Nest Thermostats Have Saved Users an Estimated $14 Billion and 200 Billion kWh of Energy Since 2011.
Since its 2011 launch, Google’s Nest thermostat has helped users avoid more than 200 billion kilowatt‑hours of electricity and save an estimated $14 billion. The device’s Auto Eco feature automatically adjusts temperatures based on occupancy, while Nest Renew lets homeowners shift heating to cheaper, cleaner periods. These capabilities turn a simple thermostat into a demand‑response tool that benefits both consumers and the grid. Nest continues to promote its energy‑saving milestones as it targets the next 200 billion kWh of savings.
Data Center Power Crunch Lifts Engines, Aeroderivatives Into Larger Role
Recent procurement announcements reveal a rapid shift of reciprocating engines and aeroderivative turbines from backup to primary power at hyperscale data centers. Wärtsilä secured a 412 MW order for its 34SG engines in Ohio, while PROENERGY will supply 650 MW of 50 MW...
NYC Launches Concierge-Style Service, Enhanced Web Tools to Aid Local Law 97 Compliance
New York City unveiled Momentum, a free concierge‑style accelerator that helps building owners navigate Local Law 97’s strict emissions targets. The service bundles a call center, an online portal with decarbonization planning tools, case‑study library, and financing guidance, and expands into...
Temporary Power Solutions Could Ease Europe’s Grid Strain
Aggreko’s new white paper, “Breaking the Gridlock,” argues that temporary on‑site power solutions can relieve Europe’s strained electricity networks as renewable capacity expands. The report notes that roughly 1,700 GW of renewable projects are stalled in grid queues across 16 countries,...
ANDRITZ Lands Contract to Modernize NYPA’s Niagara Hydropower Plant
The New York Power Authority awarded ANDRITZ a contract to design, build and deliver five new 215 MVA generator stators for the Robert Moses Power Plant, part of the Niagara Power Project. The stators will replace several of the plant’s 13...
Exomad Green, Supercritical Sign 500,000-Ton Biochar Carbon Removal Agreement
Exomad Green and carbon‑removal marketplace Supercritical have sealed a three‑year agreement for up to 500,000 tons of biochar carbon removal (BCR) credits sourced from Exomad’s Bolivian facilities. The deal locks in Supercritical’s 2026 inventory and allocates credits for 2027‑2028, adding to...
Matrix Starts Texas Solar Operations
Matrix Renewables has placed its 281 MWdc Stillhouse Solar PV project into commercial operation in Bell County, Texas. The $380 million development secured Investment Tax Credit funding and converted construction loans into long‑term debt, with Northleaf Capital as a minority investor and...
🎥 Heat Beneath Our Feet: Unlocking Superhot Geothermal with Carlos Araque, Quaise Energy
Quaise Energy’s CEO Carlos Araque outlined a microwave‑driven deep‑geothermal approach that vaporizes rock to reach 10‑20 km depths where temperatures hit roughly 400 °C. The super‑hot environment creates supercritical water capable of delivering baseload power comparable to fossil‑fuel or nuclear plants. Quaise...
Oxford PV’s Perovskite Expertise to Help Advance Solar-Powered EVs
Oxford PV, a specialist in perovskite photovoltaics, has joined the UK‑led Smart Use of Integrated Technology for EV (SUITE) research consortium. The project, backed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and the UK government, brings together Nissan’s Technical Centre UK, engineering...
ERCOT Says Texas Demand Could Quadruple but Cautions Forecast May Be Inflated
ERCOT’s preliminary long‑term load forecast projects Texas peak electricity demand could soar to 367,790 MW by 2032, roughly four times the 2023 record of 85,508 MW. The surge is attributed to expanding data centers, cryptocurrency mining, and other large‑load industrial customers. Current...
First ‘Community-Owned’ Battery Investment Scheme Opens
Low Carbon Hub has launched the United Kingdom’s first community‑owned battery at Ray Valley solar park near Bicester. The scheme invites public investors to co‑own a storage system that will capture surplus solar power and release it during peak demand....
Puerto Rico Approves Aggregated Residential Energy Storage Motion From Tesla, Sunrun, and SunStrong
Puerto Rico's Energy Bureau approved a joint motion by Tesla, Sunrun and SunStrong to auto‑enroll residential battery owners into the Customer Battery Energy Sharing (CBES) program, effectively creating an aggregated virtual power plant. The auto‑enrollment, which expanded to 81,000 homes...
