Policy Problems Aside, Solar Continues to Shine
Solar power is the fastest‑growing electricity source in the U.S., with the EIA forecasting utility‑scale capacity to rise from 290 TWh to 424 TWh by 2027 and nearly 70 GW of projects slated for 2024‑25. Residential installations are accelerating, reaching a new system every 59 seconds in 2025 and approaching six million homes. Despite policy headwinds, low costs and rapid build times keep solar expanding, while domestic manufacturing initiatives aim to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains. Data‑center demand and AI‑driven workloads further boost solar’s strategic importance.
Fewer People, Older Assets, Higher Stakes: How the Power Sector Is Rethinking Preventive Maintenance
The U.S. power sector is accelerating plant construction while grappling with a shrinking, aging workforce and assets that exceed design life. Operators are turning to standardized designs and tighter O&M handovers to simplify maintenance, while AI is being deployed to...
Europe Embraces Energy Storage to Enhance Power Flexibility
Europe is emerging as the world’s leading market for utility‑scale energy storage, with a pipeline exceeding 130 GW across 37 countries and 19 GW already operating. The UK’s battery capacity surged 45% in 2024, reaching 12.9 GWh, while Germany and the UK drive...
ZettaJoule Pursues a Second Act for Japan’s High-Temperature Nuclear Reactor
Houston‑based ZettaJoule is adapting Japan’s High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor design into a 950 °C high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactor (HTGR) called ZJ0. The startup signed an MOU with Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station to explore building the prototype on campus, with TEES...
Recently Established Green Methanol Collaboration Broadens Its Scope
Venture Energy Limited, a Hong Kong clean‑fuel trader, has broadened its newly‑formed partnership with Shanghai Shenji Energy & Environmental Technology. The expanded agreement moves beyond spot‑trade purchases of ISCC‑EU‑certified green methanol to medium‑ and long‑term offtake, pilot bunkering, a dedicated trading...
PNG Boom in Gujarat Drives Massive Hiring
Gas distribution firms in Gujarat are rapidly expanding piped natural gas (PNG) connections as LPG shortages and new mandates push consumers toward PNG. Gujarat Gas has more than doubled its contractor base to 2,450, while Adani Total Gas added roughly...
We Can’t Ignore Hydrogen’s Potential in Construction
The UK construction sector burns over 1 billion litres of diesel each year, with heavy non‑road machinery responsible for a disproportionate share of emissions. Full electrification of large excavators and dump trucks is hampered by battery weight, charging downtime, and limited...
1GWh+ of BESS Progressed Across EU by Re:cap, Flower, Goldbeck, Tavion, LONGi, Teos and SPP
Across the EU, more than 1 GWh of battery‑energy‑storage‑system (BESS) capacity moved into construction, financing or operation this week. re:cap is launching a 95 MW/220 MWh project in Finland, while Goldbeck Solar received notice to proceed on two 100 MW/300 MWh German sites. Sweden’s Flower...
How Well Can EVs Handle the Heat — and the Cold? AAA Put Them to the Test
AAA’s latest testing shows extreme temperatures dramatically affect electric‑vehicle range. In a heated chamber (95 °F) EVs lost about 8.5 % of their range, while a cold chamber (20 °F) slashed range by roughly 39 %. Compared with AAA’s 2019 study, heat‑related loss improved...
Probe Into Offshore Rig Incident Uncovers Serious Breaches
Norway’s offshore safety regulator Havtil has issued a compliance order to Odfjell Drilling after a lifting‑operation accident on the Deepsea Nordkapp semi‑submersible rig injured a deck operator on October 8, 2025. The 2.67‑tonne logging tool swung uncontrolled, breaking the worker’s arm, ribs...
Vessel Sector Deep Dive: WTIVs
Intelatus Global Partners’ new analysis shows the offshore wind turbine and foundation installation market grappling with shifting demand as Europe, the EAPAC region and emerging markets push capacity growth while political and economic headwinds tighten vessel utilization. By 2035 global...
Morocco Seeks Financing for $25bn Gas Pipeline
Morocco’s state‑owned oil, gas and mineral agency, Onhym, is preparing a fundraising campaign to secure financing for a $25 bn, 6,900 km gas pipeline that will transport West African gas to the Mediterranean and link to Europe. The Nigeria‑Morocco Gas Pipeline will...
