Saturday, 18 July 2026

AmpereHour Energy has opened a battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing and integration site in Pune, India, sized for a planned annual capacity of 5 GWh, according to ESS News.

Output at the plant will cover cabinet and containerized battery DC-AC blocks aimed at utility-scale projects, plus commercial and industrial storage applications, ESS News reported.

The company runs a platform called AH-Suite for digital factory acceptance testing and quality management, which handles system traceability, performance validation and commissioning from factory to field, per ESS News.

Rahul Shelke, managing director of AmpereHour Energy, said the move into BESS manufacturing draws on the firm's prior work as a system integrator, according to ESS News.

The Philippines' Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) says it is reworking the rules governing the country's high-voltage transmission system through the 2026 edition of the Philippine Grid Code, according to pv magazine.

The ERC proposes halving net-metering interconnection reviews from 20 working days to 10, pv magazine reported. Where a distribution utility misses the deadline to install bidirectional meters, the application would clear on a deemed-approval basis.

The draft framework scraps the 1 MW ceiling on distributed energy resources and puts digital submissions and e-signatures on equal legal footing with paper filings, according to pv magazine. It would also allow crediting across multiple sites and give renewable output priority dispatch in off-grid areas.

The country counted 23,684 net-metering prosumers as of June 30, together holding 232 MW, pv magazine reported, citing figures published on the ERC website. Another 181 distributed energy resource participants accounted for a further 226 MW.

ERC Chairperson and CEO Francis Saturnino C. Juan tied the update to keeping the system dependable as more renewables and new technologies connect, saying the 2026 code is meant to keep the grid "stable, reliable, and secure".

The reforms follow a government requirement, imposed earlier this year, for intermittent renewable plants above 10 MW to install energy storage, according to pv magazine.

Velesto Energy has walked away from the planned sale of its NAGA 3 jack-up drilling rig to PT Indonesia Drilling Energy, after the deal did not close within the deadline the two parties had set, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Velesto Drilling, a subsidiary, sent the buyer a termination notice on June 30, 2026, and the sale and purchase agreement formally ended on July 7, 2026, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The transaction was first disclosed in December 2025, priced at USD 63 million in cash, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. Velesto had framed the disposal as a step toward focusing on more competitive rigs and a lighter asset base.

With the agreement dead, NAGA 3 stays on Velesto's books, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. The company said it does not expect the collapsed sale to materially affect earnings or net assets.

MG will launch a new plug-in hybrid line carrying semi-solid-state batteries, driver assistance systems, and a highway assistant in 2027, the carmaker told its Tech Day in London, according to electrive.

The first vehicle in the Plug-in Hybrid+ range will be the MG ZS Plug-in Hybrid+, due in 2027, electrive reported. Its powertrain pairs 1.1- and 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engines with a new hybrid transmission. MG says the two engines reach thermal efficiency above 42 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively.

Every future Plug-in Hybrid+ model will use MG's SolidCore semi-solid-state battery, which the carmaker says holds performance more stable at low temperatures and low states of charge, electrive reported. Three new SUV ranges in the B, C, and D segments will carry the technology first.

MG built its driver assistance work on roughly 1.2 million test kilometres logged across 24 European countries, according to electrive. A new SUV fitted with the Navigate On Autopilot motorway assistant is due by the end of 2027.

The company is developing automated parking and, by its own account, SAE Level 4 robotaxis now under test in Europe, the Middle East, and China, electrive reported.

In early June, SAIC subsidiary MG confirmed construction of its first European plant at Ferrol, Spain, with production set to start in 2028, according to electrive.

US crude held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) dropped to 319.48 million barrels in the week ending July 3, according to Rigzone. Against an authorized storage capacity of 714 million barrels, the reserve sits at roughly 44 percent of that figure.

Weekly stocks have not run this low since the week ending April 29, 1983, when the SPR held 317.45 million barrels, Rigzone reported.

The reserve shed 6.2 million barrels, a 1.9 percent decline from the prior week, and stood 83.5 million barrels below its year-earlier level, a drop of 20.7 percent.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on March 11 that the US Department of Energy (DOE) would draw 172 million barrels from the SPR, its share of a wider International Energy Agency (IEA) plan to release 400 million barrels of oil and refined products.

The IEA said 32 of its member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves to counter disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East.

On May 11 the DOE awarded contracts to exchange about 53.3 million barrels of crude drawn from the SPR's Bayou Choctaw, Bryan Mound, Big Hill, and West Hackberry sites, Rigzone reported.

Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities said the refill window for the released barrels is set at one to two years under the swap agreements.

The United Arab Emirates pumped an average of 4.1 million barrels a day of crude oil in June, a record, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly report.

That volume surpassed the UAE's previous peak of 4 million barrels a day in 2020, set during a brief price war over OPEC+ policy, according to the IEA. The UAE exited OPEC+ at the end of April, and oil traders have been watching how far the country would push its supply after leaving the group.

