Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The share of new solar projects deployed with co-located battery storage this year is 16% — or about 41 GW — as of September, and may reach 19% by year’s end, said an Oct. 30 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It is likely to pass 30% in the next two years, the agency estimated. The trend has increased significantly over the last decade, as only around 2% of projects, or 5 GW, of new solar capacity was co-located with storage in 2017. In 2023, co-location jumped to 25% of projects, then fell over 2024 and 2025, according to EIA’s data — but is projected to pass 30% over the next two years, based on planned additions. “When operators co-locate battery storage with solar, they can direct solar electricity output to the grid or to the battery, depending on the wholesale prices,” EIA’s report said. “Wholesale prices in regions with large solar participation tend to fall when solar contributions are high and rise as they decrease.” “Plants with both solar and battery storage can manage the combined output of their generating resources to maximize their value in a changing wholesale price environment,” EIA added. Courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration An Oct. 22 report from the Solar Energy Industries Association found that from 2021 to 2026, “solar generation increased 421% in Texas and 90% in California, while battery storage capacity grew more than 26-fold in Texas and nearly sevenfold in California.” When comparing the same June to August period, SEIA found that “CAISO used 2.5% more power than the same time in 2021 with an average wholesale electricity price 40% lower after accounting for inflation. ERCOT used 30.1% more power than the

Listen to the article 7 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Seyed Madaeni is CEO and co-founder of Verse, an energy software company specializing in battery dispatch optimization for data centers. Even the best-funded project can’t operate without electricity, and the grid often can’t deliver hundreds of new megawatts as quickly as AI developers need them. Access to power has become a competitive advantage, and companies are searching for ways to get it faster. Seyed Madaeni Today, developers see two obvious options. They can wait years for traditional grid upgrades, or they can build private power plants onsite. The first can move too slowly. The second brings fuel-supply, equipment, permitting and community challenges of its own. A third path to data center interconnection is taking shape. Across the country, utilities and grid operators are creating clearer ways for large loads that can reduce the risks they bring to the system. Depending on the market, a data center might guarantee a minimum payment, agree to reduce its grid demand when the system is strained, provide better operating data or contract for new generation and storage. These policies differ, but they share one idea: If a data center wants faster or more certain access to power, it should give the grid greater certainty in return. That is a better approach than advancing projects mainly because they promise jobs or investment. Projects that make their demand more predictable, controllable and financially secure should have a clearer path to service. Ohio is asking data centers to pay for what they reserve Utilities often need to invest in substations, transmission equipment and other infrastructure years before a data center reaches full operation. They are building against forecasts that can change, and their queues may include projects that never get

@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@100..900&display=swap’); .ebm-page__main h1, .ebm-page__main h2, .ebm-page__main h3, .ebm-page__main h4, .ebm-page__main h5, .ebm-page__main h6 { font-family: Inter; } body { line-height: 150%; letter-spacing: 0.025em; } button, .ebm-button-wrapper { font-family: Inter; } .label-style { text-transform: uppercase; color: var(–color-grey); font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.75rem; } .caption-style { font-size: 0.75rem; color: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 60%, transparent); } Executives at APA Corp., Houston, plan to bump the company’s 2027 capital spending to $2.5 billion from an expected $2.1 billion and will dedicate the majority of that increase to exploration work and the development of the GranMorgu project in which it is a 40% partner. Speaking to analysts and investors after APA reported third-quarter profits of $698 million on revenues of more than $2.8 billion, chief executice officer John Christmann said the allocation of $250 million to exploration and another $250 million to developing GranMorgu will return APA to its targeted range of having 10-15% of annual upstream capital go to such work. The plans comprise: Two exploration wells in Suriname’s GranMorgu offshore development with TotalEnergies, which also owns 40% of that project and is the operator. Christmann said the wells will look to extend GranMorgu’s production plateau “or even support a second development.” A winter program in Alaska that includes an exploration well and an appraisal test of the company’s Sockeye discovery. The spudding of APA’s well in the OFF-6 block of which it owns 60%, with Eni holding the remainder. Tracey Henderson, APA’s executive vice-president of exploration, said the block reminds her team of conditions offshore Namibia and that its work with Eni will essentially be a “petroleum systems test.” Addressing the potential of GranMorgu—which APA and TotalEnergies teams have estimated has nearly 760 million bbl of reserves—and the goal of starting production in mid-2028, Christmann said 4 wells are being planned over the