Walmart Is Rolling Out Its In-House DC Fast Charging Network at a Rapid Pace
Walmart has accelerated its own DC fast‑charging rollout, now operating 31 stations with 112 dispensers across the United States. The network uses 400‑kilowatt chargers from Alpitronic and ABB, each equipped with NACS and CCS1 connectors. Texas leads with 15 locations,...
Vietnam’s Solar Capacity Surpasses 19 GW
Vietnam’s cumulative solar capacity reached 19,252 MW (19.3 GW) by the end of 2025, a 586 MW increase over 2024 but far slower than the 1.6 GW added in 2023. The growth is driven by expanding rooftop installations and renewed policy support, including a...
Why Reforming Rooftop Solar and Battery Permitting Belongs on Every State Affordability Agenda
American families face soaring electricity bills, yet state permitting rules for rooftop solar and home batteries remain a costly bottleneck. A new Environment America scorecard shows 48 states receive D or F grades, with only California and Texas earning B...
BMW Targets 2028 Hydrogen Car Launch, Cites Infrastructure and Cost Hurdles
BMW announced that its iX5 Hydrogen fuel‑cell electric vehicle will enter series production in 2028, featuring a third‑generation fuel cell system co‑developed with Toyota. The model promises up to 750 km of range and refueling in under five minutes thanks to...
Nordex Group Achieves Order Intake of 1.9 GW in the First Quarter of 2026
Nordex Group reported a first‑quarter 2026 order intake of 1,869 MW (about 1.9 GW), down from 2,182 MW a year earlier. The average selling price rose to €0.91 million per megawatt, roughly $0.99 million, reflecting a stable pricing environment. Customers placed orders for 292 turbines...
Agrivoltaics Maintain or Enhance Forage Quality, Study Finds
University of Minnesota researchers evaluated grasses and legumes grown under two agrivoltaic solar arrays and a control pasture to assess biomass and nutritional value for dairy cattle. The 30 kW site produced near‑control yields (8,968 kg/ha) while the 50 kW site yielded less...
Edafa Venture Acquires Egypt's Cyclex in Six-Figure Deal
Edafa Venture, a Saudi‑Egyptian investment firm, acquired Egyptian waste‑recycling startup Cyclex in a six‑figure deal completed in the second half of 2025. Cyclex transforms non‑hazardous solid waste into marketable products, positioning itself as a key player in Egypt’s emerging circular‑economy...
FERC Orders American Efficient to Pay $1.1B for ‘Brazen Fraud’
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered American Efficient, its parent Modern Energy Group, and affiliated firms to pay roughly $1.1 billion for a massive fraud that spanned more than a decade. The agency said the company sold energy‑efficiency capacity it...
Germany Adds Record 1 GWh of Battery Storage in March
Germany is on track to surpass the 1 GWh monthly battery storage milestone in March, driven primarily by residential photovoltaic systems. Energy‑Charts data show 522.9 MW of power and 985.9 MWh of energy capacity added, with figures likely to rise as registrations lag...
Viridi RPSLinkIN Energy Storage System Receives UL 9540 Listing
Viridi’s RPSLinkIN 480‑V battery system earned UL 9540 listing after passing the rigorous UL 9540A indoor residential test conducted by TÜV Rheinland. The 50 kWh pack met five performance criteria with no smoke, gas or fire, proving it can operate safely without additional fire‑suppression equipment....
Lightshift Energy Lands BESS Portfolio for Virginia Electric Co-Ops
Lightshift Energy has secured a portfolio of five 5‑MW battery‑energy‑storage systems for Blue Ridge Power Agency and its member co‑ops in Virginia. The projects, located at three CVEC sites, one CBEC site and the City of Salem, are under construction...
High-Density AI Is Forcing a Power Reckoning at the Rack
Artificial intelligence workloads are pushing data‑center rack power densities toward 300 kW, exposing the inefficiency of traditional AC‑to‑DC conversion at the rack. Converting high‑voltage AC to low‑voltage DC creates measurable losses—about 4 % at 100 kW, translating into extra heat and cooling costs....