Saudi Arabia pumped 7.3 million barrels a day in June, 900,000 barrels a day higher than the previous month, according to the IEA. Kuwait's output rose to 1.4 million barrels a day and Iraq's to 2 million barrels a day over the same month, the agency said.

Even as crude flows climbed, the IEA said Gulf refinery activity has been slower to respond, with product exports still less than half the levels seen before the conflict.

Brent futures topped $80 a barrel earlier in the week before easing to near $76 a barrel on Friday, according to the report. The recovery picture was muddied on Wednesday when President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire effectively void after the two sides traded hostilities in the region.

Russian refineries have run at an average of 3.91 million barrels a day this month, a level not seen since March 2005, EA Analytics data show. That pace sits more than 1.4 million barrels a day under where the plants ran a year earlier.

Moscow has responded by banning most diesel exports until the end of July, an order that follows earlier curbs on gasoline and jet fuel shipments.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) attributed the pressure to a wave of Ukrainian strikes, which it said had hit more than half of Russia's refining capacity since the start of May. In June, according to the IEA, Russian plants processed 3.8 million barrels a day, down 1.6 million barrels a day from a year before.

Ukrainian forces have struck about 50 times over the past 100 days, damaging at least 24 of Russia's 34 large refineries, a Bloomberg tally of public statements from both sides found.

Those drones now carry more than 1,500 miles from the border and this month reached Russia's largest oil refinery in the Omsk region.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told local media last week that supply gaps have surfaced at the pump. "There are problems and shortages, which is why we see queues or sometimes gas stations don't work stably," he said.

Ford Pro has delivered 49 E-Transit Custom and 82 E-Transit battery-electric vans to Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), according to electrive.

The E-Transit Custom carries a usable battery capacity of 64 kWh and a power output of 100 kW, according to electrive. Its combined WLTP range reaches up to 331 km, with up to 443 km achievable in urban traffic.

The larger E-Transit uses a 68 kWh battery and a power output of 135 kW, according to electrive. It delivers up to 317 km in the combined WLTP cycle, or up to 403 km in urban traffic.

BVG plans to procure an additional 270 battery-electric buses by 2027, increasing the number of electric buses to around 550, according to electrive. That total would make roughly one-third of the bus fleet electric, a fleet that comprises around 1,500 vehicles.

At the end of June, BVG commissioned a DC fast-charging station for electric buses at Marzahn S-Bahn station, according to electrive.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has asked the State Corporation Commission to place the cost of data-center-driven transmission projects on the facilities themselves, according to Inside Climate News, in a case argued through a filing by her chief energy officer.

Her administration is pushing a "but for" test, one that would make data centers cover the transmission lines and substations their projects require, Inside Climate News reported.

The disputed charge, Rider T-1, sits at $11.79 a month for a typical residential customer. Dominion has acknowledged that shifting to a dedicated data center rate class would cut that residential increase to $0.94.

Dominion currently earns a return on equity of 11.4 percent on transmission and 9.8 percent on its base rates, according to Inside Climate News.

During a case on its 2024 long-term planning document, Dominion testified it had estimated an additional $7.59 billion in transmission line investment coming online through 2031. Data centers accounted for 68 percent of that need, either on their own or shared with other customers, leaving 32 percent unrelated to them.

First-time electric vehicle buyers in California will get a $3,500 discount at the dealer counter under the new MyFirstEV program, which Governor Gavin Newsom created by signing SB 168, according to Electrek. The point-of-sale rebate takes effect later this summer.

Electrek reported that $135.5 million in state money underwrites the discount, with participating automakers matching that sum dollar-for-dollar. New EVs priced up to $50,000 qualify for the full $3,500, while used EVs sold for up to $25,000 carry a $1,750 rebate, according to Electrek.

The rebate forms a key component of a wider $600 million zero-emission vehicle package inside the 2026-27 state budget, drawn from Cap-and-Invest revenue and smog-abatement fees, Electrek reported.

Eligibility turns on where an automaker is based. Tesla shifted its headquarters from California to Austin, Texas, in 2021, and no longer counts as a California-based manufacturer under the program's rules, according to Electrek.

The state's own EV uptake has slipped. California's market share dropped from nearly a quarter of new car sales a year earlier to 15.7% in the first quarter, well under the 35% target the state set for this year, Electrek reported.

The pressure extends past California. US EV sales fell at least 20% in the first half of 2026 after Congress ended the $7,500 federal EV tax credit last September, according to Electrek.

BYD launched the Denza Z electric supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, according to Electrek. Electrek reports the top Racing variant undercuts the Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe on both price and acceleration.

Every Denza Z runs three electric motors, one at the front and two at the rear, for a combined 1,582 hp, or 1,604 PS, according to Electrek. Electrek reports the Racing variant on optional semi-slick tires can reach 62 mph from a standstill in as little as 1.96 seconds, with a top speed of 217 mph.

That compares with the Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe, which Electrek says takes 2.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph and starts at GBP 199,100 in the UK.

