Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Cumulative solar PV module production in the United States passed 100 GW during Q2 2026, according to a factory-level analysis by Terawatt PV Research cited by PV Magazine.

The figure counts modules physically manufactured at US factories and draws on company- and site-level data across hundreds of facilities, per the same analysis.

More than 70% of that cumulative total was added after the Inflation Reduction Act was introduced late in 2022, according to Terawatt PV Research.

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline has reached 92.7% completion, with the first drop of crude expected at a pumping station in Uganda in December 2026, according to Daily News.

The oil is then expected to arrive at Chongoleani in Tanga, Tanzania, in February 2027, the outlet reported.

Loading of the first consignment onto a tanker is expected to begin in March 2027, marking the completion of the construction phase and the start of the project's operational phase, according to Daily News.

Chinese researchers operated perovskite photovoltaic cells at a depth of 10 meters in open seawater near Weizhou Island in the South China Sea, in what they describe as the world's first underwater solar panel array.

The submerged cells generated enough electricity at that depth to charge lithium-ion batteries in two hours, according to Azertag. The array also powered an LED light during the trial.

On durability, the protected device retained 99.58% of its initial performance after 1,000 hours of continuous simulated underwater exposure.

New Era Energy & Digital has signed a 20-year power agreement covering 200 MW to 207 MW for the first phase of its Texas Critical Data Center near Odessa, according to a Yahoo Finance report.

Deliveries under the contract are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027. Once power starts flowing, Vistra will receive a 5% non-voting interest in the entity that holds the PPA-backed portion of the site.

New Era shares jumped about 30% in morning trading following the announcement.

Petrobras has signed on to Brazil's new diesel subsidy program, according to Econotimes.

The program, established under Provisional Measure 1,391, covers producers and importers of road diesel and pays BRL 1.00 per liter of diesel A, Oilprice reported. The measure runs for 30 days and can be extended for another 30 days. Petrobras said its board approved participation in the scheme.

Separately, Petrobras received BRL 448 million from Brazil's gasoline subsidy program for sales made between July 16 and July 31, according to Econotimes.

That latest payment lifted Petrobras' cumulative receipts from government subsidy programs covering diesel, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to approximately BRL 9.9 billion.

Oil prices advanced on Monday as heightened tensions in the Middle East stoked concerns about potential disruptions to crude supplies, according to Moneycontrol.

Brent crude futures reached USD 104.68 per barrel by 2202 GMT, Moneycontrol reported. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose to USD 101.06 per barrel over the same session.

The move followed missile and drone strikes launched on Saturday by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group toward Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, Moneycontrol reported.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said Hungary will not implement a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a petroleum product storage facility for Ukraine on Hungarian territory, according to TASS.

The memorandum had been signed by Ukraine's Naftogaz Group and Hungary's MOL to build petroleum product storage facilities to meet Ukraine's needs, according to Rubryka. The facilities were expected to be built near the Ukrainian border and serve Ukraine's needs while strengthening cross-border energy infrastructure, Fedorenko said.

Magyar said the matter had not progressed beyond the signing of the memorandum of understanding, and no other agreements were signed.

More than 45% of Russia's oil refining design capacity has been disabled as of September 21, 2026, according to Ukraine's General Staff.

The threshold was crossed after the latest Ukrainian strike on the Moscow oil refinery, the General Staff said.

One consequence of the campaign has been a shortage of high-quality fuel inside Russia, according to the General Staff.

Retail gasoline prices moved higher in two separate local markets this week, according to AAA of Western and Central New York and figures reported by NBC Palm Springs.

In the City of Watertown, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline rose 13 cents from the prior week to $4.55, according to AAA of Western and Central New York.

In Riverside County, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline rose 1.9 cents to $6.112, its highest level since Oct. 2, 2023, as reported by NBC Palm Springs. The move extended the local benchmark's streak of daily increases to 34 consecutive days.

Osaka Gas has agreed to acquire a 5% interest in the Browse Project offshore Western Australia through its unit Osaka Gas Browse, according to Offshore Technology. The sales and purchase agreement was struck with BP Developments Australia.

Offshore Technology reported that completion would entitle Osaka Gas Browse to approximately 550,000 tonnes of LNG per year from the project, alongside associated liquefied petroleum gas and domestic gas.

