ABB launches BESS-as-a-service business model
ABB announced last week that it will now offer a Battery Energy Storage Systems-as-a-service solution that allows companies to deploy battery storage without upfront investment, with ABB managing deployment, maintenance and optimization.
'The offer includes all hardware, software and lifecycle support,' ABB said in a Wednesday release, 'so businesses can focus on their core operations while improving energy efficiency, resilience and long-term sustainability.'
ABB said it will offer BESS-as-a-service in partnership with GridBeyond, using GridBeyond's AI-driven platform to '[optimize] the performance of ABB's BESS-as-a-Service assets [and enable] real-time energy optimisation, demand-side response participation, and access to new revenue streams in global energy markets.'
'In addition, GridBeyond's platform will deliver accurate energy price forecasting to optimise energy storage operations enabling informed decision-making, allowing for strategic charging and discharging that aligns with market dynamics and prolong the life of batteries,' GridBeyond said in a Wednesday release.
ABB said it designed BESS-as-a-service to be 'technology agnostic' and work with any type of battery technology.
The company described the product as supporting a shift from capital expenditures, or upfront investments, to operational expenditures, or day-to-day costs.
'Customers tell us that while they want to deploy the latest technologies to improve energy security and reduce their emissions and costs, they face financial obstacles,' said Stuart Thompson, division president of ABB's Electrification Service Division. 'We see BESS-as-a-Service as not just a new offering but a strategic lever for the division's growth and innovation. We see significant potential to scale this globally.'
GridBeyond said it and ABB will also collaborate with Tallarna, a climate tech and finance platform, which will '[bring] its data analytics software, insurance solutions, and financing expertise to de-risk BESS projects and provide visibility into the financial benefits of these initiatives.'
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News24
3 hours ago
- News24
Africa's nuclear capacity could expand tenfold by 2050 — report
For now, South Africa remains the only African country generating nuclear power. But Africa's nuclear sector is poised for significant growth, with a new International Atomic Energy Agency report projecting generating capacity could increase tenfold by 2050. Despite having just one operational nuclear plant today, a new report projects that Africa's generating capacity could increase tenfold by 2050. The report, Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was launched at the G20 Energy Transitions meeting in South Africa held between July 30 to August 1, 2025, at the Sun City resort in the North West. The report examines how nuclear power could help address the continent's electricity shortages, diversify its energy mix away from fossil fuels, and drive industrial growth. According to MaryAnne Osike from the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), 'Nuclear is not here to replace wind, solar, or hydro, it's here to strengthen them.' 'Its ability to provide constant, reliable baseload power means renewables can operate more effectively without being limited by weather or seasonal variations,' she shared in a call. 'When integrated into a diversified energy mix, nuclear offers long-term price stability, strengthens grid resilience, and reduces dependence on imported fuels. It's part of the same clean energy toolbox that Africa needs to achieve both climate goals and industrial growth,' she added. The IAEA outlook report also highlights the role of emerging technologies such as small modular reactors, outlines national programmes already underway, and stresses the need for supportive policies, regional cooperation, and innovative financing. According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA director-general, 'Access to reliable and low-carbon energy sources such as nuclear can enable Africa to further explore and add value to its vast natural resources.' The shift comes as African governments face the dual challenge of powering economies where more than 500 million people still lack electricity and replacing fossil fuels, which currently provide more than 70% of the continent's power. In the IAEA's high-growth scenario, nuclear capacity in Africa could more than triple by 2030 and expand tenfold by 2050, requiring more than US$100 billion in investment. Even in the low-growth case, output would double by 2030 and increase fivefold by mid-century. For now, South Africa remains the only African country generating nuclear power. Its two-unit Koeberg nuclear power station supplies nearly two gigawatts to the grid, and in 2024, Unit 1 received a 20-year life extension. But several other countries are moving from planning to implementation. Egypt is building the 4.8-gigawatt El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, with its first unit expected online by 2028. Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Namibia and Nigeria have made firm decisions to adopt nuclear technology and are working with the IAEA to prepare infrastructure, establish regulatory bodies, and develop human capital. Kenya set up its Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation in 2012, has since established an independent regulator, and is targeting 2038 for its first reactor, with SMRs under review to match demand patterns. Ghana's Nuclear Power Ghana is in vendor talks for both a large nuclear plant and SMRs, while Nigeria has opened bids for a 4,000-megawatt facility and signed agreements with multiple suppliers. A large part of this momentum is driven by growing interest in small modular reactors (SMRs), which offer flexible power generation in smaller increments than traditional gigawatt-scale plants. 'Global interest in SMRs is increasing due to their ability to meet the need for flexible power generation for a wider range of users and applications,' according to Zizamele Mbambo, South Africa's deputy director-general for nuclear energy. SMRs are well suited to Africa's small or fragmented grids, require less upfront capital, and can be deployed more quickly. They also offer off-grid potential for industrial projects such as mining and desalination. The IAEA outlook notes that SMRs could even be integrated into existing coal power sites, reusing infrastructure while cutting emissions, a theme it plans to explore in a forthcoming coal-to-nuclear transition report for the G20. Africa already holds a significant advantage, being home to 14% of the world's uranium production. Namibia ranks as the world's third-largest producer, while Niger and South Africa are also in the top ten. In Namibia, the previously idled Langer Heinrich mine has been reopened, with production expected to resume in 2026, and new projects are due by 2028. Tanzania has confirmed large reserves, such as the US$1.2-billion Mkuju River plant in jointly with Russia, is on course for pilot production. This resource base could bolster both export earnings and domestic energy security if countries invest in fuel cycle capabilities to convert raw uranium into reactor-ready fuel. However, according to experts like Osike, the pace at which Africa's nuclear ambitions materialise will hinge on financing, given the sector's high upfront costs and decades-long project lifecycles. 'Nuclear projects demand substantial upfront investment and a commitment that spans decades… Without innovative financing models and strong partnerships, many African countries will struggle to move from ambition to reality.' In June 2025, the IAEA and the World Bank signed an agreement, the Bank's first formal engagement with nuclear energy in decades. This opens the door for World Bank support in extending reactor lifespans, upgrading grids, and accelerating SMR deployment, while signalling to other multilateral lenders, including the African Development Bank, that nuclear is part of the clean energy transition toolkit. Vendor financing is also in play. Egypt's El Dabaa project, for example, is backed by large concessional loans from Russia with low interest rates and extended repayment terms. However, many African nations face low credit ratings and high debt-to-GDP ratios, so new financing models, from regional SMR purchase agreements to blended public-private investment, will be key. 'Developing a nuclear programme requires a century-long commitment, from construction through decommissioning and waste management,' Osike shared. 'Stable national policy, public support, and regulatory readiness are therefore essential,' she added. The IAEA's Milestones Approach identifies 19 infrastructure issues that must be addressed before construction begins. Continental and regional integration could further accelerate nuclear rollout. The Africa Single Electricity Market, launched by the African Union, aims to link national grids into the world's largest single electricity market. This could allow countries to share nuclear output, stabilise grids, and make large-scale investments viable. Shared infrastructure, training, and regulatory capacity could mirror the cooperative models already used in hydropower projects. *
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Where are Natural Gas Prices Heading?
