Norwegian paper producer Norske Skog is to cut power consumption at its paper mill in Halden by up to 60%, it said on Friday, adding it had made a preliminary agreement with a data centre developer to join the site. montelnews.com/news/6bfd6d4...

Carbon analysts have largely refrained from readjusting their 2026 EUA price forecasts despite increasing political pressure to loosen the trading scheme having pulled the market down by 23% since mid-January. montelnews.com/news/5fde801...

Battery energy storage optimisation deals are set for further growth in the UK this year, with offtakers targeting revenues through price volatility and the array of opportunities afforded by the country’s wholesale power markets, sources told Montel. montelnews.com/news/1b2765c...

Norwegian utility Å Energi has written down the value of its 49.9% stake in battery venture Morrow to zero, it said on Friday, delivering a further blow to a sector many believed would become a major driver of power demand a few years ago. montelnews.com/news/a5138e4...

Blocking weather patterns could cause energy prices to rise by bringing cooler temperatures and reduced wind and precipitation to northwest Europe this spring, meteorologists told Montel. montelnews.com/news/22fc20c...

The European Commission is unlikely to approve Italy’s proposed ETS-related measures, according to the country’s hydropower association Assoidroelettrica, which said informal feedback from EU officials suggests this aspect would be incompatible with state aid rules. montelnews.com/news/d90d6a4...

Nordic countries Denmark, Finland and Sweden were among the most vocal supporters of a strong emissions trading system (ETS) amid calls to soften its impact on industry, it emerged during a debate on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/2dfc716...

Industry’s access to cheap home-grown wind power remains limited by grid constraints and flat electricity demand in the face of fresh calls for power and carbon market reforms, lobby WindEurope said on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/22531fc...

Spain and Portugal are entering a period of stronger power demand growth driven by affordable energy prices, outperforming other European markets, the CEO of Portuguese utility EDP said on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/dfbb56b...

Spain’s power grid “did not fail” before last April’s blackout so power TSO Red Electrica’s parent company Redeia did not set aside funds for potential damages claims from utilities, it said on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/364d861...

Europe’s benchmark carbon price fell 5% to a one-week low on Thursday amid calls by Italy to suspend the EU emissions trading system. montelnews.com/news/9ec5375...

A group of 10 EU members – including the bloc’s biggest economy, Germany – has urged a revision of the emissions trading system to take a more lenient approach to industry. montelnews.com/news/34b6fb2...

Different accounting systems that can produce a wide range of emissions measurements for steelmakers are compounding the teething difficulties that have accompanied the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a webinar heard late on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/b4db8f8...

A majority of French MPs voted late on Wednesday against toppling the government over the publication of the country’s 10-year energy roadmap (PPE) two weeks ago. montelnews.com/news/67653e0...

Italy’s energy reform plan could slow renewable development, undermine investor confidence and create uncertainty over subsidy schemes, industry observers told Montel. montelnews.com/news/1069b12...

Italy has called on the EC to suspend the EU ETS until a comprehensive reform is implemented, arguing the current framework imposes an “additional tax burden on European companies” and undermines their competitiveness, in a statement released on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/4d87393...

Ukraine faces “a war against energy infrastructure” four years after Russia’s invasion – leaving people without power during the country’s coldest winter for 15 years, industry officials told Montel’s Plugged In podcast on Thursday. montelnews.com/news/ccb3374...

AI will be a boon for the German economy and the country must embrace data centres, despite the demands they add to the country’s already congested grid, Eon CEO Leonhard Birnbaum said on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/1fa6487...

The European Commission may take into account the political and geopolitical reasoning behind Italy’s energy reform, rather than focusing on legal technicalities, an energy law specialist told Montel on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/cfa12cb...

The German government’s plan to relax its building sector decarbonisation law is likely to increase demand for the upcoming EU ETS2 and lift carbon prices, an analyst told Montel on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/4ba2a2a...

Norway opposes an EU plan to share grid congestion revenues between EU countries, energy minister Terje Aasland told Montel on Wednesday, although he noted the government had yet to decide on implementing the EU grid package. montelnews.com/news/498db5f...

German energy company Eon on Wednesday welcomed a controversial recent economy ministry proposal to decongest networks, and countered suggestions the company was responsible for costly grid bottlenecks. montelnews.com/news/c54194e...

The European Commission plans to unveil an EU electrification action plan on 19 May, as well as proposals to strengthen energy security and a heating and cooling strategy, according to a draft agenda seen by Montel on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/ed5edd6...

Interventions in power markets such as Italy’s would not help to attract the investment needed to address growing electricity demand, Spanish utility Iberdrola’s chairman said on Wednesday as he called for lower power taxes. montelnews.com/news/f363a7e...

Curtailment of onshore wind and solar power output in France doubled last year, to around 3 TWh during periods of negative spot prices, transmission system operator RTE said on Wednesday. montelnews.com/news/429205f...

