All articles tagged with #renewables
European energy ministers in Dublin acknowledged limited tools to counter soaring winter energy costs, relying on tax cuts and subsidies while hoping the U.S. will not ban diesel exports. Officials emphasized that long-term solutions require accelerating the shift to renewables and electrification, though immediate measures remain constrained by high gas prices and low storage levels.
California avoided rolling outages during the hottest August on record thanks to a rapid expansion of battery storage that stores solar energy for peak demand, integration with a broader Western grid, and a growing share of renewables. Storage capacity has grown from less than 100 MW in 2020 to over 17,000 MW today, with a goal of 20,000–25,000 MW by 2045 as the state reduces natural gas use and relies more on solar, wind, and other clean energy. Public safety measures remain for extreme conditions, but the grid has become more resilient overall, reducing the need for Flex Alerts or rolling outages.
Six months into the US-Israel war on Iran, energy markets have surged and a patchwork of winners and losers has emerged: oil majors report hefty profits as prices rise, while US taxpayers face mounting costs; defence contractors win big missile and interceptor contracts; banks benefit from market volatility; airlines struggle with higher fuel costs and disruptions; renewables gain momentum as price pressures persist, and coal profits rise as countries rely more on coal; carmakers face earnings pressure, and global food prices and hunger risks mount as spillover effects ripple through the economy.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travels to Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum, where leaders will tackle sea‑level rise, fuel costs, and regional security amid China’s missile tests, while renewables and climate finance are pitched as essential to stabilizing Pacific economies and meeting the 1.5°C goal ahead of COP31.
A new study modeled AI’s impact on the entire power sector across 64 scenarios and found net yearly carbon pollution could rise by 0.47–1.8 gigatonnes CO2 (about 1–5% of energy-emissions) due to productivity gains in fossil fuels outpacing those in clean energy. Emissions only fall if AI-driven gains in renewables outpace fossil-fuel gains by at least fourfold; the research notes its estimates are directional. The analysis did not include datacentre energy use, but real-world deployment of AI in oil and gas has already boosted output and efficiency, according to industry, raising concerns about AI’s net climate impact.
In a keynote interview, Fred Pearce argues in his book Despite It All that the climate challenge is solvable: renewables are overtaking fossil fuels and getting cheaper, driven largely by China, while nature can rebound if given space. He urges thoughtful rewilding, acknowledges grid and energy-transition challenges, and notes that the population bomb has been defused as fertility falls globally. The bigger hurdle now is unequal consumption, but even energy-hungry AI data centers can be powered with green energy if policy and investment keep pace, offering a hopeful, multi-pronged path forward.
China’s renewables routinely beat targets thanks to industrial-scale production and parallel deployment, while its nuclear goals lag behind despite approvals and a large reactor program. The piece argues forecasts should be based on demonstrated throughput for wind/solar versus the completion cadence of reactor projects, treating renewables as policy floors and nuclear targets as aspirations until actual operation data supports them.
Solar generated a record 52 TWh in June 2026, supplying 25% of EU electricity and becoming the bloc’s largest power source for the month, driven by heat and long sunny days; this follows years of rapid growth and 18 EU countries setting monthly solar records in 2026, with notable shares in Spain (34%), Germany (36%), and Poland (24%).
AI is driving utilities to invest as much as $240 billion in 2026 to meet data-center power demand, but regulators may limit passing all costs to consumers. The piece suggests investors focus on power providers and services outside regulated grids, highlighting Brookfield Renewable Partners and NextEra Energy as attractive dividend plays, with Bloom Energy offering AI-ready fuel cells but at a stretched valuation. In short, choose players with contract-backed power and dependable yields over momentum plays with lofty multiples.
Trump’s aggressive push to boost fossil fuels and curb offshore wind faces legal and political pushback, even as solar power posts record gains in May 2026 and rooftop/plug-in solar expands, with California and New York pursuing actions to accelerate clean energy despite ongoing policy headwinds.
A lawsuit alleges the U.S. Department of Defense has blocked or delayed wind-farm development near military sites through opaque reviews and deliberate slow‑downs, hindering renewable energy growth and prompting calls for policy reform and damages.
U.S. solar generation surpassed coal in May for the first time (solar 12.8% vs coal 12.2%), with solar becoming the third-largest electricity source behind natural gas and nuclear. Despite Trump’s push to bolster coal, solar and other renewables are driving growth and are the leading source of new power—solar plus battery storage comprised about 91% of new capacity in Q1—signaling a continued shift toward clean energy as analysts expect solar to overtake coal on an annual basis in coming years.
Ember data show solar generation in May 2026 exceeded coal for the first time on record, supplying 12.8% of US electricity to coal's 12.2% and hitting a record 45.5 TWh, with solar becoming the third-largest power source behind natural gas and nuclear as renewables reshape the grid.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is nudging governments and businesses to rely more on domestic energy, boosting plans for new refineries and renewables, expanding stockpiles, and accelerating grid upgrades—from Guyana’s refinery talks to Indonesia’s solar push and Belgium’s nuclear revival—while consumer shifts to electric vehicles and rooftop solar surge, highlighting a longer-term push for energy resilience even as costs and policy gaps persist and depend on how long the conflict lasts.
IEEFA finds EU LNG imports fell 1.2% year-on-year from March to May 2026 as renewables blunt fossil-fuel shocks from the Iran war, though Germany surged LNG by 72% and the UK cut imports by 20% (the two trends offsetting). From March–May, US LNG accounted for about 60% of EU imports, with increases also from Algeria, Russia and Norway. The war has left roughly a €60 billion energy bill for the bloc, with less than €2 billion spent on electrification, but solar and wind growth—and rising electrified heating/transport—are reducing exposure, as Spain reached about 75% low-carbon electricity in 2025 (EU average 71%).