Draft document shows that heavy industries will get a price reduction on electricity under the new EU regulations
A draft of the new EU rules on state aid, which are due to be published by the European Commission on Wednesday, revealed that heavy industries would receive a temporary reduction in electricity prices. This is despite criticisms from companies about high energy costs and restrictive green regulations. Eurometaux, a group of metals industry professionals, sent a warning to Ursula von der Leyen at the beginning of this month. The letter warned that the sector was losing its competitiveness in comparison with U.S. competitors and Chinese counterparts.
As new gas plants become more expensive, renewable energy is still the cheapest way to build power.
Lazard, in a Monday report, said that renewable power sources like solar and onshore winds are the least expensive, and fastest, power generation methods to deploy in the United States. This is true even without any government subsidies. In its annual Levelized Energy+ analysis, Lazard, an international financial services firm, reported that the cost of building new gas-fired plants has reached a decade high. This is due to the record electricity consumption in the country and the growing backlogs on turbines and equipment required to build the plants. After a 20-year hiatus, the U.S.
GAIL India sells LNG cargo because early monsoons lead to weak power demand.
GAIL (India) Ltd resold a liquefied gas (LNG) shipment this week, according to three sources in the market on Friday. The state-run company's tanks are full due to the weak demand for power in India. GAIL, India's largest gas distributor could reduce India's appetite for super-chilled fuel by reducing the number of LNG imports. India was the fourth largest LNG purchaser in the world last year, with about 26 million metric tonnes imported. This is due to India's rapid industrialisation and urbanisation as well as its growing electricity demand.
UN agency: Tech giants' indirect emission has increased 150% in the last three years, as AI grows.
A United Nations report on Thursday said that indirect carbon emissions from four of the world's leading AI tech companies increased by an average of 150% between 2020 and 2023 due to power-hungry data centers. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. agency responsible for digital technologies, the use of artificial intelligence in data centres by Amazon, Microsoft Alphabet, and Meta increased their indirect global emissions. Indirect emissions are those produced by the electricity, steam and heating/cooling that a company consumes.
UN agency: Tech giants' indirect emission has increased 150% in the last three years, as AI grows.
A United Nations report on Thursday said that indirect carbon emissions from four of the largest AI-focused tech firms, Amazon, Microsoft Alphabet, and Meta, increased by an average of 150% between 2020-2023 as they used more power to run energy-demanding servers. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the U.N. agency responsible for digital technologies, artificial intelligence increases global indirect emissions due to the huge amounts of energy needed to power data centers. Indirect emissions are those produced by the electricity, steam and heating/cooling that a company consumes.
Maguire: Eastern Europe's secretive surge in solar power generation
In Europe, the discussion of solar energy generation is dominated by Germany and Spain. Solar capacity in the nine largest producers of solar energy in Eastern Europe grew at a pace that was more than twice as fast as the rest of Europe over the last five years. This has allowed Eastern Europe to double its regional solar production share since 2019. Solar farms will provide electricity to at least six Eastern European countries, when solar radiation levels reach their peak this summer. The…
Maguire: Eastern Europe's secretive surge in solar power generation
In Europe, the discussion of solar energy generation is dominated by Germany and Spain. Solar capacity in the nine largest producers of solar energy in Eastern Europe has increased at a pace that is more than twice as fast as the rest of Europe over the last five years. This has allowed Eastern Europe to double its regional solar production share since 2019. Solar farms will provide electricity to at least six Eastern European countries, with a combined total of over 20% of the monthly power they use this summer. This is when solar radiation levels in the region reach their highest level.
Reports of Trump's executive orders to boost the nuclear industry have led to a surge in stocks
The shares of nuclear power companies soared in premarket trade after a report that U.S. president Donald Trump will sign executive orders to jumpstart this industry as soon as Friday. Trump will streamline the regulatory processes for new reactor approvals, and improve fuel supply chains. This was reported by four sources who are familiar with the issue. After nearly two decades of stagnation, the U.S. electricity consumption will reach record levels in 2025 or 2026 as data centers devoted to AI and crypto mining plug into the grid.
Utility Vistra buys natural gas assets worth $1.9 billion for power needs
Vistra, a utility, announced on Thursday that it will acquire seven natural-gas generation facilities with a combined power of 2,600 megawatts from Lotus Infrastructure Partners, for $1.9 billion. The move is part of its efforts to meet the growing demand for electricity. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity consumption will reach record levels in 2025-2026 due to the surge in demand from data centres looking to match Big Tech AI ambitions. Vistra reported…
US utility Xcel claims tariff exposure is 2% to 3% of capex plan
Executives with the company stated on Thursday that a global trade war is likely to affect renewable energy supply chains and storage systems, exposing 2%-3% of Xcel Energy’s $45 billion plan for capital expenditures. The expansion of AI data centres and the electrification in industries such as transportation are driving U.S. electricity consumption to record highs. Power companies have increased capital expenditure plans this year to build infrastructure. The tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and the reciprocal tariffs of countries such as China have threatened to increase these building costs…
NextEra exceeds profit expectations as the power company avoids trade risks
NextEra Energy's CEO stated that the company beat Wall Street expectations on Wednesday regarding rising electricity demand, as it works to navigate around increasing global trade risks. The rising costs brought on by President Donald Trump’s tariff war threaten to slow down a recent surge of electricity demand, and dent plans for expansion by the country’s power companies. NextEra, one of the largest renewable energy firms in the world, has said that it reduced its trade risk by $150 million, on $75 billion of capital expenditures. This is less than 0.2%.
