Friday, 10 July 2026

Draft terms for the fourth auction of the European Union Hydrogen Bank (EHB) should reach the public before June closes, pv magazine reported, setting the rules that will govern how subsidy support is allocated to hydrogen producers. Hydrogen Europe expects the auction itself to open before the end of the year.

The backdrop is a mounting bill for wasted renewable power. Hydrogen Europe CEO Jorgo Chatzimarkakis said electricity curtailment across Europe cost EUR 5.6 billion in 2025, a figure he expects to climb to EUR 24 billion by 2030.

On the bilateral front, Australia and Germany have agreed a memorandum of understanding on hydrogen cooperation, according to pv magazine. The pact pairs the two governments in a joint H2Global auction scheme, with each side committing as much as EUR 200 million.

In metering, Italgas reported that its installed base of Nimbus units has passed 200,000, pv magazine said.

NESO logged its second supply warning of the week for Friday evening, calling on generators and suppliers to free up more capacity to cover an estimated margin gap of 671 megawatts running from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time, according to a notice cited by Rigzone.

The warning landed as hot weather across the region pressured networks, Rigzone reported.

Elexon forecast peak demand at just under 36 gigawatts on Friday evening.

Thin wind supply was a factor. Turbine output averaged roughly 5 gigawatts through the day, against a running average of about 9 gigawatts so far this year, according to Bloomberg forecasts.

Transmission constraints tightened the picture further. NESO holds a 700-megawatt operating reserve, but around 1.1 gigawatts of generation could not count toward that buffer on Friday, trimming the available safety margin, according to Rigzone.

Cross-border supply also looked strained. In France, up to 18 gigawatts of nuclear capacity faced possible curtailment, which would cap electricity exports to Britain, Rigzone reported.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, announced next steps for the Canadian Digital Core Library (CDCL) at the 2026 Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Hodgson highlighted newly signed memoranda of understanding with Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon to advance the CDCL, Natural Resources Canada said.

He also announced up to CAD 15 million for Creative Destruction Lab to develop the CDCL platform, according to the department.

Core scanning is set to begin by September 2026, Natural Resources Canada said.

The Geological Survey of Canada holds over 80,000 metres of drill core, with provincial and territorial libraries adding almost five million metres to the country's core catalogue, according to the department.

Canada produces over 60 minerals and metals, including the 34 critical minerals identified on the 2024 Critical Minerals List, Natural Resources Canada said.

The 2026 Jeep Recon EV is now available to order starting at $66,995, with only the range-topping Moab trim currently offered, according to Electrek.

The Recon Moab carries an official EPA-estimated range of 222 miles, Electrek reported. That falls short of Stellantis' earlier forecast of around 230 miles for the Moab, and below the estimated 250 miles the company said the Recon would offer with a 100 kWh battery pack.

The SUV is built on the STLA Large platform with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup, according to Electrek. Stellantis said the configuration delivers 650 horsepower and 620 lb-ft of torque, enabling a 0-60 mph time of as little as 3.6 seconds.

On charging, the Recon can recharge from 5% to 80% in about 28 minutes, or add 100 miles in roughly 10 minutes, Electrek reported.

Jeep is introducing the Recon in the US and Canada first, with the 2026 Moab priced from CAD 88,285 in Canada, according to Electrek. The company plans to expand the launch to the UK, Europe, and other global markets.

Jeep claims the Recon is the "first and only fully electric Trail Rated SUV" available, Electrek reported.

The European Investment Bank has approved a EUR 70 million loan for Dutch public transport operator Qbuzz, according to electrive. The financing will support the deployment of 275 battery-electric buses and the expansion of charging infrastructure in Zuid-Holland.

The EIB loan will be complemented by an equivalent financing package from Société Générale, electrive reported.

The 275 buses will run under the Zuid-Holland Noord concession, serving cities including Leiden, Alphen aan den Rijn, and Gouda.

Qbuzz transported over 112 million passengers in 2025, according to its own figures cited by electrive.

The operator recently expanded its battery-electric bus fleet in Zuid-Holland with additional vehicles from Chinese manufacturer Yutong, according to electrive. The decision was influenced by delays at Iveco and the insolvency of Van Hool, which disrupted earlier procurement plans.

Since 2017, Qbuzz has been part of the Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.

Mercedes-Benz released operational data showing its cabover eActros trucks achieving 1.61 kWh per mile at an average combined vehicle weight of about 36 metric tons, according to Electrek.

The data covers 80 battery-electric heavy trucks running in the company's own logistics fleet across thousands of trips, thousands of charging cycles, and millions of miles, according to Electrek.

On the Wörth am Rhein to Bielefeld route, an eActros 600 with an average gross combination weight of 36 metric tons covers around 600 km per day, with about half of charging events at public charging points, Electrek reported. Average energy consumption between November and February on the route is 100 kWh per 100 km, equivalent to roughly 11 liters of diesel.

The electric truck delivers toll savings of more than 4,000 euros per month on that route, according to Electrek. The route saves 90 metric tons of CO2e a year.

Electrek noted that ArcBest, the logistics company operating the Tesla Semi prototypes, did not reveal the average combined vehicle weight of the loads behind its 1.55 kWh per mile figure, and that its routes ran between Reno, Nevada and Sacramento, California.

Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass terminal (CP1) registered 139 exceedances of its air permits in its first year of operation, according to state regulators cited by Inside Climate News. The facility released methane, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and other hazardous pollutants during that period.

The terminal sits in Cameron, Louisiana, enclosed by a 31.5-foot-high solid steel fence and spread across 1,150 acres where grasslands stood a year earlier, according to Inside Climate News.

The surrounding community has shrunk sharply. Cameron was home to some 2,000 people before storms hit the area, and fewer than 200 remain today, Inside Climate News reported.

Venture Global chief executive Michael Sabel described the business in plain terms. "Ultimately our business is that we manufacture and operate machines that produce money," Sabel told CNBC on the day he took the company public last year, according to Inside Climate News.

Sabel received compensation of more than USD 39 million last year, and Pender received more than USD 12 million, according to Inside Climate News. The pair own nearly 80% of the company's stock.

Since the United States started bombing Iran, several Venture Global insiders have collectively netted more than USD 246 million by selling company stock, the price of which spiked during the war, according to an analysis by Friends of the Earth confirmed by Inside Climate News.

The company has accumulated more than USD 36 billion in debt to build its terminals, according to Inside Climate News.

The expansion mirrors a broader shift. The United States went from nothing to become the world's largest exporter, and LNG output is expected to nearly double between now and 2029, according to Inside Climate News.

Australia bought abroad 90% of the diesel, 80% of the jet fuel and 68% of the petrol it used in FY2024-25, its three main oil products, according to IEEFA. The country now stands as the world's biggest buyer of seaborne diesel, its purchases equal to 10.1% of global net trade in 2025, IEEFA said.

IEEFA counted six times since 2000 when Australian inflation ran past the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) target band of 2-3%, and it named oil price shocks as a leading cause each time. Across those years, oil prices climbed about 6.9% annually and oil costs about 8.9% annually, running ahead of Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth of 2.8%, according to IEEFA.

