Today's Energy Pulse
Scania pilots megawatt‑scale V2G for heavy‑duty electric trucks
Scania demonstrated one of the first vehicle‑to‑grid systems for heavy‑duty electric trucks using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). The pilot showed bi‑directional power flow, allowing trucks parked at depots to feed electricity back to the grid, with real‑time communication between the truck, charger and energy‑management platform enabling dynamic charging and discharging. The test marks a step toward integrating large‑capacity EVs into grid balancing.
Also developing:
Google’s UK AI Data Centers Understate Emissions by Five‑Fold, Report Finds
Google’s planned AI data centers in Thurrock and North Weald were found to understate their carbon impact by five times, according to a Guardian‑sourced review. The miscalculation means the facilities will contribute over 1% of the UK’s 2033 carbon budget, prompting scrutiny from environmental NGOs and regulators.
Natural Gas Futures Sustain Intraday Momentum as Summer Demand Nears, War Endures
Natural gas futures continued their intraday rally as the market priced in a hotter summer and persistent geopolitical tension. Prices rose roughly 3% to around $2.55 per million British thermal units, reflecting tighter European storage and higher U.S. demand for...
Outdated Office Space Could Undermine Oxford Street Revival Plans, WPA Warns
The Westminster Property Association (WPA) warns that roughly 3.8 million square feet of office space on Oxford Street falls short of the energy‑efficiency standards slated for 2030. The report says these outdated premises could derail the high‑profile retail and mixed‑use regeneration...
New Open‑Access Blueprint Demystifies U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard
1. If anyone thinks that understanding the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) is confusing, you are not alone. That is why, after 15 years of work with some extraordinary collaborators, I'm thrilled to share that "The Biofuels Blueprint: Understanding...
Spain's Wholesale Power Prices Hit €44/MWh, Making It Europe’s Cheapest Market
Spain's wholesale electricity price averaged €44 per megawatt-hour (about $48) in the first four months of 2026, undercutting Italy, Germany and the UK. The drop reflects a rapid shift from gas to wind and solar, with gas‑driven plants setting the...
US Treasury Yields Rise as Middle East Talks Stall, Oil Near $100
US Treasury yields jumped on Monday, with the 10‑year note up 3 basis points to 4.394% after President Trump rejected Iran’s counter‑proposal and oil prices surged toward $100 a barrel. The move echoed similar spikes in Indian government bonds, underscoring...
Geopolitical Tensions Set to Spike Energy and Metal Prices, Analysts Warn
Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett says commodities will be the biggest trade of the next five years as fresh explosions near Iran’s Strait of Hormuz and a tense US‑China summit raise supply‑risk fears. The events have already pushed West...
South Korea’s Kospi Sets New Record as Oil Prices Surge Amid Iran‑U.S. Tensions
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi opened 3.67% higher to a fresh all‑time high, buoyed by a jump in Brent crude to $105.7 per barrel. The rally unfolded as President Donald Trump dismissed Iran’s latest peace proposal, reviving geopolitical risk premia across...
KAIST Uses In‑Situ EC‑AFM to Capture First Nano‑Scale View of Lithium‑Metal Battery Degradation
KAIST announced that Professor Hong Seung‑bum’s team has, for the first time, visualized lithium‑metal battery degradation at the nano level using in‑situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy. The study identifies uneven lithium plating and the formation of electrically isolated “dead lithium”...
The Permian Pipeline Buildout Reaches Critical Mass
Natural gas production in the Permian Basin has doubled since 2018, reaching 25.4 billion cubic feet per day and representing 22% of U.S. marketed gas. Takeaway capacity has lagged, driving deep discounts at the Waha hub and occasional negative pricing. Three...
Aramco CEO’s Bombshell Warning Exposes the Fragile State of Global Energy Markets
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned on the first‑quarter earnings call that the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed roughly one billion barrels of oil from the market and could keep global supplies tight for years. He said...
