Day: August 4, 2026

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.

Energy News Beat 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 […]

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

Energy News Beat 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 […]

Hormuz Tanker Traffic Stalls as Attacks Escalate

Energy News Beat Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sunk to its lowest level in more than two months as attacks and threats intensify, leaving the world’s most critical oil chokepoint effectively stalled despite intermittent diplomatic noise from Washington. Ship-tracking data show vessel movements—including commodity carriers—plunged after a brief mid-June to early-July uptick […]

Qatar, Bessent Signal Progress on Short-Term US-Iran Deal — With Mixed Signals from Iran

Energy News Beat Oil markets swung lower on Tuesday as Qatar and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at a short-term arrangement between the United States and Iran, centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The chokepoint, which normally handles roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies, has been […]

From Smokestacks to Solutions: How Standard Carbon is Decarbonizing Energy

Energy News Beat Natan Shahar, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Standard Carbon, stops by with solutions. What if the solution to the alleged climate change was hiding in plain sight—literally in the smokestacks of power plants, factories, and boilers around the world? On this episode of the Energy Newsbeat Podcast, host Stu Turley sits […]