Friday, 24 July 2026

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has opened round 2 of its Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, worth up to GBP 90 million in total, according to a notice from the department. The scheme aims to bring forward investment in the UK heat pump manufacturing supply chain.

UK registered businesses can apply for grant funding of up to GBP 30 million per project, according to the department. The funding targets major investments in the manufacture of heat pumps and strategically important heat pump components.

Eligibility extends to companies set up for the purpose of delivering the project in the application, according to the notice.

Applications for round 2 must be submitted by 3pm on Wednesday 5 August 2026, according to the department.

The department published the latest clarification questions for round 2 on 23 July 2026.

China has adopted revised mandatory energy consumption standards for photovoltaic manufacturing, with regulators clearing them on June 27 and issuing the full text on July 22 ahead of an effective date of January 1, 2027, according to pv magazine.

Under the new rule, coded GB 29447-2026, polysilicon made through the trichlorosilane process falls into three energy grades set at 5.0, 5.5 and 6.3 kgce per kilogram of product, pv magazine reported. Regulators tightened the Grade 3 ceiling, which caps energy use for existing lines, from the 6.4 kgce/kg figure floated in the consultation draft.

That half-point cut sharply narrows the compliant field. An industry estimate cited after a standards implementation meeting put compliance with the draft 6.4 kgce/kg threshold at around 84% of capacity, against only about 45% under the final 6.3 kgce/kg limit, according to pv magazine.

Silane fluidized-bed polysilicon carries stricter numbers, with Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 pegged at 3.6, 4.0 and 4.6 kgce/kg.

Brokerage estimates cited by pv magazine indicate the standard could pull China's compliant polysilicon capacity down from about 3.5 million tonnes to below 2 million tonnes. Operating capacity ran at roughly 1.3 million tonnes across the first half of 2026.

The reach extends beyond upstream production. Modules and inverters that miss the Grade 3 requirements will be barred from manufacture, import or sale in China, according to pv magazine.

A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report estimates more than 356 billion tons of coal resources lie beneath federally owned land in the contiguous United States, according to Inside Climate News.

The USGS report estimated an additional 4.2 billion tons of coal reserves already sit within a mining area and could be profitably extracted in the lower 48 states, Inside Climate News reported. That figure sits alongside the far larger resource estimate for federal land in the contiguous United States.

The report found that Alaska has at least 140 billion tons of available coal and could contain as much as 5.5 trillion tons. There are currently 34 active coal mines on federal lands, according to Inside Climate News.

An Interior press release estimated the coal reserves under federal lands would supply all the nation's needs for at least 600 years at the current rate of consumption, Inside Climate News reported.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said American Energy Dominance is more important than ever and highlighted coal's role in electricity production.

The Department of Energy allocated a half billion dollars this year to retrofitting or restarting 10 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, according to Inside Climate News.

U.S. coal production has fallen by 56 percent since 2008, its peak year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.