A group of 150 Italian scientists and economists have urged the country’s government not to weaken the EU carbon market in its new energy reform, calling such a move “short-sighted” as Italy faces growing climate risks. montelnews.com/news/99ce8f7...

Column of the Week - North Sea power play: Europe’s bold wind gamble montelnews.com/news/2308097...

The European Commission should halt its gas storage rules in 2028 to enable “market-led” use of underground sites, Energy Traders Europe said on Tuesday, while calling for clearer rules to ban Russian gas and LNG imports. montelnews.com/news/247c23e...

Spain will begin to see widescale development of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects this year due to subsidies already granted to the sector, industry experts told Montel. montelnews.com/news/5b7f25a...

The European Commission should aim to limit total electricity costs for industrial users to EUR 50/MWh as part of its electrification action plan expected in May, energy-intensive industries said on Tuesday. montelnews.com/news/a87abaa...

The EU emissions trading system will require flexibilities and stronger carbon leakage measures to play a key role in supporting the bloc’s long-term decarbonisation efforts, a lobby group representing European industry said on Tuesday. montelnews.com/news/d24f4a5...

European gas storage operators face challenging financial conditions up to 2036 as a “wave of LNG supply” pressures winter-summer price spreads, reducing the profitability of many facilities, analysts told Montel. montelnews.com/news/0ecc00d...

Long read: GO market may stall as emissions accounting standards loom montelnews.com/news/87c18cc...

Some EU nations risk missing their 2030 interconnector targets, raising the prospect of higher power prices and constrained renewable flows as grid bottlenecks hamper cross-border electricity trade, analysts told Montel. montelnews.com/news/193c49a...

Spanish utility Endesa plans to invest EUR 3bn in renewable energy in the 2026-28 period in Iberia, 20% lower than the amount earmarked in its previous period, it said on Tuesday. montelnews.com/news/52f0012...

Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago today which, aside from the tragic toll on its population, has seen the crippling of the country’s energy system through ever-worsening strikes on plants and infrastructure. montelnews.com/news/58f439f...

Far-right National Rally (RN) and far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) parties each filed a motion of no confidence against the French government on Monday in reaction to the publication of the country’s 10-year energy roadmap (PPE) two weeks ago. montelnews.com/news/6c0131b...

The EU needs clear rules on assigning guarantees of origin (GOs) to renewable electricity in storage to help boost take-up of hybrid power purchase agreements (PPAs), said respondents to a European Commission consultation. montelnews.com/news/3b7b712...

Italy could face a shortfall of 2025 guarantees of origin (GOs) that would force it to borrow 2026 volumes to meet obligations under a scheme offering electricity to energy-intensive users at a discount, consultancy Veyt said on Monday. montelnews.com/news/76c2a59...

Germany is on track to miss its 2030 goal of 115 GW installed onshore wind capacity by 10%, industry told Montel on Monday, despite a record number of permits granted last year. montelnews.com/news/0414b6a...

Italian power prices could fall 24% to EUR 85/MWh by 2028 amid the energy reform to cut gas and carbon costs for generators approved by the government last week, utility Enel said on Monday. montelnews.com/news/1fbe7e9...

Nordic power prices rose further on Monday after Swedish nuclear operator OKG announced the country’s largest nuclear reactor would be out of operation until 22 May. montelnews.com/news/c5d478d...

A tougher market for clean energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) is likely to favour utilities over large corporate buyers this year, industry sources have told Montel. montelnews.com/news/6dccb71...

EDF’s nuclear safety inspector, Jean Casabianca, has called for reinforcement to protect reactors from “massive arrivals of clogging organisms”, citing incidents last summer where jellyfish and algae obstructed nuclear water-cooling systems. montelnews.com/news/99851ec...

Spain is in a better position than other EU countries to phase out Russian LNG imports ahead of the EU ban in 2027, analysts told Montel on Monday. montelnews.com/news/e49fa5d...

Europe’s installed battery capacity is set to surge nearly five-fold to exceed 80 GW by 2030 from 17 GW in 2025 as investment accelerates amid falling capital costs, said Aurora Energy Research on Monday. montelnews.com/news/91186a8...

Spain's energy ministry said on Friday there was “no grid congestion” in the country after TSO Red Electrica said it had granted access rights to 11.8 GW of projects since 2022 – none of which are yet connected – and warned permits lapse after five years. montelnews.com/news/d7d7664...

French gas storage capacity prices for next winter have fallen by 39% year on year to a weighted average of EUR 0.70/MWh for 124 TWh, main operator Storengy said on Friday. montelnews.com/news/22262e2...

Italy’s planned energy package reform announced this week could lower Italian power market bids from gas-fired generators by EUR 38/MWh, with a net consumer benefit of EUR 4bn/year, according to a government draft leaked on Friday. montelnews.com/news/5f9c920...

Europe’s increasing reliance on US LNG poses risks on both sides of the Atlantic, with US consumers facing cost increases amid growing data centre demand for gas, analysts said. montelnews.com/news/81ebae4...