Thursday, 23 July 2026

A floating solar array over one-tenth of the Williston Reservoir, the impoundment behind BC Hydro's W.A.C. Bennett dam, would yield 13,500 gigawatt hours a year, nearly matching the dam's annual hydropower output, in an estimate by the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association reported by Solar Builder.

The country works with a thinner solar resource than the United States. Drawing on U.S. Energy Information Administration data, Solar Builder put annual average insolation across the U.S. at 3.5 to 6.5 kWh/m²/day, against a Canadian range of 2.5 to 4.5 kWh/m²/day.

Hardware suppliers are tuning designs for those conditions. Ciel & Terre USA floating arrays tilt up to about 12 degrees, Chris Bartle of the company told Solar Builder.

Vertical mounting has already reached commercial scale. Sinn Power, based in Gauting, Germany, recently installed a 1.8 MW vertical floating solar plant in the Bavaria region, according to Solar Builder.

Across the border, Profloating built a 3.2 MW system at Cohoes, New York, described as the first municipally owned floating solar array in the United States, Solar Builder reported. The USD 8 million City of Cohoes project sits on the city's water reservoir and uses 5,880 panels rated at 545 Wp each.

Engineers have also tackled freezing water. On an Ontario stormwater pond, a 7 kW array pumped bubbles to draw warmer water up from the pond floor, keeping ice from trapping the panels, Solar Builder reported.

Worldwide liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade climbed 6.3% year on year to a record 437 million tonnes in 2025, the strongest annual gain since 2022, Oil & Gas Journal reported, citing the International Gas Union's (IGU) World LNG Report 2026.

Missile strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex are expected to hold roughly 12.8 million tpy of capacity offline for 3 to 5 years, according to Oil & Gas Journal.

The IGU counts existing and under-construction projects and puts global LNG supply capacity above 700 million tonnes by 2030, about 40% higher than 2025 levels.

Shell projects consumption could grow by around 65% from 2025 levels to nearly 700 million tonnes by 2050, with the increase tied largely to economic growth in South and Southeast Asia and falling domestic gas output in major importing regions, Oil & Gas Journal reported.

ADNOC cleared a USD 6.2 billion final investment decision to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap in waters off Abu Dhabi, according to World Oil. Output is set to exceed 600 MMscfd of natural gas and associated gas liquids once the project ramps by 2030.

Ownership splits four ways: ADNOC Offshore takes the controlling 60% stake, with TotalEnergies on 20% and Eni and China National Petroleum Corp each holding 10%.

Most of the capital sits in three engineering, procurement and construction packages worth USD 5.1 billion for new offshore facilities. A separate USD 365 million program funds drilling and integrated services, with ADNOC Drilling tasked to sink 14 wells across 18 months on three offshore rigs already in the fleet.

Production at Umm Shaif dates back to 1962, making it the oldest offshore field still pumping in Abu Dhabi.

World Oil reported that the sanction feeds ADNOC's aim of 47 million tpy in marketable LNG capacity by 2035. The company's newly secured Bab Gas Cap concession is projected to add a further 1.5 Bcfd of gas and associated liquids.

Halliburton's second-quarter 2026 revenue reached $5.7 billion, rising from $5.4 billion in the first quarter, according to World Oil.

The quarter delivered net income of $534 million, equal to $0.64 per diluted share, with operating income at $778 million, World Oil reported.

Growth split across geographies. North America revenue rose 7% quarter over quarter to $2.3 billion on stronger U.S. land stimulation and well construction work, while international revenue gained 5% to reach $3.4 billion, according to World Oil.

Europe and Africa led the regions with a 19% increase, driven by activity in the North Sea, Namibia, Egypt and Angola. In the opposite direction, Middle East and Asia revenue fell 2% after geopolitical conflict cut activity in Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar.

Halliburton bought back roughly $200 million of its common stock during the period, World Oil reported.

CEO Jeff Miller said the company expects incremental improvement in North America over the rest of the year.

The company secured contracts for integrated well construction on TotalEnergies' GranMorgu development offshore Suriname and for multiple programs supporting Aramco's onshore and unconventional gas work in Saudi Arabia, according to World Oil.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued an emergency order requiring the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) to run specified generating units and keep them operating as needed to hold reliability during a stretch of hot weather. DOE acted on a request from SPP.

Under the order, SPP can call on backup generation resources as a last resort ahead of declaring an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) 3, or while an EEA 3 is in effect.

The order took effect when issued on July 20, 2026, and lapses at 11:59 PM ET on July 21, 2026.

DOE estimates that more than 35 GW of unused backup generation is available nationwide, the pool the order lets SPP draw from.

Secretary Wright said the administration is tapping unused backup generation to keep power supply reliable.

Windey Energy has bought a former Siemens Gamesa wind turbine factory in Camaçari, Bahia, and will use it to assemble battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Brazil, ESS News reported. The purchase establishes a local manufacturing base for the Chinese company.

The company estimates it will spend up to BRL 100 million (USD 18 million) over three to five years, ESS News reported, with more than BRL 30 million committed in the first year.

Windey first weighed producing wind turbines at the site, then switched to battery storage as grid constraints and renewable energy curtailment raised demand for flexibility solutions, according to ESS News.

Early output will come from a 1,500 sqm production area, where Windey plans to assemble units using battery packs imported from its facilities in China, ESS News reported. Deliveries of the first locally assembled systems are expected in the first quarter of 2027.

A later expansion phase could lift annual production capacity from an initial 1.5 GWh to between 5 GWh and 7 GWh, according to ESS News.

Windey has already booked its first commercial and industrial storage sale in the country, a 2 MWh system for shopping centers aimed at cutting peak electricity demand, delivered with local integrator 499 Solar, ESS News reported.

The Camaçari site covers 25,000 m² and comes with offices, cranes, and production facilities already in place, ESS News reported. Windey said that existing infrastructure reduces the time and capital needed to start local BESS manufacturing.

New England's estimated wholesale market cost of electricity for winter 2025/2026 reached $6.53 billion, up 45% from $4.50 billion the prior winter and higher than any other winter since 2014, according to ISO New England's Internal Market Monitor (IMM) in its latest quarterly report.

The IMM found the power system operated reliably and efficiently through the season despite high costs brought on by unusually cold weather. The winter carried 19 consecutive days with average temperatures below freezing, according to the report.

Energy market costs totaled $6.08 billion, 51% higher than the previous winter, the IMM reported. The report attributed the increase to natural gas prices, which rose 31% year over year.

Day-ahead energy prices, including Forecast Energy Reserve prices, averaged $165.49/MWh, according to the IMM. Real-time energy prices averaged $137.66/MWh over the same period.

The cold concentrated costs into a narrow window. Nearly 45% of the winter's energy, ancillary services, and uplift costs were incurred from Jan. 23 to Feb. 10, the report notes.

Net imports declined compared with the previous winter as cold conditions and higher demand gripped neighboring regions, according to the IMM. As a result, more of New England's electricity came from natural gas and oil.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), with support from Energiva Ventures, convened a virtual closed-door roundtable on July 13, 2026, titled "Charting the India-Australia critical minerals partnership".

According to IEEFA, a dedicated Critical Minerals Corridor between Australia and India was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia.

Participants recommended that Indian companies provide greater clarity on future demand for minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earths through long-term offtake arrangements, according to IEEFA.

The roundtable proposed linking Australian scaling of lithium hydroxide and lithium oxide processing with Indian development of cathode active materials and battery manufacturing.