Household transport spending added one percentage point to the CPI in March 2026, IEEFA reported.

Annual inflation fell to 4% in May from a March peak of 4.6%, according to IEEFA. In May 2026 the RBA lifted the cash rate by 0.25%, pointing to the danger of second-round effects from higher oil prices, IEEFA said.

IEEFA pointed to electrification as a way to cut that import dependence. Powering all of Australia's road transport with electricity would draw the equivalent of 42% of current electricity demand, according to IEEFA.

Red Eléctrica is investing EUR 55.3 million in the Espinardo power line project in the city of Murcia, according to a company press release. The project is included in the current electricity planning cycle approved by the Council of Ministers and is binding for Red Eléctrica.

The work covers a new 220 kV Espinardo substation and an 11.2-kilometre double-circuit underground line, according to Red Eléctrica. The line will connect the new substation to the Murcia and El Palmar substations.

Red Eléctrica said the Espinardo line will give the capital a new electrical backbone to support its current and future socioeconomic development.

Traffic restrictions around Espinardo and on Avenida de Juan Carlos I will begin on Friday 26 June, according to Red Eléctrica.

Red Eléctrica has finished repowering the 400 kV line linking its Barcina substation in Burgos with the Santa Engracia del Jubera substation in La Rioja, the company said.

The upgrade cost EUR 1.6 million and lifted the line's carrying capacity at 58 of its 220 pylons, according to Red Eléctrica. At 40 of those pylons, the work was carried out without adding to their height, the company said.

Spanning 94.7 kilometres, the circuit crosses 8 municipalities on the Burgos side and 24 on the La Rioja side, per Red Eléctrica.

The company also fitted bird flight diverters along the route to comply with rules on birdlife protection, according to Red Eléctrica.

The repowering sits within the Electricity Transmission Grid Plan, a mandate on Red Eléctrica after approval by the Council of Ministers, the company said.

California is deciding whether to spend nearly USD 200 million to help public schools install healthier and more efficient heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and plumbing systems, according to Canary Media.

The alternative under consideration is returning the money to the state's biggest utilities so customers save roughly a dollar per month on their bills, Canary Media reported.

Indonesia had installed 853 MW of rooftop solar capacity as of 2025, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). That total trails regional peers by a wide margin.

IEEFA reported that Vietnam reached around 6.9 GW of rooftop solar in 2025, Thailand around 3.6 GW, and Malaysia around 1.8 GW.

A power outage in Sumatra on May 22, 2026 followed a failure on the 275-kV Muara Bungo-Sungai Rumbai transmission line in Jambi, which led to extensive blackouts across the island, according to IEEFA. The state-owned utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has since confirmed that constrained coal supply contributed to the outages.

Households accounted for 42% of the 318 TWh of electricity sold by PLN in 2025, with households in Java consuming around 82 TWh, IEEFA said.

More than 130 companies in Indonesia have pledged to source 100% renewable energy, according to IEEFA.

Fern and a group of NGOs have begun developing a methodology built on six criteria to identify areas where mining should be prohibited, according to Climate Home News. The work is being carried out in consultation with Indigenous Peoples' organisations.

Around half of the metals and minerals needed for the energy transition sit on or near Indigenous Peoples' territories, according to Climate Home News.

Research cited by Climate Home News shows that the expansion of mining threatens about 363,000 km2 of protected land in the Brazilian Amazon, home to 195,000 traditional and Indigenous people.

The Sakatti nickel project in Finnish Lapland has part of its deposit under a peat bog ecosystem, according to Climate Home News. The site is protected under Finnish law and forms part of the Natura 2000 network.

According to Fern, the European Commission disregarded expert advice when selecting strategic mining sites eligible for streamlined permitting. Several controversial projects were added to the list after initially failing expert assessments.

Perrine Fournier, a trade, mining and forest campaigner at Fern, argues that no mining should proceed without the Free Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples or local communities.

Canada expanded the Greener Homes Affordability Program to Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, building on an existing partnership with Manitoba, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Over $500 million in funding, including $300 million from the federal government, will help more than 35,000 low- and median-income households install heat pumps, better insulation, improved air sealing and other upgrades at no cost, Natural Resources Canada said. The upgrades cut energy bills and household emissions.

Retrofits under the program will help participants save between $300 and $1,700 in annual energy costs and reduce a household's annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.5 tonnes, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The Quebec allocation totals $243.5 million, according to the department's backgrounder. That includes $172.5 million from the federal government, $9.7 million from Quebec's MELCCFP and $61.3 million from Hydro-Quebec, supporting no-cost upgrades for about 25,000 households.

BC Hydro will receive $68.8 million in federal funding plus roughly $108.5 million from BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia, for total funding of about $177.3 million.

Nova Scotia will receive $20 million from the federal government plus $6 million from the province, totalling $26 million, to expand the HomeWarming and African Nova Scotian Communities Retrofit programs for about 1,600 additional households, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Across Canada, more than 96 percent of building emissions come from space and water heating, the department said. Switching from oil heating to a heat pump can save over $1,300 and 2.8 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

A wave of battery storage financings and project announcements moved across the United States, according to Solar Builder. OCI Energy closed about USD 130 million in tax equity financing for its Alamo City Battery Energy Storage System in southern Texas.

The Alamo City project is a 120 MW / 480 MWh battery being developed under a long-term storage capacity agreement between OCI Energy and CPS Energy, Solar Builder reported. Officials say the project is expected to reach commercial energization in 2027, and it officially broke ground in May 2026.

Spearmint Energy secured a USD 325 million expanded debt facility through a partnership with Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit and other investment firms, according to Solar Builder.

Enlight Energy subsidiary Clenera closed on financing for one of the largest solar sites in U.S. history, located in the Arizona desert, Solar Builder reported.

Lightshift Energy announced six new battery energy storage system projects across Massachusetts, adding more than 23 MW of storage capacity, according to Solar Builder. The new project group forms part of the latest phase of the company's statewide energy program.

Canadian Solar subsidiary e-STORAGE is set to deploy about 800 MWh of batteries in Michigan and Florida, Solar Builder reported.

A nuclear-heat hydrogen production concept at the Kalpakkam site could cut electricity needs for electrolysis by as much as 30% compared with conventional electrolyzers, according to Hydrogen Fuel News, though the exact efficiency gains at the facility have not been disclosed.

The rationale rests on operating temperatures. Research cited by Hydrogen Fuel News suggests running electrolyzers between 600°C and 800°C can boost efficiency by 20-40%.

The Kalpakkam site hosts the Madras Atomic Power Station and the Fast Breeder Test Reactor, according to Hydrogen Fuel News. The Department of Atomic Energy has led India's nuclear program since the 1950s, operating under the office of the prime minister.

The interest in higher-temperature electrolysis routes tracks demand projections. Hydrogen Fuel News reports that global hydrogen demand is expected to potentially more than triple by 2050 for uses in shipping, chemicals, and heavy industry.

