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September 2026 • Volume 19 • 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

Chain reaction Decarbonisation Series

Nuclear energy is back on Europe’s agenda,

and this time the political momentum is real.

Page 13

The Asia Pacic region’s energy transition

depends on its grids, but building them has

proven highly challenging.

Page 14

News In Brief

Industry welcomes change

to Germany’s offshore wind

sector

The wind industry has welcomed

the German government’s draft law

reform of the Offshore Wind Ener-

gy Act, which maintains the coun-

try’s target of expanding offshore

wind capacity to at least 70 GW by

2045.

Page 2

US sees clean power rise

despite administration’s

opposition

Clean energy additions in the USA

will rise by a record 45 GW this year,

according to S&P Global Energy.

The increase is some 25 per cent

higher than the record set in 2024.

Page 4

Taiwan demonstrates

commitment to renewables

Taiwan has underlined its commit-

ment to increase renewables gener-

ating capacity, especially wind, with

the unveiling of a new roadmap for

offshore wind power.

Page 5

Battery records broken as

co-location becomes

‘standard’

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

has claimed the largest operating

battery in Europe as it announced

the start of commercial operation of

the Coalburn 1 battery in Scotland.

Page 7

Türkiye to launch rst

offshore wind tender in Q1

2027

Türkiye will launch its rst offshore

wind tender in the rst quarter of

2027, in line with its goal to install

5 GW of offshore wind capacity by

2035.

Page 8

Technology Review

Solar photovoltaic energy is becom-

ing a key pillar in Europe’s energy

transition. But the sector is now

entering a fundamentally different

phase. The challenge is no longer

simply building more photovoltaic

capacity, it is about operating what

already exists, efciently, intelli-

gently, and at scale. Page 15

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Electricity demand is continuing to grow at pace, with renewables meeting much of the new

demand. But the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to drive up electricity prices,

prompting some countries, mostly in Asia, to switch from gas to coal and consequently

increase carbon emissions. Junior Isles

Nuclear and nance sectors unite to triple nuclear

capacity by 2050

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY

TIMES

Final Word

Europe’s Electrication Action

Plan sounds promising. Now the

hard work begins, says

Junior Isles.

Page 16

Global electricity demand is set to grow

at a faster pace this year than last – even

as power systems worldwide contend

with energy market turmoil and vola-

tile prices, according to an Internation-

al Energy Agency (IEA) report.

The IEA’s latest ‘Electricity Mid-

Year Update’ forecasts that global

electricity demand will grow by 3.6

per cent in 2026 and by a further 3.8

per cent in 2027 – up from 3 per cent

growth in 2025. Global electricity

consumption is projected to reach 30

700 TWh in 2027, compared with 28

600 TWh in 2025.

According to the report, disruptions

to liqueed natural gas (LNG) ows

through the Strait of Hormuz have

tested electricity markets around the

world, driving natural gas prices in

Asia and Europe to their highest lev-

els since the 2022-23 energy crisis

and prompting emergency measures

to curb energy use in some regions.

Power systems have for the most part

weathered the impacts of the crisis so

far, with additional LNG supplies –

particularly from North America –

helping to ease market tightness.

Nevertheless, spikes in gas prices

have prompted fuel switching from

natural gas to cheaper coal in several

Asian and European countries. Global

coal red generation is expected to

increase by 1.4 per cent in 2026, after

remaining roughly constant in 2025.

Consequently, global carbon diox-

ide (CO

) emissions from electricity

generation are expected to rise by 1

per cent in 2026, with large regional

disparities, the agency wrote. South-

east Asia is expected to see its emis-

sions grow by 6 per cent, while the

European Union should record a 5

per cent decline.

Rising power generation from re-

newable sources, however, has con-

tributed to the diversication of power

supplies in many countries, support-

ing energy security and helping cush-

ion the impacts of the shock.

Renewables are on track to become

the world’s largest source of electrici-

ty generation in 2026, overtaking coal

after reaching near parity in 2025. Re-

newable generation is set to grow by

more than 8 per cent in 2026, and it is

poised to increase its share of global

electricity generation from 33 per cent

in 2025 to 37 per cent by 2027, said

the IEA.

In a separate report from the Interna-

tional Renewable Energy Agency

Continued on Page 2

Meeting global demand for nuclear

energy will require annual investment

to rise to more than $250 billion per

year, representing a cumulative in-

vestment opportunity of approxi-

mately $6 trillion to 2050, according

to new analysis released by World

Nuclear Association.

This level of investment is consis-

tent with the ambition to at least triple

global nuclear capacity by 2050,

while enabling nuclear energy to sup-

port growing electricity demand and

strengthen energy security and decar-

bonisation efforts worldwide.

Achieving industrial scale world-

wide, rather than in just a few exist-

ing markets, will require signicant

investment from private, as well as

public sources of nance, with capi-

tal owing not only to new generat-

ing capacity but also to the nuclear

fuel cycle needed to deliver it at

scale.

The ndings form part of the ‘Road-

map to Mainstream Finance: The Path

to Scale Nuclear Energy’, the rst

module of the inaugural World Nucle-

ar Investment Guide. The roadmap

sets out the opportunity for a variety

of institutional investors across both

equity and debt structures, as well as

six implementation steps to move nu-

clear from bespoke, government-led

nancing towards a mainstream ener-

gy infrastructure asset class.

The roadmap calls on the nancial

community to help establish the six

conditions needed to make nuclear a

mainstream asset class: institutional

support, business standardisation, pr-

iceable risk and reward, market remu-

neration frameworks, supply chain

capacity and maturity transformation

mechanisms. These conditions are

achievable. Similar journeys to indus-

trial scale have been made in offshore

wind, liqueed natural gas and other

capital-intensive energy infrastruc-

ture sectors when industry, govern-

ment and nance aligned around

common frameworks and investable

models.

Speaking about the new guide, Dr

Sama Bilbao y León, Director Gener-

al of World Nuclear Association, said:

“The challenge is not a shortage of

capital. The challenge is creating the

condence, capability and investment

architecture that allow capital to ow

to nuclear projects at scale.

“The World Nuclear Investment

Guide gives nancial institutions the

tools, frameworks and expertise they

need to assess nuclear projects with

the same condence they bring to oth-

er major infrastructure investments.”

Bilbao y León argued the sums

were not excessive when set against

spending elsewhere in the energy

system. The International Energy

Agency expects about $665 billion to

be invested in renewable power

globally this year, while spending on

oil, gas and coal is forecast to reach

$1.2 trillion.

Today, nuclear energy provides

around 9 per cent of the world’s elec-

tricity from 400 GWe nuclear capaci-

ty in 31 countries. Nuclear provides

over 20 per cent of the world’s

low-carbon electricity and is the larg-

est source of low-carbon power in

OECD countries.

The ‘World Nuclear Outlook Re-

port’ projects that global nuclear ca-

pacity could reach 1446 GWe by

2050, exceeding the 1200 GW target

set in the Declaration to Triple Nucle-

ar Energy, if government targets are

met. This assessment includes plans

for continued and extended operation

of existing reactors, completion of

those under construction, and realisa-

tion of planned and proposed projects,

alongside national capacity targets.

Electricity demand growth

adjusting to recent shocks,

says IEA

Photo by Abdelrahman Ahmed

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Junior Isles

The wind industry has welcomed the

German government’s draft law re-

form for the Offshore Wind Energy

Act, which maintains the country’s

target of expanding offshore wind

capacity to at least 70 GW by 2045.

Last month, Germany’s Federal

Ministry for Economic Affairs and

Energy (BMWE) opened consulta-

tion on a draft amendment to the Wind

Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG), pro-

posing changes to its offshore wind

tender system, including bilateral

Contracts for Difference (CfDs) and

a longer standard operating period for

new wind farms.

The proposed changes come after a

2.5 GW tender for the N-10.1 and

N-10.2 sites attracted no bids in August

2025, and the government subsequent-

ly postponed the next tender for the

two sites to 2027. The draft legislation

proposes annual tenders ranging from

2 GW to 4.8 GW, the introduction of

two-way CfDs and a standard operat-

ing time of 35 years – as opposed to 25

years – while retaining the 2045 target.

The bill settles a period of uncertain-

ty in the sector after Economy Minister

Katherina Reiche said Germany “re-

quires changes to offshore wind power

capacities” following the publication

of a government report assessing the

energy transition.

The Federal Association of Offshore

Wind Energy (BWO) welcomed the

key elements of the draft but called

for further improvements to tender

design.

“Offshore wind farms are multi-bil-

lion-euro projects with long imple-

mentation times,” said Stefan Thimm,

Managing Director of BWO. “The

tender design must therefore make

risks manageable – not reward those

who are willing to take the greatest

risks.”

The BWO reiterated its call for the

introduction of a legal mechanism for

the voluntary return and rapid reten-

dering of offshore wind energy sites to

limit non-implementation cases early

on to avoid years of delay caused large-

ly by slow grid connections.

“When multi-billion-euro projects

remain in limbo for years and ultimate-

ly are not built, we lose valuable time,”

Thimm told Clean Energy Wire. “An

orderly conclusion followed by a rap-

id re-tender is better than a disorderly

failure after years.”

