The Economic Perspective 5/1/2026

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday! 

Hello and thank you for tuning in to another Economic Perspective! The Balmoral Group was working hard both in the office and out of it this week, and we couldn't wait to share our updates with you. Enjoy!

Team members and their families beat the heat and ran the annual AdventHealth Corporate 5K in Orlando, with top finisher Campbell Cole completing the race with a time of 19:38! Employees from our office locations in Australia and Seattle also competed, virtually, supporting the cause from overseas and across the country. Over 13,000 runners and walkers participated in the competitive event, with proceeds supporting the Track Shack Youth Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (over 100,000 meals were raised!); another way TBG helps to make a difference in our community!

Additionally, TBG attended the 2026 Florida Association of Environmental Professionals (FAEP) in Hutchinson Island; the largest conference the association has ever hosted. TBG presented during three exciting sessions: Economic Valuation of Indian River Lagoon Ecosystems (Valerie Seidel and Cortney Cortez), Apalachicola Watershed Coordination Blueprint: Advancing Ecological Restoration Through Improved Collaboration (Laila Racevskis), and Combatting Natural Disasters: How Resilient Design Can Endure in Rural Areas (Nate Willbur and Sofia Navarro). We also had the privilege to connect with and learn from industry professionals throughout the state about current challenges, opportunities, best practices, and innovation. TBG was proud to support this event as a gold sponsor and looks forward to continuing collaboration with our partners and new connections.

Meanwhile, as the war in Iran continues to put pressure on global supply chains, diesel fuel prices and asphalt binder continue to see dramatic increases. FDOT’s price index has reported a 70% increase in diesel fuel prices from $2.70 per gallon to $4.35 per gallon from March to April and $0.40 increases on binder prices per gallon.

Our articles this week span energy investments, a new citrus protection tool in Florida, more on global conflict, and some climate (and business) news from Washington. Our data visualization covers year-over-year transportation spending in March and some surprising trends.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!

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AI Continues to Push Increased Energy Investments, Particularly with Nuclear

X-energy, a nuclear reactor company has had increased investment interest after raising more than $1 billion and in a single day saw 27% increased share prices. This investment has come despite the company not beginning any construction on nuclear facilities as of now. This frenzy of investment in nuclear energy is not isolated to X-energy either. As AI continues to dramatically increase energy demand, tech companies continue to look for options that can fill the need. Nuclear companies are also gathering investment from the U.S. Department of Energy and other nations as AI demand continues to rise. While backlash has been rising with data center construction the impact on investment has not been fully seen. Read more here and here.

United Arab Emirates Planning to Leave OPEC

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates announced they are planning to leave OPEC effective May 1st. For several years now the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been at odds about production quotas as the UAE has wanted increased production to help with investment in non-oil related industries and development. This combined with political divisions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the Iran War and the ongoing civil war in Yemen have been the final straw that broke the camel’s back that led to the UAE’s exit. The UAE having taken significant attacks from Iran in the ongoing conflict is essentially reinforcing partnerships with Israel and the United States with this move. This move could lead to increased volatility in the global oil markets as OPEC has less control over production now. Read more here and here.

Approval for New Tool to Assist with Citrus Protection

The EPA recently approved a new citrus rootstock that will help defend citrus trees from the greening disease that has devastated Florida’s citrus production. The tool works by making small changes to the tree’s genes that limit the interaction between the bacteria that causes greening and the citrus tree. The hope is that this will limit chemical application creating a safer product. In the previous growing season, it was reported that Florida had the smallest harvest of citrus in over 100 years, and only 5% of what was the peak harvest back in 2004. Read more here.

Washington Emissions Down Thanks to Clean Energy

Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) recently released their 1990-2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report, highlighting a decline in state emissions. From the peak of 108 million metric tons (MMT) to the reported 96.1 MMT in 2022, emissions fell by 12.4%. Interestingly, Washington’s gross domestic product doubled and population increased by 2.2 million over the same period, indicating a new separation of emission and economic trends. Ecology notes that these recent declines are instead likely due to increases in wind, solar, and hydropower, and a decrease in coal. Ecology is planning on releasing annual statewide inventories to increase public access to the data as state efforts to decrease emissions continue. Read more here and read the full report here. (Image source: Washington State Department of Ecology)

New Comprehensive Climate Action Plan Prioritizes Economy and Environment

Washington State Departments of Commerce and Ecology partnered to create a new Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) that aims to both address climate change impacts and boost the economy. Demand for electricity in the state is projected to increase 83% in the next 25 years while water resources will continue to strain under the decreasing snowpack. CCAP addressing these concerns include lowering energy costs and improving both environmental and infrastructure health to increase community resilience, all while saving the state nearly $17 billion. Throughout implementation, it is expected that the CCAP will contribute to the creation of nearly 40,000 new jobs and over $40 billion in income. Read more here and find the full report here. (Image source: Washington State Department of Ecology)

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Data Visualization of the Week

Year-Over-Year Transportation Spending

March 2026 saw $10.1 billion in spending for transportation projects, down from $11.7 billion in March 2025. March 2024 and March 2023 both saw $11.4 billion in spending as well, showing a noticeable decline in transportation construction at this time in the year. Calendar Year Q1 tends to have more variance in spending as governments tend to put out less work. Despite this the value of awards for the last 12 months ending in March 2026 was $146.4 billion compared to $136.6 billion for the 12 months ending in March 2025. Other states have also seen increased spending during this time, again highlighting the variance that occurs during Q1. 25 states saw increases in spending in March 2026, most notably California, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, and New York. Read more here.