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- 1Weak rains and fading solar drain India's coal stockpiles●Weak rains and fading solar have forced India to drain coal stockpiles just to keep the lights on... Night shortfalls hi
India is burning through coal reserves to keep electricity flowing as weak monsoon rains reduce hydropower and fading solar output hits evening supply. Night-time shortfalls reached 7.7 gigawatts this month, worse than during the summer heat wave, while grid coal inventories have more than halved from a year ago to their lowest level in nearly three years.
- 2Solar and wind hit record 80% of Australia's grid demand●"Solar and wind generation meet record 80% of power demand on Australia’s national grid" # Australia # Energy # Renewabl
Renewable energy supplied a record 80% of power demand on Australia's national grid, according to a report in The Guardian. The milestone covers generation from solar and wind sources, marking the highest share yet recorded for the country's main electricity network and underscoring the pace of Australia's shift away from fossil fuels.
- 3Distributed renewables help Ukraine withstand Russian attacks▼In Ukraine, distributed renewables foil Russia’s assaults
Ukraine is relying increasingly on distributed renewable energy to keep power flowing despite Russian strikes on its centralised grid. Small-scale solar, wind and other decentralised installations are harder to knock out than large power plants, allowing hospitals, communities and businesses to maintain electricity through attacks. The approach is being highlighted as a model of wartime energy resilience.
- 4India's power plants burn through coal stocks as hydro output slumps●India’s power plants are exhausting coal inventories as generators rush to offset weak hydro Stockpiles at power plants
Coal inventories at Indian power plants have fallen to a three-year low as generators increase coal-fired output to compensate for weak hydroelectric generation. The government has ordered all captive coal plants above 50 megawatts to run at full capacity in an effort to head off a possible power shortage, raising concerns about grid reliability during periods of high electricity demand.
- 5Microsoft silent as church groups seek share of data center costs●Microsoft goes quiet after church groups ask for 1% of data center costs https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/mic
Faith-based community groups have asked Microsoft to contribute 1% of its data center construction costs to local communities, and the company has so far not responded publicly. The request taps into growing tension over the tech industry's rapid buildout of power-hungry data centers, which residents say strain electricity grids and water supplies while bringing few local benefits. Microsoft's silence is drawing attention as communities push back on AI infrastructure expansion.
- 6Rotterdam Installs Temporary Transformer to Ease Port Grid Limits▼Rotterdam Temporary Transformer Could Ease Port Grid Limits
Rotterdam's port is deploying a temporary transformer to relieve constraints on its electrical grid, according to trade press reporting. The port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest, faces growing electricity demand from electrification and energy transition projects, and grid capacity has become a bottleneck. The temporary unit is intended to bridge the gap until permanent grid reinforcements are in place.
- 7
The Tennessee Valley Authority set new power demand records as a September heatwave pushed temperatures across the Tennessee Valley to extreme levels. With residents and businesses running air conditioning at full tilt, electricity use climbed past typical seasonal peaks, forcing the utility to draw on its full generating fleet. The records underline how late-season heat is straining the regional power grid.
- 8Study finds utility-scale solar lowers grid costs▼Our study didn’t ignore grid costs. We measured them — and utility-scale solar lowers them.
Researchers behind a new study are pushing back at critics, saying their analysis did not ignore grid costs but directly measured them. They report that utility-scale solar power reduces overall grid costs rather than raising them. The response comes amid ongoing debate over how large-scale solar affects electricity rates and infrastructure spending.