Energy & Environment

Skyven's Arcturus Heat Pump Hits COP of 8.0, Beats Roadmap Target

Antwerp – September 07, 2026 -- Skyven Technologies said its Arcturus industrial heat pump demonstration center in Texas has achieved a sustained coefficient of performance (COP) of 8.0, a gain of more than 20% over the 6.5 COP recorded at commissioning and above the target set in the company's original roadmap.

Arcturus surpasses its own commissioning benchmark through design and control upgrades

Skyven attributed the jump to improvements in system design, control algorithms and integration engineering at the Texas facility. The result confirms the ceiling performance of the Arcturus product line, which the company tailors to individual client sites, balancing COP against required temperature lift. Across its range, Arcturus delivers temperature increases of 38°C to 185°C, with corresponding COPs from 8.0 down to 2.0.

EcoFlow, CEER, Elia Group Tackle EU Grid Bottlenecks Ahead of IFA 2026

Berlin – September 07, 2026 -- European grid operators, regulators and digital infrastructure executives convened for an Economist Enterprise panel warning that AI data center and electric vehicle demand is pushing power grids toward capacity limits, forcing energy resilience into boardroom decision-making across the continent.

EcoFlow leverages 10 million deployed devices to enter commercial energy market

The panel, titled "Flexible by Design: Energy Resilience for Business," was released ahead of IFA Berlin 2026, running Sept. 4-8 at Messe Berlin Hall 3.2. EcoFlow, drawing on a global footprint of over 10 million deployed devices and 5 million users, is extending its consumer battery and solar architecture into small business and enterprise segments, citing modular hardware, dynamic tariff optimization and AI-driven software as core commercial offerings.

Global Grid Spending Must Hit $600bn/Year by 2030, CIGRE Warns

Paris – September 07, 2026 -- Annual global investment in electricity grids must rise roughly 50%, from about USD 400 billion today to nearly USD 600 billion by 2030, according to International Energy Agency figures cited at the CIGRE 2026 Paris Session, which drew more than 15,000 experts from 100 countries and 330 exhibitors.

Grid investment must jump 50% as electrification accelerates

The IEA attributes the surge to transport, industry and building electrification, renewable-energy integration, and rising data-center power demand. Power systems are approaching operational limits as these forces converge, according to the IEA data presented at the session.

LichtBlick Activates Largest Solar Park, Powering 13,000 Homes

Mühlhausen – September 07, 2026 -- LichtBlick has commissioned its largest solar park to date in Mühlhausen, Thuringia, a facility spanning approximately 37 hectares with roughly 71,000 solar modules that will generate around 45 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to supply more than 13,000 households.

New substation enables grid connection for record-scale facility

A dedicated substation was built specifically to feed the generated power into the electricity grid, supporting the scale of the installation. The project marks the second photovoltaic development LichtBlick has completed in the current fiscal year, part of an accelerated buildout of its own generation capacity.

AI Data Centers to Drive Next Power Demand Surge in Europe: Allianz Trade

Hamburg – September 07, 2026 -- Artificial intelligence infrastructure is poised to become the most significant growth driver for Europe's energy sector, according to a new industry report from credit insurer Allianz Trade titled "Energie & Solar."

Renewables covered 58% of German electricity consumption in first-half 2026

Germany's net electricity imports fell more than 85% year-on-year to just over 1 terawatt-hour (TWh), driven by strong domestic renewable generation. Allianz Trade CEO for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Milo Bogaerts, said the limited impact of recent Middle East tensions on European gas prices compared to the 2022 energy crisis demonstrates that each additional kilowatt-hour of wind and solar power increases Europe's resilience to price shocks.

CIGRE Paris: Grid Investment Must Hit $600B/Year by 2030

Paris – September 07, 2026 -- The International Energy Agency estimates annual global grid investment must rise roughly 50%, from about $400 billion today to nearly $600 billion by 2030, to keep pace with surging electricity demand. The figures were central to discussions at the CIGRE Session 2026 in Paris, which drew more than 15,000 experts from 100 countries and 330 exhibitors.

Electrification of transport, industry and data centers strains existing grids

Rising demand from electric transport, industrial electrification, building conversion, renewable integration and data-center growth is pushing power systems toward their operational limits, according to CIGRE.

HiTHIUM Holds No. 2 Global Rank in Battery Storage Shipments

Xiamen – September 07, 2026 -- HiTHIUM has secured the second-largest share of global energy storage battery shipments for the second consecutive year, according to rankings released by InfoLink Consulting, Shanghai Metals Market, ICCSINO and NECI for the first half of 2026.

Global storage battery shipments surge 94.76% to 467.84 GWh in H1 2026

InfoLink's global energy storage supply chain database recorded worldwide shipments of 467.84 GWh in the first six months of 2026, nearly double the volume from the same period a year earlier. The industry-wide expansion coincides with shifting demand toward higher-capacity systems, longer storage duration, and stricter safety and reliability standards.

Alliant Hires Ex-IRS Commissioner Holly Paz to Lead Section 48 Tax Practice

Houston – September 7, 2026 -- Alliant has hired Holly Paz, the former Commissioner of the IRS's Large Business & International (LB&I) Division, to co-lead its Section 48 and energy infrastructure tax practice, the consulting firm announced.

Paz oversaw IRS implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy tax credits

During her tenure at LB&I, Paz directed the agency's rollout of the IRA's investment and production tax credits, which offer businesses, non-profits and government entities up to 50% credit value on qualifying energy projects. The credit structure includes a transferability provision allowing companies to sell credits for cash and a direct-pay option letting tax-exempt entities receive funds directly from the federal government, contingent on meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.

Clean Energy Hits Record $2.1 Trillion But Emissions Only Plateau

London – September 07, 2026 -- Global clean energy investment reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2025, yet global greenhouse gas emissions are merely plateauing rather than falling, according to the Energy Transitions Commission's (ETC) Energy Transition Monitor 2026. The world has already breached 1.5°C of global heating and remains on track for roughly 2.5°C.

Renewables supplied 99% of new electricity generation growth in 2025

Coal-fired and oil-fired generation both contracted last year as global renewable capacity nearly doubled since 2022, putting it on track to double again by 2030 -- still around 900 GW short of the tripling pledge made at COP28. Because electricity accounts for only a fifth of total final energy use, this surge covered just 40% of the rise in global energy demand, with fossil fuels supplying the remainder as data centres, cooling needs and heavy industry pushed overall consumption higher.

Six Objections Filed in Pleasants Power Plant Bankruptcy Ahead of Sept. 3 Hearing

Belmont, W.Va. – September 07, 2026 -- Six separate objections have been filed in the Chapter 11 case of Omnis Pleasants, LLC, owner of the 1,278-megawatt Pleasants Power Station, ahead of a September 3 hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen B. Owens in Wilmington, Delaware.

Four objections come from Omnis and Quantum entities challenging lender protections

Omnis Fuel Technologies, LLC (doing business as Omnis Energy) and Quantum Pleasants, LLC filed four objections disputing whether obligations claimed by lenders TRAG LLC and RG Energy LLC are properly secured by Omnis Pleasants assets. The filings also challenge the proposed sale timetable and the retention of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (US) LLP as bankruptcy counsel, citing the firm's disclosed prior representation of TRAG and RG Energy. The debtor, lenders and HSF Kramer dispute these positions.