All Denza Z variants use a 76 kWh BYD Blade Battery 2.0, according to Electrek. The car is built on an 800V architecture paired with BYD's Flash Charging system, which Electrek reports can recharge the battery from 10% to 70% in as little as five minutes.

UK pricing starts at GBP 142,900 for the Coupe, GBP 159,900 for the Spider, and GBP 172,900 for the Racing, according to Electrek. BYD plans to begin customer deliveries by the end of 2026.

MARVEL is a micro reactor designed to produce 85 kilowatts of thermal energy, according to Atomic Insights. Using Stirling engines, the reactor will be able to produce approximately 20 kilowatts of electricity, according to the same source.

The reactor uses uranium-zirconium hydride (UZrH) fuel rods with uranium enriched to less than 20% U-235, a high-assay low-enriched uranium classification, according to Atomic Insights. Its coolant is NaK, a sodium potassium eutectic that is naturally circulated through the reactor core and the system heat exchangers.

Atomic Insights reported that MARVEL is currently scheduled to achieve dry criticality in 2027 and full power operations in 2028.

The program was initiated in 2020, according to Atomic Insights. MARVEL is classified as a non-capitalized asset, which limits its projected operating life to about two years, the same source reported.

The Pentagon committed USD 25 million on Monday to a startup whose minerals feed jets, missiles, and submarines, according to Semafor Net Zero. The move lands as Washington and Beijing both widen state-funded bids to lock down mineral supply chains.

On the Chinese side, a newly formed Beijing-backed mining investment vehicle is working to shore up overseas supplies of critical metals, Bloomberg reported.

Washington has responded by buying stakes in several domestic rare earth producers, aiming to dilute China's grip on the market, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Cutting the US free of China across manufacturing and technology would run USD 13.7 trillion over 25 years, a new analysis found, according to Semafor Net Zero.

XPENG has spent several years developing self-driving technology along lines similar to Tesla, according to CleanTechnica.

The company has held to Elon Musk's position that cameras are the only sensors needed for autonomous driving, CleanTechnica reported. That stance sets XPENG apart from most others in the field, which have concluded that radar and lidar sensors are also required alongside cameras.

The European Union's electric car tariffs reduced the market share of EVs made in China, according to a T&E analysis of the trade measures.

While the tariffs curbed EVs produced in China, imports of Chinese batteries increased seven fold, according to CleanTechnica's report of the T&E analysis. Those batteries face virtually no tariffs.

Elestor and Windpark Zeewolde are building a 20 MW hydrogen-iron flow battery with capacity ranging from 200 to 800 MWh, according to Hydrogen Fuel News. The partners are targeting grid congestion and higher wind energy use.

Hydrogen Fuel News reports the system is designed to capture excess wind energy when demand is low and release it when the grid can accept more power. The pairing links long-duration storage directly to a wind site facing congestion constraints.

Elestor is described by Hydrogen Fuel News as a specialist in long-duration energy storage. Windpark Zeewolde is described as one of the continent's largest onshore wind farms.

The project ties a single storage unit to a large onshore generation base, with the stated aim of shifting wind output across periods when the grid cannot immediately absorb it.

Germany's LuFo Klima program is backing THWS and Kasaero with nearly EUR 2 million to develop a modular hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion kit for the Taifun 17 H2, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The kit is designed as a retrofit-ready system for ultralight aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

The propulsion system combines PEM fuel cell technology with a lithium-ion buffer, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The Taifun 17 H2 featured in the project is a two-seat touring aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

DRIFT Energy, a UK startup, is rolling out a fleet of sailing vessels designed to produce green hydrogen at sea, according to Hydrogen Fuel News.

The wind-powered vessels use underwater turbines and onboard electrolysis to generate the hydrogen offshore before delivering it to ports, Hydrogen Fuel News reported.

The boats are designed to travel along optimal wind corridors and return to port carrying compressed hydrogen, according to the same report.

Sungrow and TÜV Rheinland have released a quantitative corporate framework for assessing the long-term reliability of photovoltaic (PV) inverters, according to pv magazine. The two firms describe the standards as a corporate-level method for measuring how inverters hold up over years of operation.

The framework is built on two standards, according to pv magazine. One, 2 PfG 3325, targets insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules and lays out testing methods for power semiconductor components under thermal and power cycling stress. The other, 2 PfG 3328 Part 2, covers system-level testing and lifetime assessment of power conversion equipment.

Sungrow said the standards close a gap between how inverters are qualified in the lab and how they perform in the field over time. Existing qualification methods were not built to capture the varied and demanding conditions of modern PV plants, the company said.

The two organizations have worked together before, publishing a joint white paper earlier in 2026 on a risk-based approach to battery energy storage system (BESS) safety, according to pv magazine.

ASL has made changes to key renewable energy tenders to ensure that successful wind and solar projects can move beyond winning an auction to actually being built, according to RenewEconomy.