IEEFA reported that the International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) model was cited as a potential precedent for pooling capital from multiple Indian entities to acquire strategic overseas critical mineral assets, with KABIL potentially playing a coordinating role.

Australia will invest AU$40.5 million to electrify Australia Post's delivery fleet under the 2026/27 budget, according to electrive. The funding is roughly EUR 24.8 million.

Australia Post's Shane Plant said the money will probably add more than 100 EVs to the delivery fleet. The expansion will help Australia Post cut diesel consumption by about one million litres per year, equal to 2.3% of its annual fuel use, according to electrive.

Australia Post already runs more than 5,100 EVs, which together travel 29 million kilometres each year, Minister for Communications Anika Wells said during the press conference.

The operator has stepped up deployments over the past two financial years. In financial year 2025, Australia Post put 426 EVs into service, including 251 electric three-wheelers and 175 UBCO electric motorcycles, according to electrive. In financial year 2026, it added 36 Mercedes eVito vans and one Mercedes eActros electric truck, moving into larger vehicle classes.

Australia Post Group CEO Paul Graham said the company has been at the forefront of EV adoption for over a decade and the investment allows it to go further faster.

Idemitsu Australia is proposing a 108 MW/864 MWh vanadium flow battery with eight hours of storage at a former coal mine site in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, according to ESS News.

The project would sit at the Muswellbrook Coal Mine, with up to 200 MW of bidirectional inverter capacity to let the system charge or discharge over shorter periods when market conditions allow, ESS News reported. It will connect to the grid via Ausgrid's 132 kV Sandy Creek substation.

Idemitsu expects construction to begin in early 2028, with a build phase of about two years, according to ESS News.

Idemitsu said vanadium redox flow batteries offer a non-flammable electrolyte, negligible degradation over 30 years, and flexible storage duration, with capacity extendable by adding electrolyte. The company said the vanadium electrolyte used in the battery will be manufactured in Australia.

The flow battery is one of several storage and generation projects planned for the site. Idemitsu is working with OX2, which has commenced construction of a 135 MW solar farm and a 135 MW/270 MWh battery project at the site, ESS News reported.

Idemitsu is also collaborating with AGL to build a 400 MW pumped hydro project at the mine site, which would provide up to eight hours of energy storage.

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) awarded Halliburton a multi-year agreement to support development of the Ahmadi Innovation Valley (AIV), a research and development center for Kuwait's upstream oil and gas sector, according to World Oil.

The center will act as a hub for developing and commercializing technologies for brownfield, greenfield and unconventional reservoirs, World Oil reported. The AIV supports KOC's work to address increasingly complex operating conditions while expanding in-country research and technical capabilities.

Under the agreement, Halliburton will provide technologies and engineering expertise through a program focused on applied research, prototyping, pilot testing and commercialization, according to World Oil.

Jeff Miller, Halliburton chairman, president and CEO, said the award reflects the depth of long-term collaboration with KOC and a shared focus on advancing technology development in Kuwait's energy sector.

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected the first projects under the Genesis Mission Request for Applications, part of President Trump's Genesis Mission, according to the DOE. The selections total 278 awards, with the largest a three-year, $60 million investment in nuclear energy.

That nuclear project will use AI to help deliver nuclear facilities faster and safer while cutting operating costs, according to the DOE.

Of the 278 awards, 87 are led by DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) National Laboratories, 168 by universities, 19 by companies, and 4 by nonprofit organizations, the DOE said.

The selected work spans nuclear energy, critical mineral extraction, intelligent chip design, and commercial fusion energy, according to the DOE.

Across the awards, 342 institutions are participating: 16 DOE and NNSA National Laboratories, 142 universities, 157 companies, 13 nonprofit organizations, and 14 other institutions, the DOE said.

The DOE said the Genesis Mission RFA generated the largest response to a funding opportunity in its history.

"The 278 projects selected today represent the very best of our nation's scientific enterprise," said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

Illinois will reopen its electric vehicle rebate program on August 1, offering up to $4,000 toward the purchase of a new or used battery-electric car, according to electrive.

The program runs from August 1 until December 31, 2026, electrive reported. Buyers of eligible new or used battery-electric vehicles can receive a rebate of $2,000, with applicants classified as low income qualifying for an additional $2,000 that brings the total incentive to $4,000.

Eligibility is capped at vehicles with a purchase price of up to $80,000, according to electrive. The program is restricted to Illinois residents whose household income does not exceed 500 percent of the federal poverty level.

The Illinois General Assembly has allocated $14 million to the program for the current fiscal year, which runs until June 30, 2027, electrive reported.

The previous application cycle attracted 3,499 applications, according to electrive. The Illinois EPA approved 3,001 rebates, including 1,658 awarded to low-income applicants.

Illinois EPA Director James Jennings said the incentive program continues to encourage residents to adopt zero-emission transportation.

Fatalities in the offshore marine contracting industry rose from three to seven in 2025, with four of them offshore, according to IMCA's latest Annual Safety Statistics Report. The rise came even as headline injury metrics improved over the same period.

The Fatal Accident Rate increased from 0.30 to 0.69, according to the report. Over the same period the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate fell from 0.30 to 0.27, and the Total Recordable Injury Rate reduced from 1.10 to 0.98.

Contractor members reported 268 lost-time injuries and 996 total recordable injuries during 2025. The report covers more than 1.02 billion working hours submitted by 167 contractor members.

Line of fire incidents remained the leading cause of lost time injuries, according to IMCA, reducing from approximately 52% of cases in 2024 to around 41% in 2025. The Safety Observation Frequency Rate fell by around 20%, from 482.1 to 387.1 observations per 200,000 hours worked.

Mark Holmes, IMCA's Safety and Security Manager, said safety performance should no longer be judged primarily by injury frequency rates but by how effectively companies control the hazards most likely to result in death or life-changing injury.

Egypt's parliament approved four oil and gas exploration and development agreements on Wednesday, one of them a North Sinai project involving Perenco, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

One agreement clears EGAS and Perenco North Sinai Petroleum Inc. to explore the Al-Fayrouz onshore area of North Sinai, the outlet reported. The four approvals cover exploration and development work.

Perenco North Sinai Petroleum, a subsidiary of Egypt Kuwait Holding, has operated the North Sinai concession since 2014, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The Al-Fayrouz block was awarded in June 2025 through EGAS's 2024 global bid round, the outlet reported. The operator plans to conduct a 3D seismic survey and drill one exploratory well.

EU antitrust regulators opened a full-scale investigation into Saipem's merger with Subsea 7, warning the deal may lead to price hikes and less innovation, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The European Commission said the transaction may cause a loss of significant competition in the market for SURF services, possibly resulting in higher prices and reduced innovation. The Commission set a November 26 deadline for its decision on whether to clear the deal, OEDigital reported.

The merger was announced in February of the previous year and would create a leading global player in offshore energy services, spanning drilling, engineering and the laying of subsea infrastructure for offshore oil and gas projects, according to OEDigital.

The two contractors serve different customer bases. Saipem's customers include Saudi Aramco, QatarEnergy and Abu Dhabi's ADNOC, while Subsea 7's customer base is more focused on international oil firms such as BP and Equinor, OEDigital reported.

France will not clear Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in its current form, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said, according to Electrek.

One of the minister's objections is speeding. "We've found that the system allows for speeding," Tabarot said, per Electrek.

French data also points to a driver-attention gap, Electrek reported. Officials found the software falls short of an optimal attention level in cities and during tricky moves such as lane changes, intersections, and roundabouts.

