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:

DRC’s Power Demand Boom Underscores Need for Massive Energy Investment
Electricity consumption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo jumped 18.2% in 2024, outpacing a 0.4% dip in generation caused by a technical shutdown at the Inga II hydropower plant. The surge reflects expanding industrial activity, especially in the Maluku Special Economic Zone, but underscores a widening supply‑demand gap. With less than 20% of the population connected to the grid, the country faces a massive infrastructure shortfall. The African Development Bank has earmarked roughly $1.6 billion for transport projects, but tens of billions are needed to modernize power generation and distribution.
Oil Prices Fluctuate; Trade Real‑Time Predictions on Hyperliquid
$92… no $110… wait $75… now $87 a barrel Now trading — Crude Oil (Brent & WTI) Powered by @HyperliquidX 24/7 oil markets, users can trade monthly, weekly, and daily Predictions 🛢️ https://t.co/7TwArSgY9T

PV Yield Uncertainty: What It Means for Engineers, Lenders and Investors
Utility‑scale solar projects hinge on the projected annual energy yield (PVOUT), but that figure carries inherent uncertainty from irradiance variability, modeling assumptions, and site‑specific losses. Engineers, investors, and lenders each interpret this uncertainty differently—design constraints, return probability distributions, and credit...

Oil Prices Retreat to Reaction Lows, Gasoline Dips
Oil sinking back toward those reaction lows... WTI $87 Brent $99 Gasoline futures down 36 cents https://t.co/68SjGUaFW0

‘Urgent’ Reform of EU PV Recycling Needed to Tackle Growing Waste Volume
The EU’s photovoltaic recycling capacity of about 170,000 tonnes per year is set to be dwarfed by an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of PV waste annually by 2050. Germany alone could generate roughly 681,800 tonnes, far exceeding its 99,000‑tonne processing ability....

Texas-California Clean Power Race Heats Up | Reading and Podcast Picks - Mar. 23, 2026
Texas set a new solar generation record of over 33 GW, overtaking California as the nation’s leader in utility‑scale solar. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects Texas will supply roughly 40% of all new solar capacity and 53% of battery storage...
Anticipating Launch of TAHCO Oil Control Venture
I’m looking forward to the official launch of the “Trump Ayatollah Hormuz Control for Oil” joint-venture. Otherwise known as as the TAHCO.
What Natural Gas End Users Should Focus on as Fundamentals Shift
Rising demand from LNG terminals, industrial plants, petrochemicals and power generators is tightening U.S. pipeline capacity, forcing natural‑gas end users to rethink supply strategies. The surge pushes LNG feed‑gas deliveries toward 20 billion cubic feet per day, creating price spikes during...

Portugal Edges Closer to Declaring Energy Crisis as Gas Prices Surge
Portugal is close to meeting EU criteria for declaring an energy crisis as natural‑gas wholesale prices surge past €180 per megawatt hour (about $195) and are 85% above pre‑war levels. If the European Council confirms the crisis, the government could...
Gulf Shut‑ins Could Cut 200 M Barrels in First Month
Current Gulf production shut ins alone, if held at current levels through end-March, will result in roughly 200 million barrels of crude *not being produced* over the first ~30 days of the Iran War Not simply displaced supply, but barrels that...

Vietnam: VinBus Deploys 169 Electric Buses in Ho Chi Minh City
VinBus, Vietnam’s public‑transport arm of Vingroup, has introduced 169 electric buses into Ho Chi Minh City, sourced from its sister firm VinFast. The new fleet operates across nine routes, replacing conventional diesel units with the compact EB 6 and larger EB 8 models. Both...

EToro Enables Oil Trading 24/7
eToro has launched a new product, $OIL.24‑7, that lets clients trade crude‑oil contracts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. The broker imposes a maximum leverage of ten‑times and a fixed stop‑loss set at 75 %...

XLE Soars 31.8% as Middle East Energy Hits Hard
IEA confirmed it. 40+ Middle East energy assets severely damaged. Not 1. Not 5. Forty. $XLE is the only S&P sector positive since war began. +31.8% YTD. Everyone else is still pretending this is temporary. https://t.co/5G2vuSlSjh

US‑Israeli Strike Closes Hormuz, Triggers Global Gas Crisis
Thanks to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is ‘closed’. As a result, countries worldwide are facing a gas supply CLIFF-EDGE. LNG from Qatar is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. US-ISRAELI WAR ON IRAN = MASSIVE COLLATERAL DAMAGE. https://t.co/qE8zgTwxgC

China Eases Planned Increase to Gas Prices for 300 Million Drivers
China's National Development and Reform Commission trimmed a planned gasoline hike, setting the average pump price at $4.70 per gallon instead of the slated $5.10. The adjustment follows a 20% price surge since the Iran conflict began and aims to...
Strait Closure Triggers Universal Refined‑petroleum Supply Shock
I spoke with @GaryBohm5 'Metals and Miners' about the closure of the Strait: "It will affect everything that's produced by refined petroleum: the chemical and plastics industry, fertilizer. This supply shock will ripple through everything. There's nothing that isn't touched." https://t.co/SPZ9A1UMhy