The Browse Project covers the planned development of the Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa gas fields offshore Western Australia, per Offshore Technology.

J.P. Morgan analysts said they no longer hold a baseline view for the oil market, marking the first such gap since the Iran conflict began, according to Rigzone.

The team, which includes Kaneva, told clients they cannot model how the conflict ends. "We simply don't know how to model the endgame," the analysts wrote in the note cited by Rigzone.

Six months into the conflict, many of the economic limits observers had expected to constrain the confrontation have already been crossed, while the path to an exit has grown less clear rather than more, per the same note.

European equity indexes opened the trading week in positive territory, led by banks, technology names and energy-intensive industrial stocks, according to a Morningstar and MarketScreener midday briefing.

The move retraced part of the previous Friday's sharp losses, with the recovery tracking easing concerns over disrupted Saudi oil flows and accompanied by falling bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic, the briefing reported.

Zaye Capital Markets said the softer oil price reflected a partial unwinding of the geopolitical risk premium.

Indonesia has issued Bayan Resources an additional coal mining quota of roughly 15 million to 20 million metric tons spread across three of the miner's subsidiaries, according to Kontan and Mining.com.

The allocation covers PT Tiwa Abadi, PT Tanur Jaya and PT Fajar Sakti Prima, Kontan reported, citing an official identified as Tri.

The quota decision follows Bayan Resources' declaration of force majeure on the three units' coal supply obligations. Mining.com reported the miner invoked the clause because the units had not received Energy Ministry approval to lift production.

The central committee of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has issued a show-cause notice to Sazzad Hossain Hridoy, organising secretary of its Chittagong University unit, after he posted on Facebook protesting the recent fuel price hike, according to The Daily Star.

Hridoy has been directed to appear in person at the organisation's central office within 48 hours and submit a written explanation as to why permanent disciplinary action should not be taken against him, tob.news reported.

The notice framed the case as a breach of organisational discipline raised against Hridoy while holding a responsible position in the CU unit, and made no direct reference to the Facebook post, according to reporting by tbsnews.net.

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said it will hold electricity rates steady in the fourth quarter, even as raw material prices climb and the utility grapples with financial strain, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The adjusted fuel cost, a core component of retail tariffs, will stay at 5 won per kWh for the October-December period, KEPCO said.

Under the fuel cost adjustment formula, fourth-quarter rates were due to rise by 7.3 won per kWh, according to KEPCO.

Crude oil futures fell on Monday as worries over a prolonged Saudi supply disruption faded, according to reporting carried by MarketScreener.

Front-month WTI dropped 1.7% to USD 98.59 a barrel, while Brent slipped 1.65% to USD 102.16, based on ICE data cited in the report.

ANZ Research analysts said initial concerns over extended interruptions to Saudi Arabian crude pipeline flows appeared to be easing, pointing to reports that Riyadh expected the East-West pipeline to resume roughly half its capacity within days.

Netherlands-based Energy Ventures BV has begun preparations to convert flared gas into electricity and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) across Nigeria, according to reporting by The Times Nigeria.

The first site sits in Igwuruta, in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, and is being developed through the company's Nigerian subsidiary, Africa Gas Technology Company Ltd.

The planned facility would consume about 5 million standard cubic feet of flared gas per day to generate power and produce cooking gas, according to The Times Nigeria.

Company executive Okibe described the Rivers State plant as a pilot intended to demonstrate the technical and commercial potential of turning flare gas into saleable energy products.

The national average price of diesel reached $6.51 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA.

AAA data put the pump price at nearly twice its level a year earlier and roughly $1 above the level a month earlier.

A sustained rise in diesel costs can ripple across the economy and push up prices for a broad range of goods, according to the AAA-cited reporting.

Form Energy has closed a USD 270 million credit facility to fund manufacturing operations at its West Virginia plant, according to an Investing.com report on the company's announcement.

The package combines a revolving credit facility with a tax credit advance facility that draws against credits generated under the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, per the press release cited by Investing.com. The tax credit advance facility carries an accordion feature that can lift total credit to as much as USD 1 billion.

Form Energy said proceeds will fund manufacturing scale-up, working capital, and the build-out of iron-air battery systems at Form Factory 1 in Weirton, West Virginia.

The US national average gasoline price has climbed to $4.48 per gallon, according to Newsweek.