ASL is the company charged with managing key tenders in NSW and other states under the federal government's Capacity Investment Scheme, RenewEconomy reported.

The changes will take effect initially in NSW, which is running its own tenders to secure the capacity to replace ageing coal fired generators, all of which are due to retire within the next decade.

A research team from Spain's CIRCE Technology Center found that hydraulic storage can be more cost-effective than batteries for photovoltaic irrigation systems, according to pv magazine. The team reported that combined storage maximizes self-sufficiency.

The study examined a real irrigation facility at a Spanish vineyard fitted with a 112 kW photovoltaic system and six irrigation pumps, pv magazine reported. The researchers compared three energy management scenarios: battery storage, hydraulic storage through a water reservoir, and a combination of both technologies.

Hydraulic storage achieved a simple payback period of approximately 8.2 years, according to pv magazine. Battery storage was not considered economically viable because the additional savings it generated were insufficient to offset the investment cost, the outlet reported.

The work was carried out as part of the European HarvRESt project, according to pv magazine. The findings were published in Sustainability under the title "Energy Management Optimization in Photovoltaic-Powered Irrigation Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Electrical and Natural Storage Strategies".

European Union ministers did not sign off on a 21st sanctions package against Russia on Monday, leaving the bloc's oil price cap unresolved and risking the effectiveness of one of its main levers against Kremlin oil revenue, according to World Oil.

Ministers did back 250 new listings covering banks, crypto operators and tankers accused of helping Russia evade existing measures, World Oil reported.

The cap on Russian oil currently stands at $44.10, World Oil reported. Without a fresh decision, that ceiling is likely to rise well above the current level as global fuel prices stay high, weakening the measure.

The floating mechanism was built to hold the ceiling 15% under the average market rate for Russian Urals crude, World Oil reported. It resets every six months, and European firms cannot provide services such as insurance or transport for oil sold above the threshold.

Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, described the 21st package as "quite close" but said she could not promise a decision on the oil price cap ahead of Wednesday's deadline, according to World Oil.

The European Commission first tabled the 21st package on June 9, World Oil reported.

Sticking points centered on curbs covering the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas and provisions touching Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International AG, according to people familiar with the private talks who spoke anonymously to World Oil.

James Fisher and Sons and Aquaterra Energy have agreed to work together on offshore decommissioning, splitting front-end engineering, well access, subsea work and offshore execution between the two firms, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. James Fisher's energy division takes on subsea operations and offshore execution, while Aquaterra Energy handles front-end engineering and well access, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The two companies said their first areas of focus will be the North Sea, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The North Sea Transition Authority puts remaining decommissioning spend at around USD 59 billion (GBP 44 billion).

Australian government modelling suggests offshore decommissioning liabilities there could reach roughly USD 64 billion (GBP 48 billion) over the next 30 to 50 years, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

More than 2,500 offshore structures worldwide are expected to need decommissioning by 2040.

EU tariffs have reduced China's share of battery-electric vehicles entering the EU market, yet they have failed to slow the rise of Chinese brands, according to an analysis by T&E published by electrive.

China supplied 17% of battery-electric vehicles in the EU market in the first quarter of 2026, according to electrive. That figure had reached 22% in 2024, the year the tariffs took effect.

Within those imports, the European manufacturer portion slid from 38% in 2024 to 23% in the first quarter of 2026, the analysis found. T&E links the drop to Western brands including Tesla, BMW, and Volvo relocating output from China to Europe.

The measures landed unevenly across exporters. SAIC, facing a 35% tariff on top of a 10% base duty, saw its battery-electric vehicle imports nearly halve between 2023 and 2025, according to electrive. BYD, carrying a 17% tariff plus the same 10% base duty, more than doubled its BEV imports into the EU across that period.

On price, Chinese-brand battery-electric vehicles still undercut European rivals by 21%, the T&E analysis found.

Chinese brands have also grown fast in a category outside the BEV tariff regime. Their share of the EU plug-in hybrid market stands at 13%, up from 3% in 2024, according to electrive.

T&E argues a 20% tariff on Chinese batteries would raise the price of EU-manufactured battery-electric vehicles by an average of just 2.8%.

"The EU tariffs worked up to a point," said Lucien Mathieu, Cars Director at T&E. He said Western carmakers moved production to Europe and Chinese manufacturers began to onshore, while European firms' competitiveness in EV and battery technology remains at stake.

A standalone battery system rated at 11 MW and 22 MWh in Halle (Saale), Germany, has secured financing from UmweltBank, ESS News reported. The plant will run on merchant market revenues alone, with no floor-price or tolling agreements underpinning the deal.

CCE developed the project, according to ESS News. UmweltBank said the loan runs for a 10-year term, allowing operational flexibility and revenue generation for the investor.

Nine weeks passed between the customer's investment decision and the first loan disbursement, said Holger Donhauser, head of renewable energy financing at UmweltBank.

