Lazard’s Bilicic on Iran War Impact on Energy Investment and Renewables
Speakers
Summary
- CERAWeek conference shows high cross-sector relevance, with utilities, super majors, power companies, and lower 48 operators all engaged in each other's topics.
- Strong client appetite for infrastructure investment, with a dominant theme on how to deploy capital effectively in base infrastructure, electricity generation, and delivery.
- War in the Middle East is causing hesitation and uncertainty; if prolonged, it could disrupt systems and pause merger transactions in traditional energy.
- Valuations in traditional energy are "all over the place" due to geopolitical uncertainty.
- Technology companies (e.g., AI, data centers) are innovative in securing power but recognize challenges as the U.S. has "forgotten how to build things."
- Renewables face undeserved bearish sentiment; they are the quickest resource to the grid and remain cheap, but offshore wind is "dramatically out of favor" in the U.S.
- Natural gas prices in the U.S. have not moved despite Middle East conflicts, highlighting investment opportunities in gas infrastructure for power generation.
- Electricity supply will come from new and existing natural gas generation, transmission, energy efficiency, and new nuclear, developed efficiently through utilities and contracted power.
Trade Ideas
Speaker argued that bearishness around renewables is undeserved because they are the "quickest resource to the grid" and "still very cheap." High electricity demand necessitates new generation, and renewables offer rapid deployment at low cost, despite noise around specific types like offshore wind. LONG as negative sentiment is overblown, and renewables are essential for scaling power supply efficiently. Policy hurdles, regulatory changes, or continued underperformance in niches like offshore wind could dampen growth.
Speaker directly said "offshore wind is dramatically out of favor" in the U.S. market. While renewables overall are needed, offshore wind faces significant headwinds in terms of sentiment, economics, or development challenges. AVOID due to poor market reception and likely operational or financial hurdles. Technological breakthroughs or supportive policy could revive interest, but current conditions are unfavorable.
Speaker explicitly stated "it's gas, gas, gas for power" and noted U.S. natural gas prices are unaffected by Middle East conflicts, indicating an opportunity. Natural gas is abundant in the U.S., insulated from geopolitical events, and critical for meeting growing electricity demand from data centers and other infrastructure. LONG due to clear, actionable investment potential in gas infrastructure for reliable and cost-effective power generation. Prolonged war could destabilize global energy markets, but U.S. gas supply remains insulated.
Up Next
This Bloomberg Markets video, published March 24, 2026, features George Bilicic discussing ICLN, FAN, UNG. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: George Bilicic · Tickers: ICLN, FAN, UNG