www.teitimes.com

September 2025 • Volume 18 • No 6• Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: enquiries@teitimes.com

US clean energy

future at risk

Easing congestion exibly

With domestic politics and economics

clouded by volatility, the US risks losing

its status as a leading destination for

clean energy nance. Page 14

The port city of Trieste in Italy is

showing how exibility through

digitalisation can help ease network

congestion and cut carbon emissions.

Page 15

News In Brief

EU-US oil and gas deal

dismissed as “pie in the

sky”

A deal under which the EU will

buy $750 billion of US energy has

been deemed unrealistic by indus-

try experts.

Page 2

US hits renewable energy

industry

US President Donald Trump’s at-

tacks on renewable energy have

raised industry concerns that the

US will struggle to meet surging

demand to power the articial intel-

ligence revolution.

Page 4

India renewables additions

hit new heights but offshore

wind struggles

India has added a record amount of

renewable energy capacity this

year, even as its nascent offshore

wind sector continues to struggle.

Page 6

Offshore wind projects hit

barriers

Germany’s most recent offshore

wind auction has failed. Two off-

shore wind sites in the North Sea

with a total capacity of 2.5 GW

were on offer, but not a single off-

shore wind project bid in.

Page 7

High tariffs risk stalling

renewables and raising

energy costs

Rising trade tensions could hamper

clean technologies and increase

costs across the US and Europe

through to 2035, according to a

scenario-based analysis by McK-

insey & Company.

Page 8

Siemens Energy reports

record order backlog

Siemens Energy has reported a re-

cord order backlog of almost €136

billion ($158.6 billion), thanks to

massive electricity demand driven

by new data centres in the US.

Page 9

Fuel Watch

Oman, through its state-owned

green hydrogen company, Hy-

drom, is actively pursuing the cre-

ation of a hydrogen industry that

will establish the Sultanate as a

global hydrogen production, trans-

port and export centre. Page 11

Advertise

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As the Trump administration doubles down on its opposition to renewables, the recent

stop-order for work on the Revolution offshore wind farm has sent a chill wind through the US

wind power sector. Junior Isles

Some renewables players could still gain from US tax bill

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY

TIMES

Final Word

We might yet live to see

the ‘Holy Grail’ in action,

says Junior Isles.

Page 16

US President Donald Trump has

thrown the US offshore wind sector

into disarray with a stop-work order

on the near complete Rhode Island

wind farm.

The $1.5 billion project, which is 80

per cent complete with 45 of the 65

planned turbines already installed,

was due to start operating next year.

The 704 MW wind farm, known as

Revolution Wind was planned to de-

liver enough electricity under 20-year

contracts to customers in Connecticut

and Rhode Island.

The news was met with dismay by

the wind power sector. “This is the

kind of stuff that happens in third-

world countries and instead it’s hap-

pening in what is supposed to be the

bastion of the free market. It’s just

not serious,” said a spokesperson for

the Global Wind Energy Council. “It

has an extremely chilling effect in the

sense that the US is not a safe place

for investment.”

Construction on Revolution Wind

started last year, following the nal

federal approval from The Bureau of

Ocean Energy Management Off-

shore (BOEM). But late last month

BOEM issued the stop-work order,

citing the need “to address concerns

related to the protection of national

security interests”.

It is the second time the Trump ad-

ministration has halted a big US off-

shore wind project that is already in

the construction phase. In April, it

paused and then later approved Equi-

nor’s $5 billion Empire Wind project,

which was at an earlier stage of devel-

opment than Revolution Wind.

Within days of ordering the stop on

Revolution, the White House contin-

ued its assault on the sector with the

announcement that it is working to

revoke permits for US Wind’s $6 bil-

lion, 114-turbine project off Ocean

City, Maryland. BOEM is in the pro-

cess of reconsidering its prior ap-

proval of the project’s Construction

and Operations Plan (COP). Septem-

ber 12 is given as the deadline for

legal ling, and this is the date by

which Federal Defendants intend to

remand and, separately, to vacate

BOEM’s COP approval.

Opponents to the Ocean City proj-

ect have cited concerns about its eco-

logical impacts and potential harm to

the local economy.

ollowing the legal ling cean

City Mayor Rick Meehan said in a

statement: “For the past eight years,

Ocean City has voiced strong opposi-

tion to the proposed US Wind project.

Unfortunately, we believe this project

was fast-tracked and that our serious

concerns have been largely ignored

throughout the review process.

“President Trump’s decision to

move toward revoking US Wind’s

federal permit is a very positive devel-

opment for Ocean City. This action

acknowledges the validity of our ob-

jections and represents a major step in

protecting our community, our coastal

environment, our commercial and rec-

reational shing industries and the

future of Ocean City.”

The Trump administration’s policy

position for new wind power projects

in the country was made clear at the

start of August in a press release ti-

tled: ‘Department of the Interior

Curbs Preferential Treatment for

Wind Energy’.

US Secretary of the Interior Doug

Burgum announced four policy mea-

sures to advance President Trump’s

“commonsense approach to afford-

able, reliable energy development in

America”.

In alignment with President Trump’s

Continued on Page 2

US President Donald Trump’s “one

big, beautiful” tax bill was predicted

to decimate the renewables industry

and is already having a signicant im-

pact, but some of the sector’s major

corporate players believe they still

stand to gain.

Some corporations have reported

that Trump’s agship bill, aimed at

removing the Biden-era incentives

that have seen the industry thrive, has

prompted them to source US-made

gear and lock-in tax credits ahead of

looming deadlines.

At its second-quarter earnings meet-

ing at the end of July, First Solar, the

largest manufacturer of solar panels in

the US, said Trump’s tax bill put it “in

a greater position of strength” due to

a crackdown on Chinese companies.

“In our view, the recent policy and

trade developments have, on bal-

ance, strengthened First Solar’s rela-

tive position in the solar manufactur-

ing industry,” said Mark Widmar,

Chief Executive fcer. “In addi-

tion, we believe that on a fundamen-

tal basis, with its cost-competitive

energy and faster time to power pro-

le, the case for utility-scale solar

generation is compelling regardless

of the policy environment, which

places First Solar, a utility-scale

leader, in a position of strength.”

Under iden’s Ination eduction

Act (IRA), Chinese solar companies

could claim manufacturing tax cred-

its, to the annoyance of their Ameri-

can rivals that accused them of unfair

trade practices. This was addressed

in Trump’s bill, which introduced

“foreign entities of concern” rules

blocking adversarial countries’ com-

panies from claiming credits.

Widmar told the Financial Times:

“These restrictions address one of

the biggest loopholes under the IRA.

It is not unreasonable to expect there

will be limited Chinese solar manu-

facturing in the US in the foreseeable

future.”

Meanwhile, NextEra Energy,

which owns the world’s largest op-

erator of wind and solar projects,

said in late July that it expected to

gain market share from companies

that have projects that are no longer

viable.

“We compete against a lot of really

small developers who don’t have the

balance sheet,” said Chief Executive

John Ketchum. “There might be less

competition from folks that have not

safe harboured.”

Under Trump’s bill, bigger compa-

nies can “safe harbour”, or lock-in

tax credits for planned projects, as

long as they are completed by 2030.

