German Energy Policy Meets the Real World: Evonik CEO Christian Kullmann Says the Energy Transition Has No Value Whatsoever

Evonik CEO Christian Kullmann has delivered a blunt verdict on Germany’s Energiewende. In July 2026 interviews with the Rheinische Post and others, the head of one of Germany’s largest specialty chemicals companies stated that the energy transition has cost around €1,000 billion—and delivered “nothing.” “Wir haben nicht genug Gaskraftwerke. Wir haben eine Netzinfrastruktur wie in […]

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WSJ Reports Battery Energy Storage Systems Are Moving to Scale. But What Are the Hidden Catches?

The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted how battery energy storage systems (BESS) are shifting from niche applications to meaningful scale in the United States, with residential deployments accelerating particularly fast. Companies like Base Power are installing home batteries at a rapid clip, and broader market data confirm strong growth in both utility-scale and behind-the-meter segments. […]

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US Oil and Refined Products Inventories Down

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose last week, but Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) draws and sharp declines in key refined products left overall oil and product stocks tighter, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Petroleum Status Report released today for the week ending July 31, 2026. Key Inventory Highlights (Week Ending July 31, […]

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Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

The global energy landscape remains highly volatile in early August 2026, shaped by overlapping geopolitical, security, and climate pressures. Disruptions centered on Russia’s refined product exports, ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, escalating risks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and a severe drought across Europe are tightening supplies of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG, […]

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China Approves Eight New Nuclear Plants, Including Four With Hualong One 2.0 Tech

China’s State Council approved the construction of eight new nuclear reactor units on July 31, 2026, during an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. The projects, spanning four provinces, represent a total investment exceeding 170 billion yuan (approximately $25 billion) and continue the country’s aggressive expansion of nuclear capacity as a cornerstone of its […]

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed a halt on new data center connections to the ERCOT grid pending a comprehensive audit of their energy use, water consumption, financing, ownership, and community impacts.

This action, announced August 3, 2026, comes roughly three weeks after New York became the first state to impose a temporary statewide moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. It applies to projects seeking to interconnect with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system and pauses related transmission planning work, including the “Batch Zero” study. […]

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