🎯Today's Energy Pulse
Updated 1h agoWhat's happening: Saudi Arabia prequalifies firms for new gas transmission grids
The Energy Ministry has pre‑qualified eight standalone firms and seven consortia to design, build, own and operate natural‑gas transmission networks in five key industrial cities. The BOO scheme targets Al‑Kharj, Sudair and three Jeddah zones, with a technical‑bid deadline of 23 April 2026. A total of 36 industrial cities are slated for future grid development.
Also developing:
By the numbers: DOF Group acquires two high‑end AHTS vessels for $100M
News•Feb 19, 2026
World Briefs | Nigeria’s Tinubu and Germany’s Merz Talk Security, Power Deal in Phone Call
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed reviving a stalled electricity transmission project with Siemens and the purchase of used German helicopters, highlighting deeper security and power cooperation. France’s audit office warned that the country must shift from tax hikes to spending cuts to meet its 2026 deficit target, while the UK cautioned that the EU’s “Made in Europe” rule could create trade barriers. Burkina Faso experienced a surge in coordinated jihadist attacks, and Argentina’s President Javier Milei pushed a contentious labour reform amid a nationwide strike. Zimbabwe began administering the long‑acting HIV prevention drug lenacapavir, marking a pioneering public‑health rollout.
By BusinessLIVE (South Africa) – RSS hub
News•Feb 19, 2026
Kimmeridge-Mubadala JV to Acquire SM Galvan Ranch in Texas
Mubadala and Kimmeridge’s joint venture Caturus will buy SM Energy’s Galvan Ranch for $950 million, adding 250 MMcfed production from 260 wells. Post‑deal, pro‑forma net output rises to about 950 MMcfed. The acquisition gives Caturus over 275,000 net acres across the Gulf Coast...
By Rigzone – News
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Solar Farms Double as Thriving Biodiversity Sanctuaries
Who says clean energy and nature can’t thrive together? New @NatLabRockies research confirms what global studies are increasingly showing: utility-scale solar farms actively foster biodiversity By planting native prairie under panels, 3 sites in Minnesota have transformed into thriving sanctuaries for...
By Assaad Razzouk
News•Feb 19, 2026
Stock Market Today: Dow Slips; Oil Prices Hit Highest Since Summer
The Dow Jones slipped Thursday as investors weighed fresh earnings reports and a sharp rally in oil prices. Brent crude surged up to $72 a barrel, its highest level since the summer, driven by heightened geopolitical tension surrounding U.S. naval...
By The Wall Street Journal – Markets
News•Feb 19, 2026
Oregon Adopts New Building Codes to Reduce Energy Costs and Increase Energy Efficiency in Newly Constructed Homes
Oregon's Residential and Manufactured Structures Board approved updates to the state residential energy code, requiring new homes to install energy‑efficient heat pumps instead of traditional ducted air‑conditioning. The code change is projected to save homeowners about $125 per month, or...
By Cleantechnica – Buildings
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Anti‑fossil Policies Raise Electricity Costs Despite Cheap Gas
The number one source of electricity on the grid is natural gas. Its price has fallen since 2010. Meanwhile, electricity prices have gone up significantly. This shouldn't happen. This is the direct result of anti-fossil-fuel policies based on the dangerous and false belief that...
By Alex Epstein
Social•Feb 19, 2026
U.S. Refiners Accuse Trump‑linked Scheme in Venezuelan Oil
U.S. refiners want to cut out traders & Chevron from Venezuelan crude purchases. They see the Trump setup as a RIP OFF Barrels now must move thru an elite club of approved middle men. Want to bet there's a grift component flowing to...
By Art Berman Blog
News•Feb 18, 2026
Golden Pass LNG Activity Normalizes; Permian Lateral Cleared to Proceed
Golden Pass LNG’s gas nominations have settled back to average levels after a brief surge, now hovering around 1.5% of the terminal’s capacity. The project received approval to construct a 1.1‑mile, 42‑inch lateral linking the facility to the Permian Basin,...
By Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI)
Social•Feb 19, 2026
EU Gas Storage at 32%—Second Lowest Since 2011
EU GAS STORAGE facilities are now less than one-third full, with more than a month of the winter heating season probably still ahead. Storage facilities were on average 32.5% full on February 17, the second lowest seasonal fill in records...