While companies can do so by

spending 5 per cent of the project’s

costs, or starting substantial work by

July 4, 2026, a recent executive order

instructed Treasury secretary Scott

Bessent to tighten these rules to pre-

vent “articial acceleration or ma-

nipulation of eligibility”.

Industry observers say this is likely

to raise costs and competition for

materials, and drive consolidation in

the sector.

Trump halts

US wind

revolution

Photo courtesy of Boston University

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

Junior Isles

A deal under which the EU will buy

$750 billion of US energy has been

deemed unrealistic by industry experts.

The agreement, announced by US

President Donald Trump and Euro-

pean Commission President Ursula

von der Leyen in late July, requires

EU companies to buy $250 billion

worth of US oil, natural gas and nu-

clear technologies for each of the next

three years.

Matt Smith at energy consultancy

Kpler, however, said the numbers

would be impossible to meet. He told

the Financial Times: “Even if Europe

did want to increase its imports, I don’t

know the mechanism by which the EU

goes to these companies and tells them

to buy more US energy.”

The numbers were “pie in the sky”,

he added. “Companies are beholden

to their shareholders and have a duty

to buy the cheapest feedstock.”

Last year, the EU imported more than

$435.7 billion worth of energy – but

US fossil fuel supplies to the bloc ac-

counted for just $75 billion.

Brussels still plans to end purchases

of Russian gas by the end of 2028, in-

cluding LNG, which would open an-

other gap for US exporters. But ana-

lysts say the $250 billion target would

be impossible to meet while ensuring

both the US and Europe’s desire for

cheap, secure energy supplies.

Anne-Sophie Corbeau, an energy

analyst at Columbia University’s

Center on Global Energy Policy, told

the FT: “This [deal] would require

Europe to import a lot more volumes

of gas and oil from the US, diverting

away from other suppliers, while as-

suming oil and gas prices would re-

main high or even increase to reach

the $250 billion target.”

She added: “We want to reduce en-

ergy bills and President Trump wants

to reduce oil prices – so this agreement

makes no sense.”

According to the EU, current import

volumes of US LNG, oil, nuclear fuel

and fuel services in the EU, already

amount to around $90-100 billion per

year. The US is already one of the EU’s

top energy partners and, by far, the

EU’s number one supplier of LNG,

with 55 per cent of the bloc’s LNG sup-

ply coming from the US so far in 2025.

The US is also the EU’s main oil sup-

plier (17 per cent of all EU imports in

2024), and a key supplier of nuclear

fuel and fuel services, with US exports

to the EU worth around €700 million

in 2024.

Following the announcement of the

deal, Venture Global, an US-based

liqueed natural gas N exporter

with multiple European contracts,

said it was moving ahead with a

$15 billion project to produce 28 mil-

lion tonnes of LNG a year – equivalent

to almost half of Germany’s current

gas demand.

Meanwhile, Bill Farren-Price, Head

of gas research at the Oxford Institute

for Energy Studies, said it was hard

to see how the EU could mount a ve-

fold increase in the value of energy

imports from the US while it transi-

tioned to renewables.

“European gas demand is soft and

energy prices are falling. In any case,

it is private companies not states that

contract for energy imports,” he said.

“Like it or not, in Europe the wind-

mills are winning.”

The EU said the trade deal does not

undermine its determination to decar-

bonise within a clear timeframe and

“remains fully committed to achiev-

ing climate-neutrality by 2050 – the

core objective of the European Green

Deal”.

directives, the Department of the

Interior is ending special treatment

for “unreliable” energy sources,

such as wind. This includes evaluat-

ing whether to stop onshore wind

development on some federal lands

and halting future offshore wind

lease sales. The Department will

also study how constructing and

operating wind turbines might af-

fect migratory bird populations.

These changes are part of a broad-

er ‘America First’ energy strategy

focused on affordability, reliability,

and accountability for the American

people. As part of efforts to “support

a stable power grid and elevate local

voices”, the Department says it will

improve consultation with tribes,

local communities, and the shing

industry regarding offshore wind

projects. The latest reforms aim to

ensure that energy development

reects local land-use priorities and

community values.

The policy measures include:

n Stopping Preferential Treatment

for Wind Projects: Secretary’s Or-

der No. 3437, “Ending Preferential

Treatment for Unreliable, Foreign-

Controlled Energy Sources in De-

partment Decision-Making,” di-

rects the Department of the Interior

to end preferential treatment for

unreliable energy sources like wind.

The Order calls for identifying

policies biased in favour of wind

and solar energy and halting support

for energy supply chains controlled

by foreign rivals.

n Restoring Congress’s Mandate to

Consider All Uses of Public Lands

and Waters Equally: The Depart-

ment will consider withdrawing

areas onshore with high potential

for wind energy development to

ensure compliance with legal re-

quirements for multiple use and

sustained yield of public lands. Ad-

ditionally, at the end of the last ad-

ministration, over 3.5 million acres

offshore were designated as Wind

Energy Areas, which are pre-ap-

proved zones where the federal

government could auction leases for

offshore wind development. “By

terminating these Wind Energy Ar-

eas, we are safeguarding our coast-

al environments and local econo-

mies from unchecked development,

while ensuring our power grids are

not underpinned by unreliable, sub-

sidised energy sources,” said the

statement.

n Enhancing Stakeholder Engage-

ment for Offshore Wind Develop-

ment: T h e D e p a r t m e n t w i l l s t r e n g t h -

en its guidance to ensure more

meaningful consultation regarding

offshore wind development, espe-

cially with tribes, the shing indus-

try, and coastal towns.

n Reviewing the Consequences of

Developing Wind Turbines on Mi-

gratory Birds: The Department

will conduct a careful review of

avian mortality rates associated

with the development of wind en-

ergy projects located in migratory

ight paths and determine whether

such impacts qualify as “inciden-

tal” takings of birds under the Mi-

gratory Bird Treaty Act and related

laws.

Continued from Page 1

Global electricity demand is expected

to expand at one of the fastest sustained

paces in over a decade despite ongoing

economic pressures, according to a

new International Energy Agency

(IEA) report, with renewables, natural

gas and nuclear all contributing to meet

the additional demand.

Electricity demand is set to rise by

3.3 per cent in 2025 and 3.7 per cent

in 2026 – more than twice as fast as

total energy demand growth over the

same period, the IEA’s ‘Electricity

id-Year Update’ nds.

The new report underscores the

increasing demand for electricity to

power factories and appliances, keep

buildings cool, operate growing eets

of data centres, run electric vehicles

and more.

While the latest forecasts for global

electricity demand growth this year

and next are a deceleration from the

4.4 per cent surge recorded in 2024,

they remain well above the 2015-

2023 average of 2.6 per cent.

Renewables are expected to over-

take coal as the world’s largest source

of electricity as early as 2025 or by

2026 at the latest, depending on

weather and fuel price trends. At the

same time, nuclear power output is

expected to reach record highs, driven

by reactor restarts in Japan, robust

output in the United States and France,

and new additions, mostly in Asia. The

steady increase in gas red power

generation is set to continue displac-

ing coal and oil in the power sector in

many regions.

As a result of these developments,

carbon dioxide emissions from elec-

tricity generation are currently fore-

cast to plateau in 2025 and record a

slight decline in 2026, although

weather and economic conditions

could affect that trajectory.

