Energy & Environment

Greenwood, S.C. – September 14, 2026 -- ES Foundry has secured ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certifications for its Greenwood, South Carolina facility, passing an integrated audit with zero major and zero minor nonconformities. The certifications follow the company's recent 2 GW expansion, which pushed the plant's annual solar cell manufacturing capacity to 3 GW.

Auditors confirm quality, environmental and safety systems held during rapid capacity growth

The independent Integrated Management System (IMS) audit evaluated ES Foundry's quality, environmental and occupational health and safety frameworks as a single system across manufacturing operations, covering procurement, material handling, quality assurance and worker safety processes tied to monocrystalline photovoltaic cell production.

Reno, Nev. – September 14, 2026 -- The U.S. Department of Energy awarded approximately US$2.7 billion in contracts in January 2026 to expand domestic low-enriched and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) capacity, cementing the federal government's role as the sector's largest customer, lender and permitting authority in one move.

Singapore – – September 12, 2026 -- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has catalysed US$641 million in third-party and impact-investor funding commitments since 2019, according to its newly released 2025 Progress Report covering the first year of Strategy 2030 implementation.

Cumulative waste reduction reaches 378,147 tonnes since 2019

The organisation reduced 138,162 tonnes of unmanaged plastic waste and valorised 165,317 tonnes in 2025 alone, pushing cumulative totals to 378,147 tonnes reduced and 418,529 tonnes captured for value since inception. Education and behaviour-change programs have reached over 1.5 million people, and the Alliance engaged 559 organisations in 2025 to finance, develop, and implement projects.

Singapore – September 12, 2026 -- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has valorized 418,529 tonnes of plastic waste and reduced unmanaged plastic waste by 378,147 tonnes since 2019, according to its 2025 progress report, Strategy in Action, released to mark the first year of its 2030 Strategy implementation.

In 2025 alone, the nonprofit cut unmanaged plastic waste by 138,162 tonnes and valorized 165,317 tonnes. Since inception, it has mobilized $641 million in funding commitments from third parties and impact investors, engaged 559 organizations in 2025 to fund and execute projects, and reached more than 1.5 million people through education and behavior-change initiatives.

New York – September 13, 2026 -- Chestnut Carbon has agreed to supply Improved Forest Management (IFM) carbon credits to RBC, giving the global financial institution access to one of the largest forest-based carbon credit portfolios in the United States.

Chestnut's portfolio spans 200,000 acres across 37 states

The agreement draws on Chestnut's network of private forest landowners enrolled in IFM practices such as longer harvest rotations, retention of larger trees, strategic thinning, and prescribed burns. These practices are designed to improve forest resilience against wildfire and drought while sustaining long-term timber productivity.

Austin, Texas – – September 13, 2026 -- Moment Energy has become the first battery energy storage system (BESS) provider in North America to secure third-party verified non-Prohibited Foreign Entity (non-PFE) status and full Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) compliance, the company announced. A Top 10 U.S. law firm conducted the independent review, examining Moment Energy's corporate ownership, effective control and debt financing structure.

Independent legal review confirms compliance status ahead of tightening federal rules

The verification arrives as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has significantly raised FEOC and PFE requirements for companies seeking federal Investment Tax Credits (ITC). The U.S. Treasury has issued interim guidance through Notice 2026-15 to help taxpayers interpret the new rules, with further clarification expected as implementation proceeds.

Newport Beach, Calif. – September 13, 2026 -- Maksim Markevich, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of PVFARM, has been named a finalist in the Rising Star Individual category of the 2026 Platts Global Energy Awards, organized by S&P Global Energy. Winners of the 28th annual awards will be announced on December 3, 2026, following review by an independent panel of international energy experts.

Markevich is one of finalists selected from 36 countries, with more than 57% originating outside the United States. Other nations represented among finalists include Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Turkey and China, across 19 award categories spanning the global energy and chemicals value chain.

New York – September 13, 2026 -- Cyware is backing a Department of Energy-funded initiative led by the research arm of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to expand Operational Technology (OT) monitoring across nearly 900 electric cooperatives nationwide.

NRECA targets standardized threat data across rural utility networks

The project, run under NRECA's ICS-REC program, aims to standardize the collection, correlation and normalization of OT security data from participating rural cooperatives, enabling centralized analysis and faster threat detection across the grid.

Beijing – September 13, 2026 -- Cheche Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CCG) has signed a non-binding term sheet to make a strategic investment in Long Way Fortune, a residential solar-plus-storage operator active in Australia and Singapore, at an implied equity value of $490 million.

Cheche targets initial 20% stake with option to reach 51% ownership

The proposed stock-for-stock deal would give Cheche an initial 20% minority position in Long Way Fortune, with the option to raise its stake to as much as 51% over time subject to performance milestones and agreed conditions. Cheche's consideration will be stock-linked and released on a delayed schedule over several years.

Houston – September 13, 2026 -- US oil production hit a study-period high in 2025, but reserve replacement fell below 100% for the first time since 2021, according to an annual benchmarking study released by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US).

Oil reserve additions declined 11% while production climbed to a record

The EY US Oil and Gas Reserves and Production Benchmarking Study analyzed five years of data from the 30 largest publicly traded US exploration and production companies, representing about 43% of combined US oil and gas production. Oil reserve additions from extensions and discoveries fell 11% year over year and failed to fully replace production volumes, while combined oil reserves declined by less than 1%.