Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Electricity Use News

Oil prices and earnings in the Gulf region are mixed.

The major Gulf stock exchanges were mixed early on Tuesday as investors awaited earnings and weighed the weaker oil price, while the Saudi index fell on profit-taking following its recent rally. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.1% following a rally of 3.3% triggered by government announcements last week to liberalise access to the capital markets for foreign investors starting next month.

Engie continues to invest in Middle East renewables, as the momentum in US and Europe slows

Engie has reached the 'financial close on a 1.5 Gigawatt solar park, its largest in the world, said the French utility on Monday. The company is stepping up projects in the Middle East, a fast-growing market, amid a slowdown of renewable energy in the U.S. The Khazna Park is set to start commercial operations in the year 2028. It will provide electricity for 160,000 homes throughout the United Arab Emirates…

Smulders to Deliver Jacket Foundation for French Offshore Wind Substation

(Credit: Smulders)

Engineering firm Smulders has been selected by Chantiers de l’Atlantique to execute the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the offshore substation jacket foundation for the 600MW Dunkerque offshore wind farm in France.The jacket foundation will support the offshore substation for the project, with France’s electricity transmission operator RTE acting as the end client.Final…

Masdar and Engie, both from the UAE, reach financial closure on the 1.5 GW Khazna Solar Project

Masdar, a UAE-based company, and Engie, a French company have completed a 1.5-gigawatt project in Abu Dhabi. They secured financing from seven banks including the?Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank? and?Credit Agricole Corporate? and?Investment Bank?. According to the companies, this group includes KfW IPEX as well as BNP Paribas and HSBC. Abu Dhabi's Emirates Water and Electricity Company awarded Engie and Masdar this project in October.

According to a consultant, India's leading renewable state will need more coal by 2036.

According to a government report, Rajasthan will require 4,400 megawatts by 2036 in order to "meet the rising electricity demand" despite India's leading renewable energy producer adding more?"clean energy" as it retires older thermal plants. According to a letter from the Central Electricity Authority (a think-tank of the federal ministry of power), the earlier estimate of 1,900MW coal-fired energy for Rajasthan has been more than doubled.

China's fossil fuelled power drops for the first time in 10 years as a result of renewables

China's coal-based thermal energy generation in 2025 fell for the first time in 10 years, according to government data released on Monday. Growing renewable generation?met growth of electricity demand, even though?overall consumption?hit a new record. This data is a good sign for China's decarbonisation as it sets out to reach its carbon emission peak by 2030. The coal production reached a new record last year.

Philippines discovers first natural gas in over a decade

The Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced on Monday that gas and condensate were found in a well near the existing 'Malampaya' gas field, off the island Palawan. This was the first natural gas discovery by the Philippines in over a decade. Marcos stated that the well, known as 'Malampaya East One or MAE-1', contains about 98 billion cubic foot of gas. This is equivalent to nearly 14 billion kWh in one year.

Top Ukrainian negotiator: Talks with US will continue in Davos

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's chief negotiator, said that the talks with U.S. officials to resolve the nearly four-year old?war against Russia will continue this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Umerov wrote on Telegram that two days of Florida talks with a U.S. delegation including Steve Witkoff, envoy, and Jared Kushner (the son-in law of President Donald Trump) had been focused on security guarantees and a recovery plan for Ukraine after the war.

Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian Zelenskiy, orders faster imports for electricity and power equipment

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that he has ordered imports to be as fast as possible. This is because Ukraine is facing its worst energy crisis since World War II. The government declared an emergency because the damaged system is only meeting 60% of its electricity needs. Extremely cold temperatures have exacerbated the situation. Zelenskiy, after a meeting of top military and government officials on X…

JERA Nex BP will buy EnBW’s stake in UK’s Mona offshore Wind project

JERA Nex BP has announced that it will purchase its partner EnBW’s stake in Mona 'offshore wind project. It also signed a lease agreement with the British 'facility. This move follows a German utility EnBW's announcement that it would be taking a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.39-billion) impairment charge for pulling out of two wind projects, Mona and Morgan, which it had been developing?jointly? with JERA Nex BP.