“The growth in global electricity de-

mand is set to remain robust through

2026, despite an uncertain economic

backdrop,” said Keisuke Sadamori,

IEA Director of Energy Markets and

Security. “The strong expansion of

renewables and nuclear is steadily re-

shaping electricity markets in many

regions. But this must be matched by

greater investment in grids, storage and

other sources of exibility to ensure

power systems can meet the growing

demand securely and affordably.”

Helion Energy, a startup with $1 bil-

lion in private funding, said it has

commenced construction of its rst

planned power production reactor.

The Washington state-based company

said the site work keeps it on track to

deliver electricity within three years

to Microsoft under a 2023 purchase

agreement, and “one step closer” to

realising the vision behind its unique

fusion energy technology, said David

Kirtley, Helion co-founder and CEO,

in a statement.

Microsoft Chief Sustainability Of-

cer elanie Nakagawa, noting that

“the path to commercial fusion is still

unfolding,” said the company was

proud to support Helion’s pioneering

development.

Helion has not disclosed the full cost

of the project and still needs to obtain

permits from Washington state, ac-

cording to the company. The plant is

expected to produce at least 50 MW

of power.

The announcement highlights the

quickening pace in the race towards a

commercialisation of a technology

that has always been seen as decades

away.

In recent months, governments have

accelerated their programmes to sup-

port the global effort.

The Department of Energy under

former President Joe Biden chose

eight fusion developers to receive

multi-year DOE grants based on their

successful completion of a series of

technology milestones on their way

to commercialisation.

At the end of July, the German gov-

ernment detailed how it intends to

build the world’s rst nuclear fusion

reactor in its “High-Tech Agenda”,

which also sets ambitious targets for

other technologies it considers key for

the energy transition, such as batter-

ies, synthetic fuels, and industrial

carbon capture.

“We intend to establish a hub for

networking activities on magnetic and

laser fusion to set up and expand re-

search infrastructures and technology

demonstrators for a fusion power

plant,” said the agenda.

At the start of August, China an-

nounced that it has entered the nal

assembly phase of a next-generation

fusion reactor called the Burning Plas-

ma Experiment Superconducting

Tokamak (BEST), which is expected

to be operational by 2027. BEST is an

intermediary step between China’s

earlier tokamak project and a much

larger demonstrator called the Chinese

Fusion Engineering Test Reactor.

In mid-July, meanwhile, the UK

government published its response to

the consultation on National Policy

Statement (NPS) EN-8, which was

launched in May 2024 to streamline

the process and provide clarity on the

planning of fusion power plants. In its

response, the government focuses on

enabling the delivery of fusion power

plants, highlighting near-term eco-

nomic opportunity and explicitly rec-

ognising that private companies plan

to deliver commercial fusion plants

within the 2030s.

Headline News

Helion Energy begins site work on US fusion power

plant, with promise to produce electricity in 2028

EU-US oil and gas deal

dismissed as “pie in the sky”

n EU agrees to buy $750 billion of US energy over three years

n Venture Global to move ahead with $15 billion LNG project

Electricity demand will grow robustly through 2026,

says IEA

Burgum’s department is

“ending special treatment for

unreliable energy sources”

Photo by www.pexels.com

Photo by Linkedin

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

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THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

Europe News

Janet Wood

New statistics from the UK govern-

ment show that renewable energy ac-

counted for over half of the UK’s total

electricity generation for the rst time

last year.

Commenting on the data, Renewab-

leUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane

Cooper said: “As today’s record-

breaking gures show, renewables

now account for the majority of our

electricity generation and stand rmly

as the backbone of the UK’s energy

system.

The UK government’s push for clean

power saw a record amount of renew-

able energy granted planning permis-

sion in the second quarter of this year.

More than 16 GW of new renewable

energy capacity spread across 323 proj-

ects was given permission to start

building during the quarter, according

to the Financial Times – up 195 per

cent on the same quarter last year. In

addition, more than 100 planning ap-

plications for battery storage were led

between April and June totalling 8.4

GW – more than twice as much as in

the same quarter last year.

Energy minister Michael Shanks told

the FT that “electricity storage is vital

for us to be able to utilise cheap renew-

able energy when we need it most”.

The gures will be welcomed by the

government, which wants 95 per cent

of Britain’s power generation to be

carbon-free by 2030.

Since taking ofce, ministers have

tried to make planning processes fast-

er and less complicated. New projects

include the Sanquhar II Community

Wind Farm in the south of Scotland,

which was paused in 2023 due to deci-

sions by the previous government but

now has the green light to go ahead.

Rod Wood, Director of CWP Energy,

said: “Onshore wind is one of the

cheapest forms of home-grown elec-

tricity, delivering consumers and busi-

nesses excellent value for money.

We’re delighted that after nearly 10

years of careful planning, ground has

been broken and the construction of

Sanquhar II is now underway.”

The government has also promised

to speed up planning permits for new

transmission lines. The expansion is

needed to use power from Scottish

wind farms, which were paid to curtail

37 per cent of their planned output dur-

ing the rst half of this year, as the

electricity could not be used locally or

moved to where it was needed.

Meanwhile, in the UK FT has re-

ported that the real cost of the new

Sizewell C nuclear power plant, re-

cently given the go-ahead, would be

higher than the government’s estimate

of £38 billion ($51.3 billion) in 2024

prices. It said nancial modelling sug-

gested a gure of - billion over

the period of construction, once debt

interest and payments to shareholders

are factored in.

To reach its offshore wind energy goals

Europe must invest an extra €6.4 bil-

lion in port facilities and new vessels,

according to WindEurope, in addition

to the €4.4 billion that has been in-

vested in port infrastructure over the

past three years.

Currently, Europe has capacity to

install and maintain about 10 GW of

offshore wind annually, enough to

meet its 2030 energy security targets,

but after 2030, this capacity must rise

to at least 15 GW per year, the organisa-

tion says.

The European offshore wind sector

uses around 80 different vessels, which

include specialised vessels for instal-

lation of turbines, foundations, substa-

tions and cables. Other vessels are used

for crew transfers. Over the past three

years, Europe has invested €2.3 billion

in new vessels, but a new generation

of vessels is needed for turbines rated

at 15 MW and above.

Given the strategic importance of

ports for energy security and competi-

tive renewable electricity more invest-

ment is needed to keep Europe on track

with post-2030 offshore deployment,

WindEurope said.

The intervention comes as the Euro-

pean Commission is working on an

EU-wide Ports Strategy, which should

mobilise additional funding, stream-

line permitting and establish EU-level

planning for capacity and deployment.

It should complement the EU’s Mari-

time Industrial Strategy in providing a

clear investment roadmap and stream-

lined processes.

Utility Iberdrola and data centre op-

erator Echelon have created a joint

venture for the development of data

centres in Spain.

Iberdrola will have a 20 per cent stake

in the joint venture through its data-

centre subsidiary CPD4Green, and

will be responsible for identifying and

securing land with connectivity to the

electricity grid where the centres can

be developed. In addition, it will supply

electricity to the centres. Echelon will

hold the remaining 80 per cent and will

manage the joint venture’s permitting,

design, marketing and day-to-day

management.

The joint venture’s rst project will

be Madrid Sur, a 160 000 m

complex

that will offer a processing capacity of

144 MW, which has a 230 MW electric-

ity connection. Madrid Sur, which is

expected to be operational before

2030, will meet up to 1 TWh of its

demand from on-site solar PV.