Proposed $2bn US-Canada Oil Pipeline Makes Headway as President Trump Signs Approval Permit
President Donald Trump signed a presidential permit for a $2 billion cross‑border oil pipeline proposed by South Bow and Bridger Pipeline. The project would revive 150 km of idle Canadian pipe and add a 645‑mile U.S. segment from the border to Guernsey,...
Inventories Acting as Shock Absorber of Global Oil System
J.P. Morgan analysts say global oil inventories are now the primary shock absorber amid war‑driven supply disruptions. The world entered 2026 with 8.4 billion barrels in storage, 6.6 billion on‑shore and 1.8 billion afloat, but only about 0.8 billion barrels are readily usable without...
Petrol and Diesel Rates Could Rise in Near Future. Here’s Why
India’s four‑year freeze on retail petrol and diesel prices is under pressure as global crude oil surged to $126 per barrel, well above the $110 threshold. State‑owned oil firms report losses of roughly ₹20 ($0.24) per litre on petrol and...
Jan De Nul Installs Export Cables for Taiwan’s Fengmiao 1 Offshore Wind Farm
Jan De Nul has finished laying two high‑voltage export cables—45 km and 44 km long—for the Fengmiao 1 offshore wind farm located 35 km off Taichung, Taiwan. The cables are now wet‑stored offshore while the offshore substation jacket is prepared. The next phase will...
India’s Heat Exposes a Fragile Grid as Energy Crunch Deepens
India is entering a sweltering pre‑monsoon summer with temperatures topping 47 °C, driving unprecedented electricity demand. Night‑time shortfalls have hit 5.4 GW, enough to leave roughly 2.7 million rural homes without power. While rapid renewable additions give the grid enough daytime capacity, solar’s...
Tata Power Arm to Invest ₹6,500 Cr to Set up 10 GW Ingot, Wafer Facility
Tata Power Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of Tata Power, announced a capital outlay of roughly $795 million (₹6,500 crore) to build a photovoltaic ingot and wafer manufacturing complex with up to 10 GW capacity. The plant will be rolled out in two 5 GW...
Nagpur Metro Installs India’s First Solar Panels Between Tracks at Hingna Depot
Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MahaMetro) has installed a 50‑kW solar photovoltaic system between the tracks at Nagpur Metro’s Hingna depot, marking India’s first such deployment on a metro rail corridor. The 200‑metre pilot is expected to generate roughly 70,000 kWh of...
CMA Publishes Latest Monitoring Report on Road Fuel Market
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reported that average fuel retailer margins in the UK held steady at roughly 10.5 pence per litre in March, despite a sharp price surge driven by the Middle East crisis – petrol up 26 pence/L and...
Research: Enhanced Road Fuel Monitoring Report: May 2026
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority released its May 2026 road‑fuel monitoring update, examining how the ongoing Middle East conflict has influenced UK pump prices, retail spreads and margins. The report covers data from late February through April 2026, comparing supermarket...
Norwegian Firm Pulls Off Hat Trick for Rigs Working in Europe
Norwegian cleantech provider Soiltech has secured three new fluid‑treatment contracts for offshore rigs operating in the Black Sea, the Netherlands and Norway. The agreements, valued between $535,000 and $1.07 million, are slated for Q2 2026 execution. Two of the deals are renewals...
First Solar's Quarterly Sales Rise on Higher Solar Panel Demand
First Solar posted record first‑quarter revenue of $1.04 billion, up 23% from a year earlier, and net income of $346.6 million, a 65% increase. The growth was driven by stronger demand from third‑party developers and a record sales surge in India. CEO...
Will Colombia Summit Kick-Start the End of the Fossil Fuel Era?
A coalition of 57 nations convened in Santa Marta, Colombia, to create roadmaps for moving away from fossil fuels after COP30 stalled on the issue. Hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, the gathering included the EU, the UK, Canada, Nigeria...
UAE’s OPEC Exit Hands Asia a Petroyuan Moment
On May 1, 2026 the United Arab Emirates formally quit OPEC after nearly six decades, ending its participation in the cartel that underpins the petrodollar system. The departure frees Murban crude from the organization’s dollar‑only pricing rules, allowing contracts to...