Amogy Inc. has partnered with Kowa Company, Ltd. to explore hydrogen supply solutions using ammonia cracking in Japan, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The two companies formalized the collaboration as a memorandum of understanding, with plans for joint feasibility studies, site evaluations, and technical trials with potential industrial partners, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

The approach relies on moving ammonia in liquid form using existing infrastructure at major ports, then cracking it on site into hydrogen and nitrogen, according to Hydrogen Fuel News. Amogy's process vaporizes liquid ammonia, heats it, and passes it over a metal-based catalyst to produce a hydrogen-rich stream, the outlet reported.

Kowa Company was originally rooted in pharmaceuticals and textiles and has expanded into renewable energy and alternative fuels, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

Rolls-Royce powered a modified Pearl 15 turbofan on 100% hydrogen fuel through a simulated flight cycle at NASA's Stennis Space Center, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The engine test drew on prior work across England and Germany. Hydrogen Fuel News reported that Rolls-Royce ran an AE2100 turboprop on green hydrogen with easyJet at Boscombe Down in 2022, and carried out full combustor trials at the German Aerospace Centre in Cologne.

Rolls-Royce brought in the UK's Health and Safety Executive to add high-flow hydrogen control and monitoring, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

At Cologne, the DLR facility is still running full-annular combustors under maximum takeoff conditions on the same Pearl 15 platform, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

Hydrogen carries about three times the energy per kilogram of kerosene, but only a quarter of that energy per unit of volume, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

Aviation produces about 2.5% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

King Felipe VI inaugurated the Centro de Innovación de Agua y de Energía in Pinto, a green hydrogen and e-methane demonstration hub sited at a Canal de Isabel II wastewater treatment plant, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The King unveiled a plaque at the Arroyo Culebro Cuenca-Media Alta wastewater treatment plant, which serves over a million people in Madrid's southern suburbs, Hydrogen Fuel News reported. That plant has been in operation since 2006, primarily focused on advanced wastewater treatment.

The pilot facility can produce up to 400 kg of hydrogen per day using electrolyzers powered by on-site solar and wind energy, according to the company cited by Hydrogen Fuel News. The hydrogen can be compressed, stored, and dispatched to refuel vehicles or supply industrial clients.

The center also runs an experimental system that combines hydrogen with carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere to produce a methane-like gas, Hydrogen Fuel News reported. That e-methane is injected into the facility's internal network to help generate heat and electricity.

Regional authorities point to potential to use nearly half of the hydrogen produced to decarbonize truck fleets, according to Hydrogen Fuel News. Negotiations over specific offtake agreements and pricing structures are still underway.

Canada and Italy tasked their critical minerals envoys with developing joint approaches to stockpiling by the end of 2026, according to a joint statement from Natural Resources Canada. The commitment came at the second Canada-Italy Ministerial Energy Dialogue in Montreal, held on the margins of the International Energy Agency's Global Conference on Energy Efficiency.

Canada's Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson and Italy's Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin led the meeting. The inaugural dialogue was convened in October 2025 at the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The ministers directed officials to advance work in critical minerals value chains, nuclear energy cooperation, liquefied natural gas, and energy security.

On nuclear energy, Canada and Italy committed to continue exploring opportunities for scientific, regulatory, fusion research, and industrial collaboration.

The two governments also formalized the launch of technical discussions between officials at Natural Resources Canada and Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security.

Every unit of new electricity supply worldwide in 2025 came from low-carbon sources, with clean power contributing more than any other source to the year's energy growth, according to the Energy Institute statistical review of world energy as reported by Carbon Brief.

Total energy supply hit a record, rising 10 exajoules, or 1.7%, to pass 600EJ for the first time, the review found. Electricity demand outpaced that expansion, growing 3% against overall energy use of 1.7%, and low-carbon generation covered the entire gain, Carbon Brief reported.

Among all sources, wind and solar posted the sharpest rise at 18.3% year-on-year, the review found. That shift pushed the fossil-fuel share of global primary energy down to 86.2%, a record low, according to Carbon Brief.

Coal still climbed to a new high of 166EJ, 0.7% above the prior year and 2.8% higher than the 2014 level once viewed as a possible peak for the fuel, the review found.

Data centres remained a small slice of demand, at 2% of all electricity use and 15% of the year's increase, Carbon Brief reported.

The Energy Institute, a professional membership body, assumed responsibility for the annual review from BP in 2023.

Duke Energy accepted $129 million in taxpayer money to buy out an offshore wind lease, according to CleanTechnica. The report describes the company as the latest to accept a lease buyout offer from Trump's Department of the Interior.

CleanTechnica reported that Northeast states and California have filed lawsuits in recent weeks against the federal government over similar offshore wind lease agreements.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has proposed a safety rule targeting lithium-ion batteries and electrical systems in e-bikes, according to Electrek.

According to Electrek, the CPSC frames the measure as a way to cut the risk of thermal runaway, the failure mode behind fires, explosions, toxic smoke, and serious injuries.

Coverage would extend past finished e-bikes to replacement battery packs, battery management systems, chargers, aftermarket electrical parts, and kits that convert standard bicycles into e-bikes, per Electrek.

Electrek reported that the draft lists several technical demands. Battery enclosures would have to resist tampering so users cannot reach the cells, and battery management systems would face testing to confirm they block charging of overheated cells. The rule would also require reverse-polarity protection to guard against incompatible chargers, plus wider warning labels on unsafe charging and homemade battery packs.

Commercial micromobility fleets fall inside the scope as well, which would place rental operators under the same federal requirements as private owners, Electrek reported.

The CPSC is taking public comment through August 24 before it decides whether to finalize the measure, according to Electrek.

TechnipFMC has secured a contract to build out the Var Energi-led Ofelia and Gjoa Nord developments in the Norwegian North Sea, according to Rigzone.

The integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation deal came without a stated price, though Rigzone reported TechnipFMC classified it as a large award, a bracket the company puts at USD 500 million to USD 1 billion.

Rigzone reported the direct award grew out of a five-year subsea collaboration pact the two companies signed in 2025.

Var Energi cleared the final investment decision for the Gjoa Subsea Projects on June 25, with a target of roughly 76 million barrels of oil equivalent in gross proven and probable reserves, Rigzone reported.

Output is scheduled to begin at Cerisa in Q3 2027, with Ofelia and Gjoa Nord following in the second half of 2028, according to Rigzone.

The developments push the economic life of the area out from the early 2030s to around 2040, Var Energi said, which the company links to further tie-back work and near-field exploration.

Rigzone reported that Var Energi Chief Operating Officer Torger Rod tied the work to the company's aim of producing more than 400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day over the long term, calling the projects a way to strengthen Gjoa as a production hub.

Var Energi holds 40 percent of Ofelia, 30 percent of Cerisa and 30 percent of Gjoa Nord, Rigzone reported.

Cenovus Energy has signed Aker Solutions to a five-year engineering and maintenance services agreement covering the White Rose field offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, according to World Oil.

The scope spans the new West White Rose platform and the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Production from the West White Rose platform is expected to start later in 2026, World Oil reported.

Around 120 onshore and offshore staff will support the work, run out of Aker Solutions' St. John's office, according to World Oil.

