Bloomberg Intelligence: Oil Dives on Trump Comments (Podcast)
Oil prices plunged more than 5% after President Donald Trump suggested his team was discussing an end to the Iran conflict, a claim Tehran denied. The comments temporarily eased geopolitical risk premiums, prompting a sharp sell‑off in crude futures. In parallel, Bloomberg highlighted Apple’s upcoming leadership transition to John Ternus, emphasizing the need for AI‑driven growth, while the apparel and footwear industry warned of rising costs from new tariffs and a Supreme Court IEEPA decision.
Global Natural Gas Prices Fall on Diplomacy Hopes, but LNG Disruptions Deepen
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a pause on attacks against Iranian energy assets, prompting a risk‑off wave that pushed April Nymex natural‑gas futures lower. The diplomatic de‑escalation eased Middle‑East tensions, further depressing global gas prices. At the same time, weak...
CPUC Backs Renewable Natural Gas Contract From Anaergia Facility
The California Public Utilities Commission has conditionally approved Anaergia’s SoCal Biomethane facility as the first renewable natural gas (RNG) supplier under Senate Bill 1440. The project co‑digests organic waste and municipal wastewater, converting up to 104,000 tons of waste per year...
TotalEnergies, Holcim Energise 31MW Belgian Floating Solar Plant
TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a 31 MW floating solar photovoltaic plant on a rehabilitated quarry lake in Obourg, Belgium. The facility is expected to generate about 30 GWh of renewable electricity each year, which will be fully self‑consumed by Holcim’s industrial...
Tesla Patent Reveals Dual-Battery System for Trailer-Mounted Range Extender
Tesla filed patent US 2026/0048683 A1 describing a dual‑battery architecture that pairs an 800 V primary pack with a 400 V auxiliary pack, operating in three modes—SOE balancing, OCV matching, and parallel fast‑charging. The design offers two mounting options, including a trailer‑mounted auxiliary pack...
India in Talks with Global Partners for Safe Passage for Vessels Carrying Essential Commodities via Strait of Hormuz: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Parliament that India is actively negotiating with global partners to guarantee safe passage for vessels carrying oil, gas, fertilizers and other essential commodities through the Strait of Hormuz. The government is expanding its strategic petroleum...
SemiQ Launches QSiC Dual3 Family of 1200V Half-Bridge MOSFET Modules
SemiQ Inc. unveiled its QSiC Dual3 family, a line of 1200 V half‑bridge SiC MOSFET modules aimed at motor drives in data‑center cooling, grid‑scale energy storage converters, and industrial drivers. The series boasts ultra‑low RDS(on) values down to 1 mΩ and a...
Supertanker’s Signals Show It Crossed Hormuz From Iraq
A Bloomberg‑tracked oil supertanker, the Omega Trader, has successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first observed movement of Iraqi crude through the waterway since it was effectively closed at the start of the war. Managed by Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines,...
Why Shifting From AMI 2.0 to NextWave AMI Could Define the Future of Grid Intelligence
Utilities are accelerating the shift from legacy AMI 2.0 to the cloud‑native NextWave AMI, a move that promises granular, real‑time visibility across the distribution network. At the same time, battery energy storage systems are evolving from short‑term add‑ons to core...
Better Grid Utilization Could Save Customers $170B: Brattle Report
A new Brattle Group analysis for GridLab and the Utilize Coalition finds that improving grid utilization by 10% could lower customer electricity rates by about 3.4% and generate $110 billion to $170 billion in savings for U.S. utility customers over the next...
EIA Sees Oil Glut Tightening in Wake of Iran War
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) trimmed its 2026 global oil‑glut forecast to 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd) in the March short‑term energy outlook, down from 3.05 mbpd projected in February. Quarterly projections show a modest surplus early in the year,...
Spain Completes Testing of Europe’s Largest Research Vanadium BESS
Spain’s Fundación Ciudad de la Energía (Ciuden) has finished operational testing of a 1 MW/8 MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) at its Cubillos del Sil technology centre. The €6.4 million (~$7.4 million) system, built by CYMI using H2 Inc technology, is the largest vanadium...
