What is the Green Energy Corridor programme? The GEC is a flagship Indian government programme aimed at building dedicated transmission infrastructure to integrate large-scale RE, such as solar and wind power, into the national power grid. For the first time, the GEC includes a dedicated battery energy storage component, with provisions for deploying 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Energy storage refers to systems that can store excess renewable electricity during periods of high generation and discharge it when demand rises but power generation remains low. At its core, energy storage systems convert electricity from renewable sources, when it is available, into forms that can be stored. Later, it converts these back into electricity when need arises. A GWh is a unit of electrical energy that measures the total amount of energy produced, consumed, or stored over a period of time. Transmission bottlenecks and grid congestion, particularly during periods of high solar generation in the daytime, are resulting in renewable power being curtailed or facing restrictions on evacuation. The challenge is becoming more pronounced as renewable capacity expands faster than the associated transmission infrastructure. Of the scheme’s total outlay, over Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been earmarked...

Europe's solar boom is cushioning households from the crippling costs of gas, as the war on Iran continues to highlight the dangers of fossil fuel reliance.

Moldova has gone from getting 3% of its electricity from renewables to about 30% in five years, and now wants to push the share of clean power in local production to 85% by 2050 with a build-out of wind farms, batteries and, eventually, 300 MW of nuclear capacity, State Secretary at the Ministry of Energy Carolina Novac told investors in Chisinau on October 2. Speaking at the 11th Moldova Business Week, Novac set out a strategy that would cut the country's dependence on energy imports from 77% in 2023 to 40% by 2050 and raise electricity's share of final energy consumption from 12% to 65%, as heating and transport electrify. "Obviously, this is a huge investment," she said. Moldova's National Energy and Climate Plan 2030 and Energy Strategy 2050 objectives. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. The plan is shaped by what happened in January 2025, when Russian gas stopped flowing to the breakaway Transnistria region and the Kuciurgan (MGRES) power station there stopped supplying the rest of the country. Until then the plant had covered 60-78% of consumption on the right bank of the Dniester every year since 2019. Since then Moldova has lived on imports from Romania and Ukraine and whatever its own plants and solar panels can produce, which on a typical day this autumn was not much. From 3% to 30% Renewables covered 2.6% of electricity consumption in 2018 and 3.6% in 2021. The share jumped to 10.5% in 2023 and 24.5% in 2025, and the ministry estimates it at 30.8% this year. This summer Moldova even had a few days where it met 100% of its energy needs from renewables. Novac put the change down to a predictable legal framework that told investors how much capacity the state wanted and on what terms, built over close to five years. "This is how, over close to five years, we managed to increase our renewables consumption from 3% to 30% this year, by our estimation." Renewables' share of Moldova's total electricity consumption. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. By the end of July, installed renewable capacity had reached 1,119.18 MW, according to the ministry. Utility-scale solar makes up the bulk at 583.26 MW, with another 225.08 MW on the roofs of prosumers. Wind accounts for 256.22 MW, and hydro and biogas for the small remainder. Moldova's installed renewable electricity capacity at the end of July 2026. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. The next stage leans on wind, and investors have shown up. Moldova's second renewables auction, launched in January, drew 16 bids for 423.85 MW of wind capacity and 305.29 MWh of storage against 170 MW and 44 MWh on offer. "We said to investors, to the future producers: we need that many [megawatts]. This is the way we're heading," said Novac. "We built a solid … framework, making sure that this is predictable, and it encourages investors to put their money forward. And this is how we made it happen." Seven bids won, covering the full 170 MW of wind with 162.5 MWh of battery storage attached, at a weighted average price of €62.04/MWh (MDL1.2467/kWh). The ministry expects the projects to bring in about €250mn of private investment and cut CO2 emissions by about 1.4mn tonnes. For smaller technologies the state still offers fixed feed-in tariffs, with quotas valid until the end of 2030 that remain unused. Eligible technology Maximum capacity (MW) Available (MW) Feed-in tariff (MDL/kWh) Feed-in tariff (approx. €/MWh) Biogas CHP: manure, farm and food-industry waste, energy crops 10 10 2.37 118 Biogas CHP: municipal solid waste 20 20 2.04 101 Biogas CHP: municipal liquid waste/sewage 10 10 2.36 117 Direct-combustion CHP: solid biofuels, farm waste, household waste (excluding forestry products) 55 55 2.30 114 Renewable capacity quotas available under fixed tariffs as at September 19, 2025, valid until December 31, 2030. Euro values at the National Bank of Moldova rate of MDL20.1263/€ (October 1, 2026). Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy. Still living on imports For all the growth in solar, Moldova still buys most of its power abroad. On September 27, imports covered 68% of the day's consumption, renewables 30% and gas-fired combined heat and power plants 2%, the ministry's figures show. Solar carries the middle of the day; in the evening peak the country falls back almost entirely on imports to cover the peak demand. Sources of Moldova's electricity supply on September 27, 2026. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. Romania has been the main supplier since MGRES dropped out, covering between 34% and 71% of right-bank consumption in any month from January 2025 to June 2026. Ukraine stepped in during the summer of 2025, supplying 32-47% in July-September that year, but its own grid has been under Russian attack since. Domestic sources on the right bank rose from 13-24% of consumption before 2025 to 38-48% in the first half of 2026. How electricity consumption on the right bank of the Dniester has been covered since 2019. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. How much Moldova can import is capped by the grid. The net transfer capacity of the joint Moldova-Ukraine control block is expected to be 2,000-2,500 MW this winter, of which just 15% is guaranteed for Moldova; at the end of September the import capacity for the block stood at 2,100 MW, according to the ministry. "In the context of import limitations there is an urgent need to develop an electricity balancing market," one of the ministry's slides said. A market is taking shape. In August between about 10% and 35% of daily consumption was traded on the day-ahead market run by OPEM, the power market operator, with a record of about 40% on one day. The average day-ahead price fell from €250/MWh on June 12 to €140/MWh on September 29. Regulator ANRE approved the launch of balancing and system services markets in May 2025, and transmission system operator Moldelectrica announced the results of its first long-term balancing capacity tender on May 14 this year: it secured ±4 MW of frequency containment reserve against ±6 MW sought, ±23 MW of automatic frequency restoration reserve against ±35 MW, and only 17 MW of the 80 MW of 12-hour manual reserve it asked for. Batteries for the evening Taking a leaf out of Austria's power management map, storage is meant to close Moldova's evening gap. About 210 MWh of battery storage was installed and operating by June, against the roughly 1,200 MWh the ministry says the system needs to take the pressure off the interconnections. A law adopted on June 11 this year, No.112, lets investors reclaim VAT on battery systems and cut the customs duty on them from 8% to zero. Households can get grants of up to 50% of eligible works, capped at MDL200,000 (about €9,900), through the Casa Verde programme run by the National Centre for Sustainable Energy (CNED), including solar panels with batteries once a home has been insulated. The programme has signed more than 460 contracts and saves more than 10 GWh of energy a year, worth MDL37.3mn (€1.85mn), the ministry said. Small businesses can get grants of up to 30% and preferential loans through the government's FACEM programme. For larger projects a new guarantee scheme, Energo Garant, will cover up to 50% of a loan for battery storage, capped at MDL30mn (€1.49mn) per borrower, with maturities of up to 120 months and an annual fee of 1%. Its MDL300mn (€14.9mn) budget is meant to leverage about MDL1.5bn (€74.5mn) of financing and support up to 1,100 MWh of storage by the end of 2028. Four lines to Europe The biggest structural fix is more transition lines, says Novac. Moldova plans seven interconnections with Romania and Ukraine, and four high-voltage projects are under way: Vulcanesti-Chisinau 400 kV, the "Independence Line": 158 km, energised along its full length on July 22, 2026; the Vulcanesti substation was about 98% complete and the Chisinau substation about 90% in August, held up by a transformer damaged during installation. Cost €61mn, financed by a World Bank IDA loan. Balti-Suceava 400 kV, the "Resilience Line": construction contract signed in June 2026 with a 24-month build; contract for the Balti 330 kV substation due to be awarded in November; deadline 2028. Cost about €77mn, made up of a €15.4mn EU grant and EBRD and EIB loans of €30.8mn each. Straseni-Gutinas 400 kV, the "Liberty Line": feasibility study presented on June 18, 2026; a law declaring it of national interest is expected to pass by the end of the year; the environmental and social impact assessment began with a field mission on September 29-October 1. Due around 2032, paid for with a $130mn US government grant. Balti-Dnestrovsk HPP-2 330 kV interconnection with Ukraine: about 500 MW of extra cross-border capacity for an estimated €36mn on the Moldovan side; on the Energy Community's list of projects of common interest since December 2024 and due to be commissioned by 2032. A long way to go The 2050 targets show how far there is still to go. The ministry's model puts installed wind capacity at 2,600 MW by mid-century, ten times today's level, and solar at 1,200 MW, about two thirds of which is already in place. It also pencils in 600 MW (1,200 MWh) of storage, 360 MW of gas-fired generation, 80 MW of biomass, 30 MW of hydrogen and green gases, 20 MW of municipal waste and 300 MW of nuclear. "We very much hope that we will have higher industrial consumption, because for that purpose we will need the base load type of generation," Novac said. Moldova's estimated installed capacity in 2050 against capacity installed at the end of July 2026. Source: Moldovan Ministry of Energy presentation, Moldova Business Week. Chart by IntelliNews. The nuclear slot is about base load. Novac said the ministry hopes industrial demand will rise and that "for that purpose we will need the base load type of generation". Low-emission sources are meant to supply 30% of local production by 2030 and 85% by 2050, the strategy says.