David Mesonero Molina, Corporate

Development Director of Iberdrola,

said: “This agreement reinforces Iber-

drola’s strategy of facilitating the de-

velopment of data centres, which have

already become a key vector for the

growth in electricity demand.” Iber-

drola said it already sells more than 11

TWh to data centres worldwide. CP-

D4Green has a portfolio of sites total-

ling 700 MW in Spain and it has po-

tential for another 5 GW.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency

has announced that an auction for solar

PV arrays has been oversubscribed.

The auction was for ground-mounted

PV projects and solar installations

other than on buildings. Bids totalling

2820 MW were received for tendered

capacity of 2266 MW.

The announcement comes as indus-

try organisation SolarPower Europe

reported that solar PV growth had

slowed in 2025. On current predic-

tions, the EU is set to install 64.2 GW

in 2025, slightly lower than the 65.1

GW installed in 2024. This follows the

exceptional annual market expansions

in 2022 (up 47 per cent) and 2023 (up

 per cent, and attened growth in

2024 (up 3.3 per cent).

SolarPower Europe said that to meet

the 2030 target PV installation must

speed up again, so that Europe installs

nearly 70 GW per year through the rest

of the decade.

Dries Acke, Deputy Chief Executive

of SolarPower Europe said: “The

number may seem small, but the sym-

bolism is big. Market decline, right

when solar is meant to be accelerating,

deserves EU leaders’ attention.”

The projected downturn of solar in-

stallations is driven primarily by a

declining rooftop segment, particu-

larly home solar. In traditionally

strong residential rooftop solar mar-

kets, like Italy, the Netherlands, Aus-

tria, Belgium, Czechia and Hungary,

households are postponing installa-

tions as the impact of the 2022 energy

crisis wanes.

Janet Wood

Germany’s most recent offshore wind

auction has failed. Two offshore wind

sites in the North Sea with a total capac-

ity of 2.5 GW were on offer, but not a

single offshore wind project bid in.

WindEurope said this was “a clear sig-

nal from the industry: Germany’s off-

shore wind auction design is not t for

purpose”.

The sites in the German North Sea

were centrally predeveloped and had

a combined capacity of 2.5 GW. But

the wind energy organisation said Ger-

many’s current offshore wind auction

relies on negative bidding and does not

offer any revenue stabilisation and ex-

poses bidders to risks that go beyond

their control.

In contrast, most countries in Europe

have introduced Contracts for Differ-

ence (CfDs) as a revenue stabilisation

mechanism, which means lower -

nancing costs and more visibility on

future revenues. Denmark switched its

auction framework to CfDs last year,

after a 3 GW wind tender did not attract

any bids.

“The auction result must be a wake-

up call for the German government.

Negative bidding adds costs that make

offshore wind more expensive and re-

duces the number of companies willing

and able to participate in auctions. It’s

time to amend the auction model so

Germany can deliver on its offshore

wind targets and industrial competi-

tiveness”, said Viktoriya Kerelska,

Director of Advocacy & Messaging at

WindEurope.

Meanwhile, the completion date for

Va tt en f al l a n d C op e nh ag e n I nf r as tr uc -

ture Partners’ offshore wind farm at

IJmuiden Ver Beta site in the Nether-

lands has been pushed from late 2029

to 2032. In addition, the 2 GW offshore

wind project will now be built in two

phases.

Vattenfall and CIP revealed plans for

the project through their Zeevonk joint

venture in June 2024. It was planned

to comprise a 2 GW offshore wind

farm, a  W oating offshore solar

farm and a 1GW electrolyser plant.

The joint venture has indicated that

it is no longer nancially and eco-

nomically feasible to realise the proj-

ect in line with the current permit. The

problem is delays in completion of the

Delta Rhine Corridor, which will be

used to transport hydrogen.

Vattenfall and CIP will now com-

plete the rst  W wind farm in ,

and the second in 2032. The offshore

solar farm will become an innovation

project, by which Zeevonk will com-

plete a 6 MW offshore solar farm by

2028 and will scale it up to 50 MW if

nancially and technically feasible.

The Minister for Climate and Green

Growth, Sophie Hermans, said: “If

these changes had not been made,

Zeevonk would likely no longer have

been able to realise the wind farm”.

Offshore wind projects hit

barriers

Europe’s ports need investment

to serve offshore wind goals, says

WindEurope

Iberdrola to invest in new

data centres in Spain

Home PV slowdown checks solar growth

n German auction fails to attract bidders

n Joint wind, solar, hydrogen project delayed in

the Netherlands

UK attention turns to grid

expansion to use renewables

n Renewables met more than half of demand last year

n Curtailments mean grid expansion is urgent

Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Photo by Jem Sanchez

Photo by Pexels

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

Companies News

Junior Isles

Siemens Energy has reported a record

order backlog of almost €136 billion

($158.6 billion), largely thanks to

massive electricity demand driven by

new data centres in the US.

The German power equipment man-

ufacturer predicted that it would hit

the upper end of its full-year guidance

range, having raised its outlook for

growth to between 13-15 per cent in

April.

“Our businesses delivered another

strong quarter, continuing the solid

performance of this scal year. This

puts us on track to meet the upgraded

guidance issued in the second quarter,

and we are currently trending towards

the upper end of the range,” said Chief

Executive Christian Bruch. “With the

decision to lift the dividend ban fol-

lowing our early exit from the federal

Bund Back Guarantee, we are now

able to pay a dividend to our share-

holders earlier than expected.”

Its gas turbine business saw particu-

larly strong growth, driven by demand

from data centre operators in the US.

“Enormous demand for electricity

for data centres in particular are now

driving very high demand for our

products in the US,” said Bruch. He

noted that 60 per cent of its 14 GW of

gas turbine orders in the year to date

were for data centres.

The strong gures will come as a

relief to the company, which is recov-

ering from a difcult period in 

when it had to turn to the German

government for nancial guarantees

after facing technical problems with

part of its wind turbine portfolio.

The company reported a 13.5 per

cent rise in revenues year on year, to

€9.7 billion, and a net income of €697

million, up from a €102 million loss

in the same quarter of 2024 largely

due to the problems encountered by

its wind turbine division, Siemens

Gamesa.

At €16.6 billion, Siemens Energy

further improved on the record order

intake of both last year and the previ-

ous quarters. Bruch said robust orders

were helping the company to offset

the impact of US tariffs, which added

an extra €100 million in levies in the

three months to the end of June. On a

comparable basis (excluding currency

translation and portfolio effects), or-

ders exceeded the prior year’s gure

by 64.6 per cent.

All business segments contributed

to this growth, especially Siemens

Gamesa with two large offshore or-

ders in the Baltic Sea worth a com-

bined value of €3.3 billion.

Orders at Grid Technologies also

increased substantially due to the

sharp growth in the solutions busi-

ness, complemented by a signicant

increase in the product business. Geo-

graphically, the growth benetted

primarily from strong demand in the

US.

n To address the growing global de-

mand for equipment in electricity

transmission and distribution, Konar

– Power Transformers (KPT), a joint

venture between Konar and Siemens

Energy, is investing in the expansion

of its large power transformer factory

in Jankomir, Zagreb. Construction is

scheduled to begin in 2026.