The BWO also welcomed the inclu-

sion of bilateral CfDs in the draft, but

said the proposed mechanism should

be available as part of the tender design

rather than being a “fallback option”,

only activated if a project fails to attract

a developer willing to proceed without

price hedging.

The organisation criticised the draft

for not including a mechanism allow-

ing projects awarded in the 2023-2025

tender rounds to be returned to the

government and re-tendered.

The association proposed such a

mechanism in May, arguing that proj-

ects which are no longer economical-

ly viable could otherwise remain tied

up for years and prevent the use of

their grid connection capacity and

offshore areas.

(IRENA), renewable energy gener-

ation around the world grew by

nearly 10 per cent, putting the pro-

portion of global electricity gener-

ation from renewable sources at

nearly one-third (32 per cent).

Both reports note that solar power

continues to lead growth in electric-

ity supply worldwide. Solar PV

generation is set to expand strongly

over the next two years, said the

IEA, overtaking wind power in

2026 to become the world’s sec-

ond-largest source of renewable

electricity generation after hydro-

power. Solar PV’s global electricity

output is forecast to increase by

around 600 TWh in 2026, matching

the record annual growth achieved

in 2025, with similarly robust ex-

pansion expected in 2027.

The world’s largest economies

are set to see strong rises in elec-

tricity consumption. In China, de-

mand growth is expected to accel-

erate to 5.5 per cent in 2026, pushed

higher by manufacturing activity

and expanding electric vehicle

charging. In India, demand growth

is forecast to rebound strongly to 7

per cent following weather-related

weakness in 2025. Among ad-

vanced economies, growth remains

robust at close to 2 per cent in the

US and in the European Union. By

contrast, sharply higher fuel costs

and supply disruptions are weigh-

ing on electricity consumption in

more price-sensitive LNG-import-

ing markets in Asia, including Pa-

kistan and Bangladesh.

The IEA’s mid-year update pre-

dicts China’s demand growth is

expected to accelerate to 5.5 per cent

in 2026, driven higher by manufac-

turing activity and expanding elec-

tric vehicle charging. In India, de-

mand growth is forecast to rebound

strongly to 7 per cent following

weather-related weakness in 2025.

Among advanced economies,

growth remains robust at close to 2

per cent in the US and the EU. By

contrast, sharply higher fuel costs

and supply disruptions are weighing

on electricity consumption in more

price-sensitive LNG-importing

markets in Asia, including Pakistan

and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the LNG price shock

resulting from Hormuz disruptions

has also translated into higher

wholesale electricity prices in mar-

kets where LNG plays a central role,

the update revealed. Average spot

electricity prices in the EU and Ja-

pan increased by more than 30 per

cent year-on-year during the second

quarter of 2026. By contrast, whole-

sale prices in the US remained

broadly stable and those in India

rose by less than 10 per cent during

the same period.

The report nds that as renewable

generation expands globally, nega-

tive wholesale electricity prices are

becoming more common in some

markets. These occurrences broad-

ly signal insufcient exibility in

the system due to technical, regula-

tory or contractual reasons. At the

same time, wider price swings

throughout the day are increasing

the importance of exibility, includ-

ing battery storage and demand

response, for maintaining reliable,

efcient electricity systems.

Continued from Page 1

NRECA (National Rural Electric Co-

operative Association), the national

service organisation that represents

America’s electric cooperatives, and

leaders of large generation and trans-

mission co-ops are calling for the re-

peal of an important greenhouse gas

rule.

Last month, the electric cooperatives

continued urging the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) to fully re-

peal a 2024 rule regulating greenhouse

gas emissions from power plants, say-

ing it would inict on electric afford-

ability and reliability as demand

climbs.

The existing law from the Biden ad-

ministration restricts operations at

existing coal red plants and new nat-

ural gas facilities unless they install

carbon capture and sequestration

(CCS) technology, which co-op lead-

ers say is not commercially available

or technically feasible.

The 2024 rule “puts utilities in an

untenable position where they invest

signicant dollars into new power

plants that they are then restricted from

running at full capacity,” NRECA

CEO Jim Matheson said during an

August 19 media teleconference.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

The Trump administration issued a

proposal in June 2025 to roll-back the

requirements but has yet to nalise it.

Matheson urged the agency to nalise

a complete repeal of the 2024 rule im-

mediately. “We need a full and com-

plete repeal,” he said.

Under the Biden rule, if new com-

bined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants

do not install CCS by 2032, they would

be forced to shut down. According to

NRECA, between now and 2032, new

CCGT must meet emissions limits that

cannot be achieved by the majority of

new plants, which means they will be

limited to running at 40 per cent of their

potential output. Simple cycle plants

similarly must meet emissions limits

that cannot be achieved by most new

units or be limited to running 20 per

cent of the time, it added.

Consequently, the rule could force

the construction of duplicative gas

plants to equal the output of a single

plant that is allowed to run near full

capacity, co-ops say.

Generation and transmission co-op

leaders on the teleconference pointed

to projects already under develop-

ment, emphasizing that the rule in-

creases costs and complicates long-

term planning just as demand rises

from residential and industrial growth

and new data centres.

The North American Electric Reli-

ability Corp., the nation’s grid watch-

dog, predicted the US will need around

200 GW of additional power within

seven years, equal to the demand of

about 200 San Franciscos.

Recognising the central role of exi-

bility in the EU’s recent Electrication

Action Plan sends an important signal

to investors in technologies such as

battery storage and hydrogen, say en-

ergy storage lobby groups.

Welcoming the plan, published in

July, Energy Storage Europe (ESE)

noted the 200 GW storage objective

under the Tripartite Agreement for En-

ergy Storage and the stronger recogni-

tion of thermal energy storage, and

long-duration energy storage. It also

said the announcement of sector-spe-

cic electrication roadmaps, the con-

rmation of phasing out of fossil-fuel

subsidies, and the planned conference

on Energy Storage are all initiatives

“that acknowledge that exibility and

storage will be indispensable to Eu-

rope’s electrication journey”.

The European Commission’s (EC)

proposed Plan aims to double the EU’s

electrication rate to 46 per cent by

2040, up from today’s 23 per cent.

ESE stressed, however, the need to

translate these “positive signals into

concrete deployment measures”.

It said: “While sector-specic road-

maps are a good way to address the

needs of individual industries, energy

storage is different: it is a cross-cutting

enabling infrastructure underpinning

electrication across buildings, trans-

port, industry and grid. As the Com-

mission develops these roadmaps, ESE

encourages it to complement them with

a European Energy Storage Deploy-

ment Roadmap, bringing together the

targeted regulatory, market and invest-

ment actions needed to accelerate stor-

age deployment in line with Europe’s

electrication ambitions.”

Meanwhile, Hydrogen Europe said

the proposal carries important impli-

cations for hydrogen. It noted that the

EC commits to a revision of the EU

Hydrogen Strategy in 2026/2027 to

reect its role to bring a lot more ex-

ibility into a renewables-dominated

system.

Daniel Fraile, Chief Market & Reg-

ulation Ofcer at Hydrogen Europe,

said: “Europe’s Electrication Action

Plan rightly recognises that moving

away from fossil fuel dependency is

the route to competitiveness, security

of supply and lower energy prices. Hy-

drogen and power-to-X are part of that

story, not an afterthought. Grid-con-

nected electrolysis is both an electric

consumer and enabler of electrication

through exibility and long-duration

energy storage.”

Headline News

EU Electrication Action Plan recognises need

for more exibility

Industry welcomes change

to Germany’s offshore wind

sector

n Bill maintains 70 GW by 2045 target

n Government proposes annual tenders ranging from 2 GW to 4.8 GW

US co-ops push EPA for full repeal of “untenable”

power plant rule

Photo by Pankaj Mishra

Hormuz disruptions are feeding

through to electricity prices

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

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THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Asia News

Syed Ali

Taiwan has underlined its commitment

to increase renewables generating ca-

pacity, especially wind, with the un-

veiling of a new roadmap for offshore

wind power.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs’

(MOEA) outlined new ambitious plans

for the country in late July with the goal

of increasing its offshore wind capac-

ity eight-fold by 2039.

The government aims to increase

offshore wind capacity to 18.3-19.9

GW by 2035 and 24.7-27.9 GW by

2039. This is a signicant increase on

Taiwan’s current installed capacity,

which last year was estimated to be

around 3.4 GW.

Offshore wind specialists Yong Neng

Chan at law rm Pinsent Masons said

the new plans provide “an important

signal that Taiwan’s offshore wind re-

mains central to its long-term energy

security and decarbonisation strategy

despite recent market challenges”.

Writing in the rm’s Outlaw, he said:

“Taiwan’s latest roadmap is less about

announcing new ambitions than

demonstrating that the government

remains committed to offshore wind

despite rising costs, nancing chal-

lenges and increasing competition for

capital globally.”

The new plan comes amid warnings

that a potential lull in Taiwan’s offshore

wind development from 2031 to 2033

could disrupt investment and erode the

marine engineering capacity built up

over the past decade.

CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering Co

Ltd (CDWE) Chairman Robert Tseng

told an energy transition forum in Tai-

pei last month that there could be a “gap

in 2031, 2032 and 2033, and we should

not allow it to last that long”.

“The government should launch the

next round quickly so that developers,

suppliers and engineering companies

can keep moving forward,” he said.

Energy Administration Direc-

tor-General Wu Chih-wei also noted

that the government has long-term

plans for offshore wind power, point-

ing out that Taiwan ranks fth world-

wide in total installed offshore wind

capacity. He added that renewable

energy differs from traditional energy

projects because private companies

now play the leading role, while the

government focuses on improving reg-

ulations and helping businesses devel-

op viable models.

Wu also noted that Taiwan has the

potential to develop up to 20 GW of

solar photovoltaic capacity. Taiwan

aims to maximise renewable energy

development and expand solar capac-

ity beyond the current 16 GW.

Green electricity has become import-

ant to industrial competitiveness as

articial intelligence (AI) data centres

expand, Wu said. He said Taiwan not

only supplies infrastructure for AI data

centres but also needs to build its own

AI infrastructure.

n Ørsted is developing a new offshore

wind project with a potential capacity

of up to 2 GW in Taiwan, with the

development now entering the envi-

ronmental assessment process. The

Dadu II project, which would cover

approximately 234.6 km

of sea area

off Changhua County, is being pro-

posed with individual turbines in the

14 MW to 22 MW range and a total

installed capacity of no more than

2002 MW. The nal turbine number

and conguration have not yet been

determined.

China has given the go-ahead for the

construction of eight new nuclear re-

actors, accelerating its push for

next-generation clean energy.

With a pledge to construct and op-

erate the units according to the world’s

highest safety standards, the move

underscores the nation’s commitment

to achieving its ambitious climate tar-

gets – peaking carbon emissions be-

fore 2030 and achieving carbon neu-

trality before 2060.

Six of the new reactors will employ

the domestically designed Hualong

One, China’s third-generation nuclear

power technology.

The approvals came as Unit 2 of the

Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant in

South China’s Guangdong province

ofcially began generating electricity,

marking the full completion and op-

eration of Phase I of the rst Hualong

One nuclear plant in the Guang-

dong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay

Area.

The timing of the approvals carries

immense strategic weight, according

to some industry observers. As the

inaugural batch of the 15th Five-Year

Plan (2026-30) period, these projects

set a denitive tone for China’s ener-

gy blueprint during the most critical

window for its climate commitments.

Li Jinkai, a distinguished Professor

at the School of Economics at the Bei-

jing Institute of Technology, said the

15th Five-Year Plan period represents

“the decisive sprint” toward China’s

goal of peaking carbon emissions be-

fore 2030.

“As a clean and stable baseload pow-

er source, the approval and construc-

tion of these new projects signal that

China’s nuclear power construction

has rmly entered a stage of large-

scale, batched and normalised devel-

opment,” Li said.

According to the National Energy

Administration, the country’s nuclear

power generation reached approxi-

mately 467 TWh in 2025, drastically

cutting standard coal use and reducing

carbon dioxide emissions.

In its latest Five-Year Plan China

also highlighted the importance of

hydropower in achieving its emis-

sions targets.

Over the next half-decade, the coun-

try expects to see approximately 100

GW of new pumped-storage capacity

become operational, with an average

annual rollout exceeding 20 GW, plac-

ing the industry at a record level, ac-

cording to experts.

“Pumped-storage is to play an in-

creasingly irreplaceable strategic role

in expanding the scale and quality of

new energy, ensuring the safe and sta-

ble operation of the power system,

said Zhao Zenghai, Deputy Head of

the China Renewable Energy Engi-

neering Institute.

Taiwan demonstrates commitment

to renewables

Nuclear milestones

underline China’s

clean energy push

Taiwan is demonstrating its commitment to renewables, and in particular offshore wind, with the announcement of a

new roadmap for the sector.

Photo by Kindel Media

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With electricity demand rising rapidly

to help the country achieve its dou-

ble-digit growth target, under the re-

vised Eighth Power Development

Plan, Vietnam aims to have 22 LNG-

red power projects built and put into

operation between 2025 and 2035, of

which 15 projects with a combined

capacity of 22 524 MW are scheduled

to enter commercial operation by 2030.

Deputy Minister of Industry and

Trade Trương Thanh Hoài said the

government is reviewing and updat-

ing Power Development Plan VIII to

address rapidly rising electricity de-

mand and delays affecting several

large energy projects.

Associate Professor Trần Đình

Thiên, former Director of the Vietnam

Institute of Economics, said LNG has

emerged as an optimal solution to rap-

idly growing electricity demand while

restructuring the energy mix towards

cleaner sources.

Thiên said LNG-red power is ex-

pected to account for up to 12.3 per

cent of Vietnam’s projected genera-

tion capacity by 2030, highlighting

the challenge of rapidly expanding

power supply while signicantly re-

structuring the generation mix.

But industry ofcials and experts

said the biggest challenge was moving

projects from planning to nancial

close and construction.

Bùi Quốc Hùng, Deputy Director of

the Electricity Authority of Vietnam

under the Ministry of Industry and

Trade, said LNG power is a strategic

transitional source as the country’s

electricity demand rises and the pow-

er system requires greater reliability

and exibility. The technology itself

is relatively mature, but the econom-

ics of projects remain more difcult,

he said.

LNG is imported, leaving fuel costs

exposed to international prices, trans-

port costs, exchange-rate movements

and geopolitical developments, while

power projects require large upfront

investment and long-term nancing.

Hùng identied key issues in devel-

oping LNG power plants, including

creating stable power purchase and

dispatch mechanisms, developing

synchronised LNG infrastructure,

coordinating power plants with grid

development, strengthening investor

accountability and ensuring LNG

development does not delay the

broader energy transition.

It is critical to review all LNG proj-

ects to classify them based on their

readiness investment procedures,

land, infrastructure, gas supply, -

nancing and grid connections.

The comments came as construction

kicked off on the $1.2 billion An Khánh

Bắc Giang Thermal Power Plant in the

northern province of Bắc Ninh. The

plant is expected to be completed and

commence commercial power gener-

ation in June 2029. Once operational,

the 650 MW station is projected to

supply an average of approximately 3.9

TWh of electricity annually to the

northern and national power grids,

helping to meet rising load demands.

n Construction has ofcially started

on the 450 MW Dầu Tiếng 5 solar

power plant in Dương Minh Châu

Commune, in the southern province

of Tây Ninh. The project is currently

the largest solar power plant by in-

stalled capacity in the province and is

expected to help strengthen national

energy security while supporting the

country’s transition to a greener and

more sustainable energy system.

State-owned electricity company PT

PLN (Persero) will bundle hydropow-

er procurement projects totalling 7046

MW to accelerate implementation of

Indonesia’s 2025-2034 Electricity

Supply Business Plan (RUPTL).

PLN Director of Project Manage-

ment and New and Renewable Energy

Suroso Isnandar said the bundled pro-

curement scheme was designed to

address bottlenecks in hydropower

project procurement.

“To accelerate the procurement pro-

cess and overcome existing bottle-

necks, we have designed a bundled

procurement scheme,” Suroso said at

the Indonesia Hydropower Summit

2026 in Jakarta.

Under the 2025-2034 RUPTL, In-

donesia plans to develop 11 689.99

MW of hydropower and mini-hydro-

power capacity through 315 projects.

The government also said it is set to

launch tenders for 30 GW of solar

power projects, kicking off President

Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious plan to

build 100 GW of additional solar ca-

pacity pledged in various events, in-

cluding his recent state budget speech.

Energy and Mineral Resources Min-

ister Bahlil Lahadalia said during an

industry event in Jakarta: “We have

discussed this rst phase with Pak

Darmawan Prasodjo, President Direc-

tor of state electricity company PLN.

We will begin the tender process

now.”

The government says its solar plan

could save up to $4.14 billion annual-

ly in the cost of electricity production.

Indonesia moves to accelerate renewable capacity additions

Vietnam must tackle bottlenecks in nancing

gas plants to stay ahead of electricity demand

Vietnam must tackle bottlenecks related to nance, market and infrastructure to turn plans for nearly 23 GW of

liqueed natural gas (LNG) power capacity by 2030 into operational projects, say industry experts. Syed Ali

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Asia News

As geopolitical tensions reshape global energy markets, supply chains remain vulnerable,

and energy demand surges — driven in part by rapid digitalisation and the growth of data

centres — Asia faces a defining challenge: how to secure reliable, low-carbon, and scalable

energy for the future. Nuclear energy is once again at the forefront of this conversation.

Into its 10

year, APNE26 in Macau will bring together government leaders, utilities, technology

innovators, financiers, and industrial energy users to explore how nuclear power — alongside

emerging technologies — can deliver energy security, resilience, and decarbonisation at

scale.

Positioned at the heart of the Greater Bay Area (GBS), APNE26 provides a unique platform to

foster dialogue, investment and collaboration across borders.

Securing Asia’s Energy Future Starts Here.

