Battery stocks up 19–22% vs 4–15% for oil majors over the same period

Oil price volatility (up 47%) is reinforcing the push toward energy independence

Grid-scale storage demand is expected to surge, with China’s market projected to reach $199 billion by 2032

Batteries are increasingly seen as core infrastructure for both renewables and data centers

Brookfield and La Caisse have agreed to acquire Boralex, a Montréal-based renewable power producer with 3,800 MW across wind, solar, hydro, and storage, in a transaction valuing the business at $9.0 billion enterprise value ($3.8 billion equity). Brookfield will control 70% through its infrastructure strategy, while La Caisse rolls up its existing stake and increases ownership to 30%. The deal gives Brookfield a scaled, contracted renewable platform while providing Boralex with the capital to accelerate its development pipeline.

Zelestra, a U.S.-based renewable energy developer focused on large-scale corporate-backed projects, has secured a $600 million green financing facility from Société Générale and HSBC to fund two Texas solar projects totalling 440 MW. The Echols Grove (252 MW) and Cedar Range (187 MW) projects are both backed by long-term PPAs with Meta Platforms and are currently under construction, marking Zelestra’s largest U.S. builds to date. The deal underscores continued lender appetite for contracted solar tied to hyperscaler demand, with Meta’s broader 1.2 GW pipeline with Zelestra reinforcing the scale of corporate-driven clean power procurement.

Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE), a U.S. utility-scale renewables owner-operator, has acquired the 350 MW Harvey Solar project in Ohio from Open Road Renewables. The project is in late-stage development, with construction expected in 2026 and operations by 2028, and is positioned near major data center and semiconductor infrastructure to support rising regional power demand. Beyond grid capacity, the project is expected to generate 300 construction jobs and ~$3 million annually in local revenue, highlighting the continued linkage between large-scale solar buildout, domestic manufacturing, and economic development.

Helion Energy, a U.S.-based fusion startup backed by over $1 billion in funding, is reportedly in discussions to supply OpenAI with 5 GW of power by 2030, scaling to 50 GW by 2035, an order of magnitude beyond today’s largest power assets. While Helion has yet to demonstrate commercial fusion, the potential deal signals growing alignment between next-gen energy technologies and hyperscaler demand, with OpenAI effectively underwriting future baseload power at massive scale if the technology proves viable.

Regeno, a UK-based startup founded by a 23-year-old solo founder, has raised £422K from investors including the British Business Bank to commercialize a modular, ground-serviceable wind turbine design. The company’s approach eliminates the need for cranes and complex maintenance, aiming to materially reduce installation and operating costs, one of the biggest bottlenecks in wind deployment. Targeting farms and distributed energy users first, Regeno is positioning as a lower-cost, more accessible alternative to traditional wind infrastructure, with field trials and further scaling planned ahead of a larger seed round.

SolidWatts, a Swiss startup developing solid-state RF heating systems, has raised CHF 1.8 million in Seed funding to commercialize its technology aimed at replacing fossil fuel-based industrial heating. Its platform uses electromagnetic waves to heat materials internally, achieving >80% energy conversion efficiency and reducing losses versus conventional boilers and furnaces. Targeting sectors like chemicals, food, and carbon capture, the company is positioning as a high-efficiency electrification solution for industrial heat, with pilots set to begin as it scales toward market entry.