Ørsted shares tumbled last month after

the world’s largest offshore wind de-

veloper announced plans to raise

DKr60 billion ($9.4 billion) in a rights

issue, as it blamed Donald Trump’s

administration for derailing its busi-

ness model.

The Danish group said it had opted

to raise new funds after “recent mate-

rial developments in the US” scup-

pered efforts to sell a stake in its Sun-

rise Wind project off the New York

coast.

Ørsted relies on selling stakes in proj-

ects to share the nancial burden of

them and to help fund the rest of its

portfolio. The White House’s opposi-

tion towards the offshore wind indus-

try has hit the valuation of projects.

Rasmus Errboe, Chief Executive,

said plans to sell a stake in Sunrise

Wind and raise debt nancing for the

project had been proceeding well until

mid-April, when the Trump adminis-

tration halted work on the Empire

Wind project being developed by Nor-

wegian company Equinor off the coast

of New York. The company has now

also suffered a further blow with the

Trump administration’s recent cancel-

lation of its 80 per cent complete

Revolution project.

While the administration has since

allowed Empire Wind to go ahead, Er-

rboe said the move increased the “per-

ceived risk” of other projects among

investors and banks, making it impos-

sible to sell or nance Sunrise Wind

on favourable terms.

The company is still aiming to raise

about DKr35 billion from selling as-

sets in 2025-26 and has launched a

sales process for its European onshore

wind business.

Errboe told the Financial Times:

“Ørsted and our industry are in an ex-

traordinary situation with the adverse

market development in the US on top

of the past years’ macroeconomic and

supply chain challenges.”

In the face of strong headwinds in

the sector and Trump’s anti-wind

power stance, earlier this year the com-

pany cut its investment plans for the

period to 2030 by 25 per cent and

dropped a target to have 35-38 GW of

renewable energy installed by then.

Hitachi Energy has completed the

acquisition of the remaining stake in

power electronics and control solu-

tions company eks Energy, to enable

it to deliver a scalable, exible, and

complete approach for energy storage

customers. Hitachi Energy acquired

a majority stake in eks Energy in

2023.

The integration of eks Energy’s

technology, talent and enterprising

spirit provides Hitachi Energy with

greater strategic and operational ex-

ibility. It allows the company to

streamline solution integration, fur-

ther expand its power conversion and

energy storage business, and respond

rapidly to evolving customer needs,

said a Hitachi Energy press release.

“As the worldwide market leader in

grid automation solutions, the acqui-

sition of eks Energy strengthens our

leadership position, enabling one of

the industry’s most comprehensive

solution portfolios that combines

proven converter and control technol-

ogy with Hitachi Energy’s global

scale, unparalleled grid expertise, and

digital capabilities,” said Massimo

Danieli, Managing Director of Hita-

chi Energy’s Business Unit Grid Au-

tomation. “The acquisition furthers

our global strategy ensuring continu-

ity for existing customers while un-

locking new opportunities for innova-

tion and growth.”

As energy storage emerges as a cor-

nerstone of grid stability, reliability

and energy security, the International

Energy Agency has called for a six-

fold increase in global storage capac-

ity to 1500 GW by 2030.

Ørsted shares sink as US

epansion backres

Hitachi Energy acquires

remaining stake of eks Energy

Nordex Group pushes ahead

in Q2/2025

Siemens Energy reports record

order backlog

Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems divi-

sion, with its mtu product and solutions

brand, continued its rapid protable

growth in the rst half of this year. Ad-

justed for the sale of the lower power

engine business last year, revenue rose

by 20 per cent to £2 billion, while ad-

justed operating prot increased by 

per cent to £313 million.

rowth drivers for all key gures were

energy supply for data centres and gov-

ernmental business in military and

civil applications.

In addition to signicant orders from

data centre operators, the company

said the economic successes of the

rst half of the year included the larg-

est order to date for the delivery of a

battery energy storage system (BESS)

for a Lithuanian energy supplier.

Dr Joerg Stratmann, CEO Rolls-

Royce Power Systems, said: “Our

strong performance in the rst half of

the year shows that we are on the right

track.

“With a clear strategic focus, high-

quality products and strong innova-

tive capabilities, we are growing prof-

itably and faster than the market – in

a challenging global environment.”

The Nordex Group has reported a

solid business performance for the

second quarter of 2025.

Sales reached around €1.9 billion in

Q2/2025, in line with the previous

year quarter. Gross revenue, including

changes in inventories, rose by 3.1 per

cent to €1.9 billion (Q2/2024: €1.8

billion).

Earnings before interest, taxes, de-

preciation, and amortisation (EBIT-

DA) for the second quarter of 2025

substantially increased by around

64.3 per cent to €108.2 million

(Q2/2024: €65.8 million) with an im-

proved EBITDA margin of 5.8 per

cent (Q2/2024: 3.5 per cent).

“We delivered a strong second quar-

ter, continuing our positive momen-

tum from the beginning of the year.

ur protability levels further im-

proved, and we closed the quarter with

a strong free cash ow, signicantly

up from last year, said José Luis Blan-

co, Chief Executive fcer CE of

the Nordex Group.

“ooking ahead, I am condent for

the remainder of the year. So far, our

order intake momentum remains

strong, reecting consistent customer

demand and conrming our solid

competitive position in our markets.”

He added: “We are well prepared for

the future, and our sustained perfor-

mance we have achieved so far rein-

forces my condence that we will

maintain this positive trajectory and

continue progressing toward our mid-

term margin target.”

In the second quarter of 2025, the

Nordex Group secured 2310 MW of

order intake in the Projects segment

(excluding service business), grow-

ing by 81.7 per cent compared to the

previous year’s gure of  W.

The total value of new orders reached

€2.2 billion (Q2/2024: €1.2 billion)

it said. These were received from nine

countries and span various turbine

variants.

Rolls-Royce Power

Systems sees double-

digit growth

n Record overall backlog of €136 billion

n Strong gas turbine growth driven by US data centre demand

Photo courtesy of Siemens Energy

Photo by nexels

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Energizing the

Future Now

that over 320 proposed solar and wind

projects, with a capacity of over 100

GW, would be economically unviable

with the passing of the Act. This im-

plies at least $110 billion of potential

lost investment, assuming a cost of $1

billion per GW for solar and $1.4

billion for onshore wind – and even

more for offshore.

The impact of the actions in the rst

220 days or so of Trump 2.0 generates

a clearly bleak outlook for clean en-

ergy and climate tech investments in

the country in the medium-term (3 to

5 years). Many of the policies will

create substantial harm for the devel-

opment of the industry as a whole,

including the various supply chains.

The reputational damage may not be

everlasting but is signicant, none-

theless. In addition to the punitive

policies, investors may also feel ner-

vous about political and economic

uncertainty.

On the political front there is uncer-

tainty over the electoral volatility

impact. This includes which party

will have the majority in the House of

Representatives after the mid-term

elections in November 2026. Also,

there is even less clarity with the

presidential election two years later

given that, as of now, Trump is not

allowed to run again.

On the economic front, the mid-

term picture is even more opaque.

The full effect of the new sweeping

tariff regime is uncertain but unlikely

to be positive for the US economy.