The contractor's ties to the field date back to 2005, when it began providing offshore engineering that later included the tow-out and installation of the West White Rose concrete gravity structure, plus onshore commissioning and offshore hookup. It also carried out engineering, procurement and work preparation for the SeaRose vessel's life extension drydock campaign, which wrapped up in 2024, per World Oil.

Aker Solutions will record the deal as second-quarter 2026 order intake within its Life Cycle business segment.

Earth Insight mapped government oil and gas blocks against protected waters in 11 countries and found extraction zones sitting on top of habitat used by whales, coral reefs and mangrove forests. Its analysis put more than a quarter of the marine and coastal protected areas it examined inside zones flagged for possible drilling, alongside 40 percent of coral reefs and nearly a third of mangroves.

Across those same countries, oil and gas blocks overlapped with half of the waters that whales and other marine mammals use to migrate, feed and breed, according to Earth Insight.

Kenya recorded a total overlap. Proposed offshore blocks there covered 100 percent of the country's coastal coral reefs, mangroves and marine protected areas, concentrated in the Lamu Basin and its fishing grounds.

Earth Insight also tracked a proposed 800-mile liquefied natural gas pipeline running from Alaska's North Slope in the Arctic down to Cook Inlet, a route that reaches Indigenous communities dependent on hunting and fishing.

LNG shipping through Cook Inlet could push large-vessel traffic up by 40 to 70 percent, according to Earth Insight, layering underwater noise that could block beluga whales from hearing, communicating and locating food.

That noise floor is already high. Ben Boettger, energy policy analyst for Cook Inletkeeper, said existing shipping in Cook Inlet crosses beluga whale harassment thresholds almost daily.

Tyson Miller, executive director of Earth Insight, called the pace of fossil fuel expansion pressing on ocean habitat alarming.

The regional grid operator and its transmission owners plan to ask federal regulators for a 90-day abeyance while they meet a show cause order covering how large loads and co-located loads such as data centers connect to the grid, according to ISO New England Newswire.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) handed down that order on June 18, one of six sent to grid operators nationwide to quicken the connection of large energy users while building in consumer protections, according to ISO New England Newswire. The abeyance request carries an Aug. 3 filing deadline under the order.

A granted pause would open a stakeholder process before a Nov. 16 deadline, by which the operator and its transmission owners must file revisions to the region's interconnection procedures for large loads and co-located loads.

Before any of that, the operator faces a July 20 deadline to submit a FERC informational report on resource adequacy tied to large loads.

Earthrise Energy brought its 270 MWac Archtop Solar Project online in Illinois by using the existing grid connection at its Gibson City natural gas peaking plant, rather than waiting in the interconnection queue for a new connection, according to Electrek.

The project, made up of Gibson City Solar 1 and Gibson City Solar 2, entered commercial operation on June 9, Electrek reported.

Archtop is the first project to use Earthrise's surplus interconnection strategy, securing approval through MISO's surplus interconnection process rather than the traditional queue, according to Electrek.

Earthrise says it is developing roughly 1.5 GW of additional solar projects in Illinois using the same surplus interconnection strategy, Electrek reported.

"Illinois needs additional energy resources now, and this project demonstrates that innovative use of existing infrastructure can accelerate deployment timelines," said Earthrise CEO Jeff Hunter, according to Electrek.

Vermont received its largest delivery of superefficient manufactured homes through a state program aimed at lowering energy bills in affordable housing, according to Canary Media.

The all-electric homes are equipped with heat pumps and cut energy use by more than half compared with new conventional homes, according to Canary Media.

Canary Media described the delivery as the latest example of how the state program can lower energy bills for residents of this type of affordable housing.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat, signed a law earlier this month carrying several policies meant to boost solar energy, according to Canary Media.

The law extends the state's renewable energy incentives, according to Canary Media. It calls for the creation of a new community solar program. The measure also authorizes plug-in solar and requires automated residential solar permitting.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a June 18 order requiring six regional grid operators, including PJM Interconnection, to justify how they assign transmission costs or propose changes, according to Inside Climate News.

FERC ordered PJM and the five other grid operators to either defend or revise their tariffs to prevent the cost-shifting Maryland alleges unlawfully burdens ratepayers, Inside Climate News reported.

The order followed a June 16 letter signed by 80 Maryland lawmakers who pressed FERC commissioners to grant immediate relief from $2 billion in costs that PJM has billed the state as cost-sharing for building new power lines for data centers in neighboring Virginia, according to Inside Climate News.

Legislators wrote that if the costs are not refunded, Maryland electric customers will pay $1.6 billion for just these projects over the next ten years, Inside Climate News reported.

David Lapp, People's Counsel for Maryland, said FERC's order only addresses future transmission costs, while the complaint from his office seeks relief from future allocations as well as those PJM has already assigned for projects approved over the past three years, according to Inside Climate News.

Abe Silverman of Johns Hopkins said PJM does not currently provide enough information to see the cost shift, because the transmission needed to serve large new loads is largely spread across the region, Inside Climate News reported.

Florida's HB 1217, which prohibits local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals, takes effect July 1, according to Inside Climate News. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the measure on April 22, Earth Day.

At least 10 cities and counties in the state have implemented net-zero policies, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Leon County, Inside Climate News reported.

The law requires local governments to submit an annual affidavit to the state Department of Revenue verifying compliance, according to Inside Climate News. It also prevents local governments from participating in carbon-trading programs or charging taxes or fees tied to carbon emissions.

In response to the law, Leon County rescinded a 2023 resolution declaring a climate emergency and rolled back plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles, Inside Climate News reported.

Orlando Utilities Commission, the state's second-largest municipal utility, serves more than 288,000 customers in Orange and Osceola counties, according to Inside Climate News. The utility remains committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2040.

Oil in the low $70s undershoots what supply and demand justify, according to Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB, who put a fair figure closer to $80-90 per barrel. He tied that view to sustained inventory draws across the world since the start of the war.

Brent crude has come off crisis highs to a pre-war level of $72 per barrel, Schieldrop said.

The retreat in bullish positioning tracks that price slide. Ole Hansen reported the combined hedge fund net long across West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil futures dropped by 36,300 contracts to 178,800 contracts, the lowest in six months and 68 percent under the March peak.

That pullback, which Hansen linked to both fundamental shifts and a weakening technical picture, has driven gross short positions in Brent toward record territory.

The figures come from Saxo Bank's weekly Commitments of Traders update, covering hedge fund futures positions during the week ending June 23.

Neil Crosby, head of research at Sparta Commodities, said traders are working to absorb a short-lived surge in prompt Arabian Gulf crude that had been held up in the Strait.

Allume raised the maximum capacity of its SolShare 2 solar-sharing device to 30 kWp from 20 kWp, a 50% increase, and can now serve up to 15 apartments, according to ESS News.

The device checks a building's load every 200 milliseconds and routes solar output to individual apartments based on real-time demand, ESS News reported. This version adds community battery storage to that solar management.

Installation can be carried out at any time of day and in shaded conditions, with assembly time down to 40 minutes from eight hours, according to Taylor.

In one case, an integrated solar and battery system fitted across 24 flats in Cardiff cut grid energy use by 60% to 70% for the building, ESS News reported.