Coal India's Production in April Drops Amid Rising Power Demand
Coal India reported a 9.7% drop in April output, producing 56.1 million tonnes, while its offtake fell 2% to 63.2 MT. The decline comes as India’s power grid hit a record‑high peak demand of roughly 256 GW due to an intense heat wave....
‘Long-Anticipated’ Refresh of Nuclear Regulatory Guidance Welcomed
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has issued the seventh edition of its Licensing Nuclear Installations guidance, the first update since 2021. The new edition emphasizes early applicant engagement and incorporates the latest government policies, including National Policy Statement EN‑7,...
Bangladesh’s PV Capacity to Reach 8.5 GW by 2035, Says GlobalData
GlobalData forecasts Bangladesh’s photovoltaic capacity to climb from about 1.3 GW in 2025 to roughly 8.5 GW by 2035. The expansion will be driven by a transition from off‑grid rural solar home systems to grid‑connected rooftop and utility‑scale projects, backed by net‑metering...
Nigeria Caps Jet Fuel Prices to Avert Disruptions
Nigeria’s government imposed price caps on jet fuel and allowed airlines to buy on credit after fuel costs surged more than 270% in two months. The caps set jet fuel at NGN 1,760‑1,988 per litre in Lagos and NGN 1,809‑2,037 in Abuja,...
What Alternatives Do Gulf States Have to the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz, which moves roughly 20 million barrels of oil and a fifth of global LNG each day, remains largely closed two months into the Iran‑UAE conflict. Saudi Arabia's East‑West Petroline and the UAE's Adcop together supply only 3.5‑5.5 million...
Sodiophilic and Electron‐Insulating Interphase for Stable Solid‐State Sodium Metal Batteries
Researchers have engineered a dual‑component Na3Sb/NaF interphase that forms in situ on NASICON‑type solid electrolytes, delivering both electron insulation and strong sodiophilicity. The interphase blocks electron leakage, improves Na‑metal wetting, and accelerates Na⁺ transport, cutting interfacial resistance to 4.7 Ω·cm². Symmetric...
UK Leads Europe in Clean Tech Funding, Report Finds
A new Cleantech for UK report shows the British clean‑tech sector raised £7.2 bn ($9.1 bn) in 2025, reclaiming the top spot in Europe. Venture‑backed equity alone reached £2.5 bn, surpassing China’s £1.9 bn, while Germany and France lagged far behind. However, the report...
A Slow-Motion Energy Crisis Is Heading Our Way
A nascent global energy crisis is unfolding, echoing the Covid pandemic’s shockwave. Brent crude surged to $115 a barrel, its highest level since 2022, while supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz keep inventories strained. Asian economies are already rationing...
Higher Oil Prices Put $80 Billion More on Australia’s Tax Horizon
Higher oil prices could boost Australia’s tax receipts by roughly $52 bn USD over the next five years, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis cited by Australian Energy Producers (AEP). The study compares a sustained $120‑per‑barrel price with a $70 baseline,...
Global Markets Mixed Amid May Day Closures, Oil Steady at $111 per Barrel
Global equity markets posted mixed results on May 1 as many exchanges observed May Day holidays, while U.S. futures edged higher. Brent crude hovered around $111 per barrel, a modest rise despite heightened tension over Iran’s war and the prospect of reopening...
West Asia Conflict May Trigger $800 Billion Capex Boost for India, but Oil and Fertiliser Risks Remain: Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley says the West Asia conflict could spark an $800 billion surge in Indian capital expenditure over the next five years. The brokerage lifted its investment‑rate forecast to 37.5% of GDP by 2030, with roughly 60% of the new spend...
Manipulating Buried Interface via Aromatic Amino Acid Derivatives for Wide‐Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells and Tandem Devices
Researchers introduced an aromatic amino‑acid derivative, N‑benzoyl‑(2R,3S)‑3‑phenylisoserine (NBP), between the Me‑4PACz hole‑transport layer and wide‑bandgap perovskite. The molecule forms electrostatic and π‑π interactions that passivate Pb²⁺ and iodine vacancies, suppress phase segregation, and improve energy‑level alignment. Devices incorporating NBP achieved...
