Every second counts
Carbon-free claims made by corporate offtakers have come under fire as critics argue accounting based on annual energy consumption is a poor reflection of what’s really happening on energy grids. New emissions standards, growing markets for round-the-clock clean power, and increased energy storage deployment are all set to bring 24/7 carbon-free energy closer to reality.
Powering Europe’s AI buildout
Europe is experiencing a renewed surge in data center growth, fueled by colocation and hyperscaler data center companies. The long wait for grid connections poses challenges, but the demand flexibility and heat reuse potential that data centers offer could turn them into an energy system asset, as Blathnaid O’Dea reports.
High-stakes PPAs
Power purchase agreements (PPAs) are evolving into complex risk-sharing structures as hyperscale data center operators trade fixed pricing for physical delivery and grid-bypass certainty. The US solar industry is entering 2026 as the foundational technology for a new era of power demand, even as the sector navigates a volatile federal policy landscape.
Indian solar’s digital leap
The next phase of India’s clean energy buildout will be defined not only by installed capacity but by how well renewables are integrated to provide flexibility. Digital coordination, market access, and transactional integrity will matter as much as gigawatts deployed. Digitalizing energy is fundamental for promoting solar adoption, ensuring that surplus solar generation is utilized, and enabling distributed assets to play an active role in grid operations, say Shantanu Roy and Saptak Ghosh of India’s Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).