There is a growing fear that the

country will soon see stagation

high ination, sluggish or negative

growth economic growth, and rising

unemployment. In early August,

BofA Global Research, a US bank,

surveyed global investors and found

 per cent expected stagation over

the coming 12 months.

Global clean energy developers and

nancial investors, even those head-

quartered in the US, will have to look

for growth in other markets. Two of

the possibilities are Asia and Europe

which broadly offer strong policy

frameworks, investment incentives

and predictable growth.

Asia may be seen by some investors

as a challenging region for invest-

ments in clean energy projects given

it is fragmented due to the large

number of countries, each with differ-

ent regulatory frameworks and

growth drivers. At the same time, the

region is a highly attractive destina-

tion given its size and regulatory

frameworks. The Asia region ac-

counts for almost half of the world

population and over 80 per cent of

energy usage is in developing econo-

mies, offering investors a high growth

upside. In some jurisdictions the regu-

latory frameworks are quite mature,

while in others they are at different

stages of development.

The regulatory landscape has al-

ready vastly improved relative to that

he article ‘US opposition to

clean energy could drive in-

vestment elsewhere’ by Joseph

Jacobelli, published in the April 2025

edition of The Energy Industry Times,

evaluated how US policy changes in

the rst months of the Trump . ad-

ministration were undermining the

country’s clean energy investment

prospects. It found that the newly cre-

ated federal policies had generated

high uncertainty, weakened renew-

able support, and favoured fossil fuel

growth.

The article argued that the develop-

ments made investors uneasy and had

prompted some capital outows as

well as project delays and cancella-

tions. Also, it highlighted that the

macroeconomic environment, with

high interest rates and new tariff re-

gime, further increased risk. The ar-

ticle concluded that while it was still

early to pass nal judgement, policy

instability in the US may divert clean

energy investment towards Europe

and Asia, where policy frameworks

remain favourable. Also, it contended

that the US would now face risk of

long-term reputational damage as a

destination for clean energy capital.

Since the publication of that article,

much evidence has built up that the

landscape is worse than expected for

clean energy and climate tech invest-

ments in the US. This can be measured

by policy announcements and the

ensuing effect on investments.

The Trump administration’s sec-

ond-term policies completely shifted

to fossil fuel prioritisation from

clean energy development, rolling

back incentives and imposing regu-

latory barriers. Exiting global cli-

mate agreements and halting interna-

tional climate nance commitments

are two of the major policy U-turns

on the global scene.

The Administration together with

Congressional Republicans have tak-

en over 200 actions “to unleash” the

US’ “energy potential”, according to

the conservative leaning Institute of

Energy Research. These actions are

strongly in favour of fossil fuels and

against pro-climate policies and clean

energy and climate tech investments.

Importantly, renewable energy incen-

tives have been rolled back, funding

for solar programmes frozen, envi-

ronmental protection deregulated,

and hurdles for wind and solar proj-

ects have been imposed, notes US

law-rm Spencer ane. Signicant

budget cuts were proposed for renew-

able energy research while more fed-

eral lands were opened for develop-

ment, remarks Spencer ane.

The Trump administration-led

changes have had dire effects on the

development of clean energy and

climate tech in the US.

There have been several high prole

cases. Two examples are the Empire

and the Revolution offshore wind

projects. The administration issued a

stop order to the Empire Wind project,

located off the coast of New York, last

April. The stop-work order on the 810

MW, $5 billion Empire Wind project,

including related infrastructure, at the

time 30 per cent complete, lasted a

month and cost Norwegian developer

Equinor roughly $50 million per

week. Revolution Wind, developed

by the world’s biggest offshore wind

farm developer Ørsted, received its

stoppage order in August 2025. The

$1.5 billion 704 MW project located

off Rhode Island, at the time of the

order had all of its permits approved,

and was 80 per cent complete, with 45

out its 65 turbines already installed.

About $18.6 billion in clean energy

projects had been cancelled as of

August 17th, according to the Atlas

Public Policy’s Clean Economy

Tracker compared to just $0.8 billion

in cancellation for the whole of 2024.

Investment announcements fell to

$15.8 billion versus $20.9 billion the

previous year. The Clean Economy

Tracker and E2O uses a different

calculation methodology and puts the

cancellation amount at over $22 bil-

lion for the rst six months of the year

for ‘clean energy projects, including

installations, manufacturing facili-

ties, and more’. The withdrawals also

meant 16 500 job losses. Some of the

tax-credit phase-out related policies

came through the energy provisions

of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of

July . TI consulting estimated

just ve years ago. Some of the focus

markets among investors include

Australia, Japan and South Korea in

terms of developed markets, as well

as the developing markets of India in

South Asia, and Indonesia, the Philip-

pines, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

Research group Zero Carbon Analyt-

ics highlighted that Southeast Asia’s

fast economic growth, rising energy

demand and abundant renewable re-

sources can attract signicant clean

energy investments. The key inves-

tors in these markets have been from

Australia, China, Japan, and South

Korea, and have played critical roles

in nancing clean energy projects.

Europe has also proven to be an at-

tractive destination for capital fo-

cused on clean energy investing.

Some of the region’s attributes in-

clude policy stability, market growth,

as well as demand and incentives. It

is adding substantial amounts of re-

newable energy capacity, possibly as

much as 90 GW in 2025, and the

major utilities in the region, such as

E, Enel, Engie and Iberdrola, have

committed large amounts of capital,

possibly as much as €160 billion in

2025, a 9 per cent year-over-year in-

crease, expects ING, a bank.

Of note, a survey of about 1400 en-

ergy transition investors conducted

by KPMG in 2024 asked respondents

to choose one or two regions they

found most attractive for investments

in the following two years (2025-

2026). At the time (i.e., pre-Trump

2.0), the top three were East Asia,

selected by 43 per cent, North Amer-

ica chosen by 35 per cent and 20 per

cent selecting Southeast Asia.

Giuseppe ‘Joseph’ Jacobelli, head of

single-family ofce Bourne Impact

Capital, brings 30+ years in energy

markets. He champions sustainable

nance through his ‘Asia Climate Fi-

nance Podcast’ and writings like his

upcoming book, ‘Powering the Un-

stoppable Green Shift’.

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

Decarbonisation Series

Trump 2.0 puts US clean

energy future at risk

Photo by Tom Fisk

FTI Consulting estimates over

100 GW of planned utility-scale

solar and wind projects could be

jeopardised by the accelerated

phase-out of US government

incentives

The Trump administration’s second-term policy shift has placed US clean energy investment under severe strain, with

incentives rolled back, projects halted, and regulatory uncertainty deterring capital. Billions in projects have already

been cancelled, and billions in investment are at risk. By contrast, Europe and Asia present increasingly attractive

alternatives, offering policy stability, growing markets and stronger incentives. With domestic politics and economics

clouded by olatility the  riss losing its status as a leading destination or clean energy nance. Joseph Jacobelli

Jacobelli: Global clean energy

deeloers and nancial

investors, even those

headquartered in the US, will have

to look for growth elsewhere

onstrained grid capacity is a

global issue, with a clear de-

mand for new power trans-

mission and distribution grids. But

the challenge of building much

needed network kilometres at the

necessary pace to facilitate the ener-

gy transition means that grid opera-

tors must seek other solutions.

Here, digitalisation has an impor-

tant role to play.