Other EU members have moved differently. Tesla first won FSD Supervised clearance in the Netherlands in April, through the Dutch RDW, the first EU country to sign off, Electrek reported. Denmark followed as the fourth to approve the system in June.

Sweden pushed the opposite way in June, urging the EU to turn down FSD unless Tesla strips out the speeding behavior, according to Electrek.

Tabarot intends to convene the French autonomous-vehicle sector this autumn to chart a course, Electrek reported.

A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) sets out cybersecurity priorities for the U.S. solar and storage industry, Solar Builder reported.

The document names three priorities: shoring up supply chain security, cutting risk, and firming up baseline practices, according to Solar Builder.

SEIA president and CEO Tim Pawlenty said cybersecurity must stay a core focus as solar and storage lead in adding new grid capacity, per Solar Builder.

U.S. inverter manufacturing has nearly tripled since the end of 2024, the report said, according to Solar Builder.

To underline the threat, SEIA pointed to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in 2015, 2016, and 2022, and to attacks on American power producer sPower in 2019, Solar Builder reported.

Smaller-scale solar and storage systems sit outside NERC-CIP jurisdiction, which SEIA says leaves baseline protections uneven, according to Solar Builder. The association already holds an industry advisory board seat on the Department of Energy's Securing Solar for the Grid program, per Solar Builder.

Working alongside Global Power Products, Ford has adapted the GenerLink transfer switch to run off the 240V Pro Power Onboard outlet built into select F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid and F-150 Lightning trucks, Electrek reported. The setup routes truck-generated electricity straight into a house's main panel.

Eligibility depends on the onboard generator, according to Electrek. F-150 Lightning trucks from model years 2022-25 qualify when fitted with the 9.6-kW Pro Power Onboard, while PowerBoost Hybrid models spanning 2021-26 need the 7.2-kW version.

Run times vary by drivetrain, Ford says. A PowerBoost Hybrid can carry an average home for up to five days, a standard-range Lightning covers up to two days, and an extended-range Lightning reaches up to three.

Acceptance of the hardware is already wide: Ford says more than 800 US utilities clear GenerLink switches for direct installation behind an electric meter.

The hardware bundle runs about USD 1,100, per Electrek. Ford puts the added cost of meter-mounted installation at USD 250 to USD 450, varying by utility and location.

Where a utility rejects a meter-mounted GenerLink but permits other transfer switches, Ford pegs installation beside the meter at USD 1,000 to USD 1,500 on top of the same USD 1,100 bundle.

The home-power move lands as Ford closes orders on the current F-150 Lightning BEV while pledging service for owners already on the road, Electrek reported. Its next truck will run an extended-range electric powertrain.

X-energy signed on as a Tier 1 founding partner in Project Prometheus, a research effort led by Idaho National Laboratory, NVIDIA and AWS that applies artificial intelligence to speed advanced nuclear deployment, according to a GlobeNewswire announcement.

The three-year program received USD 60 million under the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, with goals to shorten schedules and cut operating costs for advanced nuclear technologies, per the release.

X-energy's Tier 1 stake carries USD 10 million in private capital and a board seat, plus access to its Xe-100 small modular reactor design and TRISO-X fuel fabrication data.

Project Prometheus brings together 32 U.S. laboratories, universities and private technology developers to apply AI to nuclear research, the announcement said.

Across the United States and United Kingdom, X-energy has more than 11 GW of new nuclear capacity in development, with commercial Xe-100 projects running with Dow, Amazon, and Centrica.

X-energy and Amazon hold an option to deploy more than 5 GW of new nuclear by 2039 for grid reliability and AWS data center demand, per the release.

Fluxus has acquired a stake in the Petrororaima joint venture in Venezuela and plans, with its partners, to lift crude output to 120,000 bpd within five years, according to World Oil. Current production sits at roughly a quarter of that target.

The field lies in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt and was historically operated by ConocoPhillips until the Venezuelan government expropriated the Houston-based company's local assets in 2007, World Oil reported.

World Oil described the transaction as the third oil deal to surface in the past week, with further agreements expected before a July 28 regulatory deadline.

Lionheart Capital, Pacific Coast Energy Co. and Fluxus are among the wildcatters moving on what World Oil characterized as a U.S.-steered reopening of Venezuela's oil sector and an easing of sanctions under acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who is supported by the Trump administration.

Venezuelan crude output topped 3 MMbpd in the 1990s, according to World Oil, and current daily production runs at around 1.2 MMbbls.

Ukraine appears to be changing the way it attacks Russia, according to Semafor Net Zero. Kyiv is letting up on its strikes against Russian oil refineries, a shift that Semafor reports is easing Moscow's fuel crunch and pushing gas prices back down.

The pullback on refineries comes as Ukraine redirects its fire toward Russian shipping and commercial infrastructure. More than 120 Russia-linked vessels were reportedly targeted in the last two weeks, Semafor said.

Ukraine is also striking warehouses belonging to Russia's largest online retailer, described by Semafor as Russia's Amazon equivalent and a major employer.

On Tesla's Q2 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk pointed to growing overlap between Tesla and SpaceX and suggested the two firms he controls could move toward closer integration, Electrek reported.

Most of the quarter's headline profit traced back to that overlap rather than car or energy sales. Electrek reported Tesla booked $1.1 billion in GAAP net income, of which about $750 million was a mark-to-market gain on its SpaceX stake. Income from operations came to $398 million, an operating margin of 1.4%.

Tesla's $2 billion investment in xAI converted into 18,990,195 shares of SpaceX Class A common stock, a holding of less than 1%, according to Electrek. Tesla general counsel Brandon Ehrhart said the company had "deepened our relationship" with SpaceX during the year through an investment and a framework agreement.

The commercial flow runs the other way too. In 2025, SpaceX and xAI entities bought about $650 million in goods and services from Tesla, Electrek reported. Musk said Starlink is being built into the Cybercab and "will be integrated into all of our vehicles" in markets where Starlink operates.

Control of the two companies sits on very different footing. Musk holds roughly 20% of Tesla but commands 85% of SpaceX's voting power, according to Electrek. SpaceX carries a reported valuation of $1.75 trillion, set against Tesla's market capitalization of about $1.6 trillion.

Electrek reported that Wall Street analysts put the odds of a Tesla-SpaceX combination at 80-90% by early 2027.

Greece could allow balcony solar panels rated up to 800 W for the first time, under reforms floated by the country's Ministry of Environment and Energy, pv magazine reported.

The draft rules bar these balcony systems from feeding power back into the grid, according to pv magazine, and set conditions meant to shield the grid from disturbance.

A parallel proposal in the same consultation would clear the way for standalone home battery storage, limited strictly to self-consumption, pv magazine reported.

Greece has brought more than 37,400 self-consumption systems online since 2020, adding up to 1,070 MW, according to pv magazine.

New solar additions reached about 1.9 GW in 2025, lifting the national total to roughly 11.5 GW, pv magazine reported.

Seismic data firm TGS opened three multi-client projects covering waters off Ghana, Norway and Canada, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Off Ghana, the opening phase of the Gulf of Guinea 2D-cubed project blends 5,500 sq km of existing 3D data with over 14,700 km of 2D lines, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. The merge yields a single 25,300 sq km 3D volume across the Keta Basin.

The Norwegian effort, called Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing, spans more than 23,000 sq km of 3D data in the Norwegian Sea, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. First deliverables are due in the third quarter of 2026, and the complete dataset is set for the second quarter of 2027.