Pump prices rose 18.5 cents per gallon over the past seven days, Augusta Free Press reported.

Diesel moved faster. The average price reached $6.49 per gallon after a 30.7 cent weekly increase, according to Augusta Free Press.

Business, government and United Nations leaders called for stronger public-private cooperation to accelerate clean energy investment, strengthen energy security and expand access to affordable power, as the 2026 UN Private Sector Forum concluded at UN Headquarters in New York.

Participants flagged persistent obstacles to deployment, naming insufficient grid infrastructure, policy and regulatory uncertainty, financing constraints, and limited energy access in many emerging and developing markets.

Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told the forum that Africa's energy transition must serve as an industrialisation strategy, arguing that clean energy should be used to export power, manufacture, beneficiate goods, strengthen food systems, modernise transportation and build a skilled workforce.

She said Namibia does not treat any single source as a priority, backing an energy mix in which green hydrogen is developed alongside oil and gas in parallel.

Moldova's pro-European leaders said on Monday they would ask parliament to declare a state of emergency covering energy and water supply, citing dangerously low levels on the Dniester River, which the country shares with Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, writing on social media after a meeting of Moldova's Security Council, said the government would put the appeal to the chamber on Tuesday to secure the powers needed to address the difficulties, Reuters reported.

RWE and Ampelmann have completed a six-week offshore cargo drone logistics campaign supporting maintenance work at the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm.

Between August and September, the drones carried more than nine tonnes of cargo between a service operation vessel and Triton Knoll turbines across more than 250 flights.

The system can deliver and collect loads of up to 80 kilogrammes directly to and from turbine nacelles and main access platforms using an unmanned pick-up system.

Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) awarded 237 bids totaling 2,523 MW in its latest onshore wind auction, with 17 bids excluded, according to Windtech International.

RWE secured contracts for two projects with a combined capacity of 119 MW in the round, according to Energy-Pedia.

European Energy won long-term support for four projects totaling 89.6 MW, strengthening its portfolio of German renewable projects with secured revenue, according to Energy Global.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is still assessing technical and financial partnership options to complete and run the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries over the long term, according to Punch.

As part of that process, NNPC signed a memorandum of understanding with Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited on April 30, 2026, Punch reported. The parties have since carried out preliminary technical assessments at the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Plant and the Port Harcourt Refinery, according to Punch and Legit.

NNPC said discussions and evaluations remain ongoing, and that any definitive refinery arrangement will be subject to satisfactory due diligence, commercial viability and all applicable approvals, per Punch, Legit and The Will.

Vestas has launched the V182-7.2 MW wind turbine on its EnVentus platform, Windtech International reported.

The model has a specific rating of 277 W/m², according to Windtech International.

Windtech International reported that, depending on site conditions, the V182-7.2 MW is designed to increase annual energy production by up to 6% versus the V172-7.2 MW. The same report said the turbine is designed to raise the capacity factor by up to 2% relative to the V172-7.2 MW. Vestas also positions the model to reduce levelised cost of energy against the earlier machine, per Windtech International.

A majority of Nigerians surveyed oppose the federal government's petrol pricing framework, according to an SBM Intelligence report cited by Business Metrics. The report found that 67.4% of respondents rejected the current framework, while 19.2% supported it.

The survey drew on face-to-face interviews with 1,103 eligible voters across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering all six geopolitical zones.

SBM cautioned that the findings represent the views of the people surveyed.

RE100 member companies collectively operate on 59% renewable electricity worldwide, according to ESG News reporting on the latest RE100 Annual Disclosure Report. The report frames a widening gap between corporate appetite for clean power and the supply available to meet it.

ESG News reported that companies are buying more renewable electricity, but access is failing to keep pace with demand. The RE100 disclosure identifies limited renewable supply and cost as the biggest obstacles in key markets, with members also citing inadequate procurement options and regulatory barriers.

South Korea illustrates the constraint. Renewables account for 12% of RE100 members' electricity use in the country, unchanged from the prior year, and only 5% of companies there procure 100% renewable electricity, according to the report as cited by ESG News.

Diesel prices set a new record high nationally and in Wisconsin on Monday, according to reporting by WBAY. The average pump price in the state reached USD 6.56, with Green Bay and Appleton at USD 6.69, AAA data cited by WBAY showed.