US Judge weighs Dominion's request to restart Virginia offshore Wind Project Stopped by Trump

In a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration, a federal judge will decide on Friday whether to allow Dominion Energy?to resume construction on its $11.2 billion Virginia offshore wind project. This hearing will be the third in a row this week that a federal judge will consider a challenge to an Interior Department order from December 22, filed by a developer of offshore wind. Dominion’s?Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind?

What excites and concerns LNG exporters by 2026? Maguire

In 2025, the LNG industry will make history after exports and production of super-chilled fuel broke records and generated billions in revenue across the global supply chain. Gas sellers were encouraged by the 25% increase in LNG purchases in Europe. This was an important development and raised expectations that gas consumption in countries like Germany, Italy and United Kingdom will continue to grow in 2026.

What excites and concerns LNG exporters by 2026? Maguire

In 2025, the LNG industry will make history after the production and exports of super-chilled fuel broke records and generated billions in revenue across the global supply chain of liquefied gas. The 25% increase in LNG purchases in Europe was a major highlight. This gave gas sellers hope that gas consumption in countries like Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom will continue to grow in 2026.

India's clean-energy industry opposes the revocation due to delays

NEW DELHI (Jan 15) - India’s renewable energy groups objected to a proposed regulatory measure that could strip developers from interstate transmission system connectivity if they fail to sign long-term power purchasing agreements in a timely manner, according?to letters sent?to India’s power regulator. The groups said that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)'s move would unfairly punish projects that are stalled due to reasons outside their control.

Germany will tender 12 gigawatts in new power plant capacity by 2026

On Thursday, Germany announced that it had reached an agreement with the European Commission regarding a plan to build power plants. It added that it would be tendering 12 gigawatts of capacity by 2026 with a particular focus on gas-fired facilities. This is a significant step in Germany's quest to ensure security of supply, given the country's ongoing phase-out coal-fired capacity.

India's clean-energy industry opposes the revocation due to delays

NEW DELHI (Jan 15) - India’s renewable energy groups objected against a proposed regulatory measure that could 'deprive developers of interstate system connectivity if they fail to sign long-term power purchase agreements in a timely manner, according to letters sent to the power regulator. The groups said that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)'s move would unfairly punish projects that are stalled due to reasons outside their control.

EnBW cancels two UK offshore wind farms, incurring $1.4 billion in impairment

EnBW, the German utility, announced on Thursday that it would take a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) impairment charge for scrapping two British wind projects. This was a direct result of losing a UK offshore tender. In this week's record-breaking auction, the?two offshore projects -- Mona & Morgan -- with a total potential capacity of 3 Gigawatts -- did not qualify for any government assistance via contracts for difference.

US Judge to make a quick decision on Equinor's challenge to Trump offshore Wind Pause

A U.S. Judge said Wednesday that he will rule soon on whether he will allow Norwegian offshore wind developer Equinor, to resume construction on the Empire Wind project?off the coast of New York?in a lawsuit filed over the Trump Administration's suspension of federal waters for the offshore wind industry. The U.S. District Court of Washington's Judge Carl Nichols declined to make…

French spot drops as expected wind and nuclear output increases

French spot electricity rates for Thursday dropped as the wind energy supply in France is expected to increase amid lower demand forecasts. One nuclear reactor will also be expected to re-start. By 0927 GMT, the French baseload for the day ahead fell by 15.6% and was 91?euros (106.02 dollars) per megawatt-hour (MWh). After closing Tuesday at 119.25 Euros/MWh, the German baseload day-ahead was not traded.

US court will weigh New York's challenge to Trump's offshore wind halt

On Wednesday, a U.S. court will decide whether or not to allow Norwegian offshore developer Equinor the opportunity to resume the construction of the Empire Wind Project off the coast of New York. The company is suing the Trump administration for its suspension of the industry. The hearing at the U.S. District Court of Washington takes place two days after that same court ruled…