Today's Energy Pulse
Scania pilots vehicle‑to‑grid power for heavy‑duty electric trucks
Scania showcased one of the first V2G systems for heavy‑duty electric trucks using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). The pilot demonstrated bi‑directional power flow, letting trucks feed stored electricity back to the grid while parked, with real‑time communication enabling dynamic charging and discharging. The company also opened orders for trucks equipped with an extra battery pack and MCS.
Also developing:
This Chevron Exec Has An Answer To Rising Gas Prices That Americans Aren't Going To Like
Gasoline prices in the United States hit $4.02 per gallon on March 31, 2026, the highest level since summer 2022, while diesel averages $5.51. Chevron downstream president Andy Walz told CBS News that there is no "silver bullet" for the surge, urging drivers to conserve fuel and reduce mileage. He highlighted Chevron’s 24/7 operation of its Pascagoula refinery using newly sourced Venezuelan crude as a way to buffer U.S. prices. Walz cautioned that the situation could worsen without broader supply‑side actions.
Oil Surge Makes 2026 Fed Rate Cuts Unlikely
WTI back at $88, with the Strait closed again, means the Fed's path just got harder. Energy feeds into CPI with a lag, so every week oil stays elevated, and every dollar above $80 is another month of sticky inflation prints....
Market Watch: May Nymex Gas Contract Inches Higher
May natural‑gas futures on the NYMEX edged up 0.8 cents to $2.697 per million British thermal units on Tuesday. Gelber & Associates noted the move recovers a fraction of the steep decline seen since the start of the injection season. The...
Fresh E15 Proposal Adds Emergency Exemptions for Small Refiners
A new Capitol Hill proposal would allow year‑round sales of higher ethanol blends (E15) and give the EPA authority to issue emergency Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waivers to small refineries facing financial collapse. The bill caps total renewable‑fuel volume at...
Today’s TACO Tuesday and the Markets
Paul Krugman argues that analysts, including the IMF, model the Hormuz crisis backwards—starting with oil price forecasts instead of physical supply constraints. He contends that real shortages, not price spikes, drive deeper economic disruption. The piece highlights that a sizable...
Global Energy Markets Are on the Verge of a Disaster
On April 17, Brent crude plunged 10% to $90 a barrel after Iran’s foreign minister announced the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open." Hours later Iran attacked an Indian tanker, prompting a modest 5% rebound the following day. Despite the...
War-Driven Gas Demand Destruction Unsustainable, Execs Warn
Executives at the FT Commodities Global Summit warned that the sharp demand destruction for natural gas—triggered by soaring prices after the Middle‑East war—cannot be sustained across all sectors. High gas costs have forced industry players, especially in power generation and...
EU Attempts to Outmaneuver Iran Rollercoaster with Emergency Energy Plan
The European Commission will unveil an emergency energy package aimed at cushioning the EU from the cascading effects of the Iran‑Israel conflict. The draft proposes temporary subsidies covering up to 70% of wholesale electricity costs and 50% of extra fuel...
Natural Gas Spot Prices, Apr. 21, 2026
The source provided for the Natural Gas Spot Prices report dated April 21, 2026 contains no article body, so specific price figures and commentary are unavailable. In lieu of concrete data, the analysis draws on prevailing market dynamics as of...
The Nanoscale Engineering Behind China's Grip on the Green Energy Value Chain
China’s dominance in green‑energy hardware stems from aggressive nanoscale engineering, not just subsidies or scale. By mastering nanostructured silicon wafers, ultra‑thin TOPCon layers, and 2‑5 nm carbon coatings on lithium‑iron‑phosphate cathodes, Chinese firms now control over 80% of solar panel production...
Appliance Efficiency Standards: A Proven Tool for Affordability and Grid Reliability
Federal appliance efficiency standards have cut U.S. electricity use by about 6.5% in 2024, delivering roughly $105 billion in combined household and business savings. By mandating cost‑effective technologies, the rules lower utility bills, curb winter peak loads by over 2 GW in...
The Hormuz Closure Is Driving a Shortage of Battery Ingredients
The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked the flow of seaborne sulfur, driving up sulfuric acid prices worldwide. As the primary feedstock for refining copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium, the shortage is already prompting output cuts at...
Near‑Zero Hormuz Traffic Triggers Container Shortages and Pushes Brent Above $94
Near‑zero tanker crossings of the Strait of Hormuz have forced carriers onto the Cape of Good Hope, spiking spot container rates by more than 20% and lifting Brent crude to $94.57 a barrel. The disruption deepens container imbalances and fuels...
Romania Awards Siemens Mobility $340‑$530 M Contract for 12 Hydrogen Trains Amid Procurement Turmoil
Romania’s Railway Reform Authority awarded Siemens Mobility a contract worth roughly $340‑$530 million for 12 hydrogen‑fuel‑cell trains after four failed tenders and the loss of original EU recovery‑plan funding. The deal spotlights a clash between sustainability ambitions and persistent governance setbacks.