Assessing long-term technical performance and future revenues is the main hurdle in battery storage financing, said Goran Basic, a member of UmweltBank's management board.

UmweltBank said it will finance its first wind farms with integrated battery storage next year.

Mercedes-Benz has begun building the all-electric C-Class at its Kecskemét plant in Hungary, Electrek reported.

The automaker put roughly EUR 1 billion into enlarging the site, according to Electrek, with the outlay covering fresh production halls, a battery assembly line, a second press shop and a new paint shop. That work took the footprint from 200 to 440 hectares, more than double its earlier size, and ranks it as Hungary's biggest automotive plant.

On the energy side, a 27.4 MW solar farm sits alongside rooftop panels to bring the factory's combined solar capacity to 42.3 MW. Mercedes says that generation should meet about 25% of the plant's yearly electricity demand.

The company reports that its new paint shop draws roughly 20% less energy than the one it replaced while lowering CO2 emissions by about 80%.

Headcount at Kecskemét has passed 5,000, Electrek reported. Engineers there run a full digital replica of the new assembly hall to test production changes before applying them on the line.

Officials in Bessemer, Alabama handed over a non-disclosure agreement tied to a proposed 4.5 million-square-foot hyperscale data center after environmental groups threatened legal action over the city's refusal to release public records, Inside Climate News reported.

The agreement covers a project named Project Marvel and blocks the city from disclosing information in six categories, according to the outlet. Those categories span the identity of the project's developers, its site plans, and any related reports or studies, plus anything else that would reasonably count as non-public.

Inside Climate News reported that the document took effect in February 2025 and was later amended in February 2026.

One clause obliges city staff to destroy every copy of material the developer treats as confidential, either when the agreement lapses or whenever the developer asks, according to the outlet.

A copy handed to the nonprofit Alabama Rivers Alliance and lawyers at the Southern Environmental Law Center carried the signatures of Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley, city attorney Aaron Killings and chief of staff Christopher Warren, Inside Climate News reported.

The groups threatened to sue after the city declined to share public documents about the planned construction on the rural southwest edge of a community of 25,000 residents, according to the outlet.

Built to capacity, the campus could draw up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity, which Inside Climate News described as more than 90 times the annual energy use of Bessemer residents. The outlet compared the site's footprint to 18 Walmart Supercenters.

The Columbiana case set an earlier precedent in the state. In January, Inside Climate News published a non-disclosure agreement that officials in Columbiana, Alabama signed with data center developer DigiPowerX.

Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) held its 2026 production and capital spending targets steady after Permian basin volumes recovered from temporary shut-ins, with acquisition work continuing and its Duvernay joint development deal now closed, according to World Oil.

Operators idled roughly 7,000 boed of NOG output during the second quarter, concentrated on the company's Novo assets in Culberson County, Texas, and Eddy County, New Mexico, World Oil reported. Those cuts spanned April, May and part of June, driven by deeply negative Waha natural gas pricing that eroded wellhead economics even as oil prices held firm, according to World Oil.

Gains elsewhere covered the gap. The Williston basin ran 4% ahead of forecast, while Uinta basin output landed 11.5% above expectations, World Oil reported.

Second-quarter oil production is projected to average 67.5 Mboed to 68.25 Mboed, according to World Oil. NOG closed 30 Ground Game transactions in the period, picking up more than 2,300 net acres and interests in 6.2 net wells, and put roughly USD 45 million into acquisitions and related development capital, World Oil reported.

Capital expenditures for the quarter are pegged at approximately USD 190 million to USD 200 million, and the company logged estimated unrealized mark-to-market derivative gains of USD 155 million to USD 160 million, according to World Oil.

Bright Saver will sell its plug-in solar kits nearly nationwide, everywhere except Maine, New York and Vermont, according to pv magazine, which cited nuances in those states' plug-in solar laws.

Member pricing is set at $285.30 for a 180-watt kit and $414.17 for a 360-watt kit, according to pv magazine. Non-member pricing runs to $499 and $699 respectively.

Basic membership costs $29 per year and grants participants the right to purchase the at-cost kits, along with access to a members-only community and future offers from the nonprofit, according to pv magazine.

Each balcony kit includes one or two 180-watt panels measuring 46 by 34 inches and weighing 11 pounds, per pv magazine. The panels pair with a 120V microinverter fitted with a 15-foot, three-prong power cord and instructions for do-it-yourself installation on a balcony using zip-ties or screws.

The kits target a maximum output of 360 watts to maintain safety, according to pv magazine. The nonprofit ties that ceiling to the National Electrical Code rule that continuous loads use no more than 80% of a circuit's rated capacity. On a standard 15 amp circuit, the resulting 3 amp buffer equals 360 watts at 120 volts.

The offering follows a wave of state-level legislation. Following Utah's 2025 passage of HB 340, legislators in 33 other states took up similar plug-in solar bills, according to pv magazine. Nine state legislatures passed the bills during their 2026 session.

