Energy, Utilities & Environment

Atlanta – October 16, 2026 -- Cox Enterprises awarded $30,000 grants from the James M. Cox Foundation to each of its three 2026 Cox Conserves Heroes: David Schick, Nithya Tammana and Detroit Hives. Each winner directs the funds to an environmental nonprofit of their choice.

The winners were announced at a ceremony on Oct. 14. Since 2008, the program has recognized more than 200 individuals and nonprofits. Its criteria align with Cox's corporate goals to save energy and water, reduce waste, and protect and restore natural habitats and species.

Cox pledges 1 billion pounds of plastic diversion by 2034

The awards come as Cox widens its environmental agenda. In 2026, the company added habitat and species protection to its existing goals on water, waste and carbon. Cox has invested $3 billion in cleantech businesses and, with the James M. Cox Foundation, contributed more than $800 million to philanthropic causes.

By 2034, Cox aims to:

Los Angeles – October 16, 2026 -- California approved 433 oil well drilling permits in the first nine months of 2026, a 277% jump over the 115 approved across all of 2023 through 2025, according to analysis by Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance of state data.

Approvals rose another 22.7% between the first half of the year and the first nine months. The figures come from the California Department of Geological Energy Management (CalGEM).

New-well approvals climb from 2 to 80 in a year

Permits for new well drilling reached 80 in the third quarter of 2026, up from two in the same quarter of 2025. Permits to rework or redrill existing wells fell only slightly, and well plugging dropped 5.2% against the third quarter of 2025.

San Francisco – October 16, 2026 -- Novogradac will convene attorneys, developers, investors, lenders, tax insurance providers and advisors at the Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown on Nov. 5-6 for its 2026 Fall Renewable Energy Tax Credits Conference, held immediately after the 2026 mid-term elections.

Federal policy changes drive the agenda

Sessions will cover recent federal developments affecting clean energy tax incentives, technical tax considerations in deal execution, and the evolving clean energy development landscape. Further topics include what is driving investor interest in certain properties and tax equity structures.

Conference chair Tony Grappone, a partner in Novogradac's North Andover, Massachusetts, office, said the renewable energy tax credit (RETC) sector has been shaped this year by "major changes in federal policy and guidance."

Houston – October 16, 2026 -- The 2026 Gulf Energy Information Excellence Awards drew a record 560 nominations, the most in the program's history, and presented 44 awards across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors at a black-tie gala at The Post Oak Hotel.

AI wins Best Digital Transformation in all three sectors

Artificial intelligence earned Best Digital Transformation honors in the upstream, midstream and downstream categories. Lower-carbon work in ammonia, hydrogen and CO2 recovery was recognized alongside advances in drilling, deepwater and pipeline integrity.

The individual awards covered careers at every stage, from the industry's most promising engineers to lifetime achievers.

Lagos – October 16, 2026 -- Nigerian Content in the oil and gas sector reached 56% at the end of 2023, up from less than 5% in 2010, according to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The board also reports that implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act has created more than 50,000 direct jobs. It has also kept over $8 billion in annual oil and gas expenditure within the Nigerian economy. The 2010 Local Content Act set the framework for greater participation by Nigerian companies and professionals.

NCDMB targets 70% Nigerian Content by 2027

The NCDMB's 10-Year Strategic Roadmap sets an ambition of 70% Nigerian Content by 2027. Dorman Long Engineering is presented as an example of how indigenous engineering, fabrication and talent development can support that target.

Bogotá – October 16, 2026 -- NG Energy International Corp. expects total gross production at its Maria Conchita block in Colombia to rise to 23.0 MMcf/d from 16.0 MMcf/d after the Aruchara-6 well tested at up to 8.7 MMcf/d gross and entered production.

Aruchara-6 flows at 8.7 MMcf/d gross through the central processing facility

The well was drilled to a total depth of 9,352 feet and hit the H1 target as designed. It also passed through the H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6 zones, all of which showed gas at surface and on wireline logs. During initial flow testing through the central processing facility (CPF), Aruchara-6 produced up to 8.7 MMcf/d gross (6.96 MMcf/d net) on a 30/64 choke at an average tubing head pressure of 780 psi.

Shangrao – October 16, 2026 -- Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. ("Jiangxi Jinko"), the principal operating subsidiary of JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), estimates a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB2,976.33 million to RMB3,576.33 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.

Loss excluding extraordinary items is estimated at up to RMB4.41bn

Stripping out extraordinary gains and losses, the estimated net loss attributable to Jiangxi Jinko shareholders widens to a range of RMB3,811.12 million to RMB4,411.12 million. The gap to the headline figure is RMB834.79 million at the low end of both ranges and at the high end, indicating extraordinary items contributed net gains of that amount within the estimates.

The figures are preliminary and unaudited.

Nyköping – October 16, 2026 -- Studsvik has signed a frame agreement with Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND) running until 2055, with an estimated total value for Studsvik of SEK 3-4 billion and a contractual minimum of about SEK 875 million. The contract covers transport, treatment and interim storage of spent fuel from Norway's former research reactors at Halden and Kjeller.

Studsvik will move 16.5 tonnes of Norwegian fuel to Sweden

Norway holds about 16.5 tonnes of spent fuel from six decades of research reactor operation. Much of it cannot be stored long term or disposed of in its current form. The inventory includes metallic uranium fuel, aluminium-clad fuel and experimental fuels.

Studsvik will transport the fuel to its licensed facilities outside Nyköping, inspect it and, where required, treat it, including oxidation of metallic uranium fuel. The treated fuel will stay at Studsvik until it is returned to Norway for final disposal.

United Kingdom – October 16, 2026 -- National Grid is advancing a portfolio of transmission projects that includes a seven-year, £1 billion programme to rewire South London through deep underground tunnels, begun in Spring 2020, and several 2 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) links between Scotland and England.

Eastern Green Links add 2 GW corridors from Scotland to England

EGL1 is a 2 GW HVDC link between the Torness area in East Lothian, Scotland, and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham. EGL2, also rated at 2 GW, will run from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Drax in North Yorkshire. EGL3 and EGL4 are intended to raise network capability to connect new offshore wind farms.

National Grid Electricity Transmission is also developing Sea Link, a planned high voltage undersea connection between Suffolk and Kent. Separately, a project to strengthen the Scotland-England network would connect new energy sources in the Scottish Borders.

Chongqing – October 16, 2026 -- HiTHIUM doubled its cumulative energy storage shipments from 100GWh in August 2025 to 200GWh within a year, the company said at a milestone ceremony on October 15 at its Chongqing manufacturing base.

HiTHIUM climbs from fifth to Global Top 2 in storage rankings

Shipments began at the end of 2021. The company's global ranking rose from fifth in 2023 to third in 2024, and to Global Top 2 in 2025 and the first half of 2026. HiTHIUM attributes the climb to cost leadership, service, and safety and reliability.

The company says the growth reflects strengthening capabilities in long-duration energy storage (LDES), end-to-end integration, lighthouse-factory manufacturing, and global delivery and service.