APEC 2026 Embraces the International Power Community
The IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) convened in San Antonio, Texas, drawing a record 5,452 registrants and 319 exhibitors. Over 571 technical papers were presented across 71 sessions, while student participation surged to 655, up from 447 the prior...
How Trump's Helping China Win on Clean Energy | It’s The Democracy, Stupid with Edwin Eisendrath & Volts' David Roberts
The podcast "It’s The Democracy, Stupid" features Edwin Eisendrath and journalist David Roberts warning that the Trump administration’s rollback of clean‑energy incentives is eroding U.S. progress and handing China a decisive advantage in renewable technology. Roberts argues the United States...
EWR Expands Solar Energy System
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a solar expansion at Newark Liberty International Airport that will add roughly 5 megawatts of capacity across five new sites. The system is projected to generate about 5.9 million kilowatt‑hours of clean...
The Next Solar Boom Won’t Come From New Capacity but From Better Performance
The solar sector is moving from a focus on new megawatt installations to extracting more energy from existing farms. Operators are discovering that subtle electrical mismatches, wiring constraints, and data silos cause 1‑2% underperformance that erodes revenue. Advanced, phase‑level monitoring...
US' Golden Pass LNG Exports Second Cargo
Golden Pass LNG exported its second cargo on May 9, sending 76,000 tonnes of LNG to Asia aboard the 174,000 m³ HL Sea Eagle. The shipment follows the first export, the QatarEnergy‑operated Al Qaiyyah, which delivered cargo to Belgium on May 8. On...
Iran War Chokes ‘Major Driver’ of Global Economy
The U.S. war in Iran has choked the Strait of Hormuz, trapping roughly 15 million barrels of crude and 5 million barrels of petroleum products each day. The resulting supply squeeze pushed U.S. diesel prices 60 percent higher than a year ago, the...
Utah’s Wonder Valley and the Industrialization of AI Infrastructure
Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley project in Utah’s Box Elder County is being positioned as the next‑generation AI infrastructure campus, combining hyperscale data centers with on‑site utility‑scale power generation. The development, overseen by the Military Installation Development Authority, could host up...
Dutch Onshore Wind Growth Stalls in 2025
The Netherlands’ on‑shore wind fleet reached roughly 7,054 MW in 2025, but growth stalled to a net gain of only 96 MW as 29 turbines were added and 20 removed. Production rose modestly to 21.5 TWh, yet de‑commissioning of about 191 MW signals a...
Bill Gates’s Backed Fervo Energy Raises IPO Target to $1.82bn on $7.4bn
Houston‑based geothermal developer Fervo Energy increased its IPO size to a top‑of‑range $1.82 bn, implying a market valuation of about $7.4 bn. The company will offer 70 million shares at $25‑$26 each, a 26 % rise in share count and an 8 % lift in...
Why California’s Soft Natural Gas Prices May Not Last
California’s natural‑gas prices, among the nation’s lowest, are under pressure as expanding LNG export capacity, rising western power demand, and shifting pipeline flows tighten regional supply. The SoCal Citygate and PG&E Citygate benchmarks have historically lagged the Henry Hub, but...
Energy Security Fuels Agrivoltaics and E‑bike Boom
In the latest Current Climate newsletter: ☀️Solar on the farm: the benefits of agrivoltaics ⚡️Energy security is driving the clean energy transition 🚲 Trek Bicycle’s John Burke on the booming e-bike market, supply chain disruption https://www.forbes.com/sites/current-climate/2026/05/11/integrating-solar-on-the-farm/
Bulls Gaining Edge in ‘Tug of War’ as Natural Gas Trying to Break Through Resistance
Natural gas June futures are testing a key technical resistance, with prices probing the upper Bollinger Band. Production outlook remains bearish and LNG export constraints are dampening market sentiment. Forecasts show rising summer heat, adding demand pressure. The market is...
Jean-Hugues De Lamaze: Is Hormuz the New Fukushima?
A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has halted roughly a quarter of global oil output and significant LNG volumes, creating the worst energy shock on record, according to the IEA. The disruption mirrors the systemic shock of Fukushima but...
