China refined the most crude oil in nearly two years in June, as plants returned from seasonal maintenance to seize on better margins for fuels like diesel. Refining output rose to more than 15.2 million barrels a day, the strongest pace since September 2023, according to Bloomberg calculations based on figures released by the statistics bureau on Tuesday. Compared to June last year, volumes surged by 8.5 percent, reversing the declines seen in April and May. Improved margins and fewer idled units supported robust refining activity, with further strength expected this month as new plants come online, said Amy Sun, an analyst with GL Consulting, a think tank affiliated with Mysteel OilChem.  Diesel cracks, a measure of profitability, at independent refiners rose to nearly $18 a barrel at one point late last month, the highest since 2023, according to data tracked by consultant JLC International. Run rates at state-owned refineries soared to nearly 84 percent of capacity at end-June, the highest in more than three months, JLC’s data showed.  The refinery output is in line with the rise in crude purchases reported for June, which hit their highest level since August 2023 on a daily basis, according to Bloomberg calculations. Imports are expected to accelerate as the country adds as much as 140 million barrels of oil to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserves from later this year, Energy Aspects said in a note. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.

President Donald Trump’s threat to impose financial penalties on Russia has put the spotlight on the two biggest buyers of Moscow’s crude — India and China — but markets remain skeptical of disruption, for now. India became a major importer of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. More than a third of overall purchases have been from the OPEC+ producer this year, compared with less than 1% prior to the war, according to data from Kpler. China’s imports have also climbed over the same period. Still, the initial reaction from the market to Trump’s remarks was nonchalance. Global benchmark Brent fell almost 2% to close below $70 a barrel on Monday, suggesting little concern around the potential impact to crude flows. Trump said penalties would come in the form of “secondary tariffs,” without providing details, and would be implemented in 50 days if Russia doesn’t end hostilities with Ukraine. Matt Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said the action effectively represents sanctions on nations buying Russian oil. Whitaker specifically cited India and China. Russian flows to India reached 2.1 million barrels a day in June, the biggest monthly intake in nearly a year, and close to the record set in May 2023, data from Kpler show. China’s purchases haven’t accelerated at the same pace, but have been consistently above 1 million barrels a day since the war. “If push really comes to shove, and India cannot buy any crude oil from the Russian system, then India has optionality with the other OPEC members,” said Mukesh Sahdev, head of commodity markets at Rystad Energy A/S. But “it will be at a higher cost,” he added. Barrels from the Middle East and Africa could help plug the gap of lost Russian supply, but the crude would be more expensive. Imports from Saudi Arabia

Google will buy up to 3 GW of hydroelectric power from Brookfield Renewable, with an initial focus on the PJM Interconnection and Midcontinent Independent System Operator footprints, the companies said Tuesday. The “hydro framework agreement” will help Google run its data centers and other operations on carbon-free power all the time, according to the companies. The first 20-year contracts under the agreement are for the output from Brookfield’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydro facilities in Pennsylvania, which total about 670 MW, according to the companies. The contracts will generate more than $3 billion in revenue, Brookfield and Google said. Brookfield is relicensing the Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydro facilities at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Brookfield said the agreement is part of its strategy to deliver dispatchable clean power to the technology sector. Brookfield’s top four corporate power purchasers are Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google. On May 1, Microsoft said it would buy more than 10.5 GW of clean energy projects from Brookfield Asset Management and its Brookfield Renewable affiliate between 2026 and 2030. Brookfield Renewable owns about 21 GW of hydro, wind, solar and storage assets worldwide, and its project development pipeline totals about 69 GW, according to the company. With PJM facing tight supply-demand conditions, partly driven by data center development, Joseph Bowring, the grid operator’s market monitor, has urged FERC to require that data centers use new generating resources to meet their needs instead of relying on existing resources.