Offshore wind has shown it can support the electricity grid during major heat waves, according to Canary Media.

Earlier in the month, dangerously hot and humid temperatures settled over the eastern United States, Canary Media reported.

US offshore wind farms have already demonstrated the ability to keep electricity flowing during severe winter storms, according to Canary Media.

An average of 7.7% of customers across Ohio's regulated electric utilities had their power turned off over unpaid bills, according to Canary Media, citing the latest utility reports.

More Ohioans are struggling to pay their utility bills, Canary Media reported, drawing on those same reports showing how many customers were disconnected because of unpaid balances.

The 7.7% figure is a statewide average across Ohio's regulated electric utilities.

Houthi forces in Yemen, backed by Iran, launched ballistic missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia in what Rigzone characterized as the heaviest strike in several years.

The group said its target was Abha Airport in the kingdom's southwest and told aviation operators to steer clear of Saudi airspace until, in its words, a Saudi siege of the Yemeni capital Sanaa ends, according to Rigzone.

Saudi defense systems intercepted the incoming missiles, state-run Al Ekhbariya TV reported, without indicating whether Riyadh planned to strike back.

Rigzone reported the assault as the first serious flare-up between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government since both sides reached a ceasefire in 2022.

Fresh strikes across the Red Sea could threaten Saudi crude shipments moving through the East-West Pipeline, a route that lets oil skirt Hormuz and reach the Red Sea for delivery to Europe and elsewhere, per Rigzone.

Mohammed al-Basha, a US-based Yemen analyst, warned that "we could be inching toward a full-scale war" between the two sides.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal on Monday to approve Alabama's coal ash permitting program, giving the state authority to oversee the closure of coal ash ponds at its major power plants, according to Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News reported that the Biden administration rejected the same proposal in 2024 for failing to meet federal standards.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the Alabama program the Trump EPA now wishes to approve was identical to the one rejected in 2024 during the Biden administration, according to Inside Climate News.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Alabama understands its own resources and topography better than bureaucrats in D.C., per Inside Climate News.

Alabama Power operates six major coal ash ponds throughout the state, according to Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News noted the 2008 dam breach at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant, which released 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry into the Emory and Clinch rivers.

France, Spain and Italy each set daily solar generation records in early July, according to pv magazine. France reached its all-time high on July 6 at 199 GWh.

Spain broke its own record two days later, reaching 277 GWh, while Italy registered a new record on July 10 with 167 GWh, pv magazine reported. On the same day, Germany recorded its second-highest solar figure in history, generating 494 GWh, which also marked its highest figure during a day in July.

Among the analyzed markets, the Italian market had the highest weekly average electricity price, at EUR 144.09/MWh, followed by the British market at EUR 118.92/MWh, according to pv magazine.

Gas prices climbed over the same period. TTF gas futures on the ICE market for the Front-Month reached a maximum settlement price of EUR 50.10/MWh on July 9, the highest since May 20, according to AleaSoft's analysis. The consultancy attributes the rise to intensified hostility between the United States and Iran that threatened liquefied natural gas (LNG) traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Carbon prices also rose. CO2 emission allowance futures on the EEX market for the December 2026 reference contract reached a maximum settlement price of EUR 81.81/tonne CO2 on July 6, which AleaSoft says marks the highest level since February 5.

Sunda Energy has applied for a new petroleum exploration permit covering an offshore area of New Zealand's Taranaki Basin, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital, as the company expands its focus on gas opportunities in the country.

The proposed permit covers approximately 645 square kilometers off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. The acreage includes the Awakino gas condensate field, which was originally drilled in 1985.

If awarded the permit, Sunda has committed to reprocessing 450 square kilometers of 3D seismic data within 36 months, alongside technical studies of existing well and field data, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

NZPAM has accepted the application, which will now enter a three-month period during which competing applications may be submitted before the agency assesses all bids and decides whether to award the permit.

Sunda chief executive Andy Butler said the application is consistent with the current New Zealand Government's policy direction to support domestic gas supply and energy security, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Heat pump shipments outpaced fossil-fuel furnace shipments by 32 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to a Building Decarbonization Coalition report cited by Grist.

Kevin Carbonnier of the Building Decarbonization Coalition said heat pumps have outshipped fossil-fuel furnaces for four consecutive years. The first-quarter shipments narrowly missed beating out air conditioning units, according to the report.

In new construction, the two technologies run close. In 2024, 46 percent of new housing in the US included a heat pump, compared with 47 percent that used forced-air furnaces, Grist reported. Three quarters of new apartments in the US are heated electrically.

Heat pumps have a coefficient of performance between 2 and 4, making them at least twice as efficient as resistance heating, according to Grist. A networked geothermal utility system can be up to seven or eight times more efficient than the same homes using gas furnaces.

A combined home and business site in the Perth hills ran without interruption during a storm that ESS News described as a one-in-50-year event and that cut supply across nearby areas, according to Renoz Energy chief executive Simon Chan cited by the outlet. Chan said the recently commissioned installation held 100% uptime while surrounding customers lost power.