In my Q2 2025 Barchart energy report, I highlighted that the U.S. natural gas futures market led the energy sector on the downside in Q2 2025, with a 16.1% decline. Meanwhile, the NYMEX natural gas futures were 4.87% lower over the first six months of 2025, closing Q2 at $3.456 per MMBtu. I concluded with the following: Natural gas is a seasonal energy commodity that tends to peak as winter approaches. Seasonality could support higher natural gas prices in the late third quarter and fourth quarter of 2025. Nearby NYMEX natural gas futures prices were lower in August 2025, trading near the $2.85 per MMBtu level. A bearish trend in late summer After trading at a high of nearly $4.20 per MMBtu on June 20, 2025, natural gas prices dropped by over 32%. The daily chart of U.S. NYMEX natural gas futures for September delivery highlights the over 34% decline to the August 13 low of $2.764 per MMBtu. At around $3 per MMBtu in mid-August, the energy commodity was trading near the most recent low. Inventories could mean a limited downside risk Natural gas inventories across the United States remain below last year's level. As of August 8, 2025, U.S. natural gas inventories at 3.186 trillion cubic feet stood at 2.4% below the level of the previous year, but 6.6% above the five-year average for early August. The factors supporting natural gas prices for the upcoming peak season The factors supporting natural gas prices as the peak demand season approaches over the coming months are: During the 2024/2025 peak season, the continuous NYMEX natural gas prices ranged from $2.514 to $4.908 per MMBtu, higher than the range during the 2023/2024 peak demand season, which was from $1.60 to $ 3.643 per MMBtu. Lower inventories going into the 2025/2026 peak season support higher prices and could limit the downside potential at the $3 level. U.S. LNG increasingly travels worldwide by ocean vessel to regions where prices are higher. Increased demand for U.S. LNG over the coming months could lead to declining inventories and rising prices. Meanwhile, the monthly continuous futures chart highlights that natural gas prices have trended higher since the February 2024 low of $1.60 per MMBtu. UNG is the unleveraged natural gas ETF The most direct route for a risk position in natural gas is the futures and futures options contracts on the CME's NYMEX division. The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) is an unleveraged ETF tracking natural gas prices. At $12.51 per share, UNG had over $527 million in assets under management. UNG trades an average of over 9.9 million shares daily and charges a 1.11% management fee. The most recent rally in September natural gas futures took the price 14.5% higher from a low of $3.193 on July 9, to a high of $3.657 on July 18. Over the same period, the UNG ETF rallied 14.7% from $13.96 to $16.01 per share, as UNG did an excellent job tracking the active month natural gas futures market. BOIL and KOLD are UNG on steroids The Bloomberg Ultra Natural Gas 2X ETF (BOIL) and the Bloomberg Ultrashort Natural Gas -2X ETF (KOLD) are twice-leveraged ETFs that turbocharge the natural gas futures' price action on the up and downside, respectively. At $29.88 per share, BOIL had nearly $655 million in assets under management. BOIL trades an average of over 5.369 million shares daily and charges a 0.95% management fee. While natural gas futures rose 14.5% and the UNG appreciated by 14.7% from the July 9 low to the July 18 high, BOIL turbocharged those results. The chart shows the 29.74% rise from $38.73 to $50.25 per share from the July 9 low to the July 18 high. At $36.09 per share, the bearish leveraged KOLD natural gas ETF had over $154 million in assets under management. KOLD trades an average of over 3.97 million shares daily and charges a 0.95% management fee. While September natural gas futures fell 24.4% from the July 18 high of $3.657 to the August 13 low of $2.764 per MMBtu, BOIL turbocharged those downside results. The chart shows the 63.4% rise in the BOIL ETF from $22.92 to $37.44 per share from July 18 low to the August 14 high. One of the leading drawbacks of the UNG, BOIL, and KOLD unleveraged and leveraged ETFs is that natural gas trades around the clock, while the ETFs are only available during U.S. stock market hours. The ETFs can miss highs or lows occurring when the stock market is closed. Invest in Gold American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA Leveraged ETFs have an additional risk, as the gearing involves time decay. If natural gas prices move contrary to expectations, BOIL and KOLD will experience greater percentage losses. Moreover, if prices remain stable, time decay will erode the leveraged ETFs' prices. Meanwhile, BOIL and KOLD's leverage increases the odds of periodic reverse stock splits, which can destroy value. As natural gas heads into its peak season, the odds favor higher prices over the coming months. The U.S. inventory levels suggest a limited downside risk at around the $3 per MMBtu level over the coming months even though the price is lower in mid-August, which could be an opportunity. Meanwhile, BOIL and KOLD require time, and price stops as the leverage involves elevated risks, making them only appropriate as short-term trade tools and natural gas is a highly volatile commodity that can defy fundamentals when the price is moving lower or higher. On the date of publication, Andrew Hecht did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on


Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
America's tipping culture spirals from 15% to 30% as digital guilt trip kicks in
There was a time when tipping in America was simple. You went out to eat, enjoyed your meal and left 15% for good service. If the server was outstanding – or you were feeling generous – you went to 20%. That was the cultural contract we all understood. When I was first trained on how to sell, my boss told me to always show the customer three choices and leave some room between option one and option three. The rationale behind this is that most people emotionally don't want to feel cheap, so they won't pick the lowest option. They also worry about spending too much, so they won't pick the most expensive option. What that leaves them is generally picking the one in the middle. When it comes to the pressure of tipping at restaurants, cafes and takeout, we hardly ever emotionally want to feel cheap. Fast-forward to 2025, and somehow that "norm" has ballooned to 25%, 28% and even 30%. It's simply way out of control. You're ordering a $5 latte, and before you take a sip, the card reader spins toward you, asking if you'd like to leave a 30% tip… for a transaction where you poured your own milk, grabbed your own napkin and left the tip before you even got the service. Now, does that make any sense? How did we get here? Well, it's the result of technology, inflation, pandemic-era habits that didn't die – and a growing shift of payroll responsibility onto the customer until the consumer can't burden it anymore. At 30% tips, we might be reaching our breaking point as Americans. The Rise of the Digital Guilt Trip In the old days, you calculated the tip in your head. Now, point-of-sale systems like Square, Clover and Toast flash pre-set tip buttons – 20%, 25%, 30% – with the "custom tip" option tucked away like a secret menu item. Or, even better, many plans automatically add the 20% "service gratuity" and play the hide-and-seek game of making you try to figure out the tip they already left for you on the bill. And let's be honest: the person who just rang you up often flips the screen around and stands there, watching, while you make your choice. The people in line behind you see it too. It's not just payment – it's a real-time social experiment in generosity and public pressure. People have called it "guilt tipping" for several years, but it feels like flat out extortion. It's Not Tariffs. It's a Shift of Responsibility Inflation has been the suggested silent partner in tipping creep. If a burger was $10 a few years ago, a 20% tip was $2. Now that same burger is $14 or $15, so your "same" 20% tip is already costing more. But here's the kicker – those digital prompts aren't even suggesting 20% anymore. Since the restauranteur sets the amounts, they continue to shift the responsibility by shifting the prompts to a 20%, 22%, 25% and 30% grid, meaning your tip has nearly doubled in dollar terms since 2019. Whose Job Is It to Pay Wages? Here's the part few want to say out loud, but I'll say it even if nobody likes it: it's not the customer's job to pay a company's employees a fair wage – that's the employer's responsibility. If a bakery chooses to raise its hourly wage from $14 to $18, that's a cost of doing business. But instead of raising menu prices transparently, many businesses simply crank up the tip prompts, quietly outsourcing payroll costs to customers. That's silent inflation. Your coffee didn't get bigger, your sandwich didn't improve, but your bill went up because you're now covering part of the employer's wage bill – on top of higher food prices. The Expanding Definition of "Tippable" Tipping used to be for service jobs where base pay relied on gratuities – servers, bartenders, delivery drivers. Now? You'll find tip requests at self-checkout kiosks, bakeries where you serve yourself, and even car washes where you never meet an employee. And consider companies like Uber, who said the main differentiation was that you don't have to worry about tips. Now, you are in some weird random dating game where your driver is rating you and you are rating them. Except if you don't leave a tip, what rating do you think they are really going to give you? When every transaction is "tippable," tipping stops being a reward for exceptional service and becomes just another line item in your budget. Are You All Tipped Out? Mandatory tips erode the meaning of tipping itself. It's why people love to travel to Europe because they don't have to worry about it when they go out for dinner. Customers start tipping out of shame instead of appreciation. And when tipping is seen as automatic, the incentive for great service can disappear. And it's disappearing every single day. For families already feeling the pinch of inflation, an extra 5–10% on every meal out isn't small change – it's real money. Can We Get A Tipping Reset? We need a cultural reset. Businesses should be transparent about wages and service fees, rather than quietly leaning on customers to close the payroll gap. Payment systems should stop stacking suggested tips at the high end, and customers should feel free to tip based on service – not because a tablet told them to. Next time the server spins the Toast device toward you with 30% as the first option, remember: you're rewarding service, not paying the company's wage bill. Maybe the answer, is you always click custom so you can tip what you actually think the service is worth. Because