Dive Brief: U.S. utilities and power plant developers added about 12 GW of new generation resources between January and April of this year, compared to 11 GW over the same period last year, according to the latest monthly infrastructure report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  The vast majority of that generation — some 9.5 GW — was solar, trailed by wind with 2 GW and 500 MW of gas. “High probability” additions by April 2028 include 90 GW of solar, 23 GW of wind and 19.5 GW of gas, according to the report. It also projected the likely addition of 631 MW of hydropower and 92 MW of geothermal steam.  Dive Insight: The report showed the continued dominance of solar in new generation capacity amid robust demand growth projections. That could change, however, as the Republican tax cuts and spending bill take effect. The law signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 dramatically cut incentives for wind and solar, phasing out tax credits and imposing restrictions on the types of projects that qualify. Trump followed that with an executive order instructing the Treasury Department to take a narrow approach in its interpretation of the law regarding wind and solar.  The country added 62.5 miles of transmission lines from January to April, 2025, including, most recently, Entergy Louisiana’s 1.8-mile, 500-kV Wise-Bayou Labutte transmission project.  The report did not include a breakdown of transmission built over the same period last year. In total, grid operators added nearly 1,700 miles of transmission in 2024, about a third of it high voltage 500 kV.  FERC’s report follows a separate analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that estimated solar generation would rise by a third this summer. “By summer 2026, we forecast solar generation will grow by another 19% to 147 BkWh, which means

Lydian Energy has secured $233 million in financing for three, two-hour battery storage projects in Texas totaling 550 MW. ING served as the lender for the Pintail and Crane projects in San Patricio and Crane Counties, Texas, respectively, Lydian said July 9. The 200 MW/400 MWh systems represent a combined investment of about $139 million, according to Lydian, a Washington, D.C.-based solar and battery storage developer backed by Excelsior Energy Capital. KeyBank provided a $94 million financing package for Headcamp, a 150 MW/300 MWh project in Pecos County, Lydian said. KeyBanc Capital Markets also structured the financing package for Headcamp. The facilities in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas footprint are under construction and Lydian expects to bring them online in the fourth quarter. The projects were developed under Excelsior Energy Capital’s Fund II, which closed at more than $1 billion in April. The tax credit bridge financings from ING and KeyBank are being complemented by co-investment capital from Excelsior’s Fund II limited partners, Lydian said. The company said it is pursuing additional financing for other projects that Lydian expects to start building later this year. Lydian’s development portfolio includes 20 solar and storage projects totaling 4.7 GW, according to the company. “These financings represent more than capital – they reflect the strong demand for reliable energy infrastructure in high-growth U.S. markets,” Anne Marie Denman, co-founding partner at Excelsior Energy Capital, said in the press release. The financial commitments by ING and KeyBank underscore growing institutional confidence in battery storage as a strategic asset class, Lydian said. Lydian’s three Texas projects are part of a surge in energy storage development in the ERCOT market. ERCOT expects it will have 12,863 MW of storage on its system in September, according to the grid operator’s most recent Monthly Outlook for Resource Adequacy

The regulator’s dilemma: balancing grid modernization with rising power bills | Utility Dive Skip to main content An article from Deep Dive Load growth and aging infrastructure require investment, but customer electricity prices are up 4.5% nationally, almost twice the 2.4% national inflation rate. Published July 15, 2025 High voltage power lines run along the electrical power grid on May 16, 2024, in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Utilities need to invest in grid modernization to meet rising electricity demand. At the same time, customer electricity prices are up 4.5% nationally — almost twice the 2.4% national inflation rate, according to the June Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Joe Raedle via Getty Images Utility regulators across the U.S. face a paradox that demands resolution, panelists at the American Clean Power Association’s CleanPower 2025 conference said. There were 726 policy actions on grid modernization in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year, many requiring significant new investments, per the Clean Energy Technology Center’s most recent Grid Modernization policy update. But customer electricity prices are up 4.5% nationally, almost twice the 2.4% national inflation rate, according to the June Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. “Utility regulation has always been a complex balancing act and the lesson learned is the need to ensure investment value and utility accountability,” said Regulatory Assistance Project, or RAP, Principal, Research and Strategy, Mark LeBel. Regulators must choose “the most cost-effective investments from a realistic set of alternatives,” he added. Almost 80% of $186.4 billion spent by U.S. investor-owned utilities in 2024 went to infrastructure, according to September 2024 data from the Edison Electric Institute. And more spending must follow: April’s 120 GW five-year load growth forecast was over five times higher than 2023’s five-year forecast of 23 GW, according to the recent GridStrategies update. “Regulators