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:
Oil Posts Steepest Drop in Months on US-Iran Deal Optimism
Oil prices posted their steepest single‑day decline in months, with Brent sliding $7.24 (about 7%) to $96.30 a barrel and WTI down $6.30 to $90.88. The drop came even as the Strait of Hormuz stayed shut and U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in Doha to discuss a cease‑fire memorandum. Analysts stress that a peace deal will not instantly erase a 10‑11 million‑barrel‑per‑day supply gap, and global inventories have already fallen 246 million barrels in March‑April. Market sentiment now hinges on whether physical oil flows can resume once the strait reopens.
Coal India Asks Subsidiaries to Ramp up Supplies Amid Record Power Demand
State‑run Coal India has instructed its eight subsidiaries to accelerate coal deliveries to power plants as India’s electricity demand surged to a record 270.8 GW amid an intense heatwave driven by El Niño. Twenty‑one plants face critically low coal inventories, with less...
Türkiye Reduces Grid Fee for Around 800 Unlicensed Solar Plants
Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority cut the grid fee for about 800 unlicensed solar plants that finished their ten‑year feed‑in tariff, lowering the charge from TRY 2.081 to TRY 0.656 ($0.014) per kWh – a 68 % reduction. The affected facilities total 500‑550 MW...
Power Dispatch: Storage Wars - Batteries, Dams and Why We Need Both
The episode examines Europe’s rapid push for grid flexibility through both battery storage and pumped hydro, highlighting successes in Italy’s "Maxi" auction, the UK’s capacity‑market revenue stacking, and Bulgaria’s surge in large‑scale batteries. Panelists discuss regulatory hurdles that have slowed...
Tata Power’s Karnataka Expansion Bid to Reshape Utility Jobs and Employee Ecosystem
Tata Power has applied to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for a distribution licence that would let it operate in areas now served by state‑run utilities such as Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company. The company aims to reach more than 186,000...
Encyclis Eyes 2029 Launch for Waste-to-Energy Carbon Capture Project in Cheshire
Encyclis has started building the Protos energy‑from‑waste (EfW) facility in Cheshire, which will be the UK’s first EfW plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The project targets a 2029 operational launch and aims to capture up to...
24/7 Renewable Power Beats Fossil Costs Globally
Anytime solar is here >Cost of a typical utility-scale battery installation collapsed over half since 2022 >In 2025 alone, costs plunged another 27% according to BloombergNEF The math today: >Real-world, 24/7 firm renewable systems are undercutting fossil legacy grids right now >As an example, Abu...
Intersect Spinoff IPX Power Secures $4.95 Billion to Build Massive California Solar & Storage Project
IPX Power, a spin‑off of Intersect Power, announced a $4.95 billion financing package to build the Darden solar‑plus‑storage project in California’s Central Valley. The development will generate up to 1.15 GWac of solar power and 4.6 GWh of battery storage, targeting commercial operation...
Santos Says Moomba CCS Delivering Emissions Reduction at Scale
Santos reports that its Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in South Australia has permanently sequestered 2 million metric tons of CO₂‑equivalent in just over 18 months, equivalent to removing 826,000 cars from the road. Operating since October 2024, the facility...
Blue Elephant Energy Starts Building 268MW Germany Solar Plant
Blue Elephant Energy has begun construction of a 268 MW ground‑mounted solar farm in the Schafhöfen district near Regensburg, Germany, slated for commissioning in September 2027. The plant, built by EPC firm Goldbeck Solar, will feature roughly 370,000 PV modules and a dedicated...
RES Opens Houston Renewables Warehouse
RES announced the opening of a new warehouse in Houston that will serve as its primary U.S. inventory hub for solar and battery‑energy‑storage system (BESS) projects across North America. The facility underpins a 1.5 GWp operations‑and‑maintenance contract with Repsol, signed in...
