Raw Market Intelligence

Shipping rates for crude oil tankers were at multi-year highs at the end of 2025 before falling in early 2026. Rates climbed in the fall of 2025 because of increased demand for crude oil shipments, particularly from buyers in East Asia, limiting the number of vessels available for bookings. In this analysis, we look at several key global tanker routes for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, including the Persian Gulf-to-Asia route and the U.S. Gulf Coast-to-Europe route.

<p>Source: China Solar thermal Alliance On November 28, 2025, the China Renewable Energy Society (CRES) announced the list of winners of 2025 CRES Science and Technology Awards, including 10 first prize winners, 12 second prize winners, 13 third prize winners, 1 Science and Technology Achievement Award winner, five Science and Technology Innovation Award winners, and [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/chinese-acadaemy-of-sciences-wang-zhifeng-receives-cres-2025-science-and-technology-award/">Wang Zhifeng wins China&#8217;s Science and Technology Award 2025</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>Source: China Solar Thermal Alliance: Blue Book 2025 In 2025, China connected 9 new CSP plants to the grid, with a total installed capacity of 900 MW. By the end of 2025, China had built 27 CSP plants/systems, with a cumulative installed capacity of 1738.2 MW (including the country&#8217;s first 200 kW supercritical carbon dioxide [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/china-connects-9-more-csp-projects-in-2025-for-27-total/">China connects 9 more CSP projects in 2025 for 27 total</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>DUBAI, January 26, 2026 — GlassPoint, the leader in solar industrial process heat, today announced it has closed a $20M funding round led by N.I.S. New Investment Solutions, a Liechtenstein-based asset management firm, with participation from returning investor MIG Capital. The investment will advance existing megaprojects with Searles Valley Minerals in California and Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia, [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/glasspoint-closes-20-million-solar-fund-for-global-industrial-heat/">Glasspoint closes $20 million solar fund for global industrial heat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

Between January 1, 2026, and January 21, 2026, nuclear power plant outages averaged 2.0 gigawatts (GW), 20% less than in the same period in 2025 and below the previous five-year range (2021–25) for 7 out of 21 days.

<p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces-conference.org/">SolarPACES Conference 2026 to be held in Germany</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

Natural gas daily spot prices at the benchmark Henry Hub rose sharply over the past week, reaching nearly $8.15 per million British thermal units on January 22 as colder weather increased demand for space heating across the country. Higher wholesale natural gas prices generally contribute to higher wholesale electricity prices.

In our January 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast U.S. crude oil production next year will remain near the record 13.6 million barrels per day (b/d) produced in 2025 before decreasing 2% to 13.3 million b/d in 2027. If realized, a fall in annual U.S. crude oil production will mark the first since 2021.

When military aircraft are retired, they live out their days in the sunbelt at the U.S. Air Force's facility on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, otherwise known as the Boneyard.

In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast retail U.S. gasoline prices will be lower the next two years than in 2025, falling 6% in 2026 and then increasing 1% in 2027. Our gasoline price forecast generally follows a similar path as global crude oil prices, but decreasing U.S. refinery capacity this year may offset some of the effects of lower crude oil prices on gasoline, especially in the West Coast region.