As global uncertainty reshapes energy markets, Asia faces a critical challenge:

• Ensuring reliable, scalable, and low-carbon power

• Managing rising demand from AI and data centres

• Strengthening supply chains and energy independence

Nuclear energy is back at the centre of the conversation.

Join us in Macau this November as we explore why nuclear power

must be central to every nation’s energy strategy.

For more details visit: https://stratcomsevents.com/apne26/

To register: https://stratcomsevents.com/apne26/regform.html

For enquiries, email: customerservice@stratcomsevents.com

Media Partners:

Supported by: Community Partner: Endorsed by:

Securing Asia Pacic’s Energy Future in an Age of Uncertainty: Nuclear,

Advanced Technologies, Investment & Regional Collaboration

Asia Pacic Nuclear Energy 2026

Macau | 5-6 November 2026

APNE26

September 29-30, 2026

uala Lumpur, Malaysia

ENERGY TECH SUMMIT

SIA 2026

A S IA N E D I T I O N O F E U R O P E ’ S # 1 E V E N T I N C L I M A T E T E C H

I N NO V A T I O N A N D I N V E S T M E N T

Among attendees:

Supported by:

Everllence has signed an agreement

with a US data centre to deliver 24 ×

18V51/60G gas engines. With a total

output of 480 MW, they will power a

hyperscale data centre operating com-

pletely off-grid.

The engines will run on natural gas

and meet required, strict emission

standards thanks to SCR and oxida-

tion catalysts. The modular setup

with 24 individual units will ensure

exibility and allow for rapid capaci-

ty expansion as the project’s energy

demand grows.

In the US, data centre operators

typically wait several years for a grid

connection. Everllence’s medium-

speed engines enable the customer to

immediately establish a power sys-

tem for the project site that is sepa-

rate from the grid.

Engine delivery is scheduled in

two phases, starting mid-2026 with

commissioning aligned to the data

centre’s expansion.

Ansaldo Energia has signed a contract

with Pacico Energy for the supply of

eight AE64.3A gas turbines, together

with the associated generators, for a

strategic power generation project

supporting a major data centre infra-

structure in Texas.

The agreement represents a signi-

cant milestone for Ansaldo Energia,

marking the company’s return to the

US new-build power generation

market after more than 30 years. The

rst deliveries are scheduled to begin

in 2027.

The Nordex Group has secured three

new orders in the US with a combined

capacity of more than 480 MW. The

contracts comprise the supply of 81

N163/5.X wind turbines. The names

of the customers and of the projects

were not disclosed.

US-based developer Pacico Energy

Korea has been selected as the sole

developer of the 2.13 GW Jindo Off-

shore Wind Integrated Cluster Phase

2 in South Korea. The cluster will

comprise Pacico’s Manho and Jindo

Baram offshore wind projects.

The two projects form the second

and third phases of Pacico Energy

Korea’s 3.2 GW Jindo Offshore

Wind Project Cluster.

The government-designated cluster

is located off the coast of Jindo

County in Jeonnam-Gwangju Spe-

cial Metropolitan City. The regional

government is the implementing in-

stitution for the development.

GE Vernova has been chosen by Quin-

brook for the third stage of the Super-

node Battery Energy Storage System

(BESS) project in Queensland.

Under the contract, GE Vernova

will provide power conversion, con-

trol and integration technologies

across all three stages of one of Aus-

tralia’s largest battery energy storage

developments.

Supernode is a large-scale battery

storage development located at a

key point in Queensland’s electricity

network. The batteries act as a buffer

for the power system, storing elec-

tricity when supply is high and re-

turning it to the grid when demand

increases or renewable generation

changes. This helps maintain a reli-

able electricity supply while en-

abling more renewable energy to be

integrated into the network.

Stages 1 and 2, which use GE Ver-

nova technology, are now in full op-

eration and are among the largest op-

erational battery energy storage

facilities in Australia’s National

Electricity Market. Stage 3 will add

a further 260 MW and 1216 MWh of

four-hour storage, bringing the full

Supernode development to 780 MW

and 3075 MWh at a single site.

ABB has been selected by ENGIE

Australia to modernise the Pelican

Point power station distributed control

system infrastructure.

Pelican Point is a combined cycle

gas turbine (CCGT) plant featuring

two gas turbines and one steam tur-

bine, generating a maximum capaci-

ty of 532 MW of electricity. Located

on the Lefere Peninsula it is a critical

infrastructure asset supplying elec-

tricity to South Australia, including

the city of Adelaide.

ABB will modernise the facility’s

Advant controllers to the latest AC

800M controller for one of the gas

turbines and the steam turbine to en-

hance the automation technology,

strengthen cyber security and im-

prove real-time monitoring.

Arenko has been selected to deploy

its Nimbus optimisation, asset man-

agement and trading platform at Ørst-

ed’s 300 MW/600 MWh Iceni battery

energy storage project, co-located

with the 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 offshore

wind farm in the UK. Iceni is the

world’s rst utility-scale battery di-

rectly integrated into offshore trans-

mission infrastructure.

Rather than securing a standalone

grid connection, the project will

share transmission assets and an on-

shore grid connection with Hornsea

3 and is scheduled to become opera-

tional in Q1 2027.

As one of the UK’s rst large-scale

‘pathnder’ co-location projects un-

der the Offshore Transmission Net-

work Review (OTNR), Iceni is de-

signed to improve coordination

between generation and storage as-

sets and maximise the efcient use

of existing grid infrastructure.

Iceni has been described by Ørsted

and the market as a ‘blueprint for the

future’ of co-located energy infra-

structure. As a Path Finder project it

is demonstrating how shared grid

connections between offshore wind

and battery storage can increase out-

put, improve system efciency and

reduce the need for additional net-

work build-out.

ABB has been selected by Statkraft

AS to upgrade the Vikfalli hydropow-

er complex in Vik municipality, 170

km northeast of Bergen on Norway’s

west coast. The order was booked in

the second quarter of 2026. Financial

details were not disclosed.

The contract covers the complete

modernisation of the control, protec-

tion, excitation and electrical infra-

structure, extending the life of assets.

The Vikfalli project comprises

three power stations – Målset (24

MW), Refsdal (92 MW) and Hove

(68 MW) – with a total of ve gener-

ating units. ABB’s project scope in-

cludes installation of the ABB Ability

System 800xA distributed control

system and monitoring platform,

which will be integrated with exist-

ing third-party turbine systems to

provide a unied operational envi-

ronment across the complex.

The contract covers complete mod-

ernisation and will deploy UNITROL

8000 excitation systems for all ve

generating units, advanced cyber se-

curity, low and medium voltage elec-

trical systems, vibration monitoring

and protection, digital solutions, ca-

ble supply and installation.

Hitachi Energy and Larsen & Toubro

(L&T) have received the award of Ned-

erwiek3 and LanWin5, the third and

fourth projects under their previously

announced multi-year Framework

Agreement with TenneT.

Nederwiek3 will connect to an on-

shore converter station in the munici-

pality of Geertruidenberg in the

South of the Netherlands, while Lan-

Win5 will deliver clean power from

the North Sea to Lower Saxony in

Germany. Together, the two links

will bring 4 GW of clean electricity

to the grid. Hitachi Energy and L&T

are already collaborating to deliver

Nederwiek1 and IJmuiden Ver Alpha.

The projects are designed as part of

the broader evolution toward an in-

creasingly interconnected European

grid, with future interconnections al-

ready embedded in their design. A

key target is the integration of Neder-

wiek3 to the British grid through the

LionLink interconnector, currently

under development.

Worley has been selected as the pre-

ferred Engineering, Procurement, and

Construction (EPC) contractor for the

planned new Connah’s Quay Low Car-

bon Power (CQLCP) project in Dee-

side, UK.

This is the next step in the potential

development of CQLCP, which, if

consented and developed, would be

constructed on land next to Uniper’s

existing power station. A DCO con-

sent application was submitted in Au-

gust 2025 with the decision expected

in the coming months.

The proposed new gas red power

station would connect into nearby

transport and storage infrastruc-

ture as part of the HyNet industrial

cluster, enabling the captured CO

be transported to permanent offshore

storage facilities in repurposed de-

pleted offshore gas elds. The rst

phase of the project could be opera-

tional from 2030.

Danish construction company Per

Aarsleff A/S has secured a design-and-

build contract by Energinet for the

onshore infrastructure of Denmark’s

Bornholm Energy Island project. The

Island will connect future offshore

wind farms in the Baltic Sea to the

Danish and German electricity grids.

The contract, valued at DKK3.7

billion (€495 million), covers the

construction of facilities at two sites.

The largest facility will be built in

southern Bornholm, where electricity

from offshore wind farms will be col-

lected before being transmitted to

Germany and to Høje Taastrup on

Zealand, where the second facility

will be located to support the connec-

tion of the energy island infrastruc-

ture to the Danish grid.

The design phase is scheduled to

begin on August 1, 2026, with earth-

works and concrete works expected

to start at the end of 2027/beginning

of 2028. The land facilities are

planned for handover in 2030 and

2031, respectively.