The Wisconsin average sits more than USD 3 above the level a year earlier, WBAY reported, landing just before harvest season and squeezing farmers and the transportation industry.

Sustained strength in diesel carries a wider risk. Persistently high prices could continue to put upward pressure on inflation, according to a Dow Jones energy headlines summary carried by Morningstar.

Uzbekistan and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding between their regulatory authorities on radiation and nuclear safety, according to UzDaily.

The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of the recent general conference session of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Eurasianet reported. Officials from both sides signed a text covering monitoring, safe operations and disaster response.

Per Eurasianet, the memorandum also contains provisions enabling US technical assistance to improve regulatory guidelines and training programs.

Czechia has formally recognised the Netherlands' provisional approval of Tesla FSD (Supervised), according to electrive.

The recognition took effect on 21 September, making Czechia the seventh EU country where the driver assistance system may be used provisionally, electrive reported.

With the Czech step, Tesla's FSD (Supervised) can now be used in seven EU member states, and a vote on EU-wide approval is imminent, according to electrive.

A research team in Germany has built a framework for grouping and scheduling building retrofit measures that involve hybrid heat pump systems, according to PV Magazine.

The approach pairs a techno-economic assessment of individual retrofit measures with simulations of how the hybrid system operates at successive stages of the retrofit process, PV Magazine reported. That combination lets the researchers test how the order and grouping of works affect system performance and cost over time, rather than evaluating measures in isolation.

Among the retrofit sequences the team assessed, Scenario 3 delivered the highest net present value, according to PV Magazine. The researchers attributed that outcome to the large, early cut in heating demand achieved by combining roof insulation with heat recovery, PV Magazine reported. Front-loading those two measures shrinks the load the hybrid heat pump has to serve in subsequent stages, which shapes the economics of the full retrofit pathway.

Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security issued two single authorization decrees for a pair of 55 MW battery energy storage systems in Ittiri, Sardinia, according to ESS News. The two projects add up to 110 MW of combined capacity.

ESS News reports the authorizations went to Bluefield Partners, and were granted despite negative opinions from the Ittiri municipality and regional landscape protection offices.

The two Sardinian decrees lift the total capacity approved by the ministry since the start of September to 2,374 MW, per ESS News.

A 12 mm cement-bonded particle board placed beneath rooftop photovoltaic arrays can limit self-sustained flame spread by reducing heat transfer into the underlying insulation, according to PV Magazine, citing researchers in Denmark.

In burn tests reported by PV Magazine, inserting the 12 mm board between the PVC membrane and the expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation stopped self-sustained flame spread in three of four trials, with fire damage confined to the module directly above the gas burner.

The researchers said the board behaved as a heat sink, absorbing thermal energy before it could reach the EPS layer, PV Magazine reported.

The fourth test told a different story. Flames spread beneath all PV modules, an outcome the researchers attributed to higher wind loads, according to PV Magazine.

Saudi authorities have issued a new alert over attacks originating from Yemen as fighting intensifies, with fears growing that the Middle East conflict could expand, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The warning was directed at residents of a Saudi province bordering Yemen, cautioning them of potential danger after Iran-backed Houthi fighters advanced on their side of the frontier, Semafor Net Zero reported.

Semafor Net Zero also reported that Riyadh itself was struck by a Houthi attack days before the border warning was issued. The publication tied the fresh alert to intensifying fighting and concerns about the wider regional conflict expanding.

Electric cars stay on the road longer than petrol cars, and the durability gap widens as mileage accumulates, according to Electrek's report on a study covering millions of UK vehicles.

At 120,000 miles, petrol cars were 7.5 percentage points more likely to have failed than electric vehicles, with failure rates of 23.5% for petrol and 16% for EVs, Electrek reported.

The study also found that battery-electric vehicles had fewer suspension problems than petrol vehicles at every mileage band, per Electrek.

Saudi Arabia's auto manufacturing startup CEER unveiled its first two vehicles, luxury electric models slated to go on sale early next year, according to Semafor Net Zero. The launch extends the kingdom's bet that domestic auto manufacturing can support its economic diversification, Semafor reported.

The debut lineup consists of the Exobot sedan and SUV, both aimed at high-end buyers, Semafor reported. The design, featuring gull-wing doors and sweeping windscreens that stretch into the roof, was personally picked by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Semafor. CEER executives did not disclose prices.