The project paired Renoz Energy with Gala Energy Systems, according to ESS News. It brought together 50 kWh of Renoz LV Stackable batteries, 32 kW of inverters and 18 kW of solar, feeding the residence and the business at once.

Chan said Western Australia is nation-leading in battery adoption, according to ESS News.

Renoz Energy's average battery energy storage system install this year measures 50 kWh, Chan said. The company recently passed 1 MWh of battery sales, according to ESS News.

The University of Nottingham and GKN Aerospace have set up HPDrive Technologies to develop cryogenic electrical machine technologies, according to electrive. The new company will target hydrogen-electric aviation and other high-power sectors.

The partners say the technologies address the need for lightweight, high-efficiency electrical machines that can operate at megawatt power levels.

GKN Aerospace said HPDrive will build on technologies developed through the H2GEAR programme. Professor Henner Wapenhans is chief executive of HPDrive Technologies.

The venture complements the University of Nottingham's Hybrid Propulsion Systems facility, which is co-funded through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund.

ISO New England's latest Regional System Plan Project List update estimates USD 281 million in power transmission reliability investments through 2030, according to ISO New England Newswire.

The grid operator counts 13 active projects as of the June 2026 update, including 3 under construction, 8 planned, and 2 proposed. One upgrade was placed into service in the last few months, and no new projects were added, according to the June 2026 update.

Most of the active projects sit in Massachusetts, with seven, and Maine, with five, ISO New England said. Connecticut has one active project, while New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont have none.

Since 2002, ISO New England's power system planning has facilitated USD 13.1 billion in transmission investment, with 886 project components placed into service.

The Planning Advisory Committee's next meeting is scheduled for July 28 at 9 a.m. via Webex/teleconference.

A cooling method that sprays dielectric liquid onto lithium-ion battery cells cut coolant use by roughly 85% in testing, according to the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), which describes the design as a first for spray-based immersion cooling of battery packs, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

In the design, jets of non-conductive fluid hit the tops of the cells while the lower part of the pack sits partially submerged in the same liquid, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

During trials, a pack was run at a 4C charge-discharge rate, a stress point that mimics aggressive fast charging. Cell temperatures stayed below 35°C, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The efficiency gain comes from how little fluid the method needs. KIMM reports the technique uses just 10-20% of the coolant that conventional immersion cooling requires, a reduction of about 85%, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Funding came through South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment under its Core Technology Development Project for Energy Demand Management. The findings appeared in Applied Thermal Engineering (Vol. 282, 2026), according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

KIMM researchers intend to apply artificial intelligence to screen for new dielectric fluids with thermophysical properties tuned to improve cooling further, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Frontier Power USA (FPUSA) has selected the Wildfire BESS Project, a 100 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage project in Caldwell County, Texas, from Bimergen Energy, according to GlobeNewswire Energy.

The project is expected to use Eos Energy Enterprises Z3 long-duration batteries, per GlobeNewswire Energy. Closing remains contingent on the negotiation and execution of definitive documentation and the successful closing of Eos's rights offering.

With Wildfire added, FPUSA's closed and selected projects total approximately 1.8 GWh, GlobeNewswire Energy reported. That equals about 90% of FPUSA's 2 GWh capacity reservation agreement with Eos.

An earlier selection, the Stella project, covered four projects totaling approximately 230 MW / 920 MWh of battery storage capacity, according to GlobeNewswire Energy. Those projects were also selected for the FPUSA platform and are expected to use Eos Z3 batteries.

FPUSA reports visibility on approximately 4 GWh of near-term pipeline opportunities across multiple markets, per GlobeNewswire Energy.

FPUSA is working with KKR Capital Markets LLC to structure long-term project financing across the platform, GlobeNewswire Energy reported. That engagement targets investment-grade financing solutions across bank and institutional markets.

Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN will supply computing power to Canadian large language model developer Cohere, according to Semafor Net Zero. HUMAIN will dedicate at least 50 megawatts of compute to Cohere's new models starting in late 2027, Semafor reported.

The agreement was announced during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Saudi Arabia the prior week, according to Semafor.

The deal marks Cohere's first major deployment outside North America, Semafor reported. HUMAIN and Cohere will also work together on Arabic-language AI models.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand in Asia is on track to fall for the second consecutive year, according to Wood Mackenzie. The trend cuts into the region that dominates sales for Gulf producers.

Around 83% of the Gulf's LNG exports go to Asia, according to Semafor Net Zero. That concentration leaves Gulf sellers exposed as buyers in the region pull back.

Overall Asian LNG demand is expected to be 8% lower this year than its 2024 peak, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Semafor Net Zero reports that the Iran war is changing LNG market dynamics, prompting importers to cut demand, switch to other suppliers, or turn to other fuels such as coal and nuclear.