Off Newfoundland and Labrador, TGS opened Orphan3D PSDM Phase 2, which reworks roughly 13,300 sq km of 3D data in the Orphan Basin, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

TGS said the three projects carry industry funding and are meant to sharpen subsurface understanding and cut exploration risk in each area.

President Trump has approved letting Saudi Arabia build a civil nuclear program, with scope for the kingdom to run its own enrichment facilities, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The arrangement runs 30 years and was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to Semafor Net Zero, which put its potential value to US companies in the tens of billions of dollars. Under the deal, Chinese and Russian firms are locked out of Saudi nuclear power plans.

The Biden administration had linked any deal to Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel, and pushed for limits on uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing, according to Semafor Net Zero. The current terms drop those conditions, which Semafor Net Zero described as a win for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia has said previously that it would seek a nuclear weapon if Iran obtains one, according to Semafor Net Zero.

A 60 MWh solar-plus-storage site in Portugal has entered service under Prosolia Energy, ESS News reported. The Albispark asset ties a 34.4 MWp solar array to a 15 MW battery rated at 60 MWh, feeding directly into the 150 kV transmission grid.

Trina Storage delivered the batteries at Albispark, per ESS News.

Across the border in Spain, Grenergy closed a EUR 100 million senior non-recourse package for its Oviedo standalone battery project, ESS News reported. Banco Santander and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) arranged the funds, which cover credit facilities.

Grenergy locked in a 10-year financial tolling deal for Oviedo in February with an international investment-grade energy company, and that contract runs from 2028. The developer sees the plant starting up in the first half of 2027.

Oviedo sits within Grenergy's standalone storage platform, which spans nearly 30 GWh across six European markets, according to ESS News.

Capstone Energy+ will supply a C600 Signature Series microturbine to Maurel & Prom under a 36-month lease for a flare gas recovery project at an onshore oilfield in Gabon, according to World Oil.

World Oil reported that the project is due to be commissioned in November 2026.

The equipment is being delivered under Capstone's Energy-as-a-Service model through a lease-to-own arrangement, which lets the operator install the system without large upfront costs, according to World Oil.

Vince Canino, president and CEO of Capstone Energy+, said using flare gas cuts emissions and supplies power at remote sites, according to World Oil.

Electra will put USD 850 million into a production facility for its hybrid-electric EL9 Ultra Short aircraft, according to electrive. The company picked Springfield, Ohio, to house series production of the EL9.

Output starts at up to 400 aircraft a year, then doubles to 800 units annually under a later expansion, electrive reported. The project should generate close to 2,000 jobs, and construction is set to begin in 2027.

Electra says the EL9 needs a take-off run of 46 metres. The company targets a cruising speed of 324 km/h and a ferry range of nearly 2,040 kilometres before reserves.

Electra is building the TG600 turbogenerator with Safran Helicopter Engines under an initial agreement for 250 units.

Electra named Bristow Group as its launch customer and reports more than 2,200 letters of intent, a preliminary interest tally rather than firm orders, from over 60 potential customers.

Woodside Energy Ltd. wants to run seismic surveys off the northwest coast of Western Australia both to hunt for gas and to keep watch over offshore carbon storage sites, according to Mongabay.

The plan pairs gas extraction with carbon capture and storage, in which carbon dioxide from production is pumped into rock layers far below the seabed, Mongabay reported.

Seismic surveys fire sound blasts that hit 230-250 decibels and carry across open ocean for thousands of kilometers, Mongabay reported.

Scientists point to a 2010 episode in Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, when scallop fishers began pulling up piles of dead and broken shells after two seismic surveys had swept the same waters months before.

A study led by Ryan Day put scallops and southern rock lobsters through seismic airgun pulses, according to Mongabay. The scallops showed severe physiological stress and higher death rates, while the lobsters suffered weakened immunity and sensory damage that hurt their balance, Mongabay reported.

Unit 3 at the Changjiang nuclear power plant in China's Hainan province reached first criticality at 18:00 local time on 10 July, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The 1,100 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR) is being built by CNNC Engineering.

The unit is one of two Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors under construction in the second phase of the Changjiang plant, according to World Nuclear News. CNNC reported that the reactor achieved criticality at the stated time.

China Huaneng, which holds a 51% share in the project, put the total estimated investment for Phase II units 3 and 4 at CNY40 billion (USD5.9 billion).

First concrete was poured for the base slab of unit 3's nuclear island in March 2021, with that of unit 4 poured in December of that year, according to World Nuclear News. The construction period is expected to be 60 months, and both units are scheduled to be fully operational in early 2027.

The Changjiang site already hosts two operating CNP-600 PWRs, Changjiang 1 and 2, which entered commercial operation in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

CNNC began construction in 2021 of a demonstration ACP100 small modular reactor at the site, a 125 MWe PWR also referred to as Linglong One. That unit is currently undergoing pre-commissioning tests, according to World Nuclear News.

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, according to US DOE Energy.gov, which described it as a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership.

The agreement was signed by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, according to US DOE Energy.gov.

The agreement was announced on July 22, 2026, according to US DOE Energy.gov.

OpenAI announced its first data center in which it is the lead developer and designer, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The announcement lands as public sentiment shifts against the facilities. A new Politico poll found more Americans now oppose nearby data centers than support them, a reversal from six months ago, Semafor reported.

New York recently enacted the country's first statewide moratorium on data center facilities, according to Semafor.

A Republican senator told Semafor that his constituents in Kansas are opposed to data centers.

Nearly 4,000 Tennesseans criticized the Tennessee Valley Authority's energy plan as short-sighted and over reliant on gas, according to CleanTechnica.

The Sierra Club submitted 3,669 comments on behalf of its supporters, along with its own technical comments, on TVA's 2026 preliminary Integrated Resource Plan, according to CleanTechnica.

Red Eléctrica has brought into service the expansion of the Betxí substation, a 220 kV facility in the province of Castellón, according to the company's press office.

The transmission operator, a subsidiary of Redeia responsible for power transmission and system operation in Spain, said the upgrade mainly aims to boost the flow of electricity from the transmission grid to the distribution network.

According to Red Eléctrica, the project increases capacity to absorb growing demand from the industrial sector, particularly the ceramics sector, and from residential consumption in Plana Baixa.

The initiative was authorised in April 2024 as part of the Specific Amendments to the current Energy Planning framework, the company said.

Europe could install 25 GW of wind and solar at existing hydropower sites across seven EU countries without building extra grid capacity, according to a new Ember report.

The additions would rely on grid connections already in place at those hydropower sites, the report found.

Elisabeth Cremona, Energy Infrastructures Lead at Ember, said political ambitions mean nothing if clean electrons are stranded in connection queues.

James Petesic of PV Industries described the difficulty of keeping a panel recycling operation afloat while the federal photovoltaic (PV) recycling pilot remains paused, according to the Solar Insiders Podcast.

Petesic said panel smugglers are chipping away at feedstocks that recyclers depend on, according to the same podcast.

The episode on panel recycling was published on July 23, 2026.

Australia's nascent solar recycling industry is struggling to secure enough feedstock to survive, despite reports of used and damaged modules piling up in landfills and suburban back yards, according to RenewEconomy.

The shortage follows a drop in exports. Australia is no longer shipping off as many end-of-life panels as before, after legislative changes and plunging prices made exporting significantly less attractive, RenewEconomy reported.

Before that shift, panels were leaving the country through informal channels. Petesic said installers reported being paid figures such as $5 a panel or $10 a panel by parties who then sent the modules offshore, according to RenewEconomy.

A recycling pilot is intended to address the feedstock problem by paying for old panels and setting up 100 collection spots around the country, RenewEconomy reported.