Nexans to Acquire Republic Wire
Nexans announced it will acquire 100% of Republic Wire for an enterprise value of about €680 million (≈$741 million), with a possible €43 million (≈$47 million) earn‑out. Republic Wire generated roughly €520 million (≈$567 million) in revenue over the year to February 2026 and operates a...
Iran News: Pres Trump Is Considering Renewing Project Freedom
President Trump is reportedly weighing a restart of Project Freedom, a U.S.-led naval operation to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran limited transit. Tehran has countered by demanding the United States clean up alleged nuclear‑dust contamination...
US Innovator Crosses The Bridge From Powdered Milk To SAF
Syzygy Plasmonics, a Texas startup, has unveiled a light‑driven Rigel bioreactor that turns landfill, dairy and wastewater biogas into drop‑in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) without high‑temperature reforming. The company’s first plant, NovaSAF‑1 in Uruguay, secured a six‑year, full‑volume offtake with...
DWT Wins Mynydd Clogau Service Deal
DWT has been awarded a service‑maintenance contract for the Mynydd Clogau wind farm in Powys, Wales, covering 17 Vestas V52 850 kW turbines that total 14.45 MW. The deal expands DWT’s seven‑year partnership with Nadara, which now spans 16 wind farms, 297...
Not All Market Interventions Equal Manipulation
We need more specific language when talking about "market manipulation," which like most things is a spectrum. Unprecedented Trump/White House jawboning and verbal interventions: obviously happening, manipulative in that they successfully moves markets, but fair game (if irresponsible) and not what...
Vistra Adds 4.5 GW of Capacity in Line with ‘Reasonable’ Forecasts for PJM, ERCOT
Vistra announced 4.5 GW of new capacity—spanning gas, nuclear uprates, coal‑to‑gas conversions and renewables—to meet its view of modest load growth in PJM and ERCOT. The company projects 5‑6% annual demand increase in ERCOT and 2‑3% in PJM through 2030, lower...
Chinese Giant Plans Canada Entry with Large Wind-Storage Project
Chinese manufacturer Envision Energy signed a strategic partnership with Cape Breton China Corp. to explore renewable projects in Nova Scotia. Their first joint venture is a 300 MW wind‑power and battery‑storage facility in Sydney, supporting the province’s goal of 80% clean...
The Daily: Hormuz Holds, Oil Climbs, and AI Keeps Leading
Oil prices surged above $100 as the Hormuz deadlock deepened, reigniting inflation and rate pressures worldwide. AI infrastructure spending remains a growth engine, highlighted by over $10 billion of demand for Cerebras Systems ahead of a potential IPO price hike. The...
Drax Deploying Solar Panels at Scottish Hydropower Stations
Drax has completed its first photovoltaic project at the Glenlee run‑of‑river hydro station in Galloway, installing 1,500 SunPower panels that deliver 693 kW of solar capacity and an expected 480 MWh of annual generation. The £850,000 ($1.16 million) investment is the first of...
Iran Oil Crisis: Geography of Energy Risk Is Changing with Renewables, Not Disappearing
The article warns that batteries, while touted as a path to energy independence, are creating a new concentration risk because China dominates the supply chain for cells and critical materials. It cites the $1.5 trillion, ten‑year JP Morgan initiative focused on nuclear,...
North America Adds Rigs Again
North America’s weekly Baker Hughes rig count increased by two rigs to 672 on May 8, 2026, with the United States reporting 548 rigs and Canada 124. The U.S. saw a modest rise in land and oil rigs, while offshore rigs...
Eskom Using Drones to Support 33,369km of Critical Infrastructure
South Africa’s state utility Eskom has begun using drones to inspect its 33,369 km of high‑voltage transmission lines, replacing expensive helicopter surveys. The drone programme, equipped with infrared cameras, enables more frequent inspections and faster fault detection, cutting costs and improving...