Even amid the softer demand outlook, ADNOC Logistics and Services placed a $900 million order for four LNG carriers from a Chinese shipyard, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Average lithium-ion battery pack prices fell to about $108/kWh in 2025, roughly 93% below 2010 levels, according to ESS News, which attributed the decline largely to expanded lithium iron phosphate (LFP) manufacturing.

Large stationary LFP packs approached $70/kWh last year, ESS News reported. The outlet said LFP has become the dominant chemistry for stationary energy storage because safety and durability matter more than weight in those applications.

Lithium batteries carry round-trip efficiencies of about 90% to 95%, a characteristic ESS News cited as central to lithium's dominance in battery energy storage systems (BESS). Under favorable electricity pricing conditions, many commercial and industrial storage projects can achieve payback periods of three to five years, according to the outlet.

Supply chains remain heavily concentrated. China controls most global lithium refining capacity along with much of the production of cathodes and battery cells, ESS News said.

Sodium-ion batteries are beginning to enter the commercial market, according to ESS News, which said the technology offers potential advantages in cold-weather performance, cost, and supply chain diversification. Its energy density remains below that of LFP, and production volumes are still a fraction of lithium's.

ZeroAvia and Marshall Aerospace have partnered to assess hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for military aircraft, according to Hydrogen Fuel News. The work aims to boost endurance, cut signatures and chart a certification path.

Marshall Aerospace is described by Hydrogen Fuel News as the UK's largest independent aerospace and defense engineering company.

The partners are examining how hydrogen fuel cell powertrains could integrate into future military aircraft, according to Hydrogen Fuel News, without committing to a specific airframe or customer at the outset.

Tesla is launching an Australian program that shields buyers from resale losses following its price cuts, according to Electrek.

Used-market data cited by Electrek shows the average Model Y shed roughly 25.5% of its value across the January 2024 to January 2025 window, with the Model 3 down about 25% over the same stretch.

Once the US federal EV tax credit lapsed, second-hand Tesla prices climbed 4.3%, even as the wider used EV market slid an average of 3.6%, Electrek reported.

Delivery volumes have moved higher. Tesla's global handovers grew 16.3% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, and Australian deliveries surged 66.7% over the same six months, according to Electrek.

Driva and Tesla intend to roll out a separate loan product built for rideshare drivers later this month, Electrek reported.

North America's rig count dropped by 10 week on week, the first decline in months, according to Baker Hughes' rotary rig count published on July 10.

The fall took the total North America count to 760, made up of 581 rigs in the U.S. and 179 in Canada, according to Baker Hughes. The U.S. total comprised 445 oil rigs, 126 gas rigs, and 10 miscellaneous rigs.

Canada drove much of the weekly move. Its oil rig count fell by 12 and its gas rig count dropped by one, according to Baker Hughes.

Among U.S. basins, the Permian dropped five rigs week on week, according to Baker Hughes. The Eagle Ford added three rigs and the DJ-Niobrara added one over the same period.

Despite the weekly drop, the North America count remains up 61 rigs against year-ago levels, according to Baker Hughes. The U.S. has added 44 rigs and Canada has added 17 rigs year on year.

The decline broke a run of gains. Baker Hughes' North America count had risen for eight consecutive weeks before the July 2 count. The last week-on-week decline before this one came in May, according to Baker Hughes.

The last combustion-engine Porsche Macan rolls off the line at the end of July, electrive reported. No replacement crossover with an ICE or hybrid drivetrain is planned before 2028, and that model will draw on a new generation of the Audi Q5 platform.

Worldwide Macan deliveries reached 35,315 units in the first half of 2026, split between 19,695 combustion cars and 15,620 battery-electric versions, according to electrive.

European sales of the combustion Macan had already stopped at the start of 2025. The European General Safety Regulation, known as GSR2, forced that exit: its tighter cybersecurity and vehicle-safety rules would have demanded a full rework of the model's electronic architecture.

Battery-electric output slipped across the group. Porsche handed over 23,700 electric vehicles in the first half of the year, down roughly 31 per cent against the prior year, electrive reported.

At group level, Volkswagen Group global BEV deliveries dropped 5.8 per cent, with sharp falls in China and the USA, while Europe rose.

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume conceded that Porsche had misjudged demand, according to electrive.

Vedanta Oil and Gas Ltd. plans to commit USD 5 billion toward raising its production more than fivefold, according to Rigzone.

Within five years, the target is daily output of roughly 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent, Rigzone reported. For the current fiscal year, the company projects an average of about 100,000 barrels a day.

The spending plan follows a steep drop in field output. Daily production averaged just 87,200 barrels in the fiscal year ended March 31, down from more than 210,000 barrels a decade earlier, Rigzone reported.

Chairman Anil Agarwal framed the expansion around supply, saying resource security has now become national security as the company moves to rebuild volumes through the USD 5 billion program.

Agarwal built the oil and gas arm by taking a controlling stake in Cairn India in 2011, then folding it into flagship Vedanta Ltd., according to Rigzone.