perspectives Vol. 16 - March 20, 2026 Attacks in the Middle East continue to escalate, raising the near and intermediate-term stakes of the Iran war. On Wednesday, Israel hit the key South Pars natural gas field while Iran retaliated with an attack on the Qatari Jas Laffar LNG plant that provides roughly 20% of global LNG deliveries, causing extensive damage and driving a spike in European natural gas prices.  Brent crude oil prices briefly spiked intra-day on T

Energy Policy Perspectives Vol. 15 - March 12, 2026 The Trump administration is pursuing multiple policy initiatives to prevent a major spike in crude oil prices, which peaked Monday at nearly $120/bbl, following the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly 20% of the global oil trade.  To soften the supply shock, the administration’s focus is on preventing the shutdown of shipping of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz and preventing phys

Energy Policy Perspectives Vol. 14 - March 6, 2026 The Trump administration released the Ratepayer Protection Pledge Proclamation on March 4th. The voluntary agreement signed by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, OpenAI, and xAI aims to prevent the expansion of AI data centers from increasing residential and small commercial electricity bills. The Pledge “requires” participating companies to cover the full cost of the incremental generation and grid infrastructure for t

Energy Policy Perspectives Vol. 13 - February 23, 2026 Earlier this month, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (EO): “ Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet ”.  We believe this EO will indeed temporarily slow coal retirements and preserve dispatchable capacity during this period of rapid load growth and infrastructure constraints by providing financial support to many coal plants, some of which had bee

New Managing Director & Head of Midwest Region to be Based in Chicago Office Chicago, IL – February 17, 2026 –  Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (SWS) continues to bolster its position in the municipal finance markets for 2026 with the addition of Eric Avila, who brings 20 years of public finance experience, primarily serving clients throughout the Midwest Region. He joins the firm as Managing Director and Head of Midwest Region.  Eric Avila joins Siebert Williams Shank’s Chicago

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Top Ranked for 2025 in Airports, Transportation, Higher-Ed & Water Sewer Infrastructure Financings Capital Markets Team Raises $400 Billion for Major Corporate-Financial Clients New York, NY –  In a year marked by volatility and resilience, Siebert Williams Shank & Co. (SWS) achieved record-setting deal-based milestones for both corporate and municipal clients, placing it among the top tier of key industry rankings.  An independent non-bank financial services firm that offers