<p>According to incomplete statistics from CSPPLAZA, a total of 12 important tenders across 11 CSP/molten salt thermal storage-related projects were completed in December 2025. December 2025 saw significant progress in both concentrated solar power (CSP) and molten salt thermal storage, with key milestones reached in multiple major projects: In the CSP sector, EPC contractors were [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/12-chinese-concentrated-solar-and-thermal-energy-storage-tenders-in-december/">12 concentrated solar and thermal energy storage tenders in China last month</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>Abstract: Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) molten-salt central receivers are subject to high, transient incident flux during daily operation. The resulting creep-fatigue damage impacts the receiver’s reliability and restricts the permissible incident flux distribution for a given receiver. This paper aims to reduce CSP plants’ levelized cost of electricity by developing a methodology to predict lifetime [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/published-at-solar-energy-damage-modeling-of-power-tower-receiver-tubes-using-the-srlife-tool/">Published at Solar Energy &#8211; Damage modeling of power tower receiver tubes using the SRLIFE tool</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>Abstract: Direct absorption solar collectors have gained attention in the last decades as a promising solution to enhance the performance of conventional thermal collectors. In this concept, the heat transfer fluid absorbs the concentrated radiation volumetrically, which optical properties can be enhanced by dispersing nanoparticles. While several works have reported the benefits of volumetrically absorbing [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/published-at-applied-thermal-engineering-modelling-of-flow-regimes-in-tubular-concentrating-direct-absorption-solar-collectors/">Published at Applied Thermal Engineering &#8211; Modelling of flow regimes in tubular concentrating direct absorption solar collectors</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>In a video call from the US, SolarPACES caught up with Ranga Pitchumani, Editor-in-Chief of Solar Energy, a leading journal in the field. Dr. Pitchumani was the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), SunShot Initiative, Founding Director of its Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) program, and Director of the Initiative’s Systems (Grid) Integration program. [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/ranga-pitchumani-weve-just-started-scratching-the-surface-of-gen3-csp/">Ranga Pitchumani &#8211; we&#8217;ve just started scratching the surface of Gen3 CSP</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>A new paper from researchers at PROMES-CNRS in France presents a control strategy to reliably deliver a precise thermal power from concentrated solar to meet industrial heat requirements. The objective was to design a proof-of-concept algorithm for operating a concentrated solar plant, but one intended primarily to deliver heat, and deliver it from thermal energy [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/stored-solar-heat-gets-an-algorithm-to-ensure-a-steady-supply/">Stored solar heat gets an algorithm to ensure a steady supply</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

<p>BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) &#8212; China unveiled a policy roadmap on Tuesday to accelerate solar thermal power development, targeting around 15 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2030, with costs broadly comparable to coal-fired power. The guideline, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, emphasizes project construction and [&#8230;]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org/china-targets-15-gw-of-csp-in-next-five-year-plan-official-document/">China targets 15 GW of CSP in next Five-Year Plan &#8211; Official Document</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.solarpaces.org">SolarPACES</a>.</p>

Zhongchu Guoneng (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (ZCGN) says officials in Sanmenxia, Henan province, have cleared a 700 MW/4,200 MWh compressed air energy storage proposal that is designed to support long-duration grid flexibility as renewable generation increases.

El hub de Electra en el Parque Mediterráneo cuenta con 8 cargadores HYC400 de 400 kW y 8 HYC50 de 50 kW. Electra dijo a <b>pv magazine</b> que está trabajando con la gestora Frey en un proyecto de marquesinas fotovoltaicas para alimentar el hub.

The 6.55 MW project, hailed as the world’s first grid-connected, solar rooftop project within a social housing community, equipped almost 2,000 houses with solar panels.

Graphene producer First Graphene has secured exclusive global graphene carbon paste production and sales rights with perovskite cell developer and manufacturer Halocell Australia.

The Chinese manufacturer says Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) has independently verified the result.

Korean researchers revealed that efficiency losses in heterojunction solar cells arise from two coexisting defect types - dangling bonds and weak silicon-silicon bonds. Their findings explain how hydrogenated amorphous silicon passivation help mitigate these defects and improve cell performance.

Vikram Solar says its new 5 GW Vallam facility in Tamil Nadu lifts its module manufacturing capacity to 9.5 GW and is built on tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology with future heterojunction upgrades.

El Ayuntamiento de Almodóvar del Río ha anunciado el expediente de Calificación Ambiental relativo a la instalación fotovoltaica promovida por la Comunidad Energética Vega del Guadalquivir 2.

TITAN Containers says its new ArcticStore Horizon cold storage units integrate solar generation, advanced insulation and lower-GWP refrigerants to cut electricity use by 55% compared with conventional refrigerated containers.