Chart of the Week
Homegrown wind and solar help shield the UK from volatile gas markets
To date, wind and solar have supplied more than >40% of the UK’s electricity demand, helping the country avoid £5.9 billion in gas imports, equivalent to more than 100 LNG cargoes. As gas prices climbed to their highest levels since the 2022 energy crisis, homegrown renewables reduced reliance on gas-fired power and helped insulate the UK from global fuel market volatility. [Carbon Brief]
Energy Transition
Antora Energy announced a 5.8GWh thermal energy storage project at a Kansas biorefinery that will store electricity as heat in solid carbon blocks at temperatures up to 2,400°C. The system can retain energy for several days, allowing the facility to maintain continuous operations using off-peak or renewable electricity instead of fossil-fuel-based industrial heat. [Energy Storage News]
Scatec and EDF Power Solutions started construction of the 900MW Shadwan onshore wind project in Egypt, a major renewable energy development projected to avoid 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The project is expected to generate around 4TWh of electricity each year, expanding Egypt’s renewable power capacity. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Qair’s two hybrid solar-and-storage projects near N'Djamena, Chad, will combine 30MWp of solar capacity with 8MW/8MWh of battery storage under a power purchase agreement with national utility Tchadelec. Qair secured €37.9 million in financing for the projects, which are expected to supply electricity equivalent to the needs of roughly 260,000 people. [Energy News Network]
Green Mobility & Sustainable Fuels
Electric trucks are on pace to account for nearly one-third of heavy-duty truck sales in China this year, helping drive a projected 10% decline in the country’s diesel consumption and reducing exposure to global oil price shocks. Rising diesel prices, lower operating costs, and government support are accelerating fleet electrification, with China now accounting for more than 90% of global electric truck sales. [Bloomberg (Subscription)]
Rio de Janeiro announced Brazil’s first public-private partnership (PPP) for electric buses, a ~$98 million program to deploy 175 battery-electric buses and build a charging depot in Maré. The 16-year PPP includes ~$63.5 million from the Climate Fund of Brazil’s national development bank, with service scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027. [Energy Metal News]
Plug Power signed a 280MW electrolyzer supply agreement for Arcadia eFuels’ Project ENDOR in Denmark, a planned e-SAF facility expected to produce about 110 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per day. The companies also agreed to collaborate on four additional projects across Europe and the Americas representing more than 1GW of potential electrolyzer capacity. [Yahoo Finance]
Sustainable Materials & Products
Rio Tinto and Chinese steelmaker Shougang commissioned an industrial-scale carbon-capture facility at Shougang's Jingtang steelworks in Hebei province that can capture up to 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from blast-furnace gas. The facility can process up to 3,000 cubic meters of blast-furnace gas per hour, and the partners are currently exploring ways to convert the captured CO2 into syngas for reuse in steelmaking. [Reuters]
Ecocem and Saint-Gobain’s Chryso unveiled a low-carbon concrete solution based on Ecocem’s ACT (Advanced Cement Technology), which can cut cement emissions by up to 70%. Combined with a newly developed admixture, the technology can produce concrete with more than 50% lower embodied carbon while maintaining durability and ease of use. [Ecocem]
Gerdau Corsa opened a new scrap-processing facility in Mexico capable of handling more than 60,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap annually, expanding the recycled feedstock available for steel production. The 25,000-square-meter facility supports Gerdau’s scrap-based steelmaking operations, which already consume more than 1 million tonnes of scrap each year. [GMK Center]
Notable Corporate Commitments
Amazon signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Constellation for 690MW from the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. The agreement enables more than $3 billion of investment in the plant and supports a 20-year extension of its operating license. [World Nuclear News]
J.P. Morgan Natural Capital, Paraguay’s Office of the President, and Grupo Robinson launched a ~$200 million sustainable forestry platform focused on commercial timber production, native forest restoration, and carbon credits in Paraguay. The initiative aims to expand domestic timber processing and manufacturing, creating higher-value wood products for local and export markets while supporting reforestation efforts. [ESG Today]
Global Climate Commitments and Progress
India’s Union Cabinet approved Phase III of the Green Energy Corridor scheme, a ~$22 billion program that will build intra-state transmission infrastructure and deploy 50GWh of battery storage. The network is designed to integrate and transport power from up to 135GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032-33. [The Economic Times]
Denmark's government agreed to add ~$820 million in operating support for the Hydrogen Backbone 1 pipeline from Esbjerg to the German border, raising total state support to ~$2.4 billion. The agreement eases capacity-booking and guarantee requirements to support development of the hydrogen export corridor between Denmark and Germany. [Renewables Now]
Multimedia Insights
This episode of Bloomberg’s Zero (Subscription) podcast features host Akshat Rathi in conversation with Tonny Xie, chairman of the Bluetech Clean Air Alliance, about China’s climate-tech startup ecosystem. The roughly 35-minute discussion offers a view of commercialization and the competitive landscape in a country that files nearly half of the world’s new patents each year, much of it in clean technology, according to the show notes.
This episode of Wood Mackenzie’s Energy Gang podcast, recorded live at Climate Week NYC, examines whether energy security, affordability, and net zero can still advance together. Host Ed Crooks is joined by Damilola Ogunbiyi of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Kayte O’Neill of the UK’s National Energy System Operator (NESO), and David Calabrese of Daikin US. Ogunbiyi argues that energy access and the transition must move together, noting that nearly 600 million people lack electricity and 2.4 billion lack clean cooking.
Climate Events
Renewable Energy India Expo 2026
Dates: October 22-24, 2026
Location: India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, India
Preview: The expo, which includes the Energy Storage Summit India, will cover solar, storage, green hydrogen, e-mobility, and bioenergy for developers, utilities, investors, and policymakers.
Singapore International Energy Week 2026
Dates: October 26-30, 2026
Location: Singapore
Preview: Organized by Singapore’s Energy Market Authority, the week includes the SIEW Summit, the Asia Clean Energy Summit, Future of the Grid, and the Singapore-IEA and Singapore-IRENA forums for policymakers, energy executives, and investors.
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