Romanian 700MW unit to shut down this week

Spanish Market: Electricity
11/08/26

The Romanian government has started technical preparations for the disconnection of the 700MW unit 2 at the 1.4GW Cernavoda nuclear plant later this week, the energy ministry said today.

Given the very low Danube river flows and considering that the forecasts for Danube flows remain unfavourable, the controlled shutdown of the unit is expected this week, the ministry said.

The latest forecasts indicate that Danube flows at Bazias will remain well below the 3,900 m³/s historical norm for August at least until the start of next week,remaining at 1,400 m³/s by 17 August, unchanged from this week.

The ministry and transmission system operator (TSO) Transelectrica have started preparing for replacement output, including taking state-owned utility CE Oltenia's 300MW Rovinari lignite-fired plant out of reserve. And state-owned hydropower producer Hidroelectrica will use all of the available capacity at its plants, the ministry said. Romanian hydro stocks were at 2.01TWh, or 69pc of stored energy potential, in week 32, 602GWh below the same period in 2025 and 447GWh below the five-year average for the week.

The ministry has reiterated its call for responsible electricity consumption and voluntary reductions during the evening hours of 19:00-23:00. The last resort in the event that the system cannot meet demand is to cut power supply to certain large industrial consumers over those hours, it said.

The announcement comes a few days after the government sank four metal barges in the Danube to redirect flows and increase levels near Cernavoda to ensure continued power production at the plant for "at least" the next nine days.

Maximum temperatures in Bucharest are forecast to average 31.2°C, or 0.4°C above seasonal norms over the remainder of this week.

By Apostolos Tsarikas

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11/08/26

Jellyfish cut 67pc French Gravelines nuclear capacity

London, 11 August (Argus) — Utility EdF last night curtailed about 3.1GW or just over half of France's 5.4GW Gravelines nuclear reactor — made up of six 900MW reactors — in response to a huge influx of jellyfish, increasing to 3.6GW on Tuesday evening. EdF first automatically shut down units 3 and 4, followed by a unit 2 shutdown and a curtailment by half of unit 1, the utility said today. Units 3 and 4 left the grid just before 20:00 local time on Monday, while unit 2 followed with a full-capacity outage at 22:30. Unit 1 began reduced operations at 430MW of capacity from 21:00, according to the utility's unavailability ticker. Meanwhile, unit 5 was already off line for maintenance until 8 December, while unit 6 will be reduced to 500MW of capacity as of 16:30 today until 10:00 on Wednesday, according to a Remit notice published this afternoon. The curtailments — excluding the partial reduction at unit 6 — equate to a 3.13GW or 58pc reduction in Gravelines' total plant capacity. Including the unit 6 curtailment, total reductions were at 3.63GW, or 67pc of the reactor's entire capacity. The curtailments at units 1 and 2 are currently scheduled to last until Wednesday at 23:00, while units 3 and 4 are set to return to the grid at 23:00 on 16 and 19 August, respectively. User-reported jellyfish weather service Meduseo on Monday reported an increase to 75 from 0 on its jellyfish density evolution chart at the Gravelines beach, next to the plant in northern France. The recorded global average sea surface temperature last month was the highest for any July on record at 20.96°C, data from EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus show. And curtailed output from France's nuclear reactors so far this summer is nearing 5TWh due to heat and drought, having impacted 30pc of the fleet since restrictions began on 22 June. July was the hottest month ever recorded, according to state weather agency Meteo France, and one of the driest, with river flows and soil moisture at historic lows. On this day a year ago, EdF disconnected four 910MW units at Gravelines after finding jellyfish in filtering drums at the reactor's pumping stations. By Bea Leverett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