The rollout runs alongside E.on, which put GBP 4 million into Allume and works across 11 EU countries, according to ESS News. In Australia, about 90% of Allume's installations sit in the private sector.

SolShare 2 will pair with SigEnergy inverters and batteries at launch, according to ESS News.

Canadian startup Reflect10 has unveiled a photovoltaic module design that it says raises energy production by 20% against a conventional solar module by integrating light-reflecting geometry into the module, according to pv magazine.

The company claims the design can increase power output by a factor of 2.66 during early morning and late afternoon, when irradiance is lower, according to pv magazine. It also claims a 19% improvement in energy yield under diffuse-light conditions such as cloudy or smoggy weather.

Reflect10 said the reported figures rest on optical simulations and proof-of-concept field tests, according to pv magazine. Those tests ran in Quebec and Morocco over a nine-month period between late summer 2025 and May 2026.

The company launched a sealed-bid licensing process on June 30, according to pv magazine. It is offering 50 non-exclusive licenses for its intellectual property to module manufacturers, sovereign wealth funds and investment funds.

Reflect10 plans to present the technology at a press conference in Paris on July 7, according to pv magazine.

Governments at the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa pledged over USD 6 billion for marine protection, sustainable fisheries and offshore wind, according to Climate Home News. The summit made no comparable commitment on offshore oil and gas expansion.

Only one side event out of dozens of panels in Mombasa addressed the threats posed by offshore oil and gas expansion, Climate Home News reported, and that event was organised by civil society rather than governments.

The silence contrasts with the scale of offshore fossil fuel activity. One-third of global oil and gas production comes from offshore projects, according to Climate Home News. A May report by Earth Insight found that 85% of all hydrocarbon discoveries made in 2024 were offshore.

Host Kenya announced at the conference that it was joining the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, while also defending plans to explore for oil and gas in the Lamu Basin, a biodiverse coastal region, according to Climate Home News.

Alex Wachira, principal secretary for Kenya's Department of Energy, defended the dual approach. "The energy transition is a journey. It is not a one-stop shop," Wachira told Climate Home News.

Cambodia's Takeo substation will host a 250 MW/500 MWh battery energy storage system funded through a USD 63.44 million package cleared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ESS News reported. The site sits in the country's south.

Most of the money splits into a USD 40 million concessional loan and a USD 5 million grant routed through the Asian Development Fund, per ESS News. The remaining USD 18.44 million arrives as co-financing from the Green Climate Fund and the United Kingdom, channeled via the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility.

ADB tied the battery to Cambodia's goal of reaching 70% renewable energy capacity by 2030. Running at full duty, the system should cut as much as 27,700 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to ADB.

The bank said the asset will feed cross-border power trade and grid links with Vietnam. ADB framed that connection as part of the ASEAN Power Grid target of full regional integration by 2045.

Operationally, ADB expects the project to help state-owned utility Electricite du Cambodge run battery storage and to shape national rules for such systems.

Cambodia's utility-scale solar fleet has already run past the government's 2030 and 2035 targets, ESS News reported.

Renault Trucks has raised the claimed range of its E-Tech T 780 to up to 660 kilometres, compared with the previously announced 600 kilometres, according to electrive.

The gain comes from a wider battery operating window. Renault Trucks has extended that window to allow up to 95% of the batteries' energy capacity to be used, electrive reported.

Charging performance stays the same. According to electrive, the E-Tech T 780 still charges at up to 350 kW via CCS and up to 720 kW via MCS. Renault Trucks says charging times rise by around 10% because of the larger usable battery window, per electrive.

The smaller E-Tech T 585 also gains range. Its official range has increased from 460 to 500 kilometres, according to electrive.

Renault Trucks has changed its battery warranty terms. It initially offered coverage for up to eight years or one million kilometres, and has now aligned its standard warranty with that of Volvo Trucks at six years or 720,000 kilometres, electrive reported.

Asked by electrive about the 40 kilometre range gap versus the Volvo FH Aero Electric, Renault Trucks attributed the difference to the aerodynamics of the driver's cab.

Wood Mackenzie tied 7 GW of renewable project cancellations and stalled activity on federal lands during 2025 to tighter permitting rules and withdrawn federal funding.

The firm estimates that stiffer federal oversight puts a further 12 GW on federal lands and 80 GW on private lands at risk. Across technologies, solar carries the heaviest load in absolute terms, with 30% of its pipeline exposed to added review, according to Wood Mackenzie.

The trigger was a Department of Interior memorandum dated July 15, 2025, which pulled review of nearly all wind and solar projects into a centralized process, Wood Mackenzie said. Under those rules, the firm calculates that 32% of the early-stage pipeline now faces extra federal review.

Kaitlin Fung, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said wetland permitting is the main bottleneck for solar, wind and energy storage alike.

The policy has run into the courts. A federal court granted a preliminary injunction in April 2026 that halted agency measures tightening restrictions and broadening review for wind and solar, ruling them likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Separately, the House passed the Simplifying Permitting and Ending Endless Delays (SPEED) Act in December 2025, which still needs Senate and Executive sign-off.

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded SLB a seven-year contract tied to its Ahmadi Innovation Valley initiative, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The two companies will jointly evaluate, test and roll out technologies spanning artificial intelligence, industrial internet of things applications, production optimization, reservoir technologies, water management and energy transition work, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

SLB intends to build a dedicated Ahmadi Innovation Valley facility in Kuwait, the same report said. Construction is expected to start in 2026, with opening set for 2028.

Ahmadi Innovation Valley pairs KOC with industry partners, academia and technology providers to tackle strategic upstream technical problems, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Ahmad Jaber Al-Eidan is chief executive officer of KOC, and Olivier Le Peuch is chief executive officer of SLB.

NextDecade Corp has set pricing on senior secured notes worth $3.5 billion, with proceeds directed to the Rio Grande LNG plant under construction at Brownsville, Texas, according to Rigzone.

The opening tranche covers $1 billion in notes maturing in 2031, carrying a 5.25 percent coupon, Rigzone reported.

Rio Grande LNG has earmarked $18 billion for phase 1, which covers liquefaction trains 1-3, according to Rigzone. Capacity under construction stands at around 30 MMtpa, and trains 4 and 5 would each contribute roughly 6 MMtpa, Rigzone reported. The estimated build cost runs to $6.7 billion for each of those two trains.

Regulators widened the project's export room on June 12, 2026, when the Department of Energy lifted the free trade agreement portion of the authorization from 27 MMtpa to about 30 MMtpa, according to Rigzone.

Since July 2023, Rio Grande LNG Phase 1 LLC has swapped out more than $1.85 billion of its $11.1 billion in original term loan facilities, issuing senior secured notes and loans in their place, Rigzone reported.

Work has begun on a 41 MW/82 MWh battery in Oregon, the first grid-scale storage project Iberdrola has put into construction in the United States, ESS News reported.

The plant, named Shutler BESS, sits in Gilliam County, Oregon, with subsidiary Avangrid handling the build, according to ESS News. It is scheduled to start operating in 2027.

Avangrid runs roughly 3 GW of generation capacity across the northwestern United States, ESS News reported.

