Duke Lags on Goals, Should Concern Climate Investors Ahead of Shareholder Meeting
The Sierra Club is urging climate‑focused investors to vote against Duke Energy directors Theodore F. Craver, Jr., and Robert M. Davis at the May 7, 2026 shareholder meeting, citing the utility’s backsliding on climate commitments. Duke received an F (11 %) on the Sierra Club’s 2025 Dirty Truth report, its lowest rating since 2021, after delaying coal retirements and limiting renewable expansion. Municipalities such as St. Petersburg, FL, are exploring alternatives, and the City of Carrboro, NC, sued the utility over alleged deception. The campaign highlights growing investor scrutiny of board oversight on climate risk.
Why The Rest of The World Is NOT Buying Data Center Madness
Jim Calhoun argues that the United States is doubling down on massive hyperscale data centers while the rest of the G8 is pivoting toward distributed, sovereign AI architectures. He cites thermodynamic limits, escalating energy costs, and inefficient network topologies as...
Philippines Could Cut $28 Million in Fossil Fuel Imports by Meeting 2030 Solar Target, Says Report
A Zero Carbon Analytics report estimates that hitting the Philippines' 9.5 GW solar goal by 2030 could shave roughly $28 million off coal and gas import bills. The avoided spending breaks down to about $23.6 million in LNG costs and $4.5 million in coal...
Sawlog Residues Locked Out of US Biomass 216 to 210 on House Floor
The House rejected Congressman Cliff Bentz's amendment to expand the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to include sawlog residues and other wood processing leftovers, voting 216‑210 on April 30. The amendment aimed to create a domestic market for low‑value wood by...
California Probes Trump Administration Deal to Cancel Offshore Wind Lease
California Energy Commission opened a probe into a $120 million payout made by the Trump administration to Golden State Wind LLC to cancel an offshore wind lease off the central coast. The investigation seeks to determine whether the payment, part of...
Happening This Week at SBC – Partner McKinstry and Seattle Colleges Transform Campuses
Smart Buildings Center highlighted a new case study showing how McKinstry partnered with Seattle Colleges to overhaul campus facilities for greater energy efficiency. The collaboration focuses on meeting Washington’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard while reducing operating costs. Over a decade...
'Help Cattle Producers Hold Onto Their Land and Livelihoods': This First-of-Its-Kind Solar Ranch in Tennessee Uses Ingenious Sensors to Shelter...
Silicon Ranch launched a 40‑acre solar ranch in Christiana, Tennessee, where panels tilt horizontally to let a small herd of cattle graze beneath them. The system produces roughly 5 MW of electricity for a rural cooperative while preserving pasture, and the...
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Named One of America’s Climate Leaders
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corp. has been named one of America’s Climate Leaders 2026 for the second year running, according to USA Today and Statista. The company achieved a 21.3% reduction in greenhouse‑gas emissions intensity between 2022 and 2024, measured...
Virginia Corporation Commission Approves Dominion Energy NEM 2.0 that Looks Very Similar to NEM 1.0
The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved Dominion Energy’s NEM 2.0 tariff, keeping the 12‑month net‑energy‑metering period while boosting compensation for excess generation by an additional penny per kilowatt‑hour. The commission rejected Dominion’s proposed application fee of $100‑$750, instead allowing a modest...
“Guerilla” Solar Installations Discovered, Need To Be Controlled, Says Philippine Power Distributor
Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the Philippines' largest private distributor, warned that roughly one‑third of rooftop solar – about 370 MW in the commercial sector alone – operates without registration or safety certification. The unregulated "guerrilla solar" market offers cheaper installations, sidestepping...
Can This New Partnership Help Accelerate Nuclear Deployment in the US?
Brookfield and The Nuclear Company (TNC) have formed a joint venture to develop Westinghouse AP1000 and AP300 reactors, beginning with managing the Fairfield County project in South Carolina, formerly VC Summer Units 2 and 3. The new firm will handle...
Fratelli Cosulich Launches Newest Methanol Vessel
Fratelli Cosulich’s Marine Energy Unit launched its second methanol‑ready vessel, Lucia Cosulich, on May 2 2026 at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipyard in China. The ship is the second of a planned four‑vessel series designed for IMO II compliance and built with phenolic epoxy tank...
