Saturday, 10 October 2026

Global cumulative energy storage capacity is forecast to exceed 7 TWh by 2035, according to ESS News citing Wood Mackenzie.

Demand growth in 2026 alone is close to 30%, ESS News reported.

Wood Mackenzie's split of commercial and industrial storage shows industrial demand is materially larger in some regions, according to ESS News.

A critical Sungrow vulnerability could have allowed attackers to access the company's iSolarCloud management platform without a valid password.

The flaw stemmed from a business-logic error. Researchers found that when a particular login_type value was used, iSolarCloud authenticated the account named in the request while ignoring the password field.

The affected cloud service is used to manage solar plants, inverters and battery storage systems. The flaw created a serious risk for customers and energy operators in Europe, China, Australia and other regions.

India should build grid storage around several battery types rather than one, the NetZero Energy Transition Association (NETRA) told the government, pointing to the country's storage needs.

In recommendations filed with the government, NETRA said India should set aside part of its grid-scale battery deployments and public procurement for cells made domestically and for chemistries beyond the dominant one, the association said in a statement.

The Central Electricity Authority projects that India will need around 411 GWh of energy storage by 2031-32, according to the statement.

Alongside lithium-ion, NETRA called for continued funding of research, development and manufacturing for sodium-ion, flow, zinc-based and iron-based batteries.

NTPC's coal stocks at its plants have fallen to 5.5 million tonnes from 18 million tonnes in April, as higher generation and heavy rain in mining areas constrained replenishment, according to Millennium Post.

The company's coal consumption is expected to rise to nearly 300 million tonnes in 2026/27, up from an average of 270 million to 280 million tonnes, as demand increases, Millennium Post reported.

The daily drawdown of coal stocks at power plants fell by more than half in October, dropping to 0.116 million tonnes per day from 0.243 million tonnes per day in September, according to hiindia.com.

The Coal Ministry said the stock position was stabilising, though rebuilding had not yet begun, as reported by psuwatch.com.

Researchers found 8,547 internet-facing systems at wind farms and solar parks that should not be reachable from the internet, spanning 35 countries in and around the EU, according to Modat and NCSC-NL, the Dutch government's cybersecurity center.

Solar installations made up the bulk of the exposure. Modat and NCSC-NL reported 7,942 exposed solar systems across 34 countries. Wind farms accounted for 605 exposed systems across 23 countries.

The researchers estimated that 181 of the exposed sites could have allowed full operational control.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two virtual power plant bills on September 30, adding the state to a push already underway in Virginia and Vermont, according to Oilprice. The bills passed despite past utility opposition.

The two measures, Senate Bill 905 and Senate Bill 913, are expected to create opportunities for virtual power plants to reduce utility costs, Oilprice reported.

Other states have moved on similar programs. Virginia passed legislation for a 450 MW virtual power plant pilot program, while Minnesota committed to 200 MW, according to Oilprice.

The United States now has more than 40 GW of virtual power plant capacity, based on an internal analysis by Wood Mackenzie cited by Oilprice.

A 2025 Department of Energy report suggested that US virtual power plant capacity could rise to 160 GW by 2030, equivalent to about one-fifth of the country's expected peak energy demand, Oilprice reported.

Renewed Russian strikes on power and energy infrastructure have prompted some people in Kyiv to consider leaving Ukraine's capital, according to The Brief.

Russia has targeted Ukraine's power grid, the network of plants and lines that delivers electricity, leaving people without electricity and heating, The Brief reported.

Kyiv resident Olena Konoplia decided to move to the countryside as attacks intensified before winter, according to The Brief.