Know What's Happening in ClimateTech
Know What's Happening in ClimateTech
Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) are becoming a key lever for utilities to create long‑term shareholder value by building clean energy assets such as renewables, storage, and nuclear. Because regulated utilities earn a regulated return of 9‑11% while their true cost of equity is 7‑8%, new long‑lived projects generate excess returns and predictable cash flow. The analysis highlights wide disparities in cost assumptions across utilities, with some firms inflating clean‑energy costs or omitting disclosures, which can distort investment signals. Greater transparency and realistic cost modeling are essential for investors to assess whether utilities are fully capitalizing on the clean‑energy value‑creation opportunity.
The week’s cleantech roundup highlighted a surge of initiatives aimed at modernizing the U.S. power grid. The Department of Energy announced a $1.9 billion grant program for urgent grid upgrades, while a coalition that includes Google and Tesla is pushing for...
Siemens’ Mitras plant in Nuevo León, Mexico, earned LEED Platinum certification, the first industrial building in the country to achieve this level under LEED v4. The 201,285‑square‑foot facility, opened in 2024, produces low‑voltage electrical components and uses advanced automation and...
Mexico relies on imported natural gas for more than 70% of its consumption, chiefly via pipelines from Texas. This dependence underpins electricity generation, industrial processes and Pemex operations, but it also exposes the country to supply disruptions, price volatility and...
Transport for London (TfL) has appointed SSE Energy Solutions to design and build purpose‑built solar farms that will feed electricity directly into the Tube network via a private‑wire arrangement. The scheme will generate up to 65,000 MWh of zero‑carbon power each...
Elsewedy Electric has commissioned the 348.6 MWp El Saad solar PV plant east of Riyadh, marking its first utility‑scale project in the Gulf. The EPC effort wrapped in 16.5 months, well ahead of the original 24‑month timeline, and the project has secured a...
AI-driven compute density is straining data‑center cooling as data movement generates most heat. Traditional copper interconnects add resistive losses, forcing energy‑intensive air cooling. Silicon photonics replaces electrical links with optical ones, slashing energy‑per‑bit and thermal output. Recent heterogeneously integrated photonic...
Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) will go public through a $4.7 billion SPAC merger with Plum Acquisition, listing on Nasdaq as CTRH. The deal funds the Hell’s Kitchen geothermal‑lithium project in California’s Imperial Valley, starting with 25,000 t/yr lithium carbonate capacity and a...
Atome secured a $420 million debt package to fund a $650 million low‑carbon fertilizer plant in Paraguay, targeting 260,000 tonnes of output per year and marking one of the first industrial‑scale green‑hydrogen fertilizer projects outside the EU. Meanwhile, Asahi Kasei began installing a 1 MW...
Researchers reported a two‑stage tandem system that converts CO₂ and water into carbon nanofibers at 450 °C and ambient pressure. By varying the palladium‑to‑copper atomic ratio in a Pd‑Cu electrocatalyst, they tuned the syngas composition, achieving a peak CO partial current...
The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association reported that polysilicon and wafer prices fell sharply this week, with n‑type re‑feed and dense polysilicon down about 6.4% to CNY 45,200 per tonne. Wafer prices slipped as well, with G10L at CNY 1.03, G12R at...
Maryland legislators unveiled the Utility RELIEF Act, a $200 million package aimed at cutting household energy costs by $150 per year. Half of the funding ($100 million) is earmarked for utility‑scale solar projects, while the remainder supports grid modernization and holds large energy...
Forest groups and Dutch authorities allege that energy giant RWE imported Malaysian wood pellets labeled as Category 5 waste but actually sourced from whole trees, violating EU biomass‑certification rules. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service is weighing a criminal investigation after advocacy...
At the Solar Finance & Investment Europe summit, experts noted a shift to soft insurance cycles that is freeing up risk capital and easing financing for renewable projects, even as grid constraints and the need for co‑located battery storage persist....