2026 IEEE PES T&D: Powering Reliability and Engineering Resilience on the Show Floor
The 2026 IEEE Power & Energy Society Transmission & Distribution Conference convened over 15,000 power‑engineering professionals at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Participants hailed from 50 countries, underscoring the event’s global reach. The three‑day expo highlighted the theme “Powering Reliability, Engineering Resilience,”...
China’s Malacca Dilemma, After Hormuz
The Iran‑Israel conflict showed that insurance premiums can choke oil flows as effectively as naval blockades. When war‑risk rates for the Strait of Hormuz spiked to double‑digit percentages, Chinese imports were hit despite diplomatic guarantees. The article argues that China’s...
Partnerships, Positive Sentiment Boost U.S. Nuclear
Brookfield Asset Management and The Nuclear Company announced a joint venture to finish the stalled V.C. Summer AP1000 units in South Carolina and to replicate Westinghouse AP1000 and smaller AP300 reactors nationwide. Blue Energy teamed with GE Vernova to build the...
India State Refiners Eye Modest Fuel Price Hike
Indian state‑owned refiners are poised to raise retail diesel and gasoline prices by about 5 rupees per litre (≈$0.05) in the coming days. The modest increase is intended to offset an estimated daily loss of 10 billion rupees ($105 million) caused by...
Brent Futures Slightly Below Dated Brent, No Major Dislocation
Prompt Brent futures are currently $103/bbl, while latest Dated Brent quote is at $105/bbl. Hardly the stuff of acute dislocation. World is in a record supply deficit, though at this stage market still choosing to be more patient re: accumulating the consequences...
US O&G Rejects Unrealistic Energy Outlooks
Everyone in energy knows this won't be the case, exactly, but still that's not the kind of messaging US O&G companies want to hear
U.S. Transformer Market Faces Severe Supply Constraints as Lead Times Extend to Four Years
The U.S. power‑transformer market is under severe strain, with lead times for high‑capacity units stretching to four years. Demand has surged, driven by AI data centers, electrified transport and industrial growth, pushing step‑up transformer orders up 274% since 2019. Prices...
Record Diesel Prices Threaten Truckers, SMEs, and Consumers
If diesel hits an all time record? What will it do to trucking? Especially owner operators? And to supply chains? Especially SMEs? And consumers?
Kharg Island Sees Longest Tanker‑free Stretch Since War’s Start
Kharg Island update: @CopernicusEU satellite imagery shows no supertanker loadings on May 8, May 9 and May 11 (we don't have data for May 10 from either Sentinel 1 or Sentinel-2 🛰️). It looks like the longest stretch without loadings...
Mayfair Equity Partners to Sell OVO Retail Energy Business to EON
Mayfair Equity Partners has agreed to sell its OVO retail energy business to German utility E.ON. The transaction includes OVO's operating company, its approximately 1.5 million UK residential customers, and the OVO brand name. While the financial terms were not disclosed,...
Hormuz Sovereignty Never a Pre‑war Issue, Now Contested
It cannot be stressed hard enough that Hormuz sovereignty was never a sticking point prior to the war. This is the reality that was shattered, and we aren't going back. Iran threatened the Strait plenty, but it was always largely bluster and...
Ireland Urged to Create National Clearing House to Streamline Solar Projects
Ireland’s solar industry is urging the government to establish a national clearing house that would streamline coordination among planners, grid operators, developers and contractors. The move comes as the country’s grid‑scale solar output topped 1 GW in April and total installed...
Iran Conflict Fuels Surge in European Clean Energy Adoption
A new New York Times piece shows: The Iran war is accelerating something that was already underway: Europeans turn to solar, heat pumps & EVs in large numbers. E.ON reports solar interest in the UK up 63%. Enpal in Germany: inquiries...
Santa Marta Was a Learning Moment for How to Shape Inclusive Just Transitions
The first Global Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels convened in Santa Marta, Colombia, co‑hosted by the Netherlands, drawing nearly 60 countries alongside activists, Indigenous peoples, private‑sector leaders and academia. The summit aimed to forge a “coalition of the...