July was joint second-warmest on record: EU Copernicus

10/08/26

July was joint second-warmest on record: EU Copernicus

London, 10 August (Argus) — Last month was the joint second-warmest July on record, tied with July 2024 and just 0.05°C behind the record high set in July 2023, EU earth-monitoring programme Copernicus said today. The global average surface air temperature in July was 16.90°C, 0.67°C higher than the 1991-2020 average for July, and 1.47°C above the pre-industrial average, Copernicus data show. The Paris climate agreement seeks to curb the global rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursues a 1.5°C limit. An "exceptional run of extreme heat" continued in July in western Europe, Copernicus noted. The region has been very dry since May, with "exceptionally low rainfall" and soil moisture levels reported in France, Spain, the UK and parts of Germany, it said. This has intensified and led to very low river flows, including on the Danube and Rhine. Some countries have been forced to shut down nuclear power units, owing to a lack of cooling water, including Hungary and Romania . The extreme heat in western Europe in May-July "also amplified widespread drought", Copernicus' strategic lead for climate Samantha Burgess said. "As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily", she said. The conditions in western Europe were "conducive to exceptional wildfire activity… in terms of burnt area and emissions", Copernicus said. Wildfires in the EU this year burnt 500,852 hectares by 6 August, EU data show — nearly a third higher than the area burnt in the same period of 2025, the worst year for wildfires on record. Global ocean temperatures also reached "exceptionally high" levels in July, Copernicus said. The average sea surface temperature in July was 20.96°C, the highest recorded for the month and surpassing the previous record set in July 2023, its data show. Sea surface temperatures remained extremely high in large parts of the tropical Pacific Ocean, where El Nino conditions are forecast to strengthen further . El Nino, and its opposite phase La Nina, are naturally occurring weather patterns. El Nino typically leads to higher global temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation, which uses several datasets including those from Copernicus, predicts "an overwhelming likelihood of above average temperatures across most land areas" in August-October. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Shutdown of Italy’s two biggest coal plants 'imminent'

06/08/26

Shutdown of Italy’s two biggest coal plants 'imminent'

Rome, 6 August (Argus) — Italy is poised to shut its two biggest coal-fired power plants to make way for new investment — including in areas related to the energy transition — energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin has said. At the end of July, industry minister Adolfo Urso said he had received Pichetto Fratin's blessing to close the two 1.8GW plants — Cerano in Brindisi and Torrevaldaliga Nord in Civitavecchia — to clear the way for new investment . Urso said 35 proposals had been received, from domestic and foreign companies, for the Brindisi site, with the more advanced proposals focused on the energy transition, circular economy, water treatment and aerospace. Earlier this year, Italy drew up measures pushing back the deadline for phasing out coal-fired power to 2038. The government said it wanted to keep some coal-fired plants on standby in case of emergencies. Pichetto Fratin has previously indicated that Civitavecchia and Brindisi could be restarted if gas prices consistently exceed €70/MWh. "The transition needs to be tackled responsibly and realistically, going beyond ideological clashes and focusing on solutions that can ensure development and environmental protection," Pichetto Fratin said. "The goal now is to create new opportunities focusing on logistics, the circular economy, the blue economy, new energies, and innovative production chains, while making the most of the skills and expertise already available." Italy currently has 4.65GW of coal-fired capacity, including Civitavecchia and Brindisi, which are both owned by Enel. By Stephen Jewkes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

India's Ola, Axis Energy sign utility-scale Bess deal

05/08/26

India's Ola, Axis Energy sign utility-scale Bess deal

Mumbai, 5 August (Argus) — Indian electric vehicle maker Ola Electric has entered the utility-scale battery energy storage system (Bess) market through its first large-scale partnership for the upcoming Mahashakti platform, signing a deal with renewable energy developer Axis Energy for the potential deployment of up to 20GWh of storage capacity by 2032. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is the first commercial agreement for Mahashakti — Ola's utility-scale and commercial and industrial energy storage platform. The platform will launch on 15 August, Ola Electric said on 4 August. The agreement targets a scale-up in deployments to 5GWh/yr from 2028. Mahashakti is an India-designed and India-made Bess platform aimed at renewable energy integration, industrial power, grid infrastructure and data-centre use, Ola Electric said. Its vertically integrated model, covering cell technology, manufacturing and system engineering, is intended to improve safety, bolster supply-chain security and reduce total ownership costs. Ola Electric described the Axis Energy MoU as an "important early validation" of demand for the platform and said it is witnessing strong interest from potential partners as it builds a demand pipeline. Axis Energy told Argus that it will progressively deploy Mahashakti Bess across its upcoming renewable energy projects in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. It has secured grid approvals for more than 3,750MW of projects in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, with a further pipeline of around 3,500MW. The projects, spanning firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE), hybrid and other non-solar configurations, will require large-scale Bess to improve renewable energy integration, enhance grid reliability and deliver round-the-clock clean power. The announcement comes as India accelerates battery storage deployment to support renewable energy integration. Ola cited Central Electricity Authority estimates that India will need more than 400GWh of energy storage capacity by 2032. About 2,668.54MW/7,785.6MWh of Bess capacity was added during the April 2025-March 2026 fiscal year, while around 47GW of Bess capacity has been considered for integration by 2031-32 under the National Electricity Plan (Transmission), the power ministry said on 3 August. By Keertiman Upadhyay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Texas halts data center approvals: Update