Va tt enf al l h a s b ee n s el ec te d a s t h e w i n-

ning bidder to develop the Nordsøen

Midt (North Sea I Mid) and Hesselø

offshore wind farms in Denmark’s lat-

est tender.

The two projects are scheduled to

be fully operational by 2032 and will

have a combined capacity of at least

1.8 GW.

Va tt enf al l su bm it t ed t he lo we st b i ds

in both tenders, offering a Contract

for Difference (CfD) strike price of

DKK504 (€67.60) per MWh for

North Sea I Mid and DKK542

(€72.70) per MWh for Hesselø. The

awarded price will be guaranteed for

20 years from the commissioning of

each offshore wind farm.

Intelligent Globe Construction (IGC),

the engineering and construction arm

of Intelligent Group, has signed a part-

nership agreement with the Ministry of

Electricity and Renewable Energy,

represented by the Egyptian Electrici-

ty Transmission Company (EETC), to

implement a new 500 kV overhead

power transmission line.

The project covers the engineering,

procurement, installation, testing and

commissioning of Lot 2 of the 500

kV transmission line extending from

the Orascom Substation to El Ha-

wamdeya Substation.

The turnkey project is designed to

transmit electricity generated by

wind energy projects in the Gulf of

Suez to Egypt’s national electricity

grid.

The Nordex Group has received a new

order in Türkiye from Türkerler Hold-

ing for a total capacity of around 525

MW. The contract covers the supply

and installation of 72 N175/6.X tur-

bines and also includes a 10-year Pre-

mium Service agreement with an ex-

tension possibility up to 25 years.

The order is for the YEKA-5 R25

Sivas wind project in Sivas, where 72

units from the Delta4000 series will

be installed with 108 m hub height.

Installation of the rst turbine is

scheduled to start in the third quarter

of 2027. Thanks to good and consis-

tent wind conditions, the site offers

ideal conditions for the N175/6.X.

Doosan Enerbility has signed a con-

tract to build a combined cycle gas

turbine (CCGT) power plant in Mis-

fah, Oman, with a consortium led by

Qatar’s Nebras Power. The deal is

worth approximately Won930 billion

($670 million).

Doosan Enerbility will also directly

manufacture and supply the plant’s

core equipment, including the steam

turbine and generator. For the proj-

ect, Doosan Enerbility formed a con-

sortium with SEPCO-3, a power

plant construction specialist, to carry

out engineering, procurement and

construction.

The 1700 MW plant is targeted for

completion in April 2029. Once built,

it is expected to help meet electricity

demand and strengthen power supply

stability in the region.

Americas

Asia-Pacic

Everllence to power US

off-grid data centre

Nordex Group secures

over 480 MW of US orders

Arenko software selected

for BESS-wind project

ABB to modernise

Norwegian hydro plants

Aarsleff to build Bornholm

onshore facilities

Preferred EPC contractor

named for Connah’s Quay

Hitachi Energy and L&T

accelerate grid expansion

Vattenfall wins tender for

Danish offshore wind sites

IGC to build 500 kV line

in Egypt

Nordex Group secures

major order in Türkiye

Doosan Enerbility to build

CCGT plant in Oman

Developer selected for

Jindo offshore wind cluster

GE Vernova chosen for

Queensland BESS

ABB to modernise Pelican

Point control system

Ansaldo GTs for Texas

data centre

International

Europe

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Tenders, Bids & Contracts

uclear energy is back on Eu-

rope’s agenda, and this time,

the political momentum is

real. Facing volatile energy mar-

kets, mounting pressure to decarbo-

nise and a renewed focus on energy

independence, governments across

the continent are reversing long-

standing positions and turning to

nuclear power as a strategic priority.

This shift in sentiment is playing

out at speed due to the current geo-

political climate. Belgium, Switzer-

land and Italy have announced

plans to reverse historic bans, while

Finland and Sweden are pursuing

an ambitious nuclear power strate-

gy. The UK, meanwhile, is stream-

lining regulation to accelerate nu-

clear projects. What was, until

recently, a politically toxic energy

source is now being treated as es-

sential infrastructure.

The current policy sea change is

opening a signicant investment

runway. The European Commis-

sion’s (EC) 2026 Nuclear Illustra-

tive Programme – also known as

PINC – whose objective is “to pro-

vide an up-to-date, comprehensive,

fact-based overview of nuclear de-

velopment trends and a scope of the

investment needs across the EU”,

projects a need for $280 billion in

investments in large reactors by

2050 to deliver the bloc’s nuclear

ambitions. PINC also species that

the installed capacity of small mod-

ular reactors (SMRs) should range

from 17 GWe to 53 GWe by 2050,

corresponding to between 60 and

350 units depending on average unit

sizes of 100 to 400 MW.

At the Nuclear Energy Summit in

March, the EC also announced a

€200 million ($233 million) guaran-

tee fund to support private sector

investment in the development of

SMRs.

Data and key transactions

M&A activity in Europe’s nuclear

energy sector reached a seven-year

high in 2025. According to Merger-

market, a total of 25 transactions

were announced over the course of

the year, up from 17 in 2024, with

deal value coming in at $1.5 billion

(excluding the UK’s Sizewell C

deal). Already, 2026 is looking sim-

ilarly strong.

Deal volume is following a compa-

rable trajectory to 2025, with ten

deals announced by June 8. But the

market has recorded a remarkable

spike in deal value, with those ten

totalling $3 billion, already dou-

bling 2025’s full-year output and

eclipsing all annual totals for the

last several years.

Several key investments set the

tone over the past year. These include

the $475 million merger between

US-listed blank check company

GSR III Acquisition Corp and nu-

clear startup Terra Innovatum, an It-

aly-based developer of micro-mod-

ular reactors (MMRs). The deal

aims to support the rollout of the

SOLO MMR, a clean energy solu-

tion for data centres, mini-grids,

large-scale industrial operations and

off-grid sites. Once the deal is com-

pleted, the nuclear startup will list

on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Another notable deal, outside the

scope of Mergermarket’s M&A

stats, involved the commitment of

approximately £3.25 billion ($4.4

billion) from the private sector in

the UK government’s Sizewell C

nuclear power plant, with equity in-

vestments from Canadian pension

fund La Caisse, Centrica and Amber

Infrastructure. The power plant is

expected to create 10 000 direct

jobs and power six million homes,

according to the UK treasury.

Meanwhile, the Czech govern-

ment acquired a majority stake in

CEZ subsidiary Elektrarna Dukova-

ny II, which plans to build two new

nuclear units.

SMRs are proving popular with

investors this year, given their many

positive features, particularly their

size and exibility compared to

conventional options, which make

them less costly and time-consum-

ing to build. Calogena, a subsidiary

of French industrial rm Groupe

Gorgé, is developing an SMR spe-

cically for district heating net-

works and announced a fundraise of

nearly $116 million in March to ac-

celerate development.

In another signicant SMR deal,

nuclear technology rm Studsvik

acquired Swedish SMR project de-

veloper Kärnfull Next, bolstered by

the country’s updated nuclear legis-

lation. The acquisition will improve

Studsvik’s offering across the nu-

clear lifecycle, including fuel and

materials technology, software and

waste management.

In the UK, the government has al-

located £2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) to

run the UK’s SMR programme and

£599 million ($803 million) to

Rolls-Royce SMR to support the

development of its small modular

reactors, via the National Wealth

Fund.

Deal drivers

Three forces are converging to

drive dealmaking in Europe’s nucle-

ar power sector: skyrocketing elec-

tricity demand from data centres,

broad reassessment of energy secu-

rity, and a regulatory environment

that is shifting decisively in nucle-

ar’s favour.

The data centre boom being driv-

en by articial intelligence (AI) is

perhaps the most immediate cata-

lyst. As the need for reliable, car-

bon-free power outstrips the inter-

mittent nature of renewable sources,

data centre businesses are increas-

ingly turning to nuclear as the only

scalable, clean energy option to de-

carbonise their activities.

Europe’s quest for energy security

is also driving interest. France,

which derives roughly 70 per cent

of its electricity from nuclear pow-

er, is already the continent’s leader.

Indeed, at the start of 2026, the

French government conrmed that

it would build six new EPR nuclear

reactors as part of its new energy

roadmap.

Perhaps the most striking develop-

ment is the speed at which former

sceptics are reversing course. Ger-

many’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz,

for instance, has called the coun-

try’s 2023 shutdown of its nuclear

power plants a “huge mistake,” but

has not announced plans to build

new plants. However, Germany will

not oppose other EU countries’

plans to develop nuclear, as it has in

the past.

Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden re-

cently committed to four large-scale

reactors to meet surging demand and

strengthen energy independence.

Meanwhile, Italy is preparing to re-

introduce nuclear into the country’s

energy mix through next-generation

small reactors developed by the pri-

vate sector, a move set to reverse a

four-decade ban on nuclear power.

The government is expected to ap-

prove a framework for the return of

nuclear this summer, in response to

geopolitical instability and rising en-

ergy costs.

