Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said the gas-rich nation will continue to hunt for fossil fuels even as parliamentary partners call for a retreat from the sector. “We should explore and develop the Norwegian shelf,” Store said Tuesday as he started talks to form a new Labor government after winning the election. Norway provides about a third of Europe’s natural gas, becoming the region’s biggest supplier after Russian deliveries sank following the invasion of Ukraine. Under Store, Labor has sought to slow the decline of the resource base. Yet the party won this week’s election with less than 30% of the vote, meaning it will need to find common ground with smaller parties including the Greens. The Green Party pulled off its best result, more than doubling its seats to seven. It has traditionally demanded an end to oil exploration in the North Sea, though leader Arild Hermstad said Monday he plans to cooperate with Store in negotiations to get policies through parliament. While total production from the Norwegian shelf peaked in the early 2000s, monthly oil output recently jumped to the highest in more than a decade following the ramp-up of the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea. Companies including Equinor ASA and Aker BP ASA are pouring billions into infrastructure aimed at squeezing out more barrels. Norway is a “leading energy nation, important for Europe” and its energy security, Store said. “We will continue to be a reliable partner, but also to take forward technological shifts, cut emissions and live up to our climate obligations.” WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Generation by the electric power sector is expected to grow 2.3% this year and 3% in 2026, exceeding a January forecast of 1.5% growth per year, according to the Energy Information Administration. “Electricity generation has been growing rapidly this year as a result of growing demand for power from data centers and industrial customers,” EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, released Tuesday. “The higher growth in generation reflects colder-than-expected weather earlier in 2025 along with the incorporation of load growth assessments by grid operators in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and PJM systems.” Meeting that increased demand are increases in generation from “most energy sources” this year, EIA said. The agency forecasts that utility-scale solar will grow the most in 2025, “generating 33%, or 72 billion kilowatthours (BkWh), more electricity this year compared with 2024.” U.S. electricity generation totaled 4,300 BkWh in 2024. EIA expects it to total 4,400 BkWh in 2025 and to rise to 4,530 BkWh in 2026. “New solar projects account for more than half of the new generating capacity expected to come online this year,” EIA said. “Wind, hydropower, and nuclear all grow this year as well. We expect wind will generate 4% more electricity in 2025 than it did in 2024, while we expect hydropower generation will grow by 2%. Nuclear generation will rise slightly this year and about 2% next year with the restart of the Palisades plant in Michigan.” Natural gas generation, on the other hand, is not expected to grow this year – despite record consumption. Natural gas fuel prices are about 40% higher this year than last year, “which is encouraging more coal-fired generation but is also reducing the amount of electricity produced by natural gas-fired generators,” EIA said. Courtesy of Energy Information Administration Growing international demand and increases in U.S. exports that

A complaint seeking to overturn the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s $22 billion Tranche 2.1 regional transmission portfolio faces widespread opposition, according to comments filed Tuesday at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Parties asking FERC to dismiss the complaint include MISO, six utility commissions, AES Indiana, Ameren, Xcel Energy and other utilities in MISO, the Data Center Coalition, the governor of Iowa, and consumer-oriented organizations such as the Illinois Citizens Utility Board. The complaint’s supporters include groups representing large energy users such as the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group and the Electricity Consumers Resource Council as well as MISO’s market monitor. In a complaint filed on July 30, utility commissions from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and North Dakota contend that MISO used flawed modeling and assumptions, which led the grid operator to significantly overstate the benefits of its Tranche 2.1 portfolio. The Tranche 2.1 portfolio, approved by MISO’s board in December, contains 24 transmission projects, including some that form a 3,631-mile, 765-kV backbone. The projects are expected to go online from 2032 to 2034, according to MISO. MISO urged FERC to dismiss the “deficient and misleading” complaint, saying the grid operator followed its FERC-approved rules when it developed its multi-value portfolio and its benefits metrics through a stakeholder process. “Tranche 2.1 was approved nearly eight months ago, and critical reliability, load interconnection, and generation processes have already been undertaken that are dependent on the development of Tranche 2.1; consequently, those processes will be put at risk,” MISO said. MISO’s fast-track review for 26.5 GW in its Expedited Resource Additions Study process relies on the Tranche 2.1 portfolio and would be delayed if the complaint is upheld by FERC, the grid operator said. Terminating or undermining the Tranche 2.1 portfolio would chill transmission development across the United States, according to MISO. “Other regional