Production in Saudi Arabia will begin in early 2027, with first customer deliveries expected in March, chief executive Jim DeLuca told Semafor on the sidelines of the launch event.

CEER plans five additional models at lower price points by 2030, per Semafor.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has struck gas at a deepwater exploration well in India's Mahanadi Offshore Basin, according to Offshore Engineer. The company said the well flowed at encouraging rates and reservoir pressure.

The MN-DW18-1-H-D well sits about 43 km off Konark on the Odisha coast and was drilled to 1,623 meters, with gas encountered in an interval between 1,441 and 1,452 meters, per the same report.

The find was recorded on September 18, and ONGC said the well had flowed gas with encouraging flow and reservoir pressure for three days.

ONGC said the discovery's proximity to the coast could offer potential for early monetization, subject to further appraisal and commercial evaluation.

Cameroon's Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority has held talks with developers on two large-scale solar projects totalling 244 MW of planned capacity, according to PV Magazine.

The larger of the two, a 200 MW plant, would be sited in Ntui in central Cameroon, PV Magazine reported. The second, a 44 MW project, is planned for Banyo in northern Cameroon.

PV Magazine said the regulator met developers to discuss implementing both projects.

Victoria's new data center rules will not apply retroactively to existing facilities or to applications already under assessment, according to ESS News.

Facilities covered by the plan will not be permitted to operate off-grid, ESS News reported. Operators must also participate in demand flexibility services "to the maximum extent commercially and technically possible," a phrase ESS News noted was left without further detail.

GridStor, the Goldman Sachs-backed developer and operator, has secured $220 million across a range of financial instruments for its White Tank battery storage project in Arizona, according to ESS News.

The site in Maricopa County, home to most of Phoenix, will provide 100 MW of power capacity and 400 MWh of energy capacity.

Output will be sold to Arizona Public Service under a 20-year tolling agreement with the utility.

The facility is expected to enter service in the first half of 2027.

Researchers in Pennsylvania are studying whether abandoned coal mines could host new data centers, according to Inside Climate News. The state has become a hot spot for data center development, and the research frames the mines, an older environmental hazard, as a possible site solution.

Penn State researcher He and colleagues analyzed 5,586 abandoned mine sites across Pennsylvania and found that 160 contained mine pools large enough to accommodate data centers, Inside Climate News reported. The underground pools could cool the facilities without drawing on outside water sources.

Inside Climate News notes a working precedent in western Pennsylvania, where a former mine has housed a data center since 2013.

The landowner-led Macorna wind farm in Victoria has been submitted to state and federal planning authorities and is now open for public comment, according to RenewEconomy.

RenewEconomy reports the project would install 114 turbines and is seeking grid access in a congested part of the network in north-western Victoria.

The proposal has been scaled back to 821 MW, from an originally conceived capacity of 1,000 to 1,200 MW, with the smaller version set out in its EPBC and environmental effects statement filings, per RenewEconomy. It sits among a handful of landowner-led renewable projects being advanced in the state.

Amber Electric raised EUR 49 million in Series E funding to finance the Australian battery-automation company's expansion into Europe, according to ESS News.

The round was led by 1GT, Morgan Stanley's climate technology fund, with participation from existing backers including German utility E.ON, Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF Partners), and Innovation Victoria, according to RenewEconomy. Amber said the round was nearly twice oversubscribed.

Amber operates a battery-automation platform for home storage systems. The Series E proceeds are earmarked to fund the company's move into European markets.

Minister Michael Shanks used the United Kingdom's National Statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency's 2026 General Conference to detail the country's nuclear investment plans, according to UK DESNZ.

Shanks told the conference that the UK is investing almost GBP 17 billion through 2030 in what DESNZ described as its most ambitious nuclear new-build programme for a generation.

On large-scale reactors, the statement said Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C each will power six million homes for at least 60 years, with Sizewell C drawing on Hinkley's build experience as a case for replication.

The minister also set out funding for smaller units. DESNZ said the UK has allocated GBP 2.6 billion to its small modular reactor programme, framing design replication and factory fabrication as the route to turning repeatability into an industrial proposition.

Alongside that programme, nearly GBP 900 million in SMR supply-chain contracts is intended to grow domestic capability and support international markets, according to the National Statement.