China and Russia are the only na-

tions to have deployed SMRs oper-

ationally, but the EU and UK have

committed to accelerating develop-

ment. This support is already draw-

ing capital: SMR unicorn newcleo

recently closed an $87 million fund-

ing round to expand its R&D infra-

structure in Europe and enter the

US market. At the end of May, the

company conrmed it would list on

the Nasdaq via a SPAC, with the

merger valued at $2.4 billion.

PE and infrastructure investors are

taking notice. Innovative startups

focused on fusion energy, next-gen-

eration ssion reactors and nuclear

waste management solutions are

piquing investor interest at a time

when the technology curve and pol-

icy environment are moving in the

same direction.

Divided opinions

For all the political tailwinds, deal-

makers in Europe’s nuclear power

sector face inherent challenges.

Political consensus remains fragile.

The countries that are now support-

ing nuclear power can reverse

course with the next election cycle.

Germany’s pivot, while a promising

development for other EU coun-

tries, is quite recent and may

change at the next elections. Italy’s

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has

faced domestic opposition to her

nuclear plans, with critics arguing

that SMRs will generate additional

waste and carry higher costs than

renewable alternatives.

Regulatory fragmentation, as well

as under-resourced and inexperi-

enced regulators, compound the

problem for countries that do not

have nuclear programmes yet.

These projects require large, up-

front capital commitments and long,

stable policy timelines. Yet the po-

litically sensitive nature of the in-

dustry has resulted in uneven regu-

lation, having changed over the

years in response to political agen-

das and public opinion. As such,

dealmakers face a complex and un-

certain regulatory environment.

Supply chain risk may be one of

the sector’s most under-appreciated

obstacles. Nuclear energy produc-

tion is globally interconnected, and

this poses a challenge given current

geopolitical tensions and the rise of

resource nationalism. Europe re-

mains dependent on imported urani-

um, and Russia currently supplies

around 20 per cent of Europe’s en-

riched uranium. While the industry

is ripe for investment, a disbanded

and disrupted supply chain could

delay projects, inate costs and ulti-

mately deter capital.

Outlook

The case for European nuclear pow-

er M&A and equity investment is as

strong as it has been in a generation.

Energy security in Europe is no lon-

ger a peripheral concern. Decar-

bonisation mandates are tightening.

And the surge in AI-driven power

demand, particularly from data cen-

tres, is creating a supply gap that re-

newables alone cannot address.

While dealmaking is still in its

early stages, the vast quantity of

capital needed will encourage in-

vestors to pursue deals. PE players

and early-stage investors are al-

ready looking to snap up lucrative

startups with disruptive potential.

And buoyed by an increasingly fa-

vourable political and regulatory

climate, many positive factors are

aligning for ambitious dealmakers.

Ximena Vásquez-Maignan is a proj-

ect nance lawyer specialising in the

nuclear sector at global law rm

White & Case LLP, while David

Lewis is a partner in its global M&A

and Corporate practice.

Record deals, government-backed mega-projects and a race to power Europe’s data centres are drawing capital into

a sector long considered politically untouchable, argue Ximena Vásquez-Maignan and David Lewis from global law

rm White & Case.

Chain reaction: Dealmakers

bet big on Europe’s nuclear

power revival

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Energy Outlook

Lewis: Supply chain risk may be

one of the sector’s most

under-appreciated obstacles

Vásquez-Maignan: Policy sea

change is opening a signicant

investment runway

Photo by pexels.com

need ve to ten years. The responses

have been as diversied as the coun-

tries in the region but changing the

terms of access has been a central

strategy.

Japan is looking at conditional con-

nection in exchange for load shedding

or batteries. Thailand has set data

centre power tariffs at roughly double

the household rate. All in all, utilities

in the region are quietly ceasing to be

the sole guarantors of reliability.

The reasons for the lag in grid infra-

structure buildout are many and

complex. A number, though, come

down to nance. Specically, wheth-

er the network can recover its costs.

Where tariffs do not fully cover con-

struction or operational grid costs,

there is no predictable income for a

lender to lend against. The gap is stark

in Southeast Asia, where renewable

capacity is set to triple or more by

2035 while grid and storage invest-

ment sits at just $13 billion a year

against the $50 billion needed by

2050 (see chart).

Indonesia plans to spend $2.4 billion

per year in transmission in 2025-2034

versus an average of $1.4 billion since

2019, writes the Institute for Energy

Economics and Financial Analysis.

Inside a vertically integrated national

utility, PLN, transmission competes

for capital against generation, fuel

and distribution, and always loses.

So, the impediment has been structur-

al, not budgetary, IEEFA remarks.

Policy-driven tariffs have resulted in

a return on equity of about 2 per cent

ey to advancing the energy

transition is not just clean en-

ergy generation but also deliv-

ery infrastructure: the electric power

grids. This is true in almost any juris-

diction in the world, but more so in

Asia Pacic. The region accounts for

roughly half of the population, eco-

nomic activity and electricity con-

sumption in the world. An Asia Pacif-

ic transition success is essential for the

whole world.

Asia Pacic’s electric power de-

mand has four particular features. The

region accounts for 52 per cent of the

power generated in the world, or 16

737 TWh out of 32 202 TWh based on

data from the Energy Institute’s ‘Sta-

tistical Review of World Energy

2026’. The largest two regional seg-

ments – China and India – were re-

sponsible for 75.5 per cent of the re-

gion’s output.

The split between generation from

developed and non-developed Asia

Pacic was approximately 12:88,

which points to continued strong de-

mand given industrialisation, urbani-

sation and rising incomes in non-de-

veloped economies. The compound

annual growth rate in 2015-2025 was

4.8 per cent compared to a global av-

erage of 2.8 per cent.

The economic importance and

growth of the region attract enormous

data centre investments, which fur-

ther exacerbate the demand load.

Over 32 GW of planned data centre

capacity across more than 1150 proj-

ects is putting additional pressure on

grids, according to a June 2026 report

by consultancy Wood Mackenzie,

given the projects’ requirements for

reliability, exibility and clean energy

procurement.

The transition challenge for Asia

Pacic is not clean generation capac-

ity; it is grid infrastructure. So how

does that strain manifest itself?

There are many examples of the lag

effect: generation capacity is com-

missioned but the evacuation of this

new output is delayed as the expan-

sion or upgrade of the related trans-

mission and distribution infrastructure

is not concurrently completed.

In India, a third of recently commis-

sioned renewable capacity of 54.8

GW was still relying on temporary

grid access as of May 2026, according

to the credit rating agency ICRA, with

curtailment reaching 50 to 60 per cent

during solar hours in states such as

Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Japan,

while the clean energy pipeline is ex-

panding, conversion of projects from

application to physical grid connec-

tion is poor, especially for offshore

wind and storage. A mere 87 GW out

of 317 GW of wind, solar and storage

capacity under study had been physi-

cally connected to grids as at the end

of 2025.

The demand load from data centres

is an added strain to already stretched

networks. They are typically concen-

trated in a few locations, their size

tends to be enormous, and their proj-

ect construction period tends to be

short, one to two years, while grids

against cost of funds of about 8.5 per

cent. Sri Lanka’s national utility, the

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB),

turned insolvent after years of below

cost tariffs. First the IMF-mandated

cost recovery and then the break-up

of CEB in 2024 into separate entities,

including transmission and genera-

tion, led to the introduction of quar-

terly tariffs against actual costs.

In Vietnam, while capital was avail-

able, it was directed to generation

which had contracted offtakes. The

problem was highlighted in the early

2020s when a solar construction

boom created curtailment and pay-

ment disputes. EVNNPT, the grid,

was ring-fenced out of EVN in 2008.

It incurred capital expenditure of

about $660 million in 2023 while the

rest of EVN’s power business was

posting heavy nancial losses.

Apart from the nancing challenges

in some jurisdictions, transmission

projects are delayed for a variety of

reasons.

In India, developers of clean energy

projects face constraints in connect-

ing their completed projects as trans-

mission projects are delayed due to

issues such as land acquisition and

right-of-way. In Japan, the delays are

due to a queue design problem. Ca-

pacity is reserved when developers

apply for a connection, and once

booked it is unavailable to anyone

else. The reservation stays even if the

project does not go ahead, and large

consumers hold capacity they never

actually use. Now Japanese authori-

ties are moving to reclaim it.

Australia offers regulated returns

and an independent regulator, but grid

connections are still delayed. What

holds projects up is social licence,

with landholder, community and in-

creasingly political opposition delay-

ing transmission corridors.

In the Philippines, grid connection

delays for wind, solar and other clean

energy projects are in part due to slow

permitting and land access rights is-

sues, and also to a bottleneck at the

grid company. The National Grid

Corp. of the Philippines holds a mo-

nopoly on building transmission, so

its own capacity caps how much gets

built nationally. To address this, the

Energy Regulatory Commission

opened transmission construction to

third parties in 2026.

In addition to these examples, an

overall issue affecting all jurisdic-

tions is supply chain related, such as

growing lead-times for the delivery

of large power transformers. Facto-

ries also allocate scarce production

slots to buyers with funded, credible

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Energy Transition Investment Series

Why Asia isn’t building its grids:

no cost recovery, no capital

pipelines, so a buyer that cannot

demonstrate committed nancing

waits longer than one that can.