In Italy, Iberdrola has brought a 243 MW solar plant online, according to ESS News.

A depot at Ledermair's Thaur site near Innsbruck now runs 28 charging points delivering 2.4 MW in total, electrive reported. electrive describes the facility as the largest e-bus depot in Tyrol.

Four Kempower Power Units feed the charging bays, with sessions scheduled and coordinated through Kempower ChargEye software, according to electrive.

The site can scale beyond its current build. electrive reported the Power Units can each rise to 600 kW, and the point count can climb from 28 to 32.

Ledermair ordered 27 MAN Lion's City E battery-electric buses last year for regular service around Innsbruck, according to electrive.

Alexander Ledermair said the technology had proven itself in the market and gave the operator the adaptability the site required.

PJM Interconnection opened the bidding window on June 30 for its capacity auction covering the June 2028 to May 2029 Delivery Year, according to PJM Inside Lines.

The bidding window will close on July 7, with results reported on July 14 after 4 p.m. Eastern, according to PJM Inside Lines.

The capacity market, called the Reliability Pricing Model, secures power supply resources to meet predicted energy demand ahead of the delivery year, according to PJM Inside Lines.

Faults in the control and communication link between energy management and battery management systems drive about 45% of severe incidents at utility-scale storage sites, TWAICE CEO Stephan Rohr told pv magazine. He made the remarks at pv magazine Focus 2026, staged in Munich on June 24 alongside Intersolar 2026.

By contrast, cell-level problems trigger only around 10% of the serious incidents logged in a database that TWAICE runs with a research partner, pv magazine reported. The firm tracks output and reliability at more than 130 utility-scale storage projects.

JinkoSolar's Johanna Bonilla said her company keeps six spare-parts warehouses spread across Europe, cutting replacement times under its service contracts, according to pv magazine. She said suppliers routinely pitch availability guarantees of 99% or above, a level she called unrealistic across the working life of a project, pv magazine reported.

Financing hinges on who stands behind those guarantees. Commerzbank's Tim Koenemann said the strength of a counterparty and its credit rating weigh heavily in lending calls, because performance guarantees can stretch 10 to 15 years or longer, according to pv magazine.

Goldbeck Solar won The smarter E Award 2026 in the Photovoltaics category for its self-developed automation system, HeliomatiX, according to pv magazine.

The HeliomatiX Assembly Hub consists of six 40-foot containers and requires a 55 m installation area, pv magazine reported. Pre-assembled modules leave the Assembly Hub every 60 seconds.

Ralf Steinheiser, Head of Innovation & Technology at Goldbeck Solar, said the system could in theory install up to 1 MW of PV capacity within eight hours. The automation approach could reduce man-hours for module assembly by up to 85%, according to pv magazine.

Development took around three years and was carried out in cooperation with a mounting structure manufacturer. Goldbeck Solar plans to test HeliomatiX in a real-world project in the second half of 2026 and is currently seeking a suitable PV site.

For the first two years, the system will be used exclusively in-house before Goldbeck Solar offers it to external customers.

Eku Energy aims to bring a 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery storage system online in Germany by the end of 2029, according to ESS News.

The four-hour installation, called Dion, is sited at Lamspringe in Lower Saxony and sits at an advanced development stage, ESS News reported.

Dion will link directly into the transmission grid, with grid-forming and black-start functions built in.

For the batteries, Eku Energy said Fluence will deliver the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) systems.

The developer picked up the project rights from Germany's Nion, which stays on under a signed agreement to carry the work through to financial close.

Eku Energy intends to set up a German office next year and is looking for further partners on battery projects as well as long-term power offtake and energy marketing deals.

A Cornell University research team has developed a method called Direct Electrode-to-Electrode Regeneration (DEER) that regenerates lithium-ion battery electrodes rather than fully recycling them, according to electrive.

The process intervenes earlier than conventional recycling, electrive reported. Removed electrodes are treated in an electrochemical solution that strips the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) layer, which forms during battery operation and raises internal resistance, according to electrive. The researchers say the electrode structure itself remains intact after treatment.

A techno-economic analysis accompanying the work concluded that processing costs could be reduced by 56% compared to conventional recycling methods, according to electrive.

The team published its findings in early June in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, electrive reported.

The Dallas Fed Energy Survey's business activity index more than doubled between quarters, reaching 46.1 in the second quarter of 2026 after a first-quarter reading of 21.0, according to Rigzone. That gauge, which the survey treats as its widest read on conditions for energy firms in the Eleventh District, hit its strongest level since the second quarter of 2022.

Field responses came in from June 9-17, according to Rigzone. One exploration and production (E&P) executive told the survey that markets can price risk but cannot price a tweet.

Crude output firmed as the oil production index moved up to 15.0 in the second quarter from zero three months earlier, according to Rigzone. The natural gas production index held near flat at 3.7.

Costs jumped hard for oilfield services firms, with the input cost index climbing to 64.4 from 34.9 and not a single respondent reporting lower costs, Rigzone reported. The operating margin index for those firms swung to 52.2 from -7.0, its first positive print in many quarters, according to Rigzone.

Spending plans strengthened as the capital expenditures index rose to 40.9 from 21.2 over the quarter, with 49 percent of firms reporting higher outlays, according to Rigzone.

The company outlook index slipped to 29.3 in the second quarter, Rigzone reported. E&P firms read 48.2, while services firms stayed negative at -4.4.

Jeep will not launch the Recon and Wagoneer S in Europe or the UK as originally planned, according to Electrek. A Jeep spokesperson cited tough market conditions and the cost of right-hand drive development, which would have made the cars untenable given small sales projections.

In place of the two scrapped models, Jeep plans to launch three new SUVs, including a larger flagship model to be built in China, Electrek reported. That flagship will be produced through a joint venture with Dongfeng, using the Chinese automaker's platform and technology for overseas sales.

Built on Dongfeng's platform, the flagship electric SUV will be available with hybrid and pure electric powertrains, and it may also be offered as a range-extended electric vehicle, according to Electrek.

Jeep's European boss Fabio Catone said the D-segment SUV would be fully designed by Jeep but built in China and exported to overseas markets including Europe.

The two smaller B-segment SUVs will be underpinned by Stellantis' new STLA One global platform.

India aims to widen its sources of crude and stockpile enough fuel to cover up to a month of domestic demand, according to Rigzone.

The country buys roughly 90% of the crude it uses, running at close to 5 million barrels a day, Rigzone reported.

Refiners including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. secure close to half their crude under long-term contracts and source the rest on the spot market, according to Rigzone.

The diversification push would tap fresh output from producers such as Guyana, Brazil and the US, Rigzone said, citing people familiar with the plans.

The stockpiling program spans crude, LPG and liquefied natural gas, with volumes set to cover as much as a month of demand, Rigzone reported.

Indian Oil had already been building toward a trading desk with Vitol Group before the war, according to Rigzone.

US waivers permitting purchases of Russian oil have given Indian refiners short-term supply relief, and they have bought heavily, Rigzone reported.