IMF: AI's economic benefits will likely outweigh its emissions costs
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the benefits of artificial intelligence would boost global production by 0.5% per year between 2025-2030, and outweigh the rising costs associated with the carbon emissions from the data centres required to run AI models. The IMF released a report at its annual spring meetings in Washington that noted the fact that these output gains were not shared equally around the globe. It called on governments and businesses to minimize costs to society.
Wood Mackenzie reduces 5-year US Wind Energy Outlook by 40% due to Trump policies
On Tuesday, a prominent energy research company slashed their five-year forecast for new U.S. Wind Energy Projects by 40%, citing Trump Administration policies and concerns over the economy. Wood Mackenzie predicts that the United States will install 45.1 gigawatts (both onshore and off-shore) of wind power through 2029. The firm had initially forecast 75.8 GW of installations over this period. The Energy Information Administration announced last month that the U.S. electricity consumption will reach record levels in 2025 and beyond.
Ember reports that renewables will provide 32% of the global electricity by 2024.
A report from the energy think-tank Ember on Tuesday revealed that renewable power generated a record 32% global electricity in 2017. The overall electricity demand increased 4%, driven by heatwaves, data centres, and other factors. Euan Graham, Ember's electricity and data analyst, said that energy security concerns, which are exacerbated by the trade war caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from the United States, could increase demand for renewable energy this year. Tariffs sent energy and equity markets plummeting, and raised concerns about a possible global recession.
Energy think tank says fossil fuels generated less than half the US electricity in first ever month.
According to Ember, an energy think tank, fossil fuels made up less than half of the U.S. electricity mix in March for the first time in history. This was due to a nearly quarter increase in wind and solar generation. The U.S. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), citing the growing demand for data centers dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence, forecasted last month that in 2025 or 2026, electricity consumption would increase by nearly 3% from its all-time peak of 2024. The power consumption of data centers will increase.
China's energy administration reports that China's power consumption in January-February was up 1.3% compared to the previous year.
The National Energy Administration (NEA), which released data on Tuesday, showed that China's electricity consumption increased by a sluggish 1,3% during the first two month of the year due to an unseasonably mild winter. However, the growth rate rose to 9% in late February. According to NEA data, February's power consumption was 743.7 kWh and for the entire two-month period it was 1.56 trillion kWh. China's National Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday that China's electricity generation had fallen 1.3% in the first two month of the year.
CERAWEEK - Small nuclear power struggles on the cusp of US electric demand boom
Small modular nuclear reactors are touted by everyone from the U.S. Energy Secretary to Big Tech as the answer to the booming demand for power. However, the technology has struggled to reach commercialization due to cost and regulatory obstacles. The artificial intelligence industry, which is powered by energy-hungry data centres, will likely increase electricity consumption in the United States. Small modular reactors supporters say that the technology would eventually be cheaper, faster…
EIA predicts that US crude and gas production will reach record levels in 2025
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Short Term Energy Outlook report (STEO), released on Tuesday, said that the U.S. production of crude oil, natural gas, and electricity will all reach record levels in 2025. The agency expects that crude oil production will average 13,61 million barrels a day (bpd), in 2025, and 13,76 million bpd by 2026. This is up from the 13.22 million bpd of 2024. The report also predicted that domestic consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels would increase to 20.5 millions bpd by 2025, and 20.6million bpd by 2026 from 20.3million bpd.
Evergy's pipeline for power users such as data centers has jumped to 11,2 GW
Evergy Inc.'s pipeline of very large electricity clients, such as data centers, has increased to 11,2 gigawatts, which is more than its current maximum total demand. Evergy, a Midwestern company that covers Missouri and Kansas in the United States, has announced an increase of 8% on its capital spending plan for 2025-2029, to $17.5 billion. The demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence has pushed up U.S. electricity consumption after a two-decade hiatus. This year, the country is expected to hit record levels.
Industry body: China's solar growth to slow for the first time in six years
According to a forecast by an industry association on Thursday, China's rapid expansion in solar is expected to slow down this year for first time since 2019. The industry's growth will moderate. According to Wang Bohua (Honorary Chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association), new solar capacity in 2025 will range between 215 gigawatts in a conservative scenario and 255 GW with a more optimistic outlook. This would represent a 8% to 23% decrease from the 277.57 GW record installations last year.