There is no lack of interest in invest-

ing in clean energy generation proj-

ects in the Asia Pacic region. How-

ever, the challenges these projects

face in connecting to the grid are as

serious as they are varied. On the

ground, few of the responsible au-

thorities in the region are standing

still. They are acutely aware that to

meet net zero targets, or simply to

keep up with demand, grid networks

need to be expanded and optimised;

something where AI is playing an

increasingly important role. Most

authorities are actively studying or

executing solutions addressing their

specic home-grown problems.

They are keenly aware that not re-

solving these problems aggressively

will limit capital ows, not just from

lending institutions but also from

private sector investors. Where the

model already works, the capital is

there. In March 2026, funds managed

by global alternative asset manager

Apollo, alongside other long-term

investors, bought $500 million of in-

vestment-grade senior secured notes

from a subsidiary of Adani Energy

Solutions holding regulated transmis-

sion assets in western and northern

India. What attracted them was the

stable, long duration cash ow prole

of regulated transmission. In the

coming years, we can expect a steady

series of similar investments in India

and elsewhere in Asia.

Joseph Jacobelli runs Bourne Impact

Capital and has spent more than 35

years in energy markets. He also

works to advance sustainable nance,

hosting the Asia Climate Finance

Podcast and writing two books, most

recently ‘Powering the Unstoppable

Green Shift’.

Decarbonisation Series September 2026

Renewable capacity is set to triple or more by 2035, while grid and storage investment sits at just $13 billion a

year against the $50 billion needed by 2050

Joseph

A successful global energy transition depends on the Asia Pacic region, and the region’s transition depends

on its grids. Building them has proven highly challenging but will be resolved by new regulation, better policy

execution, and making grids investable assets. The process will be slow, but it has already started.

Joseph Jacobelli explains.

or more than two decades, Eu-

rope’s photovoltaic (PV) sector

has been dened by one central

objective: scale. The priority was to

install more capacity, reduce costs,

and accelerate deployment as quick-

ly as possible. In many ways, the

sector succeeded beyond expecta-

tions. Solar power evolved from a

niche and expensive technology into

one of the cheapest and fastest-grow-

ing sources of electricity in the

world.

Today, photovoltaic energy is no

longer an experimental component

of Europe’s energy transition. It is

becoming one of its foundations.

Across the continent, solar installa-

tions continue to expand at historic

speed, supported by climate targets,

electrication policies, and growing

concerns over energy security.

But the sector is now entering a

fundamentally different phase. The

challenge is no longer simply build-

ing more photovoltaic capacity. The

challenge is operating what already

exists, efciently, intelligently, and at

scale.

This shift may sound subtle, but it

changes almost everything about

how the photovoltaic industry must

think about itself.

Modern PV plants are no longer

static electricity generators. They are

increasingly complex, data-intensive

infrastructures producing enormous

volumes of operational information

every second. Irradiance levels, in-

verter behaviour, tracker positions,

temperature variations, weather in-

puts, alarms, market signals, storage

cycles, and grid conditions all inter-

act continuously.

The problem is not the lack of data.

The problem is our ability to process

it. Many operational teams are over-

whelmed by the scale and complexi-

ty of information generated by mod-

ern solar portfolios. As photovoltaic

deployment accelerates toward the

terawatt era globally, traditional su-

pervision and maintenance ap-

proaches are becoming insufcient.

Human operators alone can no lon-

ger efciently detect anomalies,

identify performance losses, or opti-

mise systems in real-time across

large utility-scale assets.

This matters because even small

inefciencies can create major losses

at scale. A disconnected string, an

overheating inverter, tracker mis-

alignment, module degradation, or

soiling losses may appear minor in-

dividually. But across large solar

farms, these issues can gradually re-

duce energy production and generate

signicant nancial losses over time.

Studies already show that many PV

systems continue operating with un-

detected faults for extended periods,

while degradation slowly erodes per-

formance year after year.

The implications extend beyond

plant performance. As photovoltaic

deployment continues to accelerate,

operational efciency is becoming a

strategic variable for utilities, inde-

pendent power producers and plant

operators. Investors increasingly

evaluate projects not only on expect-

ed long-term performance, but also

on the quality of operational man-

agement, performance monitoring

and long-term reliability.

In an environment of tighter mar-

gins and growing market volatility,

even modest improvements in plant

performance can generate signi-

cant gains in lifetime revenues

while strengthening the resilience of

the wider electricity system. Opera-

tional excellence is therefore be-

coming not only an engineering ob-

jective, but also a fundamental

driver of competitiveness.

In other words, the future competi-

tiveness of solar energy will not de-

pend only on how many panels are

installed. It will increasingly depend

on how intelligently those systems

are operated. This is where digital-

isation, articial intelligence, and big

data become essential.

Articial intelligence is not replac-

ing human expertise in photovolta-

ics. Rather, it is becoming an exten-

sion of it. AI systems allow operators

to analyse enormous datasets, identi-

fy patterns, predict failures, and opti-

mise performance far faster than

would ever be possible manually.

Rather than automating deci-

sion-making, AI enables engineers

and operations teams to focus on

higher-value activities. Human ex-

pertise remains essential for inter-

preting results, validating recom-

mendations and making strategic

decisions, but AI provides the ana-

lytical capacity needed to manage in-

creasingly large and complex photo-

voltaic eets. The future of PV

operations will therefore depend not

on replacing people with algorithms,

but on creating a more effective part-

nership between human experience

and digital intelligence.

This transformation also requires a

cultural shift within the industry. So-

lar operations have traditionally fo-

cused on ensuring availability and

responding to failures when they oc-

cur. The next generation of photo-

voltaic management will require a

more proactive approach, where

continuous monitoring, data analysis

and predictive insights become em-

bedded in everyday decision-making

processes.

In practical terms, this changes the

operational philosophy of the sector.

Maintenance can move from reactive

to predictive. Instead of waiting for

faults to become visible after energy

losses have already occurred, AI-

based systems can detect abnormal

behaviour early and anticipate fail-

ures before they impact production.

At the same time, advanced sen-

sorisation is becoming increasingly

important. Reliable articial intelli-

gence depends on reliable data.

Without accurate measurements,

even the most advanced digital tools

lose effectiveness.

For this reason, one of the major

priorities in the next generation of

PV operations is improving data

quality itself. Advanced meteorolog-

ical stations, precise irradiance mea-

surements, and improved environ-

mental sensing help reduce

uncertainty and provide a far more

accurate understanding of how

plants actually behave in real operat-

ing conditions.

This also enables the development

of digital twins, virtual replicas of

photovoltaic plants continuously up-

dated using live operational data.

These models make it possible to

simulate performance, forecast deg-

radation, improve diagnostics, and

optimise operational strategies with

much greater precision than tradi-

tional methods allow.

But operational intelligence is no

longer limited to technical perfor-

mance alone. It is increasingly con-

nected to market behaviour and grid

integration.

As renewable penetration rises

across Europe, electricity markets

are becoming more volatile and less

predictable. Negative electricity

prices, curtailment periods, and grid

bottlenecks are becoming increas-

ingly common in highly solarised

markets such as Spain and Germany.

This creates a new reality for pho-

tovoltaic operators. Producing elec-

tricity is not always enough. Opera-

tors must increasingly decide when

to store electricity, when to inject it

into the grid, and when market con-

ditions make production economi-

cally inefcient.

This is why battery integration and

AI-based forecasting tools are be-

coming central elements of modern

photovoltaic operations.

Articial intelligence can now

combine weather forecasts, historical

demand patterns, and grid conditions

to anticipate electricity price uctua-

tions and optimise operational deci-

sions. Smart battery management

systems can help operators avoid

curtailment, optimise charging cy-

cles, provide ancillary services to the

grid, and stabilise revenues in in-

creasingly volatile energy markets.

This represents a broader transfor-

mation in the role of photovoltaic

systems themselves.

The next challenge is not simply

producing electricity; it is producing,

storing, managing, and trading that

electricity in the most intelligent way

possible.

This operational transformation is

precisely the context in which the

PVOP (Photovoltaic Operation &

Performance ) project was created.

PVOP brings together researchers,

companies, and technical partners

across Europe to develop an inte-

grated framework for data-driven

photovoltaic operations. The project

analyses data from more than 11

GW of PV plants while developing

interconnected solutions focused on

advanced sensorisation, smart track-

ing systems, automated fault diag-

nosis, predictive asset management,

digital twin forecasting, electricity

market prediction, and AI-driven

battery control.

The objective is not to create iso-

lated digital tools, but to develop a

more intelligent operational ecosys-

tem for photovoltaic systems as a

whole.

Importantly, these challenges are

not unique to Europe. The photo-

voltaic market is global. Large-

scale PV deployment is accelerating

across Asia, Latin America, the

Middle East, Australia, and North

America, and many of the same op-

erational problems are emerging ev-

erywhere: data overload, perfor-

mance optimisation, grid integration

challenges, and increasing pressure

on protability.

