Michigan suedes oil companies for collusion to restrain competition in EVs
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an antitrust suit against four major oil firms on Friday, alleging that they have colluded over decades to prevent competition from renewable energy sources, including?electric cars. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, western Michigan, names BP and Chevron. It also names ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute. The lawsuit said that the companies had acted as a "cartel, agreeing to limit the production and distribution electricity from renewable resources and to restraint the emergence electric vehicles and'renewable primary energies technologies in the United States.
Draft shows that Europe is committed to expanding wind energy despite Trump's criticism
A draft declaration that is due to be signed by the leaders of European governments, including Germany, Britain, and Denmark, showed they will continue to expand their wind power projects despite Donald Trump's escalating criticism. Trump has openly criticized the European countries' efforts at switching to low-carbon energies. He said that wind turbines are "losers". Without providing any evidence, he claimed that the more wind turbines that a country owns, the more it loses. A draft summit declaration seen by ', shows…
UAE utility withdraws Yemen and transfers solar energy plants to the government
Global South Utilities, based in Abu Dhabi, has handed over two solar power plants to Yemen's Public Electricity Corporation. This was after the?Yemeni government requested that all?Emirati firms leave the country. GSU informed Public Electricity Corporation in a letter of January 22 that all maintenance and operations teams had been evacuated from the Aden Solar Power Plant, with a capacity of 120 Megawatts (MW), as well as the 53 MW Shabwa solar plant. GSU stated that "Global South Utilities didn't suspend operations unilaterally" or "abruptly".
ContourGlobal, owned by KKR, enters Greece through solar and battery acquisitions
KKR's energy group ContourGlobal announced on Friday that it has entered the Greek renewables markets?with a portfolio of solar plants? and 500 megawatts of?battery -energy storage? projects. The agreement includes 26 solar plants that will generate approximately 51 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year, enough to power 15,000 Greek homes for an entire year. Quest Energy, part of Quest Holdings, owned the assets. ContourGlobal announced that it also acquired full ownership of six battery storage projects via two transactions with Spain’s FRV, and Greek developer Zephiros.
US cuts or revises nearly $84 Billion in Energy Loans
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will be restructuring or eliminating approximately $84 billion worth of clean energy?projects which were funded by the former president Joe Biden's administration. This is the latest move by President Donald Trump's administration in favoring fossil fuels, nuclear energy and eliminating subsidies for renewable energy sources like wind and solar. The Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) made the changes after reviewing the $104 billion worth of?loans that were made under the Biden administration. Most of these loans came?after 2024's presidential election.
Musk's Davos debut: US tariffs are a problem for solar power
Elon Musk made his Davos debut at the last minute on Thursday. He criticized U.S. Solar Tariffs, set aggressive Tesla targets, such as humanoid robot sales next year, and hinted that European approval of self-driving technology would be within weeks. Larry Fink, interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum, interviewed the richest man in the world after he had described the annual meeting for years as being elitist and unaccountable, and detached from the ordinary people. BlackRock's CEO expressed admiration for Musk as the discussion began.
EDP CEO warns EU about lost urgency in energy security and renewables push
The European Union has lost its sense of urgency in addressing energy security. Bureaucracy is still preventing the bloc to reduce costly energy imports and slowing down renewable energy projects. Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade (CEO of one of Europe's biggest renewable power producers) told reporters that companies are struggling to build enough wind and solar assets to replace imported fossil energy sources. He said that we need to be more efficient in licensing and permits and remove the bureaucracy. "The pace of growth of renewables should be twice as fast in Europe than it is...
Trafigura CEO: Clean fuels need subsidies and mandates in order to survive on the free market.
Richard Holtum, chief executive of global commodity trading house Trafigura, said that clean or low-carbon fuels need mandates and subsidies to deal with their higher costs compared to conventional fuels. He said that the market will only work if consumers are willing to spend two or three times more on fuel than they do today. Trafigura announced on Tuesday a six-year binding agreement with Syzygy Plasmonics to purchase SAF from Uruguay. The deal covers the entire volume Syzygy’s biogas-to SAF project, which is expected to start delivering in 2028.
Inpex to submit a revised environmental plan for a large CCS project offshore Australia
A company spokesperson said that Inpex, Japan's carbon capture and storage project (CCS), which is a proposed 8 million ton per year?Bonaparte Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) off the north coast of Australia will submit an updated environmental plan. The spokesperson stated that the company withdrew its plan on Sunday from a portal used to solicit public comments about major projects while it waited for details of the new environmental laws. The spokesperson stated that Inpex was "fully committed" to the progress of the project and would resubmit it once the legislative amendments were finalised.
Heat inequality: A study measures the impact of climate change on Rio de Janeiro's favelas
Every summer, Michele Campos cries when the temperatures in Rio de Janeiro rise above 40degC. The cement in the favela Chapeu Mangueira (where she lives) is heated up and makes her life in the windowless bedroom unbearable. The 39-year old said, "Sleeping's the worst." In the favela, we feel the heat differently than people who have air conditioning. Researchers at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, along with local partners are trying to understand how extreme heat?strains livelihoods for the 1.3 millions people…
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, under a 30-year agreement with Emirates Water and Electricity Company. The financial closing of a project means that all funding agreements have been signed and the project is now able to spend the money.
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. The companies signed a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement. The partners will finance, design, build, and operate the plant in the Al Khazna region of Abu Dhabi. They will install nearly three million 'panels.
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. The document revealed that Rajasthan was preparing to retire 1,350 MW of its old coal-fired power plants. Central Electricity Authority has not responded to a request for comments on the letter.
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. Initial test results showed that the well was flowing at 60 million cubic foot per day. The well is capable of producing even more.
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. Three of the five largest LNG buyers in the world - all from Asia - are reducing their imports, which has raised concerns among exporters who hope to sell the increased volumes of LNG that will be available this year.
German contracts benefit from rising gas and carbon prices
German power contracts for the year ahead traded higher on Friday. They followed gains in carbon permits and gas contracts, as temperatures are forecast to be below average for the rest of January. By 0855 GMT, the German baseload year-ahead rose by 0.9% to 87.9 euros ($101.12 per megawatt-hour). The French equivalent has not yet started trading following its?closing? at 50.65 euros/MWh. Europe's benchmark contract for gas was up 2.1% to 34.51/MWh. This extended Thursday's gains, as cold weather forecasts caused supply concerns.
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. Three of the top five LNG buyers - all in Asia - are reducing their imports, which has raised concerns among exporters who hope to sell the increased volumes of LNG that will be available this year.
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. According to a CERC staff document published in November, more than 45 GW renewable capacity has grid connectivity on the basis of letters?of award.
Sources say that the US will finalize biofuel quotas for 2026 by early March and drop import penalties.
According to 'two sources who are familiar with these plans, the administration of Donald Trump intends to finalize biofuel blending targets for 2026 by early March. They will keep them close to their initial proposal, while dumping a plan that penalized imports of renewable feedstocks and fuels. The plan, if finalized by the administration of President Donald Trump, would represent a partial compromise among rival oil and agricultural industry groups. It would preserve increased blending targets that biofuel producers sought while dumping a proposal U.S. refiners had warned would disrupt markets and increase costs. U.S.
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. In a CERC staff document published in November, it was stated that more than 45 GW renewable capacity has grid connectivity on the basis of letters of award.