Do Spinning Wind Turbines Really Mess With Radar Systems?
Pentagon officials have paused reviews of 150 onshore wind farms, citing concerns that turbine structures can interfere with military and civilian radar. Studies spanning more than a decade confirm that steel towers reflect radar waves and rotating blades create false...
Data Center Humidifiers: What They Do and How to Choose
Data center humidifiers add moisture to maintain 40%‑60% relative humidity, protecting servers from static electricity, dust, and inefficient cooling. The article outlines four main types— isothermal, ultrasonic, high‑pressure nozzle, and adiabatic—each with distinct energy and cost profiles. Choosing the right...
Electric Double Layer Unlocks Molecular Switch Behind Battery and Hydrogen Reactions
Korean researchers have mapped the molecular dynamics of the electric double layer, revealing why capacitance curves shift from a camel‑shaped to a bell‑shaped profile as electrolyte concentration rises. Using atomically precise simulations and real‑time infrared spectroscopy, they identified two distinct...
IEEE Smart Village Is Helping to Electrify Rural Cameroon
IEEE Smart Village awarded a seed grant to Renewable Energy Innovators Cameroon (REI), enabling the company to scale solar mini‑grids and develop an open‑source smart‑metering platform for rural electrification. Since its 2006 founding, REI has grown from solar lantern rentals...
MTN Nigeria Says It Saved $5.89 Million on Gas as Diesel Dominates Energy Mix
MTN Nigeria reported a $5.9 million cost saving in 2025 after expanding its use of gas‑powered electricity, yet diesel still accounted for 58% of its energy mix. The telecom giant’s operating expenses hit $1.01 billion, and a projected 2.0% margin dip—about $102 million—highlights...
The Guardian View on the Green Transition: Politicians Should Speed It up – and Households Too | Editorial
The Guardian editorial argues that the recent energy‑price shock should accelerate the UK’s green transition, urging politicians and households to act faster. It highlights divergent party positions ahead of the May elections, with the Scottish National Party softening on the...
GE Vernova Lands Equipment Order for One of India’s Largest Pumped Storage Projects
This week’s cleantech roundup highlights a surge in U.S. renewable projects and policy actions. Salt River Project and NextEra Energy will jointly develop 3 GW of solar capacity in Arizona by 2034, while the DOE prepares to disburse roughly $430 million to...
Smart-Meter-Enabled Partnership Aims to Integrate Solar, Storage and EV Charging to Lower Grid Costs
The Boston‑based energy analytics firm Sense has partnered with California’s ev.energy to fuse Sense’s advanced smart‑meter platform with ev.energy’s distributed energy resource (DER) management system. The integration leverages AMI 2.0 meters that can process up to a million reads per second,...
Charge While You Drive? Wireless EV Roads Are Moving Closer to Reality
Researchers at Utah State University and the Michigan Department of Transportation are piloting wireless charging roadways that can power electric vehicles while they travel. Utah's ASPIRE Center is testing magnetic bursts and embedded pads on a quarter‑mile test track and...
Brazil’s Public Transit Skews To Electric
Brazil’s public transit sector is rapidly scaling electric buses, reaching about 1,500 battery‑electric units across 30 municipalities by early 2026. São Paulo leads the rollout, supported by domestic banks and multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and IDB, while the...
In Rural Wisconsin, a Town Pushes Aside a Plan to Build a Massive Data Center
Cassville, Wisconsin, voted unanimously (44‑0) to ban data‑center construction for two years, rejecting a billion‑dollar proposal that promised 50 jobs and $5.5 million in annual property taxes. Residents cited fears of groundwater contamination, higher electric bills, and property devaluation in the...
Dominion Upbeat on Offshore Wind as Cost Estimate Eases, Sales Rise
Dominion Energy is pressing ahead with the 2.6‑GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, now about 75% complete and slated for June 2027. The capital budget slipped to roughly $11.4 billion after the Trump‑era stop‑work order was lifted and Supreme Court tariffs...