Maine’s Plug-In Solar Law Takes Effect in July and some Companies Are Already Selling Products in the State
Maine’s new plug‑in solar law, LD 1730, becomes effective July 15, 2026, allowing residents to install portable solar systems up to 420 W on their own or up to 1,200 W with a certified electrician. The legislation requires UL 3700 certification or...
Heavy Industry Could Cut Energy Use by 45% by 2050
A new report from the Energy Transitions Commission and Mission Possible Partnership finds that heavy‑industry sectors could cut energy use by 25‑45% by 2050 through improved energy productivity. Energy accounts for 30‑50% of costs in these sectors, so efficiency gains...
Centrica Tackles Difficult Terrain to Deliver Sustainable Solar Solution for Derbyshire Manufacturer
Centrica Business Solutions has completed a custom‑engineered solar farm for Derbyshire‑based Carpenter Ltd, installing 1,666 panels on a 14.6% sloped bank that was previously deemed unsuitable. The ground‑mount array will produce about 1,025 MWh of renewable electricity each year, cutting the...
Heat Pumps May Help Boost Residential Solar in France
France unveiled an electrification plan that seeks to install one million heat pumps per year by 2030, backed by €200 million in public funding. Subsidies of €12,000‑€14,000 aim to deliver a three‑year return on investment for units costing €10,000‑€15,000. The rollout...
Prepaid Leases Provide Pathway to Home-Owned Solar Projects
The residential solar market is reverting to third‑party ownership (TPO) after the 25D residential tax credit expired, but prepaid leases are emerging as a bridge to home ownership. Prepaid leases let homeowners pay the lease amount up front and buy...
Autonomous Boat Builder Charts Course to Success
Norsail, a Bristol start‑up, unveiled a 2.4‑metre autonomous boat that runs on a free‑rotating wing sail, solar panels and an electric motor, enabling continuous ocean‑data collection for up to six months. The vessel, funded by a £38,000 (about $48,000) TRIG...
Maine Legislature Passes Nation's First Data Center Moratorium
Maine’s legislature approved LD 307, the nation’s first state‑level moratorium on new data centers consuming 20 megawatts or more, effective until November 1, 2027. The bill creates a Data Center Coordination Council to evaluate grid reliability, environmental impact, and ratepayer protection while...
First Quantum and Hitachi Commission ‘World’s First’ Battery Electric Mining Truck at Kansanshi Mine in Zambia
First Quantum Minerals and Hitachi Construction Machinery commissioned the Hitachi EH4000, the world’s first ultra‑large battery‑electric mining truck, at Zambia’s Kansanshi copper‑gold mine. The truck completed a 4,000‑km trial haul, moving over 30,000 tonnes, proving its operational reliability ahead of...
Acciona Energía Signs Italy Industry Deals
Acciona Energía has entered bilateral agreements totaling 800 GWh of renewable electricity with Italy’s energy‑intensive firms, including steelmaker Acciaierie Venete. The contracts, under the government‑run Energy Release 2.0 scheme, lock in a fixed price of €65 per megawatt‑hour (about $71) for three...
Solar Self-Generation Could Outperform PPAs in Brazil, Delivering up to 32.9% Savings
A new study by the Federal Universities of Ceará and São João del‑Rei shows that large industrial consumers in Brazil’s free‑contracting market can save up to 32.9% by financing, building and operating their own photovoltaic plants instead of signing long‑term power purchase...
Less Gas, More Sun and Wind. Europe Is Handling the New Energy Crisis Better than the Russian Invasion One
Europe has reduced its gas consumption by roughly 20% since 2020, with electricity generation and district heating seeing cuts of up to 30% as renewables replace fossil fuels. The shift is driven by higher wind and solar capacity, especially in...
Molecular Lock Design Pushes Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency Past 26 Percent
Researchers at SUSTech and PolyU introduced a rigid‑backbone molecule that locks the interface of inverted perovskite solar cells, pushing power conversion efficiency to a record 26.54 % and retaining 90 % of output after 1,000 hours of stress testing. The same report highlighted...
The Solar Support Gap: Why Do Pro-Solar Citizens Reject Local Projects?
University of Rhode Island researchers examined why voters who support solar energy opposed a utility‑scale solar project in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. An exit‑poll revealed that 28.9% of pro‑solar respondents voted against the 2019 referendum, creating an individual support gap....