04/08/26

Texas halts data center approvals: Update

Updates with comment from American Electric Power Houston, 4 August (Argus) — Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) has halted approvals for new data center projects seeking to connect to the state's power grid until regulators complete an audit of the facilities, directing the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to expand its review of all projects advancing through the interconnection process. Under the order made Monday, regulators must collect information on power consumption, water use, on-site generation plans, tax incentives, ownership structures and potential impacts on local communities. Projects that fail to comply with the review must be denied connection to the Texas grid. The order comes as opposition to data center development spreads across Texas and pressure mounts on Abbott to take a tougher stance on the industry. Local governments across the state have pursued moratoriums and proposed new restrictions on data centers, while elected officials from both parties have called for greater scrutiny of facilities' effect on the grid, water supplies and rural communities. Against that backdrop, Abbott's directive expands an ongoing effort by ERCOT and the PUCT to vet large-load projects, broadening the review beyond grid planning to include resource consumption, incentives and local impacts. ERCOT is currently considering approximately 474GW of requests to connect to the Texas grid, more than five times the state's record peak electricity demand, Abbot said. Roughly 90pc of those requests are associated with data centers, according to the governor. "That unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid," Abbott wrote in the directive. The review is necessary in part because some data centers failed to comply with a state survey measuring water and power usage, he said. He also cited concerns raised during legislative hearings and public meetings regarding the sector's impact on local communities and critical infrastructure. The Data Center Coalition, which represents major data center operators, said it supports the review if it helps distinguish legitimate projects from speculative proposals. "We are hopeful this directive from the Governor will help separate those who are responsible water and energy stewards from those who are not," said Dan Diorio, the group's executive vice president of state policy and government affairs. "With billions of dollars in investment and hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line, we urge the PUCT and ERCOT to move swiftly." Behind the hype Texas officials have been struggling to determine how much of the state's projected load growth is genuine and how much reflects speculative filings, duplicate applications and so-called "ghost load" requests. Regulators have warned that inflated interconnection queues make it difficult to forecast future demand and risk prompting unnecessary spending on generation and transmission infrastructure, potentially saddling consumers with the cost of investments that ultimately prove unnecessary. In an effort to streamline the process, the state launched Batch Zero , which was developed to help separate credible projects from speculative proposals by imposing stricter requirements on large-load customers. Under the framework, projects seeking 75MW or more that meet certain financial commitments are grouped into a single system-wide study intended to identify which projects are prepared to move forward and what transmission infrastructure may be required to serve them. In a notice to market participants Monday, ERCOT said it was pausing the process and would not issue the 7 August classifications scheduled under the study, delaying a key milestone that would have informed developers whether their projects had been selected for evaluation in the first batch. "ERCOT is reviewing governor Abbott's letter concerning data centers and will work with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to implement the governor's directive, including postponement of the Batch Zero transmission planning study," the grid operator said. American Electric Power, one of the largest utilities participating in ERCOT's new large-load review process, said it is monitoring the governor's order and assessing potential impacts. The company recently disclosed that it has submitted about 45GW of prospective demand to ERCOT for interconnection, making it one of the biggest utility stakeholders in Batch Zero. "We respect governor Abbott's focus on supporting Texas' continued economic growth while ensuring a reliable and resilient electric system, and we will continue to work constructively with state leaders, ERCOT, customers and other stakeholders as this process moves forward," the company said in an email to Argus . The Columbus, Ohio-based utility said it remains confident in its Texas growth outlook, citing demand from large oil and gas companies, industrials and data centers. ERCOT said it would consult with the commission on next steps before the PUCT's 20 August open meeting. By Jasmina Kelemen Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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