The launch of a recent project be-

tween Italian distribution system

operator (DSO) AcegasApsAmga

(Acegas) and Siemens Smart Infra-

structure is a good example of how

digitalisation can help.

In June the two companies an-

nounced that Acegas will leverage

Siemens’ Gridscale X to build a

digital twin of Trieste’s energy grid.

Acegas will use Siemens’ software

to develop a digital twin of its me-

dium- and low-voltage grid to pro-

actively manage congestion chal-

lenges arising from the growing

integration of distributed energy re-

sources (DERs), and the substantial

energy demands of the city’s port

operations.

Acegas, part of the Hera Group, is

the leading multi-utility in the

Northeast where it operates in envi-

ronmental and water services, and

the distribution of gas and electrici-

ty. Its electrical grid in Trieste is

characterised by many different

voltage levels: 2, 6, 10, 20, 27.5 kV.

While some might view these var-

ious voltage levels as “a problem, in

terms of standardisation”, Paolo

Manià, Head of Operations at Ace-

gas, noted: “These have turned out

to be a great opportunity now that

we have a lot of requests in power

because the 27.5 kV voltage level is

going to be very interesting.”

The city of Trieste – a port city

that currently handles over 70 mil-

lion tons of cargo annually – re-

cently expressed a need for more

than 150 MW to electrify its many

piers and quays.

These requests for what is known

as cold ironing – enabling electrical

power to be supplied from the

shore to a ship while it is berthed in

port – will allow ships to shut down

auxiliary engines and reduce emis-

sions. There were also various re-

quests for electric bus charging sta-

tions as well as for all-electric

housing, i.e. houses that no longer

use gas.

This prompted Acegas, with the

help of several universities, to un-

dertake a study of the load ows in

its grids.

The rst port examined was olo

Bersaglieri pier. The pier initially

requested 8 MW to accommodate

cruise ships.

“It would allow cruise ships to

switch off their diesel engines and

use our energy – this has a great

benet in relation to pollution lev-

els; so we were enthusiastic to

study this case. There were 10 oth-

ers, but this was the rst,” said

Manià.

While studying how to upgrade its

27.5 kV grid, Acegas examined

whether it could provide the re-

quested 8 MW.

“The answer was yes,” said

Manià. “But immediately after, the

pier decided it wanted 10 MW [in-

stead]. So, we carried out other

studies; and again the answer was

yes. But when they then asked for

12 MW, because there are two big

ships, we said this wasn’t possible;

and the additional 2 MW was not

available in the city.”

It was at this point that Acegas de-

cided to explore the possibilities

that exibility within the system

could offer. Flexibility is considered

a good solution in this case, as it de-

lays the need for immediate grid re-

construction. By grouping low-volt-

age exible sources, Acegas can

essentially address medium-voltage

on the grid.

“It could work very well in this

case because we had a bus charging

station that we could ask to reduce

their consumption for a limited

number of hours during the year,”

said Manià. “But when you start to

look at exibility, the rst thing you

need is to know your network very

well. You need to make real-time

calculations in the grid.”

Siemens secured the contract to

carry out these real-time calcula-

tions and eventually used the oppor-

tunity to introduce its Gridscale X

technology to Acegas.

Launched in early 2024, following

about three years of development,

Gridscale X is a modular software

that allows easier, faster digital

transformation for grid operators,

and at scale. The platform offers

powerful capabilities designed to

bring transparency into the low-

voltage network. By utilising data

from smart meters, the solution pro-

actively detects outages, visualises

grid congestion, and delivers ac-

tionable insights through advanced

analytics.

The rst two software modules to

be included were Gridscale X DER

Insights and Gridscale X Network

Model Manager to enable power

utilities to gain visibility over their

grid and create a centralised net-

work model. DER Insights enables

utilities to protect critical infrastruc-

ture by gaining better insights into

what is happening behind the meter,

and how these resources impact

grid equipment. Meanwhile, the

Network Model Manager enables

supervision and control in real-time.

The module is a network model

management app and data reposito-

ry that supports operators with more

efcient grid planning, develop-

ment, and operations.

Now the exibility manager mod-

ule has been released. Maurizio

Bigoloni, Head of Solutions, Grid

Software in Siemens Italy, said:

“The complexity of grid operation

is growing; the vision of Gridscale

X is towards autonomous grids. A

grid operator has to manage much

more information today compared

to 20 years ago; this makes the grid

much more difcult to manage. In

the future we see a system that will

be able to provide the way to auton-

omous grid management. The sys-

tem has already compiled the func-

tionality so we can guide the

operator in a conventional scenario,

and in the future we will move step-

by-step towards completely autono-

mous grid management.”

By simulating grid conditions, the

software can proactively identify

congestion points and calculate the

energy required to address them,

ensuring a stable and reliable grid

while accelerating the Trieste Mu-

nicipality’s electrication and de-

carbonisation programmes.

The system for Trieste presents a

digital view of the grid and the rst

functionality to be included is real-

time calculations. Every 24 hours

the system will forecast potential

current and voltages violations, tak-

ing into account historical data as

well as weather forecasts.

This calls for a combination of the

needs of the port – the electrical

loads caused by the ship – with oth-

er factors that can have an impact,

for example production from PV in-

stallations or charging of EV buses

in the bus station.

“The system will display potential

problems that could occur in the

next 24 hours, so that the operator

can dene the problem and the

area,” said Bigoloni. The system

can oom into a specic substation,

showing for example the curve for

the current over the coming 24-hour

period. “You can see the current go

over the expected limit during cer-

tain hours of the day, highlighting

potential problems for the grid,”

noted Bigoloni.

The system can also suggest pos-

sible solutions to the operator – a

type of “co-pilot functionality” –

where it can identify available exi-

ble resources and a range of exi-

bility responses to compensate for

the current or voltage violations.

“In this phase, the exibility op-

tions will be presented to the opera-

tor, who has the option to either ac-

cept it or modify. But the plan for

the future is that all these processes

can be automated,” said Bigoloni. “

That future may not be far away.

In January 2026 the EU is planning

to realise a legal framework for

exibility.

Manià explained: “Today, there

are pilot projects; [but] there is no

consolidated or uniform legal

framework.”

Bigoloni added: “From a techni-

cal point of view, we are ready;

there is no impediment to techni-

cally implementing complete auto-

mation. But we need to understand

the regulatory framework. We also

need experience, so that’s the idea

of this project.”

He also noted that informing own-

ers of the exible resources when

those resources will be needed, will

enable them to plan accordingly.

“The bus station owner, for exam-

ple can plan to charge vehicles

when exibility is not requested,”

said Bigoloni. “It’s the same with

buildings, they can see for example,

when they can shut down certain

systems such as hot water heating.

We have to see things as an inte-

grated environment.”

Acegas’ considerations are based

on load ows that simulate ships

docked on the pier. As ships dock

and connect to the Acegas electrical

grid, the DSO will be able to see

how accurate its simulations are.

The company believes they will be

very accurate since it has simulated

two years of load ows with the

Polytechnic of Milan.

Carlo Andriolo, CEO of Acegas

concluded: “Working together with

Siemens, we aim to gain critical

visibility over the grid to proactive-

ly identify potential congestion

points and calculate the energy

needed to mitigate issues. Using

Gridscale X, we can do this in an

efcient and reliable manner, en-

suring there are no disruptions to

Trieste’s port operations.”