This means that the solutions de-

veloped today must also be scalable

internationally. The technologies we

are building are designed not only

for European PV plants, but for util-

ity-scale solar systems worldwide.

Photovoltaics has already proven

that it can scale technologically and

economically. The next stage is

proving that it can scale operation-

ally as well. Europe’s energy transi-

tion increasingly depends on this.

Solar power is becoming one of

the central pillars of electrication,

energy security, and decarbonisa-

tion. But as photovoltaic systems

become larger, more interconnect-

ed, and more integrated into elec-

tricity markets, operational intelli-

gence will become just as important

as generation capacity itself.

The sector’s next leap forward

will not simply come from install-

ing more solar panels. It will come

from learning how to operate them

intelligently.

Luis Narvarte is Director of the Pho-

tovoltaic Systems Research Group at

the Institute for Solar Energy, and a

Full Professor of Photovoltaic Engi-

neering and Electronics at the Tech-

nical University of Madrid. His

group’s research spans grid-connect-

ed photovoltaic systems, autonomous

and hybrid photovoltaic systems,

and rural photovoltaic electrica-

tion. He currently coordinates the

EU-funded PVOP project.

Solar photovoltaic energy is becoming a key pillar in Europe’s energy transition. But the sector is now entering a

fundamentally different phase. The challenge is no longer simply building more photovoltaic capacity, it is about

operating what already exists, efciently, intelligently, and at scale. Professor Luis Narvarte explains.

Solar’s next leap will not be about

intelligence

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Technology Review

Narvarte: The future

competitiveness of solar energy

will not depend only on how many

panels are installed

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinhdawn

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - SEPTEMBER 2026

Final Word

here’s nothing like a crisis to

get things moving. Over the

past 5-10 years, the EU has

made signicant strides in generating

electricity from homegrown energy

sources, but the electrication rate of

energy demand has stalled at 23 per

cent over the past decade. Russia’s

attack on Ukraine, and the US-Israel

war against Iran have served as a

wake-up call for Europe and the need

to accelerate its electrication efforts.

As the July-August issue of TEI

Times went to press, the European

Commission presented an Electri-

cation Action Plan to make Europe

the rst electro-powered continent, as

well as a plan for a stronger carbon

market to support EU industry in the

clean transition and electrication.

With petrol and diesel prices at re-

cord highs since the closure of the

Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle

East conict, and consumers facing

crippling gas bills as a result of the

still ongoing Ukraine war, Europe is

experiencing the impact of relying on

imported fossil fuels in a world ex-

posed to geopolitical shocks.

Launching the Electrication Plan,

Ursula von der Leyen, President of

the European Commission said: “The

best way to reduce Europe’s fossil

energy dependency is to power our

economy with electricity from clean,

homegrown sources. Today we are

proposing to make Europe the world’s

rst electro-powered continent. From

lowering electricity prices to adapting

our carbon market to the changing

global realities, this is also an invest-

ment and independence plan. To keep

the clean transition on track, bring

relief to our industry, and support

decarbonisation. Let’s switch it on.”

The EU has already pledged to raise

its electrication rate to 32 per cent

by 2030. To support the need to ac-

celerate the electrication of ener-

gy-using sectors – notably industry,

transport and buildings – the Com-

mission will now assess, an indicative

target of 46 per cent by 2040 as part

of the post-2030 Energy Union

package. Reaching this goal could cut

the EU’s fossil fuel import bill by

€260 billion per year by 2040, said

the Commission, bringing “substan-

tial benets for the EU economy,

businesses and citizens in terms of

lower energy prices and competitive-

ness, stronger energy security and

resilience”. It added in a press release:

“To help European manufacturers

benet and lead industrial decarboni-

sation and electrication efforts – to

make the switch – we need investment

at scale.”

The EU will keep its Emissions

Trading System (ETS) at the heart of

its decarbonisation drive. Since its

launch in 2005, the ETS has generat-

ed more than €270 billion in revenues

that were reinvested in innovation,

industrial decarbonisation and the

modernisation of Europe’s energy

system – all the while helping Europe

cut emissions by 50 per cent in the

sectors it covers. This market-based

system ensures predictability across

all EU countries.

However, the geopolitical and

economic context has changed, and

EU industry is under increased

pressure. “While we continue our

work on climate action, we have to

modernise our main decarbonisation

policy – the EU ETS – to be our in-

novation and investment engine for

our competitiveness and indepen-

dence – in line with the European

Council June 2026 conclusions and

the Clean Industrial Deal,” the Com-

mission said.

According to the Commission, the

ETS Review will bring relief to in-

dustry, while preserving the essential

role of the ETS in the climate and

energy transition, in line with the EU

Climate Law. It updates the Linear

Reduction Factor (LRF) of 3.7 per

cent for 2031-2035 and 1.7 per cent

for 2036-2040, making the trajectory

more gradual and aligned with do-

mestic climate ambition level. Up to

2 per cent high-quality international

credits will allow the nance of de-

carbonisation projects abroad and

provide breathing space in 2036-2040

when the emission reduction in Eu-

rope will become more challenging.

The revised ETS will have a strong

focus on investments. The Industrial

Decarbonisation Bank will have €100

billion funding going towards indus-

trial decarbonisation across Europe at

scale. The ETS Investment Booster

will be available before 2030 as the

rst phase of the Bank. The EU ETS

Innovation Fund will continue to

support rst commercial applications

of innovative clean technologies in a

wide range of sectors. And Member

States will be required to spend 50

per cent of their national ETS reve-

nues on investments to decarbonise

ETS sectors. This adds up to more

than €100 billion in investments be-

fore 2030.

It is comforting to see that decar-

bonisation remains core to the EU’s

energy transition but with energy

security brought into sharp focus

since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in

2022, most eyes are squarely focused

on the electrication plan.

The benets of electrication for

European consumers are clear: driv-

ing a battery-electric vehicle can save

up to 78 per cent compared to an

equivalent fossil-fuelled car. Switch-

ing from gas boilers to heat pumps

cuts the average EU household’s

heating bill by up to 60 per cent, while

providing important co-benets for

climate adaptation. However, barriers

to widespread adoption remain.

Electricity often costs three times

more than gas. Grid connections can

take years. Too many innovative

technologies never reach commercial

scale. Companies have too little in-

centive to make the switch from

fossil fuels to electricity. The Electri-

cation Action Plan aims to address

all these barriers.

The Plan focuses on reducing the

price gap between electricity and

fossil energy costs and on incentivis-

ing the uptake of cleaner, electrici-

ty-based technologies such as heat

pumps, electric vehicles and batteries,

among others, across Europe.

Jozeen Vanbecelaere, Policy Di-

rector at the European Heat Pump

Association, said: “This Electrica-

tion Action Plan is a game-changer.

For the rst time it focuses on

boosting electrication of demand –

and does so via a great line-up of

measures, from tackling energy tax-

ation and electricity prices and tap-

ping on heat pumps’ exibility, to

supporting industrial electrication

and waste heat recovery.

“To ensure it delivers, the European

Commission must swiftly convert it

into legislation and measures to enact

at national level. EU governments

should then pull together on imple-

mentation in order to score greater

energy security, electrication and

lower bills.”

One of the most signicant commit-

ments is the proposal to improve the

electricity-to-gas price ratio by re-

ducing national ratios to a maximum

of 2.5 for households and 2.0 for in-

dustry by 2030. The plan states that

Member States should not tax elec-

tricity more than gas – currently in

many countries, electricity is taxed

multiple times more than gas.

To tackle this, the proposal to fu-

ture-proof electricity bills in the EU

will empower Member States to re-

duce network charges for certain

consumer groups and taxes for ener-

gy-intensive businesses. It also spurs

faster deployment of smart meters,

which will make it easier for consum-

ers to save on their energy bills.

The Action Plan also proposes

solutions to lowering the upfront

costs of electrication technologies

across key demand sectors such as

buildings, transport and industry. It

sets out a wide variety of tools that

can be mobilised, such as the use of

social leasing schemes, ETS nancial

instruments, including the Social

Climate Fund and the Industrial De-

carbonisation Bank, and a Clean Heat

Market mechanism.

To enable electrication, the Com-

mission, importantly, stressed the

need to speed up grid deployment.

Although Europe’s electricity grids

are among the largest and most reli-

able in the world, there are long

waiting times for new connections,

and the existing grid is not being used

as efciently as it could be.

“The Grids Package proposed last

year addresses these challenges, and

its swift adoption by the co-legislators

by the end of the year will be key for

Europe to speed up electrication,”

said the Commission.

The Plan addresses other barriers,

including the slow uptake of innova-

tive electrication solutions by pro-

moting the development of viable in-

vestment project and manufacturing

capacity in clean energy technologies.

As the Commission prepared to

roll-out the plan, Fatih Birol, Head of

the International Energy Agency said

Europe had made a “major mistake”

by failing to wean its economy off

imported fossil fuels quickly enough

since the 2022 energy crunch.

Now it has a plan. The next, and

much more difcult, task is convert-

ing it into concrete deployment

measures. Even the best laid plans…

Sounds like a plan…

Junior Isles

Cartoon by Jem Soar