Denham Partners with First American Nuclear to Power AI‑Driven Data Centres
Denham Capital’s infrastructure arm has sealed a strategic partnership with First American Nuclear to provide integrated on‑site power for AI‑intensive hyperscale data centres. The deal combines Denham’s Gray Oak Power gas‑generation platform with FANCO’s fast‑spectrum SMR roadmap, aiming to close...
Battery Costs Plunge 75% as Grid-Scale Storage Surges Globally
Global battery prices have fallen about 75% since 2018, driving a roughly one‑third jump in grid‑scale storage projects in 2026. Massive farms in Inner Mongolia, Scotland and Australia are coming online, while China now supplies half of all installed capacity,...
JA Solar Summit Shows Solar-Storage Integration Surge as 2025 Sets Record 692 GW Renewable Additions
JA Solar’s 5th Global Solar and Energy Storage Summit gathered more than 20,000 attendees from 30 countries and underscored a rapid rise in solar‑storage projects. Speakers cited a record 692 GW of renewable capacity added in 2025, with solar accounting for...
Halliburton CEO: U.S. Oil Is in the ‘Early Innings’ of a Rebound—And a Drilling Ramp-Up Is Coming
Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said the U.S. oil sector is in the "early innings" of a rebound, driven by heightened energy‑security concerns after the Iran war. Production peaked at 13.8 million barrels last year, and smaller producers are already hiring more...
Brent Surpasses $100 as VP Vance Cancels Islamabad Trip
Brent oil is back above $100 after US Vice President JD Vance called off his Islamabad trip. This follows Iran’s refusal to join talks there to negotiate an end to the War or, at the minimum, extend the ceasefire, which is...
Geothermal Could Cover 64% of AI Data Center Energy Demand by 2030
Geothermal energy is poised to become a dominant power source for AI‑driven data centers, with a Rhodium Group report estimating it could meet up to 64% of the sector’s energy‑demand growth by the early 2030s. The technology’s baseload capability eliminates...
Transco Pipeline Project Faces Legal Challenge
Five environmental groups have filed a petition with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' water‑quality permit for Transco's $1.5 billion Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP). The project would add capacity to existing pipelines...
Made in the Shade
The post spotlights a wave of institutional shifts: the Supreme Court’s 2016 “shadow docket” decision on the Clean Power Plan birthed a secretive track now used for over 20 Trump‑era rulings; AI’s accelerating power fuels debate over gene‑editing humans to...
EU Eyes Rules Excluding Existing Corsia Phase 1 Supply
The European Commission is drafting rules that could render the entire existing pool of CORSIA Phase 1 credits ineligible for EU airlines. The proposal targets credits generated under high‑forest, low‑deforestation (HFLD) methodologies and those from projects with a non‑renewable biomass fraction...
Op/Ed: Oil Shocks Will Keep Coming. High-Speed Rail Can Boost Our Resilience.
Oil price volatility tied to the Strait of Hormuz threatens U.S. security and consumer costs, prompting calls for a resilient, electrified transport network. California is advancing a high‑speed rail system powered by renewable electricity, positioning it as the backbone of...
Independent Testing Where Tesla’s Lithium Refinery Discharges Wastewater Found Toxic Metals
Independent testing by Eurofins found hexavalent chromium and arsenic in wastewater from Tesla's $1 billion lithium‑refinery near Corpus Christi, contaminants not covered by the plant’s state permit. Texas regulators previously reported compliance but did not test for heavy metals, creating a...
ABB Adds Generative AI Capabilities to Ability EMS
ABB has integrated its generative AI solution, the Industrial Knowledge Vault (IKV), with the ABB Ability Energy Management System (EMS). The new EMS Copilot lets users ask natural‑language questions about energy use, emissions, costs and equipment performance, eliminating the need...
Kentucky Utilities Eye 266-MW Pumped Storage Project as Demand Drives Renewed Interest
Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities are assessing a $1.3 billion, 266‑MW pumped‑storage project in southeast Kentucky, the first of its kind for the state. The Lewis Ridge facility would generate up to 60 GWh per month and could be operational...
Fossil Gas and Oil Power 2025 Emissions Surge
Fossil gas and oil were the two key drivers of global energy-related emissions growth in 2025, according to the IEA's latest report. Another reminder that we urgently need to get rid of these fuels because their use kills our life...
Saipem Gets to SURF with ExxonMobil's Latest Guyana Project
Saipem secured a contract to perform subsea engineering for ExxonMobil's proposed Longtail development offshore Guyana. The deal gives the Italian contractor the green light to execute SURF (Subsea Umbilical Risers and Flowlines) work, marking its first such engagement in the...
The POWER Interview: Advantages of Geothermal Deployment
Geothermal energy delivers continuous, baseload power that sidesteps the intermittency of wind and solar, making it attractive for utilities and data‑center operators. Advances from the oil‑and‑gas sector—such as directional drilling and reservoir modeling—have lowered development risk and expanded the geographic...