Sultan Al Jaber’s CERAWeek Speech Highlights Energy Transition
Worth to read the speech that Sultan al Jaber, the CEO of UAE-state owned oil giant ADNOC, just delivered at CERAWeek (by video conference for obvious reasons). https://t.co/ATookvzJEA

Sam Altman-Backed Fusion Startup Helion in Talks to Sell Power to OpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stepped down as chair of Helion, the fusion startup he backs, as the two companies negotiate a power‑purchase agreement. The tentative deal would give OpenAI access to roughly 12.5% of Helion’s output—targeting five gigawatts by 2030...

Climate Issues in the 2026 Governor’s Race: Building Decarbonization and Energy Efficiency
California’s 2026 gubernatorial race spotlights building decarbonization as a linchpin for the state’s climate and affordability agenda. Buildings account for roughly a quarter of the state’s emissions, and the aging natural‑gas distribution network is inflating utility bills for homeowners and...
Trump Muses Joint Control of Hormuz with Iran
Reporter: “what about the Strait of Hormuz, who is going to be in control of that?” Trump: “uhhh, be jointly controlled …” Reporter: “by who?” Trump: “maybe me … me and the Ayatollah” https://t.co/hcwRS5PbZf

$4 Billion LNG Lawsuit Going Ahead as Arbitration Starts
Singapore‑based Sinolam International has launched a $4 billion arbitration claim against Panama under the Panama‑Singapore free trade agreement, alleging unlawful cancellation of a 441 MW LNG‑to‑power project license. The dispute, filed with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), stems...
Clean Energy Now Powers 90% of New US Capacity
90% of everything added to the US grid last year was clean energy. Most Americans don't know this. We're not "alternative energy" anymore. We're dominant energy. That's what @EnergyEmpirePod is here for 🗽🔌 https://t.co/v16d3ugteT
Physical Oil Scarcity Outpaces Futures Pricing, Says Chevron CEO
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says the physical oil market is tighter than the financial oil market is reflecting, particularly for refined products. The scarcity, particularly in Asia, is “not fully priced in the oil futures curve,” he says. #CERAWeek
European Residential Heat Pump Sales Increased in 2025
Residential heat pump sales across 16 European nations rose to 2.62 million units in 2025, a 10.3% year‑on‑year increase and the third‑largest annual total on record. The growth follows a reversal of a 23% decline seen earlier in the year, driven...
U.S. Oil Production Likely Plateaued, Growth Hinges on Prices
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says that U.S. oil production probably reached a “plateau” over the last 6 months or so — too early to say whether growth would re-start as it would depend whether current prices stay or not.

On This Day : The Birth of ‘Mr Five Per Cent’ Calouste Gulbenkian
Calouste Gulbenkian, born in 1869 in Ottoman Constantinople to an Armenian merchant family, became a pioneering oil financier after studying engineering in London. He helped merge Shell’s transport arm with Royal Dutch Petroleum in 1907 and, in 1912, engineered the...

WTI‑Brent Spread Reveals Iran Market Tension
one of the more useful ways to track market tension in Iran is the spread between WTI and Brent crude (nearest contract). Here a 1 yr chart, lower pane shows the spread. src: BBG https://t.co/o0tLpkaSdP
US Warns EU to Pass Trade Deal or Risk Losing ‘Favourable’ Access to LNG
The United States warned the European Union that failure to ratify the pending Energy Trade and Investment Agreement could jeopardize the preferential access EU importers currently enjoy for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). Washington’s message comes as Europe scrambles to...
Hormuz Oil Flow Stalled, Supply Strain Persists
This is correct So much of the world now can increasingly just be driven by overconfidently posting through it—but not oil, not for long Hormuz flow still hasn't resumed and every day we're shedding more oil from the system That'll catch up—can't jawbone...

Taiwanese Wave Energy Project Secures Land Lease
Eco Wave Power’s 100 kW onshore wave‑energy pilot in Taiwan has secured a five‑year land lease at Suao Port, with an option to extend. The lease covers 6.75 hectares of the southern outer breakwater, specifically Zone C (2.25 ha) designated for testing. The agreement, signed by...
US SPR Release Targets Up to 3 Million Barrels Daily
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the US flow rate from the SPR exchange would amount to be 1.0-1.5m b/d and says the total IEA release would come close to 3m b/d. (Those are the first flow rates estimates publicly discussed...
As Communities and Policymakers Push Back, Can Batteries Make Data Centers Better Neighbors?
Virginia’s legislature passed a bill that, starting in July, will block air‑quality permits for data centers unless their onsite generators meet federal Tier 4 emissions standards, reflecting growing community backlash over noise, pollution and water use. The measure, which originally required...
Unblocking Hormuz Strait May Avert Global Depression
🤙🏻 Call me, beep me, if you want to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and unwind the largest energy supply shock in history to avoid a global depression.
Oil Prices Shift on Brief Comments, Says Wald
Watch Oil Moving on ‘A Couple Words and a Tweet,’ Atlantic Council’s Wald Says - Bloomberg @ACGlobalEnergy #oott https://t.co/YElH8A8ORG