By John Kemp
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Confusion Over “Double Tail” Amid Oil Price Concerns
I doubt many people have any idea what you mean by “the built in double tail” or how that relates to my post on oil prices and geological fear about the Iran situation @B2Balzer
By Art Berman Blog
News•Feb 18, 2026
Luxembourg Launches New Tender for C&I Solar
Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy has opened a €3 million tender to fund commercial and industrial solar projects between 30 kW and 200 kW. Applications are accepted until April 17 and are split into three lots covering rooftop, façade and car‑port installations. Projects that...
By pv magazine
Social•Feb 19, 2026
US Iran Strike Would Spark Prolonged, Global Fallout
If the US strikes Iran, it won’t be a weekend event, writes @TheMichaelEvery Retaliation risks include terror cells in Europe The broader Middle East is flammable Energy markets are rightly pricing tail risk—but the real question is duration, not ignition #OilMarkets #Iran #Geopolitics...
By Art Berman Blog
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Jupiter International Doubles Indian Solar Capacity to 2 GW
Jupiter International doubles solar cell manufacturing capacity to 2 GW in India #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/N7yACehDbe
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
First Gen Powers Lyceum Satellite Campuses
First Gen Corp. will supply over 1,150 kW of geothermal electricity to Lyceum of the Philippines University’s satellite campuses in Batangas and Laguna. The deal, enabled by the retail aggregation program, lets the campuses pool demand to meet the 500‑kW threshold...
By Philstar – Business
Social•Feb 19, 2026
LNG Exports Surpass US Domestic Gas Use, Taxpayers Fund Profits
LNG exports volumes are now higher than gas for US homes or businesses The public is subsidizing corporate oil & gas company profits. Long live Make America Great Again https://t.co/cKeIFab7A4 #NaturalGas #LNG #EnergyMarkets #ElectricityPrices #USPolitics #EnergySecurity
By Art Berman Blog
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Interstate Objectors Push Independent Review of NSW Battery
Another NSW battery sent for independent review by interstate and long-distance objectors #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/4Yc1aJjiuA https://t.co/QBPyuoR6kC
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
CleanChoice Energy Triples Capacity with Solar Acquisitions in North Carolina
CleanChoice Energy announced the acquisition of two utility‑scale solar projects in North Carolina—Sumac (103.92 MW) and Sweetleaf (118.3 MW)—adding 222.2 MW of capacity and tripling its portfolio. Construction is slated to start early 2027 with grid interconnection to the PJM market expected in...
By POWER Magazine
Social•Feb 19, 2026
China Buys US LNG, Redirects It to Europe
China hasn’t stopped buying U.S. LNG It’s just not burning it at home. Long-term contracts still bind the two systems Flexible LNG markets let China arbitrage politics by diverting cargoes to Europe. Does anyone on Team Trump know this? https://t.co/CacMbcaSMk #LNG #China #EnergyMarkets #Geopolitics #TradeWar #NaturalGas
By Art Berman Blog
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Power Costs, Not Tariffs, Decide Aluminum Smelter Survival
Trump tariffs couldn’t save a major U.S. aluminum smelter Smelting lives or dies on cheap, reliable power AI and data centers now outcompete metalmaking for electricity. Tariffs are the minor leagues. Energy is the big show. https://t.co/z7ZanDwxd5 #Aluminum #EnergyPolicy #Manufacturing #AI #Trade #PowerMarkets
By Art Berman Blog
Blog•Feb 18, 2026
Viridien Partners with NVIDIA to Advance HPC for Seismic Imaging Workflows
Viridien announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate its seismic imaging workflows using NVIDIA's high‑performance computing platforms. The collaboration will optimize Viridien’s algorithms for GPU accelerators, including tensor cores and mixed‑precision techniques, aiming to boost imaging speed, accuracy, and efficiency....
By HPCwire
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Geopolitical Fears Add Incremental Risk Premium to Oil
Oil rallied on fear Iran headlines + Israel alerts = instant risk premium in a tight market But geopolitics don't matter. Except they do in small continuous increments that convert to a steady aggregate premium. https://t.co/6vQGj7YEmu #OilMarkets #Geopolitics #Iran #EnergySecurity #crudeoil
By Art Berman Blog
Social•Feb 19, 2026
UL Solutions Sets New Solar Inverter Cybersecurity Standard
UL Solutions develops new standard for solar inverter cybersecurity #energysky -- via Solar Power World: https://t.co/TvHlobdGEg
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
India Keen to Diversify Crude Oil, Coking Coal Sources; Eyes High-Quality US Supplies: Piyush Goyal
India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal said New Delhi will diversify crude oil and coking‑coal supplies, targeting high‑quality U.S. coal to reduce reliance on a few geographies. He highlighted a $100 billion aircraft demand from the United States over the next five...