Contract with Shell’s JV Marks Strohm’s Entry Into Egypt
Dutch thermoplastic composite pipe maker Strohm has won its first contract in Egypt, supplying a 2,000‑meter carbon‑fibre and PA12 flowline for Burullus Gas Company’s West Delta Deep Marine project. The line, rated for 5,000 psi and built to DNV‑ST‑F119 standards, will...
European Stocks Split as US‑Iran Flare Lifts Oil, Boosts Energy Shares
Renewed fighting between the United States and Iran sent Brent crude up 2.4% to $98.39 per barrel, lifting European energy stocks. The STOXX 600 stayed flat as Germany's DAX slipped 0.3%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.4%, and the UK's FTSE...
Global Oil Inventories Slip to 11‑Year Low, Tightening Market Cushion
Analysts say global oil inventories have dropped to an 11‑year low, eroding the market’s safety cushion as the Middle East conflict continues. The scarcity could keep prices volatile, while midstream firms like Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge remain attractive for...
U.S. Surpasses Qatar, Australia to Lead Global LNG Exports
GLOBAL LNG exports increased by 22 million tonnes (5%) in 2025 compared with 2024, according to the latest annual report published by the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL). Nearly all the growth came from the United States....
Solar Energy Companies Tap Battery Energy Storage Systems
Indian solar manufacturers are rapidly expanding into Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) as renewable‑power tenders now require integrated storage. Waaree Energies plans a ₹10,000 crore ($1.2 bn) investment, targeting 20 GWh of BESS capacity by FY 28, while Vikram Solar, Premier Energies and Swelect...
NERC's Level 3 Is Not a Warning. It's a Structural Indictment of How We Build.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a Level 3 alert—the highest severity—for the PJM Interconnection, which serves about 65 million Americans. The warning stems not from overall power consumption but from the erratic, megawatt‑scale spikes generated by AI training clusters...
Oil Resumes Climb On Doubts Over US-Iran Peace Deal
Oil prices jumped on Tuesday as U.S. forces struck Iranian missile launch sites and mine‑laying boats, eroding optimism for a near‑term US‑Iran peace accord. Brent crude for August delivery climbed 3.3% to $96.50 a barrel, while WTI July futures rose...
There Is a Positive Role for North Sea Oil in Clean Energy Britain
The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce released an Energy Transition report showing that 93% of surveyed businesses still see a future for North Sea oil and gas if the UK provides stable fiscal and regulatory conditions. The report blames...
Australia’s Santos to Pursue Papua LNG, Alaska Oil
Australian independent Santos announced a strategic shift to prioritize its most profitable assets, slashing domestic capex by roughly US$198 million and targeting annual savings of about US$99 million after 2027. The company will concentrate on the 80,000 b/d Pikka Phase 1 oil field in...
How Power Electronics Cut Generator Run Hours in AI-Scale Data Centers
AI‑scale data centers are turning to advanced power‑electronics—grid‑forming inverters, AI‑ready UPS, high‑voltage DC architectures, and universal damping controls—to slash diesel generator run hours. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) paired with these converters can instantly ride‑through grid faults, stabilize voltage and...
QatarEnergy Further Extends Force Majeure Until Mid-August for Key LNG Customer
QatarEnergy has announced a further extension of the force majeure it invoked in March for its key Italian customer, Edison. The clause now pushes the earliest possible LNG cargo deliveries to mid‑August 2026. The original suspension was triggered by Iranian...
US Renewables Generation Jumps 11%
U.S. renewable electricity generation surged over 11% in Q1 2026, lifting the share of renewables to 28.6% of total output. Utility‑scale solar led the jump with a 23.9% increase, while hydropower, small‑scale solar and wind also posted double‑digit gains. Battery storage...
Vattenfall Signs Norway AI Power Deal
Vattenfall and Nscale have signed a long‑term renewable power purchase agreement to supply electricity for the first phase of Nscale’s Kvandal data‑centre in northern Norway. The deal covers most of the power needed for the AI‑focused facility, which will have...