Electric Field–Driven Nanoreactor Strategy for Rapid Fabrication of CRO Photocathodes Toward Efficient Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution
Researchers have introduced an electric‑field‑driven nanoreactor strategy that rapidly assembles ultrathin conjugated reticular oligomer (CRO) films on conductive substrates. The method uses cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) as both surfactant and charge carrier, eliminating the need for acid catalysts and enabling deposition...
Renewables Met 100% of Global Electricity Demand Growth in 2025 that Will Speed America's Decline
For the first time, renewables supplied all new global electricity demand in 2025, with solar accounting for three‑quarters of that growth. China drove the surge, adding 336 TWh of solar power—over half of the world’s increase—while the United States contributed 85 TWh,...
Metal and Covalent Organic Frameworks for Photocatalytic Conversion of N2‐to‐NH3: Mechanisms, Materials, and Perspectives
The review surveys recent progress in metal‑organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as photocatalysts for converting nitrogen to ammonia using sunlight. It details how high surface area, tunable porosity and engineered active sites improve N₂ adsorption, charge separation,...
Ranchi Power Surge, JBVNL Warns of Disconnection for Overloaded Homes His Summer
Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL) warned Ranchi residents that homes exceeding their sanctioned electricity limits could face immediate disconnection as summer demand spikes. In just 20 days, citywide consumption jumped from 281 MW to 386 MW, a 37% increase, straining the...
Crystallization Kinetics Directed by Additive Symmetry for Morphology Control in High‐Efficiency Organic Solar Cells
Researchers discovered that the symmetry of solid‑state additives can steer crystallization kinetics in PM6:Y6 organic solar cells. Four dibromonaphthalene isomers were tested, and the symmetric 2,6‑DBN enabled balanced ordering during annealing, improving π–π stacking and reducing energetic disorder. This kinetic...
NTPC’s Pakri Barwadih Surpass 100 MT Coal Production
NTPC’s Pakri Barwadih coal mine has crossed the 100 million‑tonne (MT) production milestone, just three years after reaching 50 MT in 2023. The project, commercial since April 2019, dispatched its 20,000th rail rake in December 2024 and now benefits from Asia’s longest closed‑loop conveyor to...
Posco Signs US$765m Deal for 30% Stake in Australian Lithium Mines
Posco Holdings has agreed to pay $765 million for a 30 percent stake in Mineral Resources’ Mount Marion and Wodgina lithium mines in Western Australia. The joint venture will give Posco rights to produce about 37,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually, enough for...
Can a Carbon Price Lower Power Bills? Virginia Is Betting Yes.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation to re‑enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap‑and‑trade program that prices carbon emissions from utilities. The move follows a surge in electricity demand driven by the state’s booming AI data‑center sector, which...
Australia, India, Japan, Philippines Drive APAC Battery Storage Shift
Australia, India, Japan and the Philippines are accelerating utility‑scale battery storage in APAC, moving projects from 10‑30 MWh to 500 MWh or larger. Trina Storage’s APAC head Warrick Stapleton says market maturity varies, with some regions shifting from frequency‑control ancillary services to...
Forsee Power Battery System Powers New Electric Fire Pump
Forsee Power has delivered its GO 1.6 lithium‑ion battery system to Tohatsu for the VM130A electric portable fire pump, slated for launch later this year. The compact, modular pack, originally designed for light electric vehicles, now powers a critical emergency‑response tool...
Green Light for Wellhead Removal Ops at Australian Oil Field
Jadestone Energy, an AIM‑listed Singapore‑based oil and gas firm, received approval from Australia’s offshore regulator NOPSEMA for its environmental plan to remove three wellheads—Montara‑1, 2 and 3—in the Montara field, located about 690 km east of Darwin. The plan outlines ROV...
Allego Launches New Roaming App
Allego has launched a revamped app that aggregates its own charging stations with those of rival operators, giving users access to roughly one million points across Europe. The platform charges no extra fees and displays third‑party rates transparently – for example...
Japan’s Petchem Supplies to Last Into Next Year: PM
Japan’s prime minister announced that naphtha‑derived chemical supplies will extend beyond year‑end, thanks to a surge in imports and continued domestic production. Naphtha imports from non‑Middle‑East sources will triple in May, reaching about 1.35 million kilolitres. Stockpiles of intermediates such as...