TGS reported second-quarter revenue of USD 400 million, driven by high multi-client activity and strong sales in North and South America and West Africa, according to the company's Q2 2026 results released on GlobeNewswire.

EBITDA reached USD 244 million, up 60% compared to the same quarter a year earlier, TGS said. Operating profit came in at USD 120 million, against a loss of USD 22 million in the prior-year quarter.

The company recorded streamer utilization of 94%, which it described as the highest since Q3 2013.

Order inflow totaled USD 377 million, lifting the total order backlog to USD 756 million, a year-on-year increase of 78%, according to TGS.

After quarter end, TGS completed the sale of its North American well data business for a price of more than USD 100 million, which it said further strengthened its balance sheet.

The Board of TGS ASA resolved to distribute a quarterly dividend of the NOK equivalent of USD 0.155 per share, or NOK 1.49 per share, in Q3 2026, with a payment date of 13 August 2026.

TGS said it expects 2026 multi-client investments of approximately USD 550 million, compared with a previous expectation of USD 500 to 575 million.

Tesla delivered a record 480,126 vehicles worldwide in Q2 2026, up 25% year-on-year, while its operating margin narrowed to 1.4% from 4.1%, according to electrive.

Quarterly revenue reached $28.24 billion, a 26% year-on-year increase, electrive reported. The delivery total marked a new quarterly record for the company.

Profitability moved the other way. Income from operations declined 57% year-on-year to $398 million, according to electrive, and the operating margin fell to 1.4% from 4.1% a year earlier.

Capital spending climbed sharply. Capital expenditure surged 142% to $5.79 billion as Tesla accelerated investments in manufacturing facilities and supporting infrastructure, electrive reported. Operating cash flow increased 85% to $4.70 billion, but free cash flow turned negative at -$1.09 billion.

Energy Generation and Storage revenue increased 13% to $3.14 billion in the quarter, according to electrive.

Tesla confirmed that Cybercab has entered production at Gigafactory Texas, with engineering validation vehicles already testing on public roads, electrive reported.

The company said increasing battery pack capacity remains "the main limiting factor" for expanding global vehicle production.

Tesla has decommissioned the Model S and Model X manufacturing lines at its Fremont factory and is installing first-generation lines for the Optimus humanoid robot, according to electrive.

Solar and energy storage together accounted for 91% of all new electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. grid during the first quarter of 2026, according to pv magazine.

Solar output crossed a threshold in May 2026, when monthly U.S. electricity generation from solar exceeded generation from coal for the first time, pv magazine reported. Solar now supplies about 13% of total U.S. electricity requirements, according to SEIA figures cited by pv magazine.

Grid operators logged a series of records through the period. On July 9, 2026, the battery storage fleet within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) footprint discharged a record 12.99 GW, covering 36% of regional demand at its peak, pv magazine reported. The following day, July 10, CAISO set a solar generation record of 23 GW, meeting 72% of afternoon electricity demand in the region.

In the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) footprint, solar generation peaked at 34.427 GW on May 13 before being surpassed on July 9 with a 35.425 GW peak, according to pv magazine. Combined renewable resources in ERCOT set an absolute generation record of 52 GW on May 14.

Texas is the fastest-growing utility-scale solar market in the United States and holds the position of second-largest energy storage market, pv magazine reported.

The quarterly share of 91% covered both solar and storage additions.

The largest solar farm in Indiana came online in early 2025, according to Canary Media. The project sits in rural Jasper County.

Canary Media reported that nearby residents were not uniformly supportive of the development. Long-time Jasper County resident Gena Carlson said solar panels on farmers' land "will mess up their fields".

Grist reported that local media have recorded at least five fatal landslides at rare earth mining sites across Myanmar in recent years, with one collapse burying more than a dozen workers. Myanmar supplies more heavy rare earths than any other country, according to the same reporting.

In May, a local human rights group said a Chinese rare earth mining company operating in eastern Shan State used prisoners and human trafficking victims for what it called "slave labor," Grist reported. The group found that both the Myanmar military and the United Wa State Army were complicit.

One worker paid a broker 2,000 Chinese yuan, about USD 290, to secure rare earth mining jobs for himself and his brother, according to Grist. Put to work building roads, each was paid around 3,000 yuan, about USD 430, a month.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project has ranked Myanmar's war as the second-most extreme in the world, according to Grist. The same ranking calls it the most fragmented conflict, spread across more than 1,200 distinct armed groups.

Myanmar carries the highest levels of organized crime of any country, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, cited by Grist.

Environmentalists in Texas are calling on the state to adopt new laws and regulations governing where renewable energy projects should be built, how they should operate and how they should minimize environmental impact, according to Inside Climate News.

A new study argues for an alternative approach, proposing regulations intended to foster growth and minimize environmental impacts at the same time, Inside Climate News reported.

Those policy proposals contrast with bills introduced in prior Texas legislative sessions that were designed to artificially slow the progress of renewables, according to Inside Climate News.

A fire at the Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels refinery in the Bay Area engulfed worker Jerome Serrano, leaving him in a months-long fight for his life, according to Inside Climate News.

The fire occurred shortly after midnight on Nov. 19, 2023, while a processing unit at the refinery was starting up for the first time, Inside Climate News reported. Hydrogen and diesel leaking from an overheated metal tube ignited into the blaze that engulfed Serrano, a father of four.

Union colleagues who fought for stronger protections after the fire are now locked out, according to Inside Climate News.

Equinor and its partners made an oil discovery near the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The discovery came in the Skrugard North Tubaen prospect through wildcat well 7220/5-EC-2 H, drilled about 6 kilometers north of the 7220/8-1 discovery well and 240 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Preliminary estimates put the size of the find at between 1.2 and 1.7 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent, which corresponds to 7.6 to 10.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The well was drilled by Transocean's Transocean Enabler semi-submersible drilling rig.

The licensees are considering whether the field may be tied back to the Johan Castberg field, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

Equinor operates the production license with a 46.3% stake, partnered by Var Energi with 30% and Petoro with 23.7%, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The well is the 17th exploration well in production license 532, awarded in the 20th licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in 2009.

Operational photovoltaic assets in Spain were valued between EUR 490,000/MW and EUR 720,000/MW during Q2 2026, with an average price of EUR 595,700/MW, according to pv magazine. The figure reflects a floor after valuations peaked in early 2024 at around EUR 1.1 million/MW, pv magazine reported.

The assessment covers projects that have reached commercial operation date. Solar capture prices have fallen to historic lows of EUR 15/MWh to EUR 18/MWh, according to pv magazine.

Ready-to-Build transactions in Spain during the quarter ranged from EUR 10,000/MW to EUR 56,000/MW, with an average value of EUR 32,600/MW, pv magazine reported.

The analysis by nTeaser draws on more than 780 expressions of interest, non-binding offers, binding offers, and completed transactions recorded on its platform during Q2 2026.

nTeaser identified renewed investor interest in projects below 5 MW during the quarter, which followed the approval of Royal Decree 7/2026, according to pv magazine.

Plants benefiting from legacy remuneration schemes, including RD 661/2008 and the RECORE framework, continue to attract valuation premiums, pv magazine reported. nTeaser attributed those premiums to more predictable revenue streams and lower exposure to electricity price volatility.

DOF Group is offloading four platform supply vessels (PSVs), ordering two construction support vessels (CSVs) still on the builder's ways, and writing off the anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel Skandi Amazonas as a constructive total loss, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The four-PSV disposal should leave DOF with roughly USD 50 million in net cash once debt is repaid, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Both incoming CSVs follow the SALT 310 OCV design and are being built at PaxOcean in China, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital. Each is specified with a 250-tonne subsea crane, two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), 1,750 square meters of deck, and berths for 123 personnel.