NET Power, backed by Occidental Petroleum, has postponed the final investment decision for its flagship Project Permian clean‑power plant to the back half of the year. The project, which targets a 400‑MW zero‑carbon output using Oxy‑fuel technology, was previously slated...
Two new battery records on @CaliforniaISO grid: Max battery discharge rate: 56.61 GWh/day Max discharge rate as a percent of demand: 38.0% at 6:55 PM 3/12/26 Batteries met 10.5% of all demand 21st straight & 48/71 (68%) days in 2026 with WWS>100% of demand...
Chinese solar equipment maker Sigenergy has introduced a 166 kW IP66‑rated inverter aimed at commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects. The unit features nine MPPT trackers, a peak efficiency of 98.7%, and flexible three‑phase AC outputs up to 480 V, while tolerating...
Investor‑owned utilities are coordinating to interconnect roughly 39 GW of data‑center and manufacturing loads, representing more than 80 large‑load projects across the United States. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) highlighted that 20 states have already approved at least one large‑load tariff,...
Solar module price growth is now driven primarily by five cost pillars: silver paste, polysilicon, glass, aluminium, and energy‑water inputs. Silver paste remains the largest single expense, with record‑high silver prices in early 2026 inflating cell costs. Polysilicon, accounting for...
As a climate and energy reporter, I have to admit continued frustration in trying to convince people that electrification is a climate solution, regardless of what is used to generate the power. Sigh...
WindEurope urges Europe to accelerate domestic renewable electricity after the Strait of Hormuz closure exposed the continent’s reliance on volatile fossil‑fuel imports. The group calls for lower electricity taxes, reallocation of emissions‑trading‑system revenues to industrial electrification, and an expanded EU...
Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority has shortlisted Saudi‑based ACWA Power and UAE‑based Yellow Door Energy to develop a 100 MW solar plant in Bilaj Al Jazayer under a build‑own‑operate public‑private partnership. The project targets commercial operation by 30 September 2027 and forms part...
Kent has secured a front‑end engineering design (FEED) contract with EnEarth to develop Greece’s first dedicated CO₂ storage facility at the Prinos offshore field. The project will initially inject 1 MtCO₂ per year, scaling to 2.8 MtCO₂ annually by 2029, and includes...
PJM Interconnection’s wholesale power costs surged 54% in 2025, reaching $67 billion. Capacity expenses exploded 262%, now 16% of total costs, exposing a 6,500 MW shortfall for the 2027/2028 auction. The spike is driven by rapid data‑center load growth, prompting the independent...
RenewableUK reports global offshore wind capacity will hit 100 GW in 2026, up from 89.2 GW in 2025. The sector added 8.8 GW in 2025, marking the fourth‑largest installation year on record. Forecasts show 18.8 GW could be commissioned in 2026 and total capacity...
University of Jyväskylä researchers used a new constant inner potential density functional theory to model semiconductor electrochemistry, revealing that lowering the electrode potential creates polarons on TiO₂ surfaces that activate the hydrogen evolution reaction. State‑of‑the‑art Raman, electron resonance and photoelectron...
This week’s Cleantech roundup highlighted four pivotal energy topics. The EPA, under the Trump administration, rescinded the 2009 endangerment finding that anchored greenhouse‑gas regulation under the Clean Air Act. Exelon’s executive outlined a $38 billion capital plan that prioritizes affordability while...
Nexwell Power has closed a €167 million multi‑tranche financing to fund a 248 MW solar PV portfolio in Spain. The portfolio, acquired from Q Energy, comprises seven plants in Andalusia and Aragon, with several projects already mechanically complete and others slated for early‑2026...
IDB Invest coordinated a $420 million debt‑financing package, contributing $156 million, to launch Project Villeta – Paraguay’s first green‑hydrogen‑based fertilizer plant. The $650 million investment will produce about 262,460 tons of fertilizer annually, with roughly 90% earmarked for export, leveraging the country’s 100% hydroelectric grid. A...