Federal Judge Breaks Trump’s Permitting Blockade
A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction that blocks five Trump‑era tactics used to stall federal solar and wind permits. Judge Denise Casper found the actions likely violated the Administrative Procedures Act, striking down an Interior memo requiring Secretary...
Geothermal and Storage: The Next Frontier in Reliable Data Center Power
Data center operators are seeking clean, firm power. At a Data Center World panel, executives from Sage Geosystems, Meta, and XL Batteries highlighted next‑generation geothermal and long‑duration storage as emerging solutions that can deliver 24/7 carbon‑free electricity. They stressed the...
Iran's Oil Stockpile Bypasses US Blockade, Sales to China Persist
My take w/ @WallStBullion on the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: "Iran has ~180m barrels of oil floating outside the Strait. Even with the US blockade, revenue from oil sales will keep flowing into Iran. Iran will be able...
Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant
A joint RMI‑OTS R&D study found that reclaimed R‑410A refrigerant performs indistinguishably from virgin refrigerant across residential split and rooftop heat‑pump units. The United States is phasing down high‑GWP HFCs under the AIM Act, creating a looming supply‑demand gap for legacy...
Miliband’s ‘Break the Link’ Plan Is Not a Magic Formula for Lowering Energy Bills
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced a voluntary "break the link" scheme that moves older wind and solar projects from the legacy Renewables Obligation (RO) onto fixed‑price contracts for difference (CfDs). The reform targets about 30% of UK electricity generation,...
Congo's Hidden Cost Fuels Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
Clean energy has a dirty secret buried deep in the Congo. Here, The Elements of Power author Nicolas Niarchos @apostcardfromthevolcano pulls the supply chain apart link by link. Notes https://jordanharbinger.com/1315 Apple https://buff.ly/VwoPcHI Spotify https://buff.ly/FjWbpZJ Overcast https://buff.ly/VLlkVWW
Broken Support May Flip to Strong Resistance
Broken support becomes resistance? $CL_F $USO After buyers defended the AVWAP from the beginning of the war, that anchor failed abruptly with the gap lower last Thursday. Now the prior support is being tested and it has the potential to...
Vertical Bifacial PV Beats Tilted Systems in UK
Vertical bifacial PV outperforms tilted PV systems in the UK #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/L6DFEo1iJ1
Efficiency Standards Boost Affordability and Grid Reliability
Appliance Efficiency Standards: A Proven Tool for Affordability and Grid Reliability #energysky -- via RMI https://t.co/kNBlp5mNwK
Energy Stocks Offer Opportunities Amid Middle East Uncertainty
No one knows how the Middle East plays out. But energy setups are there if you’re looking. $CRC $VG $EQNR $APA $XLE https://t.co/yXaphla7Kt
Trump Claims Blockade Success Despite Dozens of Bypasses
“The blockade has been a tremendous success,” Trump said. At least 34 tankers with links to Iran have bypassed the US blockade since it began, according to the cargo tracking group Vortexa. https://t.co/6DjDLHXXh9
Kallas Pushes Free Hormuz Passage, Hints Toll
Kallas is arguing for free passage through Hormuz. Sounds like someone is brewing on building a tollbooth
Prefer Predictable Daytime Data over Volatile Weekend Announcements
I personally prefer regular monthly market data updates during regular business hours over sporadic and capricious evening/weekend announcements that can move the price of the world's largest commodity market by 10% or more. So, if we could get back to that...
Brent Crude Surges Past $100 Mark Again
*VANCE CALLED OFF TRIP TO PAKISTAN: AP And just like that Brent breaks back above the magic $100 treshold https://t.co/6zbrIXzw1c
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Hybrid Street Lights Power Rural China with Wind, Solar
Hybrid Street Lights: How Wind and Solar Are Powering Rural China by @XueJia24682 #Innovation #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #Technology https://t.co/4nI8jteca0
Prediction Market Gives 35% Chance Hormuz Traffic Normal by May 15
Since energy and capital markets are growing increasingly complacent on US-Iran headlines, have to look to more direct prediction markets to get actual takes on progress. Kalshi's market for traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal by May...
Energy Remains Structurally Under‑Owned in S&P 500
S&P 500 Energy as a share of the total S&P 500. Energy is still structurally under-owned https://t.co/d3AFCGEo9G
Four New Synchronous Condensers Boost State Grid
“1,000 tonnes of spinning metal:” Network inks deal to add four syncons to state grid #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/sWQ456veP4 https://t.co/Y6NY82NzHY
U.S. Navy Boards Sanctioned Oil Tanker Safely in Indian Ocean
U.S. forces board a sanctioned oil tanker 'without incident' in the Indian Ocean Map form @Kpler https://t.co/jqhC9bZpvJ