Deliveries fall in the fourth quarter of 2027 and the first quarter of 2028, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. DOF plans to cover the purchases from vessel sale proceeds and available debt, with 85% of the price due on handover.

DOF CEO Mons S. Aase said the two CSVs would "generate attractive earnings on their own" and lift the subsea regions' earnings capacity with no added investment.

Skandi Amazonas ran aground off Macae, Brazil, in May, per Offshore Engineer OEDigital. After assessing the damage, DOF concluded a rebuild would cost more than the vessel's insured value and expects a USD 115 million hull and machinery insurance payout.

QatarEnergy has extended force majeure on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to buyers in South Korea and India, with notices that had been due to expire in August and early September now pushed to mid-September, according to trade sources cited by Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Three trade sources described the extension, with one saying the earlier deadlines had moved to mid-September, OEDigital reported. The disruption traces to the Iran war, which OEDigital reported has forced QatarEnergy to shut liquefaction trains, declare force majeure on deliveries and suspend exports.

Qatar accounts for about a fifth of global LNG trade, according to OEDigital.

QatarEnergy LNG Marketing and QatarEnergy Trading continue to offer some of their LNG tankers for lease through October, on spot deals lasting 30 to 90 days, drawn from a current operating fleet of nearly 70 LNG carriers, OEDigital reported. Trade sources said the move could signal expectations of a prolonged disruption, given the spot deals run for 30 to 90 days.

EnerVenue introduced the Energy Rack, a 150 kWh DC storage unit built around NASA-derived Aqueous Metal Cell technology, according to ESS News.

The cell chemistry traces back to nickel-hydrogen batteries that NASA first developed, hardware that has flown in space for more than three decades, ESS News reported. EnerVenue said the metal-hydrogen design is rated for up to 30,000 cycles and carries a 30-year design life in utility-scale service.

A company spokesperson put the cell at 30,000 charge cycles against roughly 4,000 for a lithium-ion cell of the kind commonly deployed, and said it uses no lithium or rare earth materials.

Each modular unit runs at up to 1,500 Vdc and tips the scales near 5,000 kg, EnerVenue said. Rack-level round-trip efficiency reaches at least 85%, with charge and discharge rates supported up to 10C.

Under UL 9540A testing, EnerVenue said the system showed no fire risk from thermal runaway, an outcome the firm expects to ease permitting and trim balance-of-system and insurance costs.

A powerful hail storm crossed Italy's Marche region this week, wrecking several photovoltaic (PV) installations along the Adriatic coast, according to pv magazine.

Michele Mencarelli of Italia Solare told pv magazine that hail damage had been extremely rare across 15 years of managing PV systems, but that such incidents have grown more frequent over the past two to three years.

Among the roughly 200 systems in Mencarelli's portfolio, only one took damage in this event, with losses put at EUR 80,000 to EUR 90,000, according to pv magazine.

That affected system, sited near San Benedetto del Tronto, holds an "all-risk" insurance policy tied to its origin under Italy's Conto Energia incentive scheme, according to pv magazine.

Pv magazine cited a recent study finding that PV installations consistently sustain damage when struck by hailstones of 60 mm or more in diameter, whatever the system layout.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will spend USD 6.2 billion to develop natural gas at the offshore Umm Shaif field, Semafor Net Zero reported.

TotalEnergies of France, Italy's Eni, and China National Petroleum Corp are partners in the development, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Output should top 600 million cubic feet a day starting in 2030, a volume Semafor Net Zero put at almost 10% of the UAE's current daily consumption.

The field feeds a wider push to cover domestic demand from industrial growth and AI infrastructure, and to grow liquefied natural gas exports from the UAE and ADNOC-backed LNG projects in Argentina and the US, per Semafor Net Zero.

Egypt installed the reactor pressure vessel in the second unit at the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, according to World Nuclear News. The step follows by seven months the installation of the same component in the first unit.

Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said the daily workforce at the site tops 25,000, with more than 18,000 of them Egyptian nationals, according to World Nuclear News.

Likhachev set out the delivery schedule: the site is to be ready to receive the first nuclear fuel in the first half of 2027, with grid connection of the power units in 2028.

The vessel weighs 330 tonnes and runs about 13 metres long and 4.5 metres in diameter, according to World Nuclear News. It carries an initial service life of 60 years, extendable to 80.

El Dabaa will be Egypt's first nuclear power plant and the first built in Africa since South Africa's Koeberg came online nearly 40 years ago.

Egypt targets a 9% nuclear share of its electricity by 2030, reached through commercial operation of the first two units by that time, according to World Nuclear News.

Firmed renewables now average around 50% of total supply in the Australian electricity market, helping the country avoid the wholesale price surge hitting gas-reliant regions, according to the IEA's Electricity Mid-Year Update 2026.

The report was released on Thursday. In the European Union and Japan, average spot wholesale electricity prices rose by more than 30% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, the IEA said.

Spikes in LNG prices tied to the Strait of Hormuz crisis have raised the cost of gas-fired electricity generation, which in turn pushed up wholesale electricity prices in several regions from March onward, according to the IEA.

Australia moved in the opposite direction, according to RenewEconomy. The shift to renewables has helped send wholesale electricity prices lower because the market relies much less on peaking gas or costly coal.

That outcome rests on a buffer of firmed renewables averaging around half of total supply in the national market, the IEA report found.

Aldesa won a turnkey contract worth more than EUR 160 million (USD 182.7 million) to deliver a Mexican solar-plus-storage project pairing 420 MWp of photovoltaic capacity with a 150 MW battery energy storage system (BESS), according to ESS News.

The scope runs from detailed engineering through construction, equipment supply, and commissioning, ESS News reported.

Aldesa operates as a subsidiary of Chinese group China Railway Construction Corp. (CRCC), according to ESS News.

Interconnection for the plant will run at 400 kV, with more than 24 km of transmission lines linking substations that fall inside the same build, ESS News reported.

The BESS energy capacity in MWh was not disclosed, leaving storage duration unknown, and Aldesa has not named the project owner, location, construction timeline, or target operational date, according to ESS News.

Saipem has confirmed the completion of a key offshore installation campaign for the Neptun Deep natural gas project in Romania, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The campaign, carried out by the Saipem 7000 heavy-lift vessel, included the installation of a 7,500-tonne jacket and a 9,000-tonne topside for the production platform, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Saipem's engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract was awarded in 2023 by OMV Petrom and Romgaz. Its scope includes installation of a 160-km, 30-inch offshore gas pipeline and fibre-optic cable linking the platform to the Romanian coast.

The jacket was fabricated at Saipem's Arbatax yard in Italy and secured to the seabed with eight steel piles. The platform topside was built at Saipem's Karimun yard in Indonesia.

Neptun Deep is expected to become the European Union's largest offshore gas project, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Car sales in Europe grew at their fastest pace in years last month, driven by an influx of cheap Chinese electric vehicles, according to Semafor Net Zero.

BYD and SAIC sales in the United Kingdom jumped by a third year-on-year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Competition from Chinese brands is forcing European manufacturers to slash prices and offer incentives to keep up, Bloomberg Intelligence said.

Semafor reported that Chinese cars continue to flood the European market, driven by overcapacity in China as its domestic market craters.

The Financial Times said China's assault on Europe's car market has barely begun.

