Switched On

Texas is becoming a test case for one of the biggest questions facing electricity markets. As AI-driven power demand for data centers accelerates, grid operators are exploring whether large loads can do more than consume electricity – and instead become a source of flexibility when the power system is under stress. The answer depends on the workload. Cryptocurrency mines have already demonst...

China is emerging as the standout exception in the global hydrogen market. While many countries are scaling back ambitions, Beijing has set a new target to increase green hydrogen production eightfold by 2030, a level that could make it the world's largest producer and account for roughly half of BloombergNEF's projected global output that year. The strategy is about more than decarbonization. Chi...

What does it take to build an electric-vehicle charging network that really works? As EV adoption accelerates, charging operators are shifting from installing as many chargers as possible to designing networks that can reliably attract drivers, manage grid constraints and generate sustainable returns. At the same time, retail partnerships, on-site batteries, battery swapping and dedicated charging...

Australia is becoming a proving ground for the future of electricity markets. With renewables now supplying a large share of generation and batteries being deployed at unprecedented scale, the country is offering an early look at how power systems operate when storage becomes a central part of the grid. Yet batteries’ remarkable success in the country brings with it new challenges, as growin...

As power grids become more digital and interconnected, they are also becoming more exposed. Utilities are facing a growing mix of physical and cyber threats, from attacks on substations to increasingly sophisticated efforts to infiltrate the systems used to monitor and operate the grid. Smart meters, distributed energy resources and connected devices are creating new vulnerabilities, while AI has...

El Niño has officially arrived, and there are concerns this time that the weather phenomenon might be more intense than most years, a so-called “super” event. With Pacific Ocean temperatures now exceeding the threshold for one of the strongest forms of the weather pattern, the risk of prolonged heat, drought, low wind and other disruptive weather events is rising across multiple...

Heat pumps are at a crossroads. After a decade of growth, global sales fell in 2025 as weaker construction activity weighed on key markets. Yet the longer-term picture remains resilient. Heat pumps have continued to gain ground against fossil fuel heating in several regions, while Europe remains a focal point for adoption, shaped by a shifting mix of subsidies, energy prices and consumer demand. S...

Gas and oil are on a sharply divergent path. In BloombergNEF’s Economic Transition Scenario, oil demand peaks before the end of the decade, while gas demand continues to grow as expanding power systems seek reliable sources of generation. At the same time, constraints on everything from gas turbine supply chains to grid infrastructure are emerging as critical bottlenecks. So how does the glo...

China’s latest export data is offering an early glimpse into how higher fossil fuel prices may be reshaping trade in clean energy technology. Shipments of solar products, batteries and electric vehicles rose sharply in recent months, with some of the strongest growth coming from emerging markets that are heavily exposed to oil and gas imports. The figures arrive as many fuel-importing econom...

The wind industry is entering a new phase of scale. Offshore installations are set to surge in 2026 as a new generation of massive projects comes online, while onshore markets continue expanding across the globe. But the picture beneath those headline numbers is increasingly nuanced. Offshore developers are still grappling with supply chain bottlenecks, higher financing costs and policy uncertaint...

Japan’s journey back to nuclear power is entering a new phase. Fifteen years after the Fukushima disaster and the shuttering of the country’s nuclear fleet, the return of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa 6 reactor marks the first restart in the Tokyo power region and one of the most significant additions since 2011. The timing is critical. Japan remains heavily reliant on imported LNG, leaving i...

Hydrogen’s place in the energy transition is changing. After years of hype around its role in reaching net zero, many projects have been delayed or canceled as costs remain high, policy support weakens and demand proves slow to materialize. Yet hydrogen is far from disappearing. Industries already consume vast amounts of the molecule today, and sectors such as fertilizers, refining and poten...

BloombergNEF’s Tier 1 lists have become a defining feature of the clean energy industry. Built on real project deployment data, they track which manufacturers’ products are actually being used in large, recently financed projects, offering a transparent way to navigate markets crowded with hundreds of suppliers. That simplicity has made the lists highly influential, but being on (or of...

The AI boom is ushering in a new era for energy storage. As data center buildout accelerates, batteries are evolving from short-duration backup tools into larger, more flexible systems that can help bring facilities online faster and manage complex power needs. In the US in particular, a growing pipeline of projects is emerging, with batteries increasingly paired with on-site generation or used to...

Middle powers are navigating a more fragmented global order. As tensions rise between major economies, the countries caught in between are being forced to rethink how they manage trade, security and economic ties. Energy is at the center of that shift. Reducing reliance on imported fuels is becoming a strategic priority, with electrification and domestic clean energy seen not just as climate solut...

Severe disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is rippling far beyond oil markets. Around 10% of global aluminum supply is tied to the Middle East, and with exports constrained, prices are surging and supply chains are tightening. The impact will extend across the global economy as aluminum is used from cars and electronics to construction, meaning higher prices can quickly feed through to everyday goo...

Fusion energy is entering a new phase. After decades as a scientific pursuit, the sector is attracting billions in private and public capital, with big tech, oil companies and governments all racing to bring the first commercial plants online. Advances in areas like superconductors, materials and computing are opening new pathways, while surging demand for reliable, clean power, particularly from...

PJM Interconnection is entering an era of explosive power demand. Home to a significant share of the world’s data centers, the largest US electricity market could soon be facing sky-high prices and scant supply. Yet stakeholders are divided on how best to respond. Should PJM focus on building new generation, or should it lean on flexible demand? And with no lever able to solve the problem si...

It’s been nearly a year since Spain’s catastrophic blackout and key questions remain. Post-mortem reports point to a complex chain reaction in the grid, with no single trigger and gaps in coordination between operators, regulators and generators. The findings expose deeper challenges: inconsistent voltage rules, rising operational complexity and a system evolving faster than its contro...

Energy shocks don’t just move prices, they reshape trade. As oil and gas prices rise, countries reliant on energy imports are accelerating the shift toward clean technologies, from solar and batteries to electric vehicles. In many cases, that change is being driven by businesses and consumers responding directly to higher costs. Yet it also relies on trade dynamics and government priorities,...

Nature risk is becoming a critical challenge for companies. It’s also incredibly complex. Exposure spans an array of largely local issues, from water and biodiversity to waste and pollution, making it harder to measure and compare across sectors and geographies than its better-known sibling climate risk. BloombergNEF’s new Nature Risk Management Scores aim to bring structure to that co...

The energy transition is entering a more complex phase. Geopolitics, trade tensions and rapid technological change are reshaping markets, creating new risks as well as new opportunities. Demand is rising across clean power, electric vehicles and data centers, even as supply chains tighten and policy becomes more fragmented. At the same time, falling costs and new business models are opening fresh...

The cost to build and run clean-power projects used to be heading in one direction: down. That story is now getting more complicated. Battery storage costs continued to fall last year, while most other technologies became more expensive. Yet comparing technologies is far from straightforward. So how should we interpret these shifts in an increasingly complex power system, and what do these changin...

Oil and gas prices are rising again as the Iran war shakes global energy markets. But so far Europe’s power system is holding up better than in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. More renewables and lower demand have made Europe’s energy system more resilient, even as prices edge higher. Yet gas still matters, and as coal exits the power mix, exposure to future shocks could grow. So ho...

The US energy transition has hit an inflection point. Electricity generation reached a 20-year high last year, as renewables and energy storage accounted for 90% of new capacity additions. Energy-transition investment reached a record $378 billion, and more electric vehicles were sold than ever before. Yet all these headline figures occurred as federal policy support for clean technologies was sca...