The port city of

Trieste in Italy

is showing how

exibility through

digitalisation can

help ease network

congestion and cut

carbon emissions.

Junior Isles reports.

Easing congestion exibly

in Trieste

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

echnology ocus

AcegasApsAmga is

leveraging Siemens’ digital

twin technology to siulate

onitor and anage energy

ows in realtie hrough

ridscale  it will essentially

gain critical isibility oer the

grid

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2025

Final Word

uclear fusion; seen by many as

the “Holy Grail” of our future

electricity supply, the technol-

ogy is nally reaching a point that

warrants some serious sit-up and lis-

ten time.

At the end of July Helion Energy, a

startup with $1 billion in private fund-

ing, announced it has started construc-

tion of its rst planned power produc-

tion reactor, with the goal of delivering

electricity to Microsoft within three

years. The timeframe may well turn

out to be ridiculous – especially when

considering the challenges that remain

 but as new and signicant develop-

ments mount up, perhaps for the rst

time there is a genuine feeling that

things are nally going somewhere.

Nuclear fusion is a process that re-

leases an immense amount of energy

from fusing deuterium and tritium –

isotopes of hydrogen found in seawa-

ter and lithium – to offer a virtually

limitless supply of clean energy.

In the fth edition of its lobal u-

sion Industry report, the usion Indus-

try Alliance IA states that that 

of 45 companies that responded in its

annual survey hope to be operating a

commercially viable pilot plant be-

tween  and . Notably, ve

companies are targeting commercial

readiness before  while another

ve expect to reach that stage later,

between  and .

“These pilot plant timelines mark a

signicant step toward commercial

plants that will deliver power to

customers, with  companies ex-

pecting to connect to the grid between

 and , and only a handful

projecting delivery beyond 2040,”

said the report.

But talk is cheap, even if the money

needed is not. In its report, for the rst

time the IA asked the  companies

that took part, how much more invest-

ment each of them would need to

bring their rst pilot plants online.

Noting that “the answers varied

widely, as would be expected from an

industry with diverse technological

approaches and progression along

pathways”, the median respondent

reported needing $700 million more

to bring their rst plants online.

When answers were combined, the

total capital required to bring every

surveyed company to commercialisa-

tion is above $77 billion – eight times

more than has been committed to the

industry to date.

The IA is also under no illusions

regarding the perhaps more signi-

cant technical challenges that remain.

“Although timing projections are

clear, the survey also highlights that

there is a great deal of work to come,”

it stated in the report. “While the

obvious challenge of achieving suf-

cient fusion power gain is at the top,

other technical concerns include fuel

cycle sufciency and developing

neutron-resilient materials, along

with resolving engineering questions

unique to fusion.”

Mimicking the energy generation of

stars, the most common fusion reactor

technology requires extreme pressure

and temperatures of 100 million de-

grees Celsius or more to fuse isotopes

of hydrogen together within a plasma

contained by powerful magnetic

elds.

Another strategy is ignition fusion,

achieved by striking tiny fuel pellets

with ultra high-energy laser beams.

The technique was demonstrated by

the Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory in 2022. Helion plans to

use superheated fuel to produce fast-

pulsed reactions that rhythmically

change the surrounding magnetic

eld, directly generating electricity.

This would eliminate the need to

contain and convert fusion heat into

the much lower temperatures needed

to heat steam to drive turbines in the

conventional power plant island.

Helion completed construction of its

Polaris reactor prototype at the end of

2024 and hopes to demonstrate elec-

tricity from fusion from that reactor as

soon as this year. The next phase is the

Orion reactor, which is under con-

struction along the Columbia River in

Washington state. It plans to deliver

power into the Pacic Northwest grid

at its location in 2028.

Professor Mike Campbell at the

University of California, San Diego,

is hopeful but sceptical of the timeline.

“They have done nice work. They have

good people,” he said. “I wish them

well, but I’ll be happily surprised if

they are able to do it by then.”

As the IA stresses, achieving net

fusion power gain remains a huge

challenge  a point echoed by experts

following the Helion announcement.

While noting that he is also sceptical

of the ambitious timeline, Brian Wirth,

a Professor at University of Tennessee,

Knoxville, said it is unclear that Helion

has consistently demonstrated greater

energy output than input.

Others noted that although these are

exciting developments, companies are

still decades away from being able to

economically scale and produce the

same amount of power as a conven-

tional nuclear or natural gas plant at a

reasonable competitive price without

government support.

Nevertheless, this is an exciting

time for fusion. And the last few

months show that we may indeed be

at an inection point.

Although most of the news has

come out of the US where there is

most corporate activity, governments

elsewhere have also recently made

signicant announcements.

At the end of July, the German

government eshed out how it intends

to build the world’s rst nuclear fusion

reactor. Under its “High-Tech Agen-

da”. The government said that this

year it will present a strategic, long-

term usion Action Plan’ for the path

to a fusion power plant in the country.

The action plan is to be followed by

a “usion Energy esearch and In-

novation oadmap IE” by the

end of , which will identify the

required technologies for the plant.

The European Commission is also

currently working on an EU fusion

strategy in consultation with leading

fusion experts, industry, and other

fusion stakeholders, which aims to

pave the way for “economically viable

fusion power plants connected to a

grid”. Publication is planned for the

fourth quarter of the year.

Meanwhile at the start of last month

China said it has entered the nal as-

sembly phase of a next-generation

fusion reactor called the Burning

Plasma Experiment Superconducting

Tokamak EST, which is expected

to be operational by 2027.

According to state media and the

South China Morning Post, BEST is

an intermediary step between China’s

earlier tokamak project and a much

larger demonstrator called the Chinese

usion Engineering Test eactor.

“We have fully mastered the core

technologies, both scientically and

technically”, chief engineer Song

Yu nt ao to ld th e Post.

These recent developments demon-

strate that the possibility of a com-

mercial fusion power plant in the

medium term is increasingly being

taken seriously.

ooking at the last ve years of its

surveys, the IA says a few trends

stand out: capital is increasing, with

funding growing even in years where

the global economy tightened; and

public-private partnerships are ex-

panding, especially in the US, UK,

Germany, Japan, and China, where

governments are engaging with in-

dustry to share risk and accelerate

commercialisation.

Importantly, the IA also said that

companies are maturing, moving from

prototypes and small teams to address-

ing engineering and manufacturing

challenges, integrating system devel-

opment, and starting to site rst plants

and strike deals with early power

customers.

As the report noted, fusion energy

development is now making that

transition from the laboratory into a

serious race to be among the rst with

a commercially valid technology.

This would explain the inrush of

private investor support from very

high-wealth individuals and funds.

Some $9.77 billion has been raised to

date, almost $9 billion of which has

come from the private sector. And with

more than . billion of the total

being raised in this year alone, it is

clear that investors are becoming in-

creasingly convinced that commer-

cialisation can be achieved in the not

too distant future.

usion has always been one technol-

ogy where commercialisation has al-

ways been 50 years away. I have been

covering the power sector for more

than  years and never thought I

would hear talk of commercialisation

within a - year timeframe  let

alone be half convinced by it. Maybe

we will live long enough to see the

fusion dream become reality after all.

Maybe we will live long

enough…

Junior Isles

Cartoon by Jem Soar