Diplomats gathered in Nairobi for a four-day informal session that opened Tuesday, marking their first face-to-face meeting since UN plastic treaty talks broke down nearly a year earlier, according to Climate Home News.

A formal negotiating round is set for March 13 to March 24, 2027, Climate Home News reported.

The reopened talks revealed a split over whether the accord should cap how much plastic gets made. A bloc of large fossil fuel and petrochemical producers, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia and India, has pressed for a deal limited to waste management rather than output curbs, according to Climate Home News.

Washington backs practical, cost-effective measures against plastic pollution and opposes global plastic bans, a US State Department spokesperson told Climate Home News.

Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano, who chairs the process, took the role in February after his predecessor stepped down, Climate Home News reported. He rejected any narrowing of scope, saying no topic is off the table and urging delegations to submit whatever proposals they consider necessary for a workable outcome.

Without new limits, the UN projects plastic production will triple by 2060, according to Climate Home News.

MAN's partner JS Logistics has received five MAN eTGX electric trucks for use in MAN's plant logistics, with the vehicles set for cross-border operations between Hungary and Germany, according to electrive.

The eTGX is the manufacturer's first fully electric long-haul model, with a range of around 500 kilometres, electrive reported.

The trucks run between Lebeny in Hungary and the MAN plant in Munich, a distance of approximately 520 km each way, according to electrive. On that route, the vehicles use a meet-and-turn system in which two electric trucks drive towards each other and swap trailers en route.

MAN aims to deploy around 50 electric trucks for inbound transports by mid-2026 in collaboration with various logistics partners, while expanding charging infrastructure at MAN plants and service centres, electrive reported.

Michael Kobriger, Executive Board Member for Production and Logistics at MAN Truck & Bus, said that deploying the eTGX in MAN's own production logistics demonstrates that zero-emission heavy-duty transport already works in real-world operations today.

MAN has been gradually integrating battery-electric trucks into its own logistics network since Autumn 2024, coinciding with the market launch of the eTGX, according to electrive.

ADNOC is proposing a new pricing methodology for crude sold to term customers, moving toward an approach more aligned with wider regional trading norms, according to World Oil, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Under the plan, monthly official selling prices for Upper Zakum, Das and Umm Lulu crude would be set at a differential to the Dubai benchmark for cargoes loading two months ahead, World Oil reported.

Those three grades currently carry official selling prices set at a differential to Murban futures, which are priced on the ICE Futures Abu Dhabi platform, according to World Oil.

No change was proposed for the official selling price formulation for Murban crude, Abu Dhabi's flagship grade, World Oil reported.

The change, if implemented, could support ADNOC's plan to ramp up production and shipment of its crude following the UAE's exit from OPEC in May, according to World Oil.

ADNOC's crude-marketing team has discussed the changes with refiners and traders, traveling to Singapore to explain the proposals before moving on to Japan for similar talks, World Oil reported, citing people who asked not to be named because the discussions were private.

ADNOC declined to comment on the proposed pricing changes.

Shell expects global liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows to be little changed in 2026, ending more than a decade of growth, if shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal this summer, according to World Oil.

The conflict in the Middle East has choked off about a fifth of global LNG exports over the past four months, World Oil reported.

Production units at Qatar's Ras Laffan complex, where Shell holds an equity stake, were damaged by Iranian missiles in March, according to World Oil. Qatar has said about 17% of its LNG capacity would need years of repairs following the Iranian attacks.

Shell said LNG facilities could require around six to eight weeks to ramp up once the Strait of Hormuz is deemed safe to pass, according to World Oil.

Shell sees LNG supply returning to growth in 2027, according to World Oil. That view contrasts with Vitol Group and the International Energy Agency (IEA), which expect supplies could stay tight for around two more years.

Over the longer term, Shell projects global LNG demand to climb to nearly 700 million tons a year by 2050, an increase of around 65% from 2025 levels.

A technical siting study by Great British Energy-Nuclear concluded that Scotland has land areas with high potential for new nuclear development.

The report identified three areas currently associated with nuclear power: Torness in East Lothian, Dounreay in Caithness, and Hunterston in North Ayrshire.

The finding sits against the Scottish Government's long-standing policy that it will not grant planning consent to new nuclear projects in Scotland.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the report shows there is potential for new nuclear in Scotland, which could boost the country's energy security and deliver new jobs.

The UK nuclear industry now employs a record 98,000 people, according to the Nuclear Industry Association. The sector added 11,000 new jobs last year following government-led investment.

Production of the all-electric BMW iX5 will begin in August at the Spartanburg plant in the USA, according to electrive. BMW has pledged that from 2028 the iX5 will also be available with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.

The iX5 60 xDrive delivers 425kW of system power and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, with 805Nm of torque, according to electrive. It carries a 141-kilowatt-hour traction battery.

WLTP range spans 645 to 845km, with standardised energy consumption of 20.1 to 23.9kWh per 100km. On DC charging the peak output reaches 460kW, and a 10 to 80 per cent charge is expected to take 23 minutes, according to electrive.

The iX5 60 xDrive weighs 2,900 kg when empty. Its braked towing capacity is 2,700kg.

Portugal will hold an auction on September 14 for 1.05 GW of energy storage capacity, split between 750 MW of standalone battery storage and 300 MW paired with renewable energy projects, according to ESS News.

The tender is the first step of the country's National Electricity Storage Strategy, ESS News reported. That strategy targets 3 GW of battery storage and 3.9 GW of pumped hydro storage by 2030. The targets rise to 4.5 GW of battery storage and 5.26 GW of pumped hydro by 2040, according to ESS News.

The auction design ties project revenue to host communities. Municipalities will receive 30% of revenue generated through standalone storage auctions and up to 70% from projects using surplus grid capacity, ESS News reported.

Developers will be required to allocate 2.5% of net revenue to local community benefit measures, according to ESS News. Agrivoltaic projects will receive a 20% bonus during the auction process.

Projects will sit at strategic grid nodes including Rio Maior, Abrantes, Sines-Santo André, Alcochete-Palmela, Pegões-Divor, Estremoz, and Tavira, ESS News reported.

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published local authority and regional greenhouse gas emissions statistics covering 2005 to 2024, according to DESNZ.

The statistics were first published on June 25, 2026, and last updated on June 30, 2026, according to DESNZ.

The main data sources for the estimates are the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and the DESNZ Official Statistics on energy consumption for local authority areas, according to DESNZ.

The dataset covers all emissions included in the national inventory except those from aviation, shipping and military transport, which DESNZ said have no obvious basis for allocation to local areas. It also excludes emissions of fluorinated gases, for which suitable data are not available to estimate at a local level, according to DESNZ.

Land use, land-use change and forestry emissions and removals at the local authority level were prepared by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), according to DESNZ.

The 11th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency concluded in Montreal on June 30, 2026, according to Natural Resources Canada. The event was co-hosted by International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, and Canada's Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature Julie Dabrusin.

All participating countries, including Canada, endorsed the Montreal Action Plan, Natural Resources Canada said. The plan highlights the importance of doubling global energy efficiency progress by 2030.

According to Natural Resources Canada, energy efficiency standards have saved Canadian households more than CAD 110 billion since the 1990s.