By ET EnergyWorld (The Economic Times)
Social•Feb 19, 2026
On‑site Fossil Power Becomes Liability; Choose Clean Grid Solutions
On-site fossil generation is quickly becoming a big liability for data center developers. At Firma Power, we're supplying clean power solutions for grid connected data centers and a real alternative to this polluting path to power.
By Jesse D. Jenkins
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Octopus Expands US Portfolio with California Solar-Storage Acquisition
Octopus acquires California solar-plus-storage project as part of US$1 billion investment #energysky -- via pv-tech: https://t.co/Cv3DZMxKvt
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
Volkswagen Launches The All-New Caravelle PHEV In South Africa
Volkswagen is set to launch the all‑new Caravelle plug‑in hybrid (PHEV) in South Africa mid‑2026, joining a market where PHEV sales surged 280% year‑over‑year to 2,808 units, representing a 0.47% share of new‑vehicle sales. The Caravelle rides on VW’s MQB...
By CleanTechnica
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Battery Storage Ushers in European Energy Resilience
Battery storage can help establish a new era of European energy resilience #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: https://t.co/H4SPIjSkjN
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Libya Redirects Oil Payments From Russia to Western Traders
Libya is cutting Russia out of its oil trade Fuel imports are shifting away from Russia toward large Western traders Sanctions didn’t “punish” Libya into changing behavior. They reshaped who gets paid. https://t.co/pmKRlqgEK1 #OilMarkets #Libya #EnergyGeopolitics #Sanctions #OPEC #crudeoil
By Art Berman Blog
News•Feb 18, 2026
DG Matrix, Which Builds Solid-State Transformers to Handle up to 2.4 MW and Boost Data Center Power Efficiency, Raised a...
DG Matrix, a startup developing solid‑state transformers (SSTs) for data centers, announced a $60 million Series A round led by Engine Ventures. The company’s SSTs can handle up to 2.4 MW, promising higher efficiency and reduced footprint compared with legacy transformer technology....
By Techmeme
Social•Feb 19, 2026
NREL Measures UV Degradation in TOPCon Solar Cells
NREL researchers quantify UV-induced degradation levels in TOPCon solar cells #energysky -- via pv magazine usa: https://t.co/xLGnfYrybS
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 19, 2026
States Sue Trump Over Blocked Renewable Funding
States sue Trump administration for blocking funded renewable projects Congress approved the money. The White House froze it. Now states are daring the courts to decide if the Constitution still stands. https://t.co/rYIh7fS9kw #ClimatePolicy #Federalism #EnergyPolitics #IRA #USPolitics
By Art Berman Blog
News•Feb 18, 2026
What It Takes to Thrive in Residential Solar for 20 Years
Residential solar has shifted from simple ownership to complex financing, inflating soft costs despite falling panel prices. Companies that prioritize operational discipline, lean processes, and transparent pricing are better equipped to survive policy volatility. Reducing soft costs through workflow consolidation...
By Solar Power World
Social•Feb 19, 2026
Australia Adds 4.9 GWh Batteries in 2025, Equalling 2017
Australia commissions 4.9GWh of grid-scale batteries in 2025, matching entire 2017-2024 output #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: https://t.co/xEhWE79UGs
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Winter Storm Leaves Solar Power Completely Ineffective
As badly as wind performed during recent winter weather, solar performed far, far worse. As often happens during winter storms, solar was mostly or totally useless during the times of highest demand (evening and early morning). In Florida, which was hit later...
By Alex Epstein
News•Feb 18, 2026
Slow Start to Global 2026 BESS Deployments in January, China Continues to Dominate
Global grid‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments slowed sharply in January 2026, with only 3.5 GW/10.5 GWh coming online – a 25 % drop from the same month last year. China, still the dominant market, added 1.9 GW/6.2 GWh, reflecting a 30‑50 % decline amid...