Cat® Unveils Battery Electric Power Unit at IFAT 2026, Turning Electrification Into a Drop-In Solution
Caterpillar unveiled its prototype Battery Electric Power Unit (BEPU) at IFAT 2026 in Munich, integrating it into Doppstadt’s SWS 6 Spiral Shaft Separator. The BEPU is a compact, plug‑and‑play system that swaps a diesel engine for an electric powertrain without...
Cambridge Spin-Out Barocal Raises €8.5 Million Seed Round for Refrigerant-Free Heating and Cooling Tech
Cambridge University spin‑out Barocal has closed a €8.5 million (≈$10 million) seed round led by World Fund, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures and IP Group. The funding will expand its engineering team and accelerate commercialization of solid‑state barocaloric heating and cooling...
Tigo Adds Real-Time Spot Market Pricing to Predict+ Platform
Tigo Energy has upgraded its Predict+ platform to include real‑time spot market pricing for ISO customers across the United States. The addition joins existing modules—Market Insights, Customer Insights, Profit Analysis and Regulatory Support—enhancing the platform’s ability to deliver up to...
Peter Thiel Backs $1bn Ocean Data Centre Start-Up Powered by Waves
Peter Thiel has committed capital to a new ocean‑based data centre venture that aims to harness wave energy for power. The startup targets a $1 billion valuation and plans to deploy modular server pods anchored in the open sea. By using...
North Carolina Targets Hyperscale Costs with Proposed AI Infrastructure Bill
North Carolina lawmakers introduced the Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act, requiring hyperscale data centers of 40 MW or more to pay the full cost of power, water and infrastructure and to forgo state and local tax incentives. The bill also mandates...
The AI Electric Grid Calls for a Mixed‑fleet Transmission Strategy
The rapid expansion of hyperscale AI data centers is creating unprecedented transmission challenges for U.S. utilities, as loads of hundreds of megawatts to over a gigawatt appear in already constrained corridors. At the same time, the renewable generation needed to...
EDB Offers New Paradigm to Slash Data Center Emissions
EnterpriseDB unveiled EDB PG AI, a suite of performance efficiencies that target the data layer of AI workloads. The platform reduces data‑center power use by shrinking infrastructure footprints and optimizing vector indexing, search, and retrieval operations. By measuring "intelligence per watt," EDB...
400MWh Weld Energy Storage Project in Platte River, Colorado Advances as PRPA Finishes Key Steps
Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) has kicked off construction of the 400 MWh Weld Energy Storage project in Colorado, marking its first utility‑scale battery installation. The project, built and owned by NextEra Energy Resources, will sit beside the Black Hollow solar...
BYD to Establish Flash Charging Stations in Australia and New Zealand
Chinese automaker BYD announced it will launch its Flash Charging network in Australia and New Zealand, with the first stations slated to open by the end of the year. The initial rollout includes three high‑output chargers at Denza showrooms in Adelaide,...
Siemens to Show Digital Water and Waste Tools at IFAT
Siemens will showcase its digital water, wastewater and waste management solutions at IFAT 2026, the leading environmental‑technology trade fair. The portfolio features SIWA Quality Inspector for real‑time water‑quality monitoring, SIWA Treatment Optimizer with physics‑based models and digital twins, and soft‑sensor...
Reform Government Could Cause Truss-Style Chaos, Says Renewables Industry
Britain’s Reform UK party has pledged to strip existing renewable‑energy subsidy contracts, a move that RenewableUK chief lobbyist Tara Singh warns could trigger economic turmoil reminiscent of the Liz Truss era. Singh argues that cancelling legally‑binding contracts would erode investor confidence and...
Powering Data Centers in Emerging Markets
Artificial intelligence and cloud growth will push global data‑center electricity use past 945 TWh by 2030, prompting developers to look beyond saturated hubs in the U.S., Europe and East Asia. Emerging regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America,...
EGA Commissions Solar Panel Plant in Paarl
Ener‑G‑Africa (EGA) has commissioned a solar‑panel assembly plant in Paarl, Western Cape, with a name‑plate capacity of 150 MW per year. The facility currently runs a single shift with about 30 employees and produces 550 W monocrystalline PERC modules, while also supporting...