U.S. researchers at Colorado University introduced an economic framework that evaluates how wider spacing between solar photovoltaic (PV) rows can make agrivoltaic systems viable for large‑scale, mechanized farming. Simulations on a 160‑acre Colorado site across potatoes, onions, sugar beets and...
Methane accounts for roughly a third of current global warming but remains chronically under‑funded. The waste sector, especially biowaste, represents half of global waste yet less than five percent is biologically treated, creating a massive, low‑cost methane source. Market design...
Galetech Group, an Irish renewable‑energy developer, announced a £3 million investment in the United Kingdom over the next five years to expand its renewable‑energy services. The funding will enable the creation of up to 30 highly‑skilled jobs by 2030 and broaden...
Sif CEO Fred van Beers warned that offshore wind activity has fallen to a very low level in the short term, despite a healthy long‑term outlook. The Dutch steelmaker posted adjusted EBITDA of €48 million for 2025, up from €38.4 million in...
Hyundai Motor Group’s Indonesian JV with LG Energy Solution, PT Hyundai LG Indonesia Green Power, has teamed up with Zhejiang Huayou Recycling to process both production waste and end‑of‑life EV batteries. The $1.1 billion Karawang plant, operational in 2024, will ship waste to Huayou’s local...
I welcome the formal request just received from Romania to become an @IEA Member From my meetings with its leaders, I know 🇷🇴 has a strong focus on energy security & an ‘all fuels & all technologies’ approach, based on a...
“It is paramount:” AEMO says system and market operator functions must be kept together #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/aT4fNULk61 https://t.co/zCvJLVP2gO
Ashtrom Renewable Energy has closed a $200 million financing agreement with BHI, the U.S. arm of Bank Hapoalim, to fund the El Patrimonio solar project near San Antonio, Texas. Construction began in 2025 with completion slated for 2027. The 370‑megawatt facility will...
Alfa Laval to build South Korea’s first large-scale liquid air storage system #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/ZAykglkWpQ
Powerful new rooftop solar panel promises system sizes “previously out of reach” #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/Jm6MCBYKj8 https://t.co/XzzLtt2LWX
Tokyo Gas Engineering Solutions (TGES) and IX Renewables have signed a basic agreement to collaborate on offshore wind projects, combining IX's Dutch offshore‑wind expertise with TGES's engineering and regulatory knowledge in Japan. The partnership will pursue engineering, procurement, construction, installation...
As we generate more data than ever, are we being sustainable about it? Efficient, resilient cybersecurity protects info. But it can also reduce waste, energy use, and long-term risk. Data protection can (& should) go hand in hand with sustainability.
Enel Colombia’s 180 MW Atlántico solar park starts supplying national grid #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/qlzQnCmgbL
Trump admin courts Westinghouse rivals amid slow talks on new nuclear #energysky -- via Canary Media: https://t.co/GgoAEoRRAm
Japan adds 5.8 GW of solar in 2025 #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/E8kobL8J1P
Brazil’s 439 MW Bom Jardim solar site begins testing phase #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/hH761UmFpi
New rules loom for home solar and batteries, as world’s biggest isolated grid tackles “unique challenge” #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/1PupQeTaCi https://t.co/cDTknCGFvw
Switching from coal to natural gas is not the “gift” you think it is. The infrastructure costs are enormous. Far cheaper to move to solar and batteries. The administration has hurt LNG security in a big way with this conflict. https://t.co/VIukiTxMxx
As always, the quarterlies tell the truth. "We are 80 pct renewable:" Wind and solar shield Gina Rinehart's big lithium play from fossil fuel crisis https://t.co/pGF3RZbT0n
Heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invented. They harvest and compress pre existing heat in the air, ground or water and transport it where it is needed. That energy is all around us. And it does not have to...
This is a mistake. Northern Europe is one of the hardest places on earth to power with renewables. German winter is long and dark. And as we electrify heat, the greatest electricity demand will be in winter. Nuclear should be...
