Energy, Utilities & Environment

Belleville – – October 15, 2026 -- Illinois American Water put 125 employees to work at 13 local organizations last month, logging more than 475 volunteer hours during its AmerICANs In Action! Month of Service.

The projects addressed food insecurity, neighborhood revitalization, environmental stewardship, youth needs and community health in communities the utility serves. Company President Rebecca Losli described the program as a commitment to living out company values through local giving.

Volunteers packed 5,500 diapers and sorted food donations

In Champaign, volunteers packed more than 5,500 diapers for the Bottom Line Diaper Bank through United Way of Champaign County. At Eastern Illinois Foodbank in Urbana, which provided 11.7 million meals to nearly 200 agencies and programs in the past year, they sorted donations.

Richardson, Texas – October 15, 2026 -- Lennox (NYSE: LII) will integrate Everyday Electric's savings features into its smart thermostats, giving more than 1 million installed units access to automated demand-response adjustments once the rollout starts in 2027.

Everyday Electric, formerly Renew Home, operates what it describes as the largest residential virtual power plant (VPP) in the U.S. The partnership links that network to Lennox's connected HVAC base. New smart thermostat buyers will also be eligible.

Thermostat adjustments target high-price and high-demand periods

Eligible customers can switch on features that make subtle, personalized temperature adjustments when energy prices or demand are high. The aim is to cut heating and cooling costs while keeping households comfortable. Customers can also earn utility rewards where available.

Kansas City, Kan. – October 14, 2026 -- Skystream Energy is testing a new wind turbine blade with a larger swept area and a custom blend of wind tunnel-tested airfoils, aimed at higher energy output across a wider range of wind conditions. A prototype is installed at a test site in Iowa, where the company is collecting performance data.

Blade targets light and turbulent winds with a larger swept area

The design builds on the existing Skystream platform. Its larger size increases the swept area, the total area covered by the rotating blades, so the turbine can capture more energy from available wind. Raising output at lower wind speeds is one of the blade's primary objectives.

The airfoil blend is intended to capture energy more efficiently in light and turbulent winds and to give the turbine better control of output at higher wind speeds. The design is also expected to reduce turbine noise.

Kyiv – October 14, 2026 -- DoGo Power plans to deploy more than 200 smart grid-forming energy storage systems (ESS) across research bases and experimental farms of Ukraine's Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (IH NAAS), one of three cooperation agreements it reached at EcoEnergy Expo 2026.

Ukraine's 2030 storage target drives demand

Ukraine has set an official target of 1.5 to 2 GW of installed energy storage capacity by 2030. The country's agricultural supply chain is increasingly dependent on stable electricity and distributed energy resources, according to the company. That dependence is raising demand for storage integrated with agricultural production and research.

Columbus – October 14, 2026 -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) plans to invest approximately $4 billion in a 702-megawatt fuel cell generation project near Cheyenne, Wyoming, backed by a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google.

AEP controls 92% of the project company, Basalt funds hold nearly 8%

Google will buy power from Cheyenne Fuel Cell, LLC. AEP owns and controls about 92% of the entity, and funds advised by Basalt Infrastructure Partners, LLP hold nearly 8%. AEP and its partners plan to start construction in 2026. The facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2028.

Dallas – October 14, 2026 -- Solidion Technology (NASDAQ: STI) says its PEAK Series uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system can cut UPS footprint by up to 30%, based on company testing, as it targets AI data center operators short on floor space.

PEAK Series uses a proprietary 5500 silicon-carbon anode cell

The PEAK Series is a UPS battery system built for AI data centers around Solidion's proprietary 5500 silicon-carbon anode cell. The company says the design is meant to free floor space that operators could otherwise use for servers and additional computing equipment.

Rising power density in AI facilities is increasing pressure on the systems that keep sites running during grid disruptions, according to the company. UPS batteries occupy space that could hold computing hardware and require periodic replacement.

London – October 14, 2026 -- Price reporting agency Argus has launched the first ticket price assessments for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) used in Germany's road transport sector, giving the emerging renewable hydrogen market a new benchmark.

Assessments cover RFNBO hydrogen, e-methanol and e-methane

The assessments reflect the value of RFNBO hydrogen and of products made from it, including e-methanol and e-methane. These fuels can be used to meet Germany's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction rules.

Germany has introduced a dedicated RFNBO quota for road transport. The quota creates a mandated market for renewable hydrogen and related products and raises demand for transparent, independent price references.

Taipei – – October 14, 2026 -- Moxa has secured prequalification from Saudi Energy, the combined entity of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and National Grid (NG), for three industrial product categories: Ruggedized Industrial Ethernet Switches, Industrial Next-Generation Firewalls and Industrial Computers.

All three Moxa product lines join Saudi Energy's LOTAM supplier list

Saudi Energy has added the three categories to its List of Technically Acceptable Manufacturers (LOTAM). Moxa can now offer an integrated networking and computing package for critical energy infrastructure, including Substation Automation (SA) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The company also says its solutions can support the migration and modernization of legacy substations.

Tianjin – October 14, 2026 -- Researchers at Tianjin University have developed an all-organic mixed-matrix membrane that raised CO2 permeability by an order of magnitude in simulated flue gas tests, a new record, with a preliminary capture cost estimate of about $38 per tonne of CO2.

The study appeared online in Nature Energy on Oct. 7 under the title "All-organic mixed-matrix membranes with single-crystal covalent organic frameworks for carbon capture."

Weak-interaction inlaying targets the filler-polymer compatibility problem

Mixed-matrix membranes pair the processability of polymers with the molecular transport of porous fillers. Development has been limited by compatibility problems between the two components. Porous particles can aggregate or settle within the polymer. Overly strong filler-polymer interactions can restrict polymer movement or block transport pathways.

Oslo – October 14, 2026 -- Nel Hydrogen US, a subsidiary of Nel ASA (OSE: NEL), has received a purchase order worth about USD 12 million from an undisclosed U.S.-based global technology company for multiple containerized PEM electrolyser units and related services.

Order covers MC-series units with delivery estimated in 2027

The order is for Nel's MC-series, a containerized PEM electrolyser platform built for on-site hydrogen production. Delivery is estimated for 2027. The customer's name was not disclosed.

Nel will build the stacks in Wallingford, Connecticut

Production of the stacks will take place at Nel's facility in Wallingford, CT. The company said the containerized format supports faster installation and integration in technology environments where performance, reliability and supplier execution are critical.