HV-MELA-BAT Showcases Megawatt Charging System
The HV‑MELA‑BAT consortium, led by Fraunhofer ISE, unveiled a megawatt‑scale charging system that combines a high‑efficiency DC/DC converter with a novel contact system. The isolating converter reaches a record‑breaking 99.26% efficiency and a volumetric power density of 9 kW per liter....
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...
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...
‘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....
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...
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 %...
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...
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...
$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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
Brazil’s LRCAP Battery Auction Demand Estimated at Nearly 3 GW
Brazil’s second 2026 Long‑term Reserve Capacity Auction (LRCAP) secured 501.3 MW of thermoelectric capacity, primarily from diesel, fuel‑oil and biodiesel plants. The auction follows a March 18 tender that awarded 19 GW of capacity, underscoring a rapid build‑out of reserve resources. Analysts...
Oil Price Spikes Hit Hardest in Low-Margin Industries
Oil prices have surged as the Strait of Hormuz closure removes roughly 20% of global supply, double the impact of the 2022 Russia‑Ukraine war. In the week of March 9, U.S. diesel jumped $0.96 per gallon to $4.86, marking the largest...
New Orleans Day Shelter to Benefit From 44-kW Solar Array
The Harry Tompson Center day shelter in New Orleans will receive a 43.8‑kW rooftop solar array through a partnership with nonprofit Everybody Solar. The system, installed on the Rebuild Center campus, is projected to produce roughly 56,347 kWh annually, covering nearly half...
German Startup Offers Team of 22 Specialized AI Workers for PV Plant O&M Operations
German startup Invertix has introduced a suite of 22 specialized AI "workers" that autonomously handle key operation and maintenance (O&M) functions for photovoltaic (PV) plants. The agents process SCADA telemetry, classify alarms, and perform grid analysis, while escalating high‑risk decisions...
Electricity: 1.4-GW NeuConnect Power Line Between Germany and the UK Enters Critical Construction Phase
The NeuConnect HVDC interconnector, a 1.4 GW link between Germany and the United Kingdom, is entering a critical construction phase and remains on schedule for a 2028 commissioning. The project includes a 720‑kilometer subsea cable and converter stations at Wilhelmshaven, Germany,...
India's Strategic Oil Reserves About Two-Thirds Full: Minister
India’s strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) are currently about two‑thirds full, holding roughly 3.37 million tonnes of crude – enough for 9.5 days of supply. The nation’s total SPR capacity stands at 5.33 million tonnes across three underground caverns in Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and...
Companies Set to Win as States Vie to Host Nuclear Campuses
The U.S. Department of Energy is promoting regional Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that co‑locate fuel fabrication, recycling, reactor testing and power generation. South Carolina is courting the Savannah River Site while Tennessee is leveraging Oak Ridge and Oklo’s $1.68 billion used‑fuel...
EU Focuses on Nuclear And Fusion Research: Euratom Work Programme 2026-2027 Launched with Focus on SMR Strategy
The European Commission has launched the Euratom Work Programme 2026‑2027, placing nuclear technologies at the heart of its research agenda. The plan allocates roughly $244 million to bridge fusion energy from labs to the grid and about $119 million for fission safety,...
Etermar Starts BayFloat Prototype Construction
Etermar Energia has begun building a small‑scale BayFloat floating offshore wind prototype in Setúbal, Portugal, with completion slated for July 2026. The project is financed by Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and developed together with BayWa r.e., which supplied a reduced‑scale semi‑submersible...
Global Economy Under ‘Major Threat’ From Strait of Hormuz Crisis: IEA Chief
International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned that the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis poses a "major threat" to the global economy. The US‑Iran confrontation has nearly halted traffic through the waterway, which carries about 20% of world oil and...
Stock Market Week 12/26: RENIXX Declines - Solaredge up Nearly 40% - Nordex: Additional Orders - Vestas Continues Share Buyback...
The RENIXX renewable‑energy index slipped 1.4% last week to 1,233.87 points, though it remains up 9.2% year‑to‑date despite soaring fossil‑fuel prices. Solaredge led gains with a 38% share surge after launching its Nexis solar‑plus‑storage system in Germany, while Nordex added...
Quinbrook to Build In-House Australian Construction Team
Quinbrook is moving into the execution phase of its Australian battery storage pipeline and will establish an in‑house construction team to build the projects. The decision responds to a tight labour market that has been hampering infrastructure delivery. By internalising...