New Era Energy & Digital Inc has received a Nasdaq notification of failure to maintain a market value of listed securities of at least $50 million, the company that recently rebranded from New Era Helium Inc said. “[T]he company was therefore subject to delisting unless the company timely requests a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel”, Midland, Texas-based New Era said in a statement on its website, adding it intends to request a hearing. “At the hearing, the company intends to present its plan to evidence compliance with the applicable continued listing criteria; however, there can be no assurance that the panel will grant the company’s request for continued listing or that the company will be able to achieve compliance within any extension that may be granted by the panel”, the statement said. “The company is considering all options available to it to regain compliance with the applicable listing rules, including but not limited to (i) raising additional capital through its equity line or other sources in order to increase the shareholders equity of the company in excess of $2.5 million (plus an appropriate burn rate) and/or (ii) issuing additional shares of common stock through a PIPE or similar transaction in order to achieve at least $35 million of MVLS (the MVLS threshold for the Nasdaq Capital Markets tier). “In that event, and assuming other listing requirements are met, the company would seek to move to the Nasdaq Capital Markets”. New Era Energy & Digital recently rebranded from New Era Helium to reflect its shift into a vertically integrated energy supplier. The rebranded New Era aims to develop “next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, including powered land and powered shells”, it said in a statement August 12. “The company delivers turnkey solutions that will enable hyperscale, enterprise and edge operators to

Todd Snitchler is president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association, which represents competitive power suppliers that own and operate about 200,000 MW of capacity throughout the U.S. The independent market monitor for the nation’s largest grid operator made waves in early June when it released a report warning that data centers’ power consumption could trigger regional energy shortages as early as next year. While data center growth is a significant factor in rising electricity demand, focusing narrowly on this sector risks distracting from the broader and more persistent challenges facing the grid. In a brief analysis of PJM Interconnection’s capacity auction held in July 2024 for the 2025/2026 delivery year — the mechanism by which the regional transmission organization procures resources to satisfy demand years in advance — Monitoring Analytics lays the blame for last July’s capacity prices squarely at the feet of data centers. The paper’s brevity can be attributed to the fact that this assessment is technically structured as an excerpt (“Part G”) of a forthcoming comprehensive report that ostensibly will take into consideration the myriad supply and demand pressures confronting PJM. An observer could question whether dedicating a standalone report to a single, isolated variable that happens to be an emerging focus for regulators inappropriately creates alarm in policy circles. Such posturing ignores other documented demand stressors in the regional transmission organization’s service territory, including the electrification of the nation’s second-largest port (and the broader economy) and the proliferation of electric vehicles in the region, which S&P Global estimates will grow significantly over the next 15 years. Unfortunately, this suspicion is confirmed by the market monitor’s emphasis on certain key data points throughout the report. One example is a passage lamenting this year’s projection for summer peak load in 2026, which the report explains is a “substantial upward

Renewable natural gas (RNG) tech company Anaergia Inc. has signed a deal to advance a pivotal RNG infrastructure project in the City of Riverside, California. The company said in a media release that under the agreement, its development-stage project asset Riverside Bioenergy Facility LLC (RivBF) will be sold to a developer with institutional investor funding. RivBF currently has a lease with the City of Riverside that provides for, upon approval of the parties, the construction of organic waste-to-RNG infrastructure at the Riverside Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP), Anaergia said. Financial close is subject to certain conditions, including the amendment of the site lease with the City of Riverside, receipt of third-party consents and regulatory permits, and the completion of ancillary agreements. Anaergia Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Anaergia, has been contracted to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the RWQCP upgrades following its closure, with the developer committing to financing. These services involve installing Anaergia’s advanced biogas conditioning and upgrading systems, organic waste feedstock processing systems and various upgrades at the RWQCP. Most of the EPC activities are planned for 2026 and 2027, and Anaergia anticipates cashing in CAD 39 million ($28.2 million) in revenue. The parties have also agreed on operations and maintenance (O&M) services. Anaergia Services LLC will provide these services to RivBF after EPC activities are completed, under a long-term contract. By transferring project ownership to a developer backed by an institutional investor, Anaergia reduces its financial risk while ensuring the effective deployment of its renewable energy solutions, it said. “The new project is pivotal in advancing the City of Riverside’s sustainability efforts by significantly decreasing the carbon footprint of its RWQCP and complying with California’s SB1383 regulations for organic waste recycling”, Assaf Onn, CEO of Anaergia, said. To contact the author, email [email protected] WHAT