Hodgson accepted the IEA's invitation for Canada to join the IEA Ministerial Advisory Panel on Electricity Affordability, Natural Resources Canada said.

The conference also celebrated six global winners of the Youth Energy Efficiency Leadership Award, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Exports of portable air conditioners from China to Western Europe surged 70% in the first five months of 2026, according to Semafor Net Zero. The European heatwave is benefiting Chinese air-conditioning makers and e-commerce platforms, Semafor reported.

Demand has outrun supply on some product lines. A Midea AC model that debuted this month is completely sold out in Germany on Alibaba's international retail site, according to Semafor.

Chinese presence extends beyond cooling hardware. A German executive said China was "everywhere" at a recent solar and energy storage exhibition in Munich, Semafor reported.

The trend intersects with a policy push in Brussels, which is looking to counter Europe's reliance on China's clean-energy hardware, according to Semafor.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson met with European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen in Montreal on June 29, 2026, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The two discussed deepening cooperation across liquefied natural gas (LNG), critical minerals, nuclear energy, electrification, and clean technologies, Natural Resources Canada said.

Hodgson and Jørgensen co-hosted an Energy Security Business Roundtable that brought together Ministers from EU member states and senior industry executives, according to Natural Resources Canada. The roundtable addressed greater Canada-EU energy supply chain integration.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) has secured approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) for its Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant (SDVPP) program, which is set to launch in 2027, according to Solar Builder.

The program was shaped by the state's Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA) and aims to increase battery storage, specifically residential storage, across northern Illinois, Solar Builder reported.

ComEd hopes to widen the program by 2029 to include other distributed energy sources such as electric vehicles, according to Solar Builder.

Will Kenworthy, Midwest regulatory director at Vote Solar, said the program is what Illinois lawmakers intended when they passed the Clean and Reliable Affordable Grid Act last fall, describing it as a way to quickly put distributed energy resources to work for the whole grid.

ComEd has awarded more than USD 2.5 billion in energy efficiency incentives and connected over 1.8 GW of distributed energy to the grid, according to Solar Builder.

Natural gas could start flowing by 2033 from two undersea deposits ExxonMobil discovered off Cyprus, according to a senior company executive cited by Mongabay. The forecast follows a deal ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy signed with Cyprus declaring the two deposits commercially viable.

The Glaucus and Pegasus deposits sit in Block 10 of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone and together hold an estimated 7 trillion cubic feet of gas, Mongabay reported.

ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy view the most likely route to market as a pipeline carrying the gas to existing processing facilities in Egypt, where it can be liquefied for export, according to Mongabay.

The consortium will carry out additional drilling at the Pegasus deposit around the end of this year to gather more data for its development, Mongabay reported.

A separate consortium of Italy's Eni and France's TOTAL holds licenses for four blocks in Cyprus' EEZ, where two deposits hold an estimated 5.6 trillion cubic feet of gas combined, according to Mongabay.

Eni's Chief Operating Officer Guido Brusco said earlier this year that the company was close to a final decision on developing the Cronos gas field, which could deliver gas to European markets by late 2027 or early 2028, Mongabay reported.

A federal appeals court has upheld New York City and state rules barring fossil fuel-burning appliances in new construction, siding with the electrification mandates against an industry challenge, according to CleanTechnica. In the same decision, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgments of two lower courts.

The rejected challenges targeted building electrification requirements, CleanTechnica reported.

Swiss solar startup Sun-Ways has built rail-based solar panel systems that fit onto existing standard rails and feed power to the grid, stations, terminals, or the train itself, according to Electrek.

The panels sit along the track and route their output back to the grid or to nearby infrastructure, Electrek reported. In a working pilot, Sun-Ways founder Joseph Scuderi said more than 11,000 trains passed over the panels, and the installation stayed stable and safe during each passage.

Installation runs on a purpose-built machine developed by rail servicing firm Scheuchzer AG, according to Electrek. The machine can lay up to 300 meters of PV panels per hour, or more than 500 panels per day.

Electrek estimates that pace at roughly 190 kW of installed capacity per day, based on about 380 W for each roughly 2 meter commercial panel.

California leaders reached an agreement in the state budget to provide new funding for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) incentives covering light- and heavy-duty vehicles, according to CleanTechnica.

The agreement is framed as reaffirming California's role as a national leader on clean transportation, according to CleanTechnica, as the Trump administration continues attacking policies that help Americans afford cleaner vehicles.

Enverus has bought four exchange platforms from PDS Energy Information, according to World Oil, taking on tools that handle completions coordination, well data sharing, production reporting and produced water logistics in the U.S. upstream sector.

The transaction covers four named platforms, World Oil reported. They are the Frac Interference Exchange, the Well Data Exchange, the Production Data Exchange and AquaTrade. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Enverus said the PDS network connects nearly 800 industry participants and moves an estimated 80% of U.S. completions, drilling and production data.

More than 400 operators use the Frac Interference Exchange, according to World Oil. Through it, companies line up hydraulic fracturing schedules, flag frac-hit risks and manage temporary shut-ins across shared operating areas.

"Adding these platforms to the networks Enverus already operates is a natural step," said Manuj Nikhanj, chief executive officer of Enverus.

The exchange services will keep running while their features move onto the Enverus platform, the company said.

Morgan Stanley cut its oil price forecast for the second time in roughly two weeks, projecting Dated Brent to average $75 a barrel across the third and fourth quarters as it flagged a building glut. The bank pared its third-quarter view by $15 and its fourth-quarter view by $5.

Next year's outlook also came down. Morgan Stanley reduced its estimate for each of the four quarters of 2027 and now sees Dated Brent at $70 by the close of that year.

The global benchmark has shed roughly 30% over the quarter after the United States and Iran reached an interim peace that reopened some shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The most-active September contract changed hands at $73.41 on Tuesday, well below the April high above $126.

Morgan Stanley tallied 35 oil and gas tankers leaving the Persian Gulf through the strait on Thursday, marking the first return to the 30-to-40 range that was normal before fighting broke out in February.

By the bank's reckoning, Hormuz throughput needs to climb back to only about 65% of the pre-conflict level, or 11 to 12 million barrels a day, for the market to balance in 2027.

Genesis confirmed last week that it plans to launch the GV90 electric SUV on September 9, 2026, according to Electrek. The GV90 is the flagship electric SUV built on Hyundai's new EV architecture.

A high-ranking Hyundai Motor Group official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AsiaToday that the company is preparing the launch schedule with the goal of unveiling the GV90 on September 9.

Hyundai has reportedly built more than 250 production GV90 units at its Ulsan EV plant in South Korea as quality checks and other testing wrap up ahead of the launch, according to Electrek. The GV90 marks the first vehicle produced at the facility, Hyundai Motor's first dedicated EV plant in Korea.

The timing follows earlier setbacks. Electrek reported that GV90 production was delayed last year due to unresolved technical challenges, leaving the launch date uncertain.

Hyundai has not revealed full specifications for the vehicle. The company said its new eM platform could deliver up to a 50% improvement in driving range compared to E-GMP-based EVs like the IONIQ 5, according to Electrek.