The War on Oil: Iran Conflict and the Global Energy Crisis
Veteran oil trader Adi Imsirovic told the Beyond the Indus podcast that the ongoing Iran‑Israel conflict has choked the Strait of Hormuz, creating the most severe energy shock of his career. He argued that futures markets are underpricing the supply...
IEA: Today's Energy Crisis Over Twice Past Crises
JUST IN: IEA official says current energy crisis is more than 2x worse than both 1970s oil crises combined
E-Magy Presents Silicon-Dominant Anode Breakthroughs for Next-Gen Drone Power & Electronics
E‑magy will present new silicon‑dominant anode data at the 2026 International Battery Seminar in Orlando, showcasing 12 Ah 6S2P cells designed for high‑performance drone packs. The nanoporous silicon material promises higher energy density and faster charging compared with conventional chemistries, backed...

Fresh LNG Gig in Africa Lands on Spanish Player’s Worksheet
Spain’s Reganosa has secured a project‑management consultancy contract to oversee construction of a new LNG import terminal in Dakar, Senegal. The terminal will feature a 137,000‑cubic‑meter floating storage unit, quay‑based modular regasification, and later on‑shore expansion including truck‑loading bays and...

Brent at $100 Relieves Political Fear of High Oil
Brent is down to $100. The latest de-escalation signal is worth about as much as the escalation signal Saturday night, but - underneath all that - it's clear that high oil prices scare this administration as much as they scared...

Markets React After US Bombing Pause Announced
President Donald Trump announced a five‑day pause on U.S. strikes against Iranian energy targets and extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Hormuz Strait, prompting a rally across U.S. equities. The S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 all rose between...

Whole System Thinking
DNV’s latest Energy Transition Outlook warns the United Kingdom is missing a whole‑system approach to decarbonisation. The senior VP highlighted that fragmented policies across electricity, transport and industry risk derailing the 2050 net‑zero target. Without integrating socio‑economic, biodiversity and financing...

Combination of Voltage and Oscillation Caused Iberian Blackout, Says ENTSO-E Report
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO‑E) released its final report on the April 2025 Iberian blackout, identifying a cascade of at least 15 interacting factors such as voltage oscillations, gaps in reactive power control, and rapid generator...

Ghana Plans to Procure 200 MW of Battery Storage
Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition announced a plan to procure 200 MW of battery energy storage through competitive bidding. The initiative aims to bolster the national grid’s capacity during nighttime peak demand. Currently, Ghana operates only 10 MWh of battery...
5-Year Waits and Rising Costs: How Demand Is Redefining the Gas Turbine Market
Global gas turbine lead times have stretched to five years for large units and up to three years for smaller models, while prices have surged nearly 50% to about $3,000 per kilowatt. Demand is exploding, with 2025 orders projected at...

US Oil Use Hits Record Low Amid Global Supply Shock
its the "biggest ever shock to global oil supply", as people keep pointing out, but the US economy is also less oil-intensive than it has ever been.. https://t.co/zk9SxpcEA5
UP Cabinet Clears Gorakhpur Solar City Plan, Approves 20 MW Floating Solar Plant
Uttar Pradesh’s cabinet approved Gorakhpur’s designation as a solar city and cleared a 20 MW floating solar project on an 80‑acre reservoir in Chiluatal. The plant, to be built by Coal India Ltd on land provided free by the tourism department,...

Oil Prices Near Peak Due to Hormuz Risk Premium
In this podcast conversation with @paulkrugman from last week, we debate my view that oil prices are near their peak because large risk premia are priced into oil that embed substantially reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Watch...

Statkraft Starts Operations at 206MW Solar PV Portfolio in Ireland
Statkraft has begun commercial operations at two Irish solar PV projects – the 174 MW Clonfad farm and the 32 MW Irishtown site – adding 206 MW of capacity. The move lifts Statkraft’s operational solar portfolio in the Republic of Ireland to 560 MW,...

Zelestra Brings Spanish 162MW Solar PV Portfolio Online
Spanish IPP Zelestra has placed three solar farms—Belinchón I, II and III—in commercial operation, delivering a combined 162 MW capacity in Cuenca, Castilla‑La Mancha. The projects, built in 14 months, feature 275,000 modules on single‑axis trackers and are projected to generate...

Both Administrations Fear High Oil, Keep Prices Low
One thing the Trump and Biden administrations share is a fear of high oil prices. That means we can't get $150 or $200, as evidenced by Trump's latest about-turn today. Important to look through the alarmist hype and remember the...