Energy, Utilities & Environment

Dallas – September 20, 2026 -- Argent Trust Company, as Trustee of the Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT), declared a cash distribution of $0.019593 per unit, payable September 20, 2026, to unitholders of record September 20, 2026. The payout excludes any proceeds from the Waddell Ranch properties after production costs exceeded gross proceeds in August, extending a continuing excess cost position on those assets.

August Distribution Rises on Lower Trust Expenses

This month's per-unit distribution increased from the prior month primarily due to a decrease in Trust expenses. That gain was partially offset by lower oil and natural gas volumes and weaker oil pricing at the Texas Royalty Properties, even as natural gas pricing improved.

Dallas – September 20, 2026 -- Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE: CRT) declared a cash distribution of $0.064277 per unit, payable September 20, 2026, to unitholders of record as of September 20, 2026.

Texas working interest costs climb by $277,000

Argent Trust Company, acting as Trustee, said XTO Energy reported that excess costs on properties underlying the Texas Working Interest net profits interests rose by $277,000. The increase did not reduce net proceeds from the Trust's remaining conveyances. Cumulative excess costs on the Texas Working Interest net profits interests now total $6,332,000, including $1,762,000 in accrued interest.

Hamilton – September 20, 2026 -- Paratus Energy Services Ltd. confirmed that Petrobras has accepted a bid submitted by its Seagems joint venture for a third-party vessel under the state oil company's ongoing pipe-laying support vessel (PLSV) tender process for contracts starting in 2028.

Petrobras Publishes Partial Tender Results Favoring Seagems Bid

Petrobras has issued partial results from the tender, confirming acceptance of the bid covering the third-party vessel. The award remains subject to a formal Petrobras contract decision and the execution of definitive agreements between the parties.

Boston – September 20, 2026 -- Seventy-eight percent of U.S. utility innovation leaders are now deploying or operationalizing artificial intelligence to manage interconnection demand, as AI data centers strain power grids nationwide, according to National Grid Partners' third annual Utility Innovation Survey.

Grid reliability overtakes net-zero as the industry's top concern

The survey found 74% of respondents say AI-driven data center load growth is already impacting grid reliability. When ranking organizational priorities, 73% of utility leaders placed reliability in their top three, up sharply from 43% in 2025. Net-zero goals, by contrast, fell from 54% to just 16% over the same period.

Munich and Oldenburg, Germany – September 20, 2026 -- Sungrow Deutschland GmbH and be.storaged GmbH have signed a framework agreement to jointly deliver battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with a planned pipeline of 1.6 GWh over the next two years in Germany.

Framework agreement standardizes gigawatt-hour scale storage delivery

The deal extends an existing partnership between the two companies, setting standardized processes, coordinated technical solutions, and early joint planning to accelerate project execution and cut coordination requirements. Dr Magnus Pielke, Managing Director of be.storaged, said the agreement establishes a long-term partnership enabling both firms to standardize BESS projects at gigawatt-hour scale and respond faster to regulatory changes.

Los Angeles – September 20, 2026 -- PolyGone Systems has developed a biomimetic filtration media that captures up to 98% of microplastic particles down to the nanoscale, using a gravity-driven, low-energy process designed to fit into existing municipal and industrial water treatment infrastructure.

PolyGone rejects size-restrictive filtration in favor of material-affinity capture

Rather than relying on mechanical barriers that filter by particle size and are prone to clogging, PolyGone's system uses materials engineered to naturally attract and isolate microscopic plastic fragments. The company states this approach allows treatment operators to remove contaminants without the high energy costs or operational disruption associated with conventional fine-filtration equipment.

NEW YORK – September 20, 2026 -- Mango Power announced that its Mango Power S microinverter system has been certified by Intertek to UL 3700, the standard governing Interactive Plug-In Photovoltaic (PIPV) equipment and systems, adding to its existing UL 1741, IEEE 1547 and California Energy Commission (CEC) credentials.

UL 3700 certification extends Mango Power S into the plug-in solar category

The certification gives homeowners, installers, distributors and industry partners an independently evaluated basis for deploying Mango Power S in plug-in solar projects, an emerging segment that lets customers install defined solar configurations without a traditional sales-led process.

Oakland, Calif. – September 20, 2026 -- California Waste Solutions, founded in 1992 with eight used trucks, now serves more than 343,000 customers across Oakland and San Jose and processes over 717,000 tons of recycling material annually, according to figures cited in the feature documentary "The King of Trash," which returns to Bay Area theaters this month.

Documentary tracks 34-year build from street collection to municipal contracts

Findlay, Ohio – September 20, 2026 -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) will report its third-quarter 2026 financial results via a conference call on Tuesday, September 20, 2026, at 11 a.m. EST.

Marathon Petroleum sets November 3 call to detail Q3 2026 earnings

The Findlay, Ohio-based company will host the call for investors and analysts, with access available through MPC's corporate website. A replay of the webcast will remain available for one month following the event.

Beverly Hills, Calif. – September 20, 2026 -- The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Foundation and MicroNuclear, LLC have signed an agreement to jointly advance the Molten Salt Nuclear Battery (MsNB), a compact 20 MW thermal microreactor designed for resilient power and industrial process heat.

Five-party team assembles engineering and manufacturing expertise for MsNB development

The collaboration pairs INL Foundation and MicroNuclear with EXP, Premier Technology, Inc. and Porter House Inc. to cover detailed engineering, safety and licensing work, prototype manufacturing, first-fission testing and a repeatable deployment model. The group will also document design milestones and support government review and regulatory pathways ahead of demonstration and commercial-scale adoption.