Houthi militants hit two Saudi ships in the Red Sea, Semafor Net Zero reported. The Iran-backed group threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint carrying about 10% of global trade, according to Semafor.

Brent crude climbed above $98 as the fighting squeezed shipping, its highest level since early June, Semafor reported.

Semafor reported that Washington has moved additional troops and ordnance to the Gulf, with President Donald Trump weighing an escalation after Iranian attacks killed three US soldiers.

Reuters reported that the precision of Iranian strikes on CIA facilities prompted questions over possible Russian involvement.

DP World will build two ports on the UAE's east coast, part of a strategy to route trade around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The company plans to connect its flagship Dubai terminal to the new Fujairah ports through an overground logistics network, Semafor Net Zero reported.

A 406-km oil pipeline running from Abu Dhabi bypasses the strait and lets the UAE double its east coast export capacity into the Gulf of Oman, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Fujairah reaches the Indian Ocean outside Gulf waters, while the UAE's six other emirates largely sit within the Strait of Hormuz, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Climate-change-driven heatwaves across Europe have caused a continent-wide drought, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Water levels have fallen in major European river systems, including the Rhine and Danube, Semafor Net Zero reported. Those low levels have hit cargo shipping, agricultural harvests, and hydropower.

Low rainfall has affected some regions, but scientists cited by Semafor Net Zero said heat is the real driver, because high temperatures accelerate water loss. The heatwaves themselves have caused the drought.

Some countries have banned non-essential water use such as residential gardening, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Researchers said climate change had made droughts more likely and more severe.

A crash surge has pushed Greece to overhaul how electric kick scooters are ridden, with a new law that requires helmets and liability insurance, lifts the minimum riding age to 17, and stiffens penalties for common traffic offences, according to electrive.

Age is now the sharpest line. Riders below 17 caught on public roads owe 150 euros, while a rental firm that hands an e-scooter to an underage customer risks a penalty of 1,000 euros, electrive reported.

Coverage is mandatory too. Every e-scooter has to carry third-party liability insurance, and anyone riding without it pays 250 euros.

The law keeps the vehicles off faster streets. Roads posted at 50 kph or above are off-limits, and a rider who ignores that faces 350 euros, according to electrive.

Smaller lapses draw a sliding scale. Skipping a helmet, handling a phone mid-ride, or wearing headphones lands penalties between 40 and 150 euros.

Parking is enforced as well. Shared scooters left across pavements or pedestrian crossings can be hauled away, with operators or users billed 40 to 80 euros, per electrive.

Canada announced CAD 5.9 million for PEI Energy Corporation to advance the Prince Edward Island-New Brunswick Interconnection Expansion Project, according to Natural Resources Canada. The announcement was made by Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

The money funds preparatory work ahead of construction by 2028, Natural Resources Canada said. That work covers engineering studies, marine surveys, environmental assessments, stakeholder and Indigenous engagement, regulatory work, and preliminary transmission route and substation design.

The project would build two new 200-megawatt, 138-kilovolt submarine cables between the two provinces, according to Natural Resources Canada. It also includes transmission upgrades and the modernization of substations in both provinces.

The Government of Canada identified the interconnection expansion as one of five priority transmission projects at the Energy and Mines Minister's Meeting in June 2026, Natural Resources Canada said.

The investment comes from Natural Resources Canada's Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, a CAD 4.5-billion program that supports grid modernization, energy storage, and non-emitting electricity generation projects across Canada.

National electricity demand is expected to double by 2050, according to Natural Resources Canada.

SEG Automotive and Easelink have formed a partnership to drive the industrialisation and market introduction of Matrix Charging, according to electrive.

Easelink's solution enables automated charging of electric vehicles without the need to manually plug in a charging cable, electrive reported. Easelink, the developer of the automated conductive charging solution Matrix Charging, is based in Graz, Austria.

Under a technology licence, SEG Automotive will offer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) tailored solutions using Matrix Charging technology, according to electrive.

SEG Automotive will also join the Matrix Charging Interest Group (MCIG), which aims to advance the standardisation of the technology.

SEG Automotive emerged in 2018 from Bosch's starter and generator division and is now part of the Chinese ZMJ Group, electrive reported.

Four lenders, NORD/LB, Santander, Rabobank, and ING, have finalized debt for a 190 MW solar and battery cluster developed by Cero Generation at Itchington in South Gloucestershire, England, according to ESS News.

The package covers two lines of activity. It refinances the running Larks Green Solar farm and the Larks Green BESS site, and it bankrolls construction of a third asset, Lower Larks BESS, ESS News reported.

Among the operating assets, Larks Green Solar carries 70 MW of capacity and switched on in 2023, and the co-located 50 MW Larks Green BESS has run since 2024, according to ESS News. Lower Larks BESS adds 70 MW and is being built now, with commercial start due in 2027.

The deal builds on a portfolio facility the same four lenders set up in July 2025, which had already funded Cero's Bramley and Bumble Bee co-located solar and storage sites, according to ESS News.

Once every project reaches operation, Cero Generation put its combined solar capacity at 207 MW and its battery capacity at 345 MW.

ESS News noted that Larks Green Solar was billed at energization in May 2023 as the first UK solar farm wired straight into the national transmission grid.

Hybrid power purchase agreements that combine solar generation and storage are priced 24% higher than solar-only contracts in Europe, while staying 15% below wind PPAs, according to LevelTen's new hybrid PPA index reported by pv magazine.

The premium has not slowed uptake. LevelTen said the number of new hybrid PPA offers listed on its platform has more than doubled compared with the previous year, pv magazine reported. Hybrid projects in Spain and Germany made up 29% of all PPA offers included in LevelTen's European index.

Solar contract prices turned higher for the first time in a year. The P25 price for solar PPAs in Europe rose 2.8% in the second quarter of 2026, the first quarterly increase after a year of consecutive declines, according to the LevelTen report cited by pv magazine. Wind PPAs fell 1.6% over the same period, extending a downward trend to five consecutive quarters.

LevelTen attributed the rise in solar PPA prices largely to higher electricity and gas prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, pv magazine reported. The impact was particularly visible in Germany and Poland, where rising wholesale electricity prices pushed up PPA offers.

The case for adding batteries rests on capture value. LevelTen's analysis found that integrating batteries can increase the value captured by a solar project by up to 80% in certain markets, including Germany, according to pv magazine.

The economics reflect worsening solar cannibalisation. During the first half of 2026, France, Germany, Spain, and Poland each recorded more hours of negative electricity pricing than during all of 2025, pv magazine reported.

The Premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance Maritime Regional Electricity Co-operation and System Integration, according to Natural Resources Canada. The agreement was signed on the margins of the First Ministers' Meeting in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, with support from the Government of Canada.

Natural Resources Canada said electricity demand is expected to double by 2050, and that the challenges facing the grid in 2026 have outgrown province-by-province approaches.

Over the past five years, energy costs in Atlantic Canada have increased significantly, outpacing growth in median household incomes and GDP, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson said building a more efficient and better-connected electricity system is essential to energy security, economic growth and the affordable cost of living Canadians expect.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt described New Brunswick as the Maritimes' energy hub, citing the province's leadership in nuclear energy and stronger electricity interties across the region. Holt said New Brunswick is well positioned to help build a cleaner, more affordable, reliable and resilient electricity system.

DSV is set to deploy ten battery-electric Windrose heavy-duty trucks on the I-35 freight corridor in partnership with Allogic and Greenspace E-Mobility, according to electrive.