Moldova has lifted renewables from 3% to about 30% of its electricity consumption in five years and now plans a wind, battery and grid build-out to halve its dependence on energy imports by 2050.

🇬🇧 Record wind and solar generation has reduced the UK’s need for expensive gas imports as global energy prices climb again.

FlexGen Power Systems and Lightshift Energy have broadened their partnership to deploy battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Vermont. Lightshift will oversee the operation and ownership of these facilities while FlexGen provides its HybridOS energy management system (EMS). The companies’ prior collaborations encompass a total capacity exceeding 25 MW and 85 MWh

Multiple labor leaders, apprenticeship program representatives and local economic groups spoke in support of the Galaxy Solar project at the Kern County Board meeting, emphasizing job creation, apprenticeships and local hiring commitments tied to the project.

The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the Galaxy Solar PV and storage project, a roughly 3,500‑acre development expected to produce about 600 megawatts of solar and 4 gigawatt‑hours of battery storage; staff and the applicant highlighted 68 EIR mitigation measures addressing dust, valley fever, cultural resources and taxation contingencies.

California Battery Storage Developers Relying on Tolling Contracts Amid Declining Merchant Revenues Battery energy storage system (BESS) developers in California are increasingly securing financing through tolling contracts as merchant market revenues diminish, according to Randolph Mann, CEO of esVolta. Speaking at the US Battery Asset Management Summit in Garden Grove, California, Mann indicated that these

Atlassian and the Goulburn Community Energy Cooperative (GCEC) have signed a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Goulburn Community Solar Farm, committing to fund almost 70% of the project’s electricity output over the next decade. The project is a solar and battery farm owned by a community of around 288 local investors with approximately 2,300 solar panels and a 4MWh battery to store generated energy. This PPA means Atlassian’s investment in renewable-energy for 100% of its electricity consumption will now fund net-new generation rather than drawing on existing sources. It will also help power the new Atlassian Central headquarters building that will run entirely on renewable energy when it opens in 2028. Beyond delivering clean electricity to the New South Wales grid, the project delivers tangible local community benefits: Local jobs and supply chains: Construction and ongoing operations prioritise local workers, contractors, and regional suppliers, across the Goulburn Mulwaree region. Community energy fund: A portion of the project’s ongoing profits will fund local initiatives, in partnership with a local charity, helping struggling regional households tackle energy poverty. The 10-year agreement provides stability and security for the Goulburn Community Solar Farm, enabling local clean energy generation to thrive. Atlassian Chief...

Penn State Extension to Host Webinar on Local Solar Facility Regulation Penn State Extension will present a webinar on October 22 focusing on the regulation of large-scale solar energy facilities by local governments. The session, scheduled from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m., aims to provide Pennsylvania communities with insight into how these projects are managed locally,

Danish jewellery company Pandora has opened the world’s largest fine-jewellery crafting facility in Vietnam, a US$150-million factory powered entirely by renewable electricity and using 100 per cent recycled gold and silver. The expansion highlights a broader challenge for the jewellery industry: reducing the environmental footprint of precious metals, while meeting growing demand for jewellery. Using recycled gold and silver can reduce the need for newly mined metals, but experts say making that shift requires reliable supply chains and greater transparency. The new facility in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam will produce up to 60 million pieces of jewellery a year, increasing the company’s manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent, while cutting its carbon footprint by 17 per cent, CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier told The Associated Press. “We are leading the way and we really hope that the rest follow,” she said. Pandora expands in Vietnam as manufacturers seek clean power After 37 years in Thailand, Pandora wanted to expand its manufacturing base to increase flexibility and strengthen supply-chain resilience, Pablos-Barbier said. She said that it chose Vietnam for its skilled artisans who can meet Pandora’s standards for craftsmanship, its business environment, and its strong infrastructure. Access to renewable...

This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. An AI “mind-reading” tool can reconstruct what you’re looking at based on a brain scan A new AI tool can guess what you’re looking at just by analyzing your brain scans—and recreate that image with remarkable precision. It can go the other way too, and predict a person’s brain activity based on what they’re looking at. The researchers hope the “mindreading” tool could reveal more about how the brain works. It could also help locked-in people communicate and, incredibly, maybe even allow scientists to recreate the content of dreams. But other scientists warn that a similar approach could reveal people’s inner thoughts and mental imagery, potentially without their consent. Here’s how AI is getting closer to reading images from the brain. —Jessica Hamzelou How smaller, distributed batteries could help the grid Large, utility-scale battery installations are coming online quickly around the world. But there’s been pushback from communities, especially population-dense ones like NYC, because of concerns about relatively rare but high-profile battery fires. Faced with those obstacles, some startups are getting creative, finding ways to use...