By Energy Storage News
Social•Feb 18, 2026
High‑Voltage DC Cuts AI Data Center Costs
High-voltage DC design targets AI data center costs #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/xe594PCmhP
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Solid‑state Batteries Outshine Li‑ion, Na‑ion Safety
Comparing safety profiles of lithium-ion, sodium-ion and solid-state batteries #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/2EDdejzvGR
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
1606 Corp to Acquire Plot of Land in Texas for AI Data Center Development
1606 Corp signed a non‑binding term sheet to acquire roughly 132 acres in Lufkin, Texas, including a 55 MW natural‑gas power plant and a 50,000 sq ft warehouse for an AI‑focused data center. The transaction is priced at about $11.67 million, combining $7.5 million in...
By Data Center Dynamics
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Fortescue's Repeating Solar Tracker Model Boosts Pilbara Innovation
“Tracker, panel, rinse, repeat:” How Fortescue is driving solar innovation in the Pilbara #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/t0Jovxaw7c https://t.co/NwSYabiAHC
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Quinbrook Activates 619 MWh Supernode BESS in Queensland
Quinbrook powers up 619MWh Supernode Stage One BESS in Queensland, Australia #energysky -- via Energy Storage News: https://t.co/ImIlFzLmCY
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
Energy Transition Underpins Dry Bulk Sector
Electric‑vehicle sales have surged nearly 700% this decade, driving a rapid rise in spodumene shipments from Australia to China and doubling bulk volumes since 2023. Panamax vessels now carry almost half of the 7 million tonnes of dry bulk moved last...
By Seatrade Maritime
Social•Feb 18, 2026
India Navy Seizes Shadow Fleet, Triggering Domino Effect
India's navy has begun seizing shadow fleet tankers in its exclusive economic zone. As I've said in other videos covering the shadow fleet, once the first domino falls...the rest will quickly follow. #crudeoil #crude #india #geopolitics https://t.co/IVVPGp8cQ7
By Peter Zeihan
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Farmland Protection Concerns Stall Renewable Energy Projects
Fear of farmland loss slows solar and wind development #energysky -- via Canary Media: https://t.co/wVWoSEYkxG
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
Illinois Governor Pritzker to Call for Two-Year Suspension of Data Center Tax Incentives – Report
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker plans to request a two‑year suspension of tax incentives for new data centers, pending a study of the sector’s impact on the state’s electricity grid and residential bills. Current incentives grant up to 20 years of...
By Data Center Dynamics
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Solar Needs High‑resolution Data to Curb Weather‑related Curtailments
Solar needs ‘high-resolution data’ to manage weather and grid curtailments, says expert #energysky -- via pv-tech: https://t.co/WT0iWKJmc7
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Brazil Finalizes Battery Auction Rules, 20 GW Ready
Brazil reserve battery auction rules near finalization with 20 GW lined up #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/tJ8et2sYH3
By Tor “SolarFred” Valenza
News•Feb 18, 2026
Kenya Awards Key Transmission Work to Power Grid
Kenya has awarded a $311 million power transmission contract to a joint venture of India’s Power Grid Corp and Africa50. The PPP will design, build, operate and maintain two high‑voltage lines serving western and northern Kenya, addressing chronic supply gaps. The...
By ET EnergyWorld (The Economic Times)
Social•Feb 18, 2026
IEA Shifts Priorities to Security, Clean Energy, Affordability
IEA executive director Fatih Birol proposes focusing the agency's work in three areas during the next few years: 1) energy security -- "first and foremost" mission 2) new energy uptake (wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear) 3) afordability of energy "IEA 3.0" may well be...
By Javier Blas
Social•Feb 18, 2026
Italy Cuts Carbon Charge on Electricity, Rattles Markets
Italy’s plan to strip carbon cost from power bills jolts markets https://t.co/RZ9Dw7uUKq via @E_Krukowska @Al_Brambilla https://t.co/aVgbxP1Rxm
By Zöe Schneeweiss
News•Feb 18, 2026
Hellenic Cables Nets BC-Wind Cable Contract
Hellenic Cables has been awarded a contract by DEME to supply roughly 70 km of 66 kV inter‑array submarine cables for Ocean Winds’ 390 MW BC‑Wind offshore project in the Polish Baltic Sea. The agreement covers design, engineering, manufacturing, testing and delivery of...
By reNEWS