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the Fall 2026 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Topics, unlocking more than $200 million in federal funding to support American small businesses developing innovative technologies that strengthen U.S. energy and national security. The Phase I topics span grid innovation, nuclear detonation detection, cybersecurity, and other areas with strong commercial potential.  The Fall 2026 release marks a significant milestone for DOE’s restructured SBIR and STTR programs, now managed by DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). Through DOE’s Partnership Intermediary, ConnectWerx, the programs are streamlining management and delivery, reducing application burdens, and expanding access to funding opportunities for American small businesses.    The restructuring advances the Trump Administration’s priorities to strengthen American energy and national security, support U.S. small businesses, and accelerate the commercialization of technologies critical to maintaining U.S. technological leadership. By prioritizing projects with strong technical and commercial potential, DOE is helping move American innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace.  “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve fundamentally redesigned the SBIR/STTR programs from the ground up to make them more accessible, more dynamic, and much more productive,” said Anthony Pugliese, DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization. “These changes will help us attract more American entrepreneurs and startups, maximize the impact of every federal dollar, and ultimately turn promising innovations into real-world solutions that strengthen American competitiveness.”  Phase I now serves as the entry point to the full SBIR/STTR funding pathway. Companies begin by submitting a pitch for a Phase I award to demonstrate the technical feasibility of their proposed innovations, with opportunities to secure follow-on funding in subsequent phases. Go/no-go decisions between phases assess technical progress and commercial potential before advancing to the next stage, ensuring federal resources are focused

@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@100..900&display=swap’); .ebm-page__main h1, .ebm-page__main h2, .ebm-page__main h3, .ebm-page__main h4, .ebm-page__main h5, .ebm-page__main h6 { font-family: Inter; } body { line-height: 150%; letter-spacing: 0.025em; } button, .ebm-button-wrapper { font-family: Inter; } .label-style { text-transform: uppercase; color: var(–color-grey); font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.75rem; } .caption-style { font-size: 0.75rem; color: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 60%, transparent); } QatarEnergy contractor PTSC Mechanical and Construction Ltd. Co. (PTSC M&C) has let a letter of award (LOA) to Aker Solutions for design work related to the redevelopment of Maydan Mahzam oil field offshore Qatar. The field lies, which started production in November 1965, lies about 100 km northeast of the Qatari coastline and 28 km southeast of Halul Island in water depths of about 40 m. QatarEnergy has been redeveloping the field to extend its operational life.  Aker Solutions will provide detailed design services for several offshore installations under PTSC M&C’s project scope, including three major topsides, four jackets, and brownfield tie-in. The work will be executed by Aker Solutions’ engineering teams in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Mumbai, India.

The US Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions on Nov. 4 against an India-based maritime network accused of facilitating Iranian oil shipments through fraudulent vessel registrations and certifications, as Washington continued efforts to restrict Tehran’s petroleum revenues. The sanctions target Suniel Kumar Sharma, his wife Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, two other Indian nationals, and nine associated entities. According to the  Treasury, the network established unauthorized ship registries and maritime classification services that enabled sanctioned tankers transporting Iranian petroleum to operate under false flags. Treasury said some of the vessels supported by the network operated on behalf of Iran’s military and its proxies. Among the designated companies are India-based Oceaniek Technologies India and Singapore-based Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry Pte. Ltd. Treasury said the network provided false vessel registrations to several sanctioned tankers, including LATTAFA, BINARY STAR, and VERA. The action, taken under Executive Order 13902 as part of the administration’s Operation Economic Outcast campaign, also included a new Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) advisory warning maritime operators about sanctions risks associated with falsely flagged vessels. The designations block assets of the sanctioned parties held in the US or under the control of US persons and generally prohibit US persons from conducting transactions involving their property. The measures could further complicate transportation and compliance arrangements for Iranian oil shipments, although their immediate impact on export volumes remains uncertain.