Our Scans · (LF.7) Affordable and Clean Energy · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

• [New] In the United States, the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative has partnered with over 900 organizations to improve energy efficiency by at least 20%, while the EU's revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive mandates that all new buildings be zero-emission by 2030. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Solar is fast-growing as the go-to renewable energy source that will cut the burning of fossil fuels globally to power homes and even complex installations, such as AI data centers. List.Solar
• [New] Musk plans to launch AI data centers powered by orbital solar energy within the next three years. / USA Mexico Business
• [New] By 2030, data centers could account for up to 80% of the energy demand in the United States. Mexico Business
• [New] The revised Directive sets a binding target of at least 42.5% renewable energy in the EU's energy mix by 2030, with the ambition to reach 45%. Energy
• [New] The renewable energy framework for the next decade will seek to secure reliable, affordable, homegrown energy for European citizens and industry, and ensure that renewables contribute to the achievement of the 2040 EU climate target in a cost-efficient and sustainable way. Energy
• [New] The State Grid Energy Research Institute has released its China Electricity Supply and Demand Analysis Report 2026, forecasting that wind and solar will account for 49.1% of China's total installed power capacity by 2026, up 1.8 percentage points from 2025. TaiyangNews - All About Solar Power
• [New] Renewables generated approximately 68,000 gigawatt-hours in April, compared to natural gas's 65,000 gigawatt-hours-a narrow but symbolically massive victory that energy analysts have been predicting would arrive sometime in the mid-2020s. Positive Current
• [New] Solar, wind and battery storage installations together - as in past years - will continue to make up the majority of planned 2026 new energy capacity. Positive Current
• [New] At a time when the African community is prioritizing energy security in the midst of the global energy transition, African green hydrogen projects will serve to meet dual goals of alleviating energy poverty while transitioning to sustainable energy sources. African Energy Chamber
• [New] Energy commodity prices are now projected to rise 19% in 2026, with oil prices expected to increase 21.4%. forbesindia
• [New] International Energy Agency, Global electricity demand is set to grow strongly to 2030, underscoring need for investments in grids and flexibility, 2026. BlackRock
• [New] The convergence of Middle East energy disruption, sustained cyclical sector rotation, and AI capex valuation bifurcation demands a more granular and deliberately structured allocation framework. The Norfolk Daily News
• [New] Directed energy guns by 2040 will be supercharged by AI-enabled targeting, miniaturized emitters, and algorithmic modulation. The Washington Times
• [New] NASA will work with the Departments of Defence and Energy to put nuclear reactors in orbit and on the surface of the moon. Wired
• [New] After the closure of the Hormuz strait, coal-fired power generation fell in the US, India, EU, Turkey and South Africa, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, despite fears that countries would return to coal. The Guardian
• [New] Boom Supersonic is trying to build the world's fastest airliner but will gladly sell its Superpower gas turbines to AI companies in need of data center energy. Wired
• [New] As the US-Iran conflict emerges as the dominant near-term driver of global financial markets, institutional allocators are confronting an abrupt and simultaneous repricing of energy assets, central bank policy trajectories, and equity risk premia that few year-end models anticipated. The Norfolk Daily News
• [New] The war on Iran, which may still be a long way from over, has triggered an energy challenge that highlights the world's collective failure to face the looming threat of climate disruption. The Guardian
• In 2026, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and collaboration with MIT, Moxair will build and demonstrate a first-of-a-kind dilute methane oxidation technology to tackle methane emissions using transition metal catalysts. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• The East Midlands will help manufacturers scale up clean energy and advanced production technologies, while East Yorkshire, Hull, and Tees Valley will support a joint clean energy and industrial decarbonization programme. UKAuthority
• South-West Wales will focus on scaling offshore wind, hydrogen, and cleaner industrial energy, as well as developing new ways to recover and recycle critical materials to reduce reliance on imports. UKAuthority

Last updated: 20 April 2026