Norway Gas Output Falls for 4th Consecutive Month
Norway’s natural‑gas output slipped to 339.2 million cubic metres per day in April, a 3.5% decline from March and 0.8% below April 2025 levels. Gas sales fell to 10.2 billion cubic metres, down 0.7 bcm from the prior month. Meanwhile, Equinor brought the Eirin...
When It Comes to Energy Buy British Says Reeves
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has urged ministers to award energy‑related public contracts to British firms wherever feasible, extending a broader “buy British” agenda that also covers shipbuilding, steel‑making and artificial intelligence. Treasury and the Cabinet Office will now track billions of...
China's Solar Silicon Production Soars After Billion‑Dollar Investment
China is so ahead in solar now it's hard to believe how far behind they once were. In 2005 China produced just 80 tons of silicon (a key solar building block). By 2011 four companies were already making 89,000! The govt...
The Grid Is in Better Shape This Summer. Thank Solar and Batteries.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) reports that the U.S. grid is better positioned for the 2026 heat wave, thanks to a surge in solar and battery installations rather than aging coal plants. Since last summer, 30.5 GW of solar...
This AI Tool Helps Community Solar Developers Connect to the Grid Sooner
MeanderX, an AI‑driven platform launched last year, now serves developers in the service territories of more than 20 investor‑owned utilities across eight states, including ConEd, Xcel and Ameren Illinois. The tool scrapes publicly available utility data to provide live tracking...
Securing India’s Battery Supply Chain Is More Critical than Ever
India’s battery‑cell supply chain remains heavily import‑dependent, with 75% of BEV lithium‑ion cells sourced from China. Demand for advanced‑chemistry cells is projected to reach 272 GWh by FY 2030, but the ACC Production‑Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has delivered only 1.4 GWh—just 2.8% of...
Legacy Offshore Fields Drive Congo Production Growth
Ammat Global Resources has boosted production at Congo's offshore Loango and Zatchi fields from roughly 4,000 to 7,000 barrels per day through workovers, upgraded ESP pumps, and subsea infrastructure enhancements. The company also upgraded flow‑assurance systems and linked platforms to...
POSCO, Alaska Forge Development Partnership
Alaska and South Korea’s POSCO International have signed a two‑year memorandum of understanding to explore six development projects ranging from geothermal power and green methanol to sustainable aviation fuel, rare‑earth mining, port expansion and a Knik Arm crossing. The deal builds...
Fortescue Breaks Ground on Turner River Solar Farm
Fortescue Metals Group has broken ground on the 690‑megawatt Turner River solar farm in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The project is the final solar asset needed for Fortescue to achieve its "real zero" emissions target across all Australian iron‑ore operations....
Who’s Powering Next-Gen Nuclear Energy: AI Boom Drives Hybrid Financing Wave
Oklo’s SPAC debut in May 2024 valued the startup at $850 million; after securing NRC approval for its Aurora reactor, the company’s market cap surged to $13.9 billion. The rise of AI‑intensive data centres has drawn tech giants—Microsoft, Google and Amazon—into advanced nuclear...
Wind Industry Warns of Capital Flight if Liberals Press “Pause” On Transmission Projects
The Victorian Liberal Party has signaled it will pause the VNI West and Western Renewable Link transmission projects if it wins the November election, prompting wind‑industry leaders to warn that such a pause would trigger a flight of clean‑energy capital to...
Discoms Told to Commission Rooftop Solar Units by May 31
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has given electricity distribution companies (discoms) until May 31 to finish inspections and issue commissioning certificates for already‑installed rooftop solar projects. The deadline safeguards these projects from the upcoming requirement to use solar cells...
Gujarat Industries Power Co Seeks Bids for 120MWh Vanadium Flow Battery Pilot Project
Gujarat Industries Power Co Ltd (GIPCL) has issued a competitive solicitation for a 20 MW/120 MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) pilot at its 165 MW natural‑gas plant in Vadodara. The six‑hour storage system will operate about 1.5 cycles per day, aiming to...