The initial fleet of Windrose E700 Class 8 trucks will run a route connecting Dallas, San Antonio, and Laredo before continuing to Monterrey in northern Mexico. Electrive reports that Windrose describes the I-35 corridor through Laredo as processing more than 20,000 trucks daily.

Greenspace plans four Texas-based 'Green Hubs' to open by Q4 2026, according to electrive. The sites will feature charging ranging from 400kW to Megawatt capability, with on-site solar and battery storage integrated.

The current-generation E700 offers over 400 miles, or 644km, of operational range, electrive reports. The next-generation E811 platform under development is expected to exceed 500 miles, or 805km, which electrive says would allow the Dallas-Laredo route to be completed without recharging.

A second phase is planned for 2027, extending the charging network into Monterrey and the Colombia-Nuevo Leon border crossing, according to electrive. That phase will add six new Green Hubs and deploy 25 additional Windrose electric trucks.

GAC Aion and CALB are extending the battery warranty on affected Aion S vehicles from eight years or 150,000km to eight years or 300,000km, according to electrive.

The reported problems cover swollen battery cells, leaks, insulation faults, and range losses, electrive said. Complaints have been rising since the beginning of the year, particularly in vehicles with mileages between 150,000 and 300,000km.

According to CarNewsChina, 182 complaints about the Aion S were lodged on Chinese consumer platforms within a fortnight. Reports indicate a relevant Aion S vehicle population of around 213,000 cars, per electrive.

No official recall has been issued, electrive reported.

CALB's first European battery cell factory is under construction in Sines, Portugal, and is scheduled to start operations in 2028 with an initial annual capacity of around 15GWh, according to electrive.

IHI Power Services Corp. will operate under the name Kyuden Energy Partners Corp. following the completion of its acquisition by Kyuden International, according to Power Magazine.

Power Magazine described IHI Power Services Corp. as a major operator of power plants in the U.S.. Kyuden International is headquartered in Japan, according to Power Magazine.

Two Massachusetts utilities, Eversource and National Grid, will let residential drivers feed power from parked electric vehicles back to the grid under their ConnectedSolutions virtual power plant programs, Electrek reported.

The rollout adds vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging to programs that already dispatch home energy resources. National Grid runs V2G with light- and medium-duty fleets through ConnectedSolutions, beginning with electric school buses, according to Electrek.

Eligible models at launch include the Ford F-150 Lightning, Nissan LEAF, Kia EV9, Polestar 3, and Volvo EX90, Electrek reported.

National Grid customers enrolling through ConnectedSolutions can earn up to $275 per average kilowatt of performance across the summer season, which Electrek said could work out to roughly $1,375 to $2,750 for many residential participants, depending on charger capacity and performance.

Massachusetts has more than 150,000 EVs on its roads, according to Electrek.

EnergyHub, Sunrun, and The Mobility House supply the smart-charging and grid-integration technology behind the test, Electrek reported.

"Vehicle batteries play a critical role in stabilizing the grid, providing backup power to homes, and lowering energy costs for everyone," said Chip Silverman, Sunrun's director of grid services, according to Electrek.

Order books for the Denza Z9 GT opened in the United Kingdom on Thursday, with the electric version listed from GBP 105,000 (USD 140,000), according to Electrek. Buyers wanting the plug-in hybrid pay from GBP 95,000 (USD 126,500), Electrek reported.

UK sticker prices sit far above the model's China listing. Domestic buyers can order the Denza Z9 GT from 269,800 yuan (USD 39,300), according to Electrek. In Germany and France, the EV opens at EUR 115,000 (USD 134,500) including VAT.

European buyers get a WLTP range rated up to 599 km (372 miles) on the electric shooting brake, Electrek reported. The EV pairs a 122.49 kWh battery with three motors for a combined 1,140 hp (850 kW) and 892 lb-ft (1,210 Nm) of torque.

Charging runs through BYD's Flash Charging stations, rated up to 1,500 kW, which can take the EV from 10% to 70% in five minutes, according to Electrek.

BYD started sales in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, aiming to reach 30 countries by the end of 2026, Electrek reported.

Iowa environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Iowa Department of Natural Resources over permits it approved for the Ottumwa coal ash landfill, according to CleanTechnica.

The groups say the permits allow hazardous disposal practices at the site, CleanTechnica reported.

The landfill holds waste from the Ottumwa coal-burning power plant, according to CleanTechnica. That plant is co-owned by Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy, CleanTechnica reported.

More utility and technology companies will sign onto a nonbinding pledge to keep electricity costs down and shield ratepayers from bills driven by data center energy demands, according to reporting cited by CleanTechnica.

The commitment is aimed at protecting ratepayers from bills tied to the energy demands of data centers.

Despite what is written in the pledge, there has been minimal tangible progress made to address the impact, CleanTechnica reports.

A federal appeals court upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) use of a generic environmental analysis for nuclear plant license renewals, according to Power Magazine.

The U.S. Court of Appeals issued the decision on July 21, per Power Magazine.

The court rejected claims that the NRC failed to adequately consider how aging components and climate change could affect the risk of severe reactor accidents, according to Power Magazine.

The Trump administration is moving closer to opening U.S. waters for deep-sea mining, according to Inside Climate News.

The industry focuses on extracting mineral-rich deposits from the ocean floor containing cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese, per Inside Climate News.

If the sale moves forward, mining activities could begin in federal waters near American Samoa. The proposed site is directly adjacent to a national wildlife refuge.

Illinois has switched on its first federally funded electric vehicle chargers at a Phillips 66 Mach 1 station in Casey, according to Electrek. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) marked the opening with a ribbon-cutting after energizing the high-speed units, Electrek reported.

The Casey site holds four DC fast charging ports running on the Electrify America network, each capable of delivering up to 350 kW, according to Electrek. The deployment was enabled by an $854,641 competitive grant awarded to Phillips 66, Electrek reported.

At the same ceremony, IDOT announced $23.5 million in the latest round of NEVI funding, Electrek reported. That Round 3 money will support 140 new EV charging ports at 29 locations, each with at least four DC fast charging ports, according to Electrek.

Across the first three NEVI rounds, IDOT has conditionally awarded more than $67 million for 91 charging stations, with plans to energize a total of 489 public EV charging ports by the time the program concludes, according to Electrek.

Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi said some of the strongest interest in EV charging is coming from rural areas that see a benefit when travelers stop in their towns to charge and spend at local stores and businesses, according to Electrek.

Matador Resources will pay USD 1.275 billion in cash to buy Paloma Permian LLC, a Delaware basin operator held by EnCap Investments, according to World Oil.

The purchase covers 16,235 net undeveloped acres in Eddy and Lea counties, New Mexico. Producing wells on that acreage should average roughly 11,100 boed during Q3 2026, of which 57% is oil.

World Oil reported the deal brings an estimated 55 MMboe of proved reserves and upward of 156 net drilling locations spread across the Bone Spring and Wolfcamp formations. Matador expects to close the acquisition in the fourth quarter.

Joseph Wm. Foran, founder, chairman and CEO of Matador, tied the transaction to a wider buildout of the company's Delaware basin holdings.

A separate Ridge Runner deal, stacked on earlier purchases, lifts Matador's Woodford position to about 50,000 contiguous net acres and pushes total Delaware basin acreage to roughly 240,000 net acres, according to World Oil. Matador says the efficiencies from Ridge Runner could trim well costs by 30% to 40% over the next 12 to 18 months, according to World Oil.

At the Rae's Creek exploratory well, Matador logged an initial 24-hour rate above 2,200 boed, with oil making up 72% of the flow, World Oil reported.