Commission Blocks EU Funding for Huawei Solar Tech
The European Commission announced it will block EU funding for solar‑panel inverters supplied by high‑risk vendors such as China’s Huawei. Guidance will restrict the use of EU money on projects that rely on these components, though existing projects can apply...
POWER Reveals 2026 Awards Finalists; Readers to Choose Plant of the Year
POWER magazine announced the finalists for its 2026 Awards, covering projects, people and organizations that are shaping the global power sector. The ceremony will take place at Experience POWER in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2026. A new feature lets readers vote to...
Knutsen NYK Venture Working with Var Energi on New Project for CO2 Carriers
Knutsen Group and Japan’s NYK have created the joint venture Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC) to develop a dedicated fleet of CO₂ carriers. KNCC announced a cooperation with Norway’s Var Energi and Aker Solutions to design an integrated CO₂ transportation...
Meta Signs 250-MW PPA on EDP Renewables’ Arkansas Solar Project
Meta and EDP Renewables North America have signed a long‑term power purchase agreement for the Cypress Knee Solar project, a 250‑megawatt solar farm slated for completion in Arkansas by 2028. This deal marks Meta’s third partnership with EDPR NA, bringing the...
ISO New England Trims 10-Year Forecast Based on Electrification Outlook
ISO New England’s latest CELT report projects regional electricity consumption to increase 9% over the next decade, reaching 127,660 GWh by 2035, roughly 0.9% annually. The forecast trims earlier expectations—down from a 17% rise projected in 2024 and an 11% rise...
Syensqo Earns Top Sustainability Honour for Battery Recovery Innovation
Syensqo, a Canadian cleantech firm, won the World Economic Forum’s Global Sustainable Innovation Award for its breakthrough battery‑recovery technology. The process extracts up to 95% of lithium, cobalt and nickel from end‑of‑life electric‑vehicle batteries, slashing material waste. A $30 million Series B...
Qualitas Energy Receives Green Light: Qualitas Energy Secures Permits for 59 MW Wind Projects in Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony
Qualitas Energy has obtained permits for two wind projects in Germany, adding more than 59 MW of capacity across Rhineland‑Palatinate and Lower Saxony. The Rhineland‑Palatinate site will host three 6.8 MW turbines, while a repowering effort in Lower Saxony will replace five...
Verogy Completes 7 Solar Projects for Connecticut Trade School System
Verogy, backed by the Connecticut Green Bank, has completed a seven‑project solar portfolio for the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS), delivering 4.7 MW of rooftop and carport installations across six technical high schools and one carport at Howell Cheney....
Iran War Is ‘Supercharging’ Clean Energy Transition, UN Climate Chief Says
The war between the United States, Israel and Iran is accelerating the global shift toward renewable energy, according to UN climate chief Simon Stiell. Volatile oil and gas supplies have prompted European nations to rush rooftop solar installations and Pakistan...
Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers Moves Deeper Into North Sea CO2 Shipping Push
Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC) has signed an MoU with Aker Solutions and Vår Energi CCS to develop the Trudvang CCS project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The partnership aims to create an integrated CO₂ value chain that links European...
165 Onshore Wind Farm Projects in U.S. Clamped Down as Pentagon Cites National Security Concerns
The U.S. Department of Defense has placed 165 on‑shore wind projects on private land under a national‑security review, effectively halting progress on roughly 30 GW of capacity—enough to power about 15 million homes. The projects span all stages, from completed negotiations awaiting...
Munich, Allianz Arena Activates High-Power Truck and Bus Charging Site Close to Motorway Interchange
Allianz Arena in Munich has commissioned two 400 kW high‑power charging stations, creating four bays for electric trucks in its coach parking area. The site sits beside the A9/A99 motorway interchange, a corridor that sees up to 10,000 trucks per day,...
China Datang Brings Online 500 MW Solar Farm for Direct Data Center Supply
China Datang Corp has commissioned a 500 MW solar farm in Zhongwei, Ningxia, marking the nation’s first large‑scale renewable project built to feed a data‑center cluster directly. The plant, part of a 2 GW first‑phase build‑out that also includes a 1.5 GW wind...