“They’re Gone:” End of an Era as Liddell Coal Plant Chimneys Demolished in Spectacular Explosion
AGL demolished the two 169‑metre chimneys at the decommissioned Liddell coal plant using synchronized 260 kg explosive charges, creating a televised spectacle that drew about 6,000 live viewers. The demolition, completed three years after the plant’s shutdown, followed extensive asbestos removal...
$1.2 Billion Gas Loan Scheme Gives NZ Wood Processors a Biomass Path
The New Zealand government has launched a Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme, a NZ$1.2 billion (≈US$720 million) program that will back 80 % of eligible loans for large industrial gas users, including wood processors. Loans are capped at NZ$50 million (≈US$30 million) and the Crown has...
Passive Bidding Strategy Delivers AU$743,000 Monthly Revenue for Swanbank BESS in Australia
Queensland’s 250 MW/500 MWh Swanbank battery earned AU$743,000 (US$533,000) in dispatch revenue in May, more than double the AU$306,000 (US$219,000) generated by Victoria’s 300 MW/450 MWh Big Battery. The gap reflects Swanbank’s passive bidding strategy—setting a price and waiting for the market—versus the Victorian...
China Turns Green Tech Into an Economic Lifeline
China has solidified its role as the world’s largest sponsor, market and exporter of alternative‑energy systems and electric vehicles. Generous state subsidies and aggressive industrial policy have turned green technology into a primary growth engine, offsetting weakness in traditional sectors...
Oil Rebounds as Strikes Near Hormuz Strait Muddy Outlook for Iran Deal
Oil prices rebounded on May 26 as U.S. strikes near the Strait of Hormuz halted a sharp decline, pushing Brent above $98 a barrel and WTI near $92. The attacks, aimed at Iranian missile sites and mine‑laying vessels, have clouded...
Zendure Aims to Lead in AI-Driven Home Energy Management Systems
Zendure, the Chinese maker behind the Zendure brand, is shifting from portable power banks to AI‑driven plug‑in home energy management systems, focusing on its plug‑and‑play balcony storage units. The company reports a compound annual growth rate above 102% and aims...
Oil and LNG Tankers Resume Strait of Hormuz Transit, Easing Global Supply Bottlenecks
U.S. and Iranian negotiators have cleared the way for oil and LNG tankers to resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz after a three‑month shutdown. The reopening has already nudged Brent crude below $98 a barrel and eased pressure on...
AWS Signs First Carbon‑free Solar PPA in Malaysia, 23 MW Plant to Power 50,000 Homes
Amazon Web Services has signed a long‑term power purchase agreement with Elphil Energy for a 23‑megawatt solar project in Sungai Siput, Perak. The plant will generate enough clean electricity to serve more than 50,000 homes and is AWS’s first carbon‑free...
Texas Solar to Overtake Coal on ERCOT Grid in 2026, EIA Forecast Shows
The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that utility‑scale solar will generate 78 billion kilowatt‑hours in ERCOT in 2026, outpacing coal's 60 billion kilowatt‑hours. The shift marks the first time solar is expected to exceed coal on an annual basis in the nation’s...
Chevron CEO Warns of 1970s‑style Oil Shortage, Sparking Retail Stock Concerns
Chevron chief Mike Wirth warned at a Milken Institute forum that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz could trigger physical oil shortages comparable to the 1970s crisis. He said economies may have to slow, a scenario that analysts say...
Oman Utility Secures 2.7 GW Wind‑solar‑storage PPA
Oman power company signs 2.7 GW PPA for continuous wind-solar-storage project #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/ataLed158X
Community Battery Cuts Local Bills Through Storage-as-Service
Network says new community battery will deliver cheaper bills to locals from storage as a service scheme #energysky -- via Renew Economy: https://t.co/iIXOzphpcv https://t.co/ULLjERqzGB
Australia Advances Billion-Dollar Hydrogen Push with Shortlist of Large-Scale Projects
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has shortlisted a slate of large‑scale renewable hydrogen projects under Round 2 of its Hydrogen Headstart program, moving them to the full‑application stage. The federal government has earmarked an additional $1 billion in the 2026 budget,...