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger Signs Legislation Mandating 20.78GW of Energy Storage
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 895 and SB 448, mandating 20.78 GW of energy‑storage capacity across the Commonwealth. Appalachian Power must deliver 780 MW of short‑duration and 520 MW of long‑duration storage by 2040‑2045, while Dominion Energy is tasked with 16 GW short‑duration and 3.48 GW...
Colombia Approves Guidelines for Integrating Energy Storage Into Electricity System
Colombia issued Decree 0393 to establish public‑policy guidelines for integrating energy‑storage systems (ESS) into both the National Interconnected System and isolated zones. The decree sets deployment criteria, market participation rules, and a remuneration framework, recognizing storage for frequency regulation, voltage...
PV Module Prices Continue to Rise Unabated
Photovoltaic module prices climbed for the fourth month in a row, rising 5.5% between March and April 2026, with all‑black modules posting the steepest gains. The increase occurs despite falling polysilicon costs and the removal of Chinese export tax credits,...
Unlocking Wind Turbine Longevity with Smarter Lubrication
The wind power market is set to reach 3,207 GW of installed capacity by 2035, driving demand for more reliable turbine operation. Effective lubrication is critical, as drivetrain failures can quickly halt production, especially in offshore and remote sites. Mobil introduced...
Revisiting the Photoelectric Conversion Mechanism in Hydrothermally Deposited Sb2(S,Se)3 Solar Cells
Researchers have uncovered a new photoelectric conversion mechanism in hydrothermally deposited Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells. Annealing drives selenium into the CdS buffer, forming a gradient‑bandgap Cd(S,Se) layer that, together with Sb2(S,Se)3, creates a V‑shaped mixed absorber. This structure separates electron‑hole pairs...
RWE to Provide 65% of Network Rail’s Non-Traction Electricity From Wind Farm
Network Rail has signed a corporate power purchase agreement with German energy firm RWE to source 65% of its non‑traction electricity from the 576 MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in Wales. The deal will deliver 300 GWh of renewable power annually for...
Kiwa PVEL Updates Module Testing Programme, Aims to Tackle Glass Breakage, Frame Failures and Hail Damage
Kiwa PVEL has revamped its Production Qualification Program to include test‑to‑failure protocols for static mechanical load and hail testing, aiming to identify the maximum stress solar modules can endure. The updated hail test now evaluates five modules per round, focusing on...
Solar Procurement Is Changing as Geopolitics ‘Redefines Risk’
Solar buyers in Europe are shifting procurement focus from pure cost to security, ESG compliance, and cyber‑risk mitigation, as highlighted at the SolarPLUS Europe conference in Milan. Geopolitical tensions—such as the Strait of Hormuz blockade and China’s polysilicon consolidation—are creating...
Nippon Express and Nikon Sign SAF Agreement
Japanese logistics firm Nippon Express and camera maker Nikon have renewed a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) agreement for air cargo shipments, marking the second consecutive year of collaboration. The deal leverages Nippon’s NX‑GREEN SAF program to issue CO₂‑reduction certificates for...
RAW Charging Powers up One of the Largest EV Charging Hubs in the Midlands at Leamington Spa Shopping Park
RAW Charging has activated a 17‑bay electric‑vehicle charging hub at Leamington Spa Shopping Park, featuring six AC fast bays and eleven 150 kW ultra‑rapid DC bays. The site, the largest EV hub in the Midlands, serves a high‑footfall retail and leisure...
Philippines Registers Solar Module Maker Targeting EU Export Market
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has registered Genuine Renewable Energy and Eco‑Friendly Energy Network Corp. (GREEENC) as an ecozone enterprise to produce photovoltaic (PV) modules for export, primarily to the European Union. GREEENC will invest about PHP 370 million ($6.16 million) in...
Plans Announced for 260MW Data Center in Konin, Poland
Central Energy Group (CGE) announced a €3 billion ($3.5 bn) AI‑focused data centre in Konin, Poland, delivering 260 MW of compute capacity. The project has secured power connections and environmental permits, with construction targeted for 2027 once a strategic investor and building permits...
This Long Beach Startup Says It Has a Patch for California's Power Problems
Long Beach‑based Critical Loop secured $26 million in new funding, bringing its total to $49 million, to accelerate deployment of battery‑and‑grid‑management systems that deliver power in days rather than years. The startup’s controller instantly switches between the public grid, on‑site batteries, solar...