Mexico’s $20 billion Olmeca (more commonly known as Dos Bocas) refinery was built to be the centerpiece of the country’s drive for energy independence, but three years after its launch, the flagship project is struggling to deliver. Designed to process the country’s heavy Maya crude and reduce reliance on fuel imports, the refinery has faced repeated outages, logistical bottlenecks, and underwhelming output. Instead of easing Pemex’s financial burden, it risks deepening the company’s dependence on government support…

Farmers in Pakistan are replacing diesel-fueled pumps with solar energy to power the typical irrigation technique in a large part of the world’s fifth most populous country. Many farmers rely on the so-called tube wells—a water well and a motorized pump to take water from groundwater. Amid soaring diesel prices and unreliable electricity supply in recent years, more farmers are installing solar panels to help them with crop irrigation. The solar-powered tube wells provide smoother irrigation. Solar panels have steep upfront costs for…

As several governments aim to battle climate change by shifting away from fossil fuels and pursuing a green transition, many are revisiting a long-overlooked energy source – nuclear power. Nuclear power was at the top of many countries’ energy agenda for several decades before a few notable nuclear disasters shifted the public perception of the clean energy source, and several governments halted development for years. Now, as studies show that nuclear power is one of the safest forms of energy, so long as strict oversight mechanisms…

Latin America is emerging as a global hub for data center construction as Big Tech floods the region with new projects to power the AI boom. The “industrial sunbelt” spanning across Brazil and Mexico, plus the geopolitical advantage of nearshoring and the great potential of the Latin American tech sector, has led Silicon Valley to invest heavily in data centers spanning from North to South America.  It’s estimated that large data center firms invested more than USD $2 billion in Latin America in 2024 alone, and that rate…

Norway is looking to launch a domestic electric plane service to replace the dozens of daily fossil-fuelled flights to its many islands. If successful, this could encourage other countries to launch similar domestic services. This follows successful test runs of various electric flights in several countries that signal a new era of electric flight in the coming years, although the commercial rollout of electric passenger planes may still be several years away. In September, Norway conducted a pilot flight of its electric-powered Alia CX 300, making…

Billions of dollars are flowing into cutting-edge nuclear technologies, from nuclear fusion experiments to small modular reactors and microreactors that backers say will catalyze a global nuclear power renaissance. But after years of buzz and successful funding rounds, these Wall Street darlings have yet to send any of their promised carbon-free energy to the grid.  In 2024, investments in advanced nuclear companies from both private equity and venture capital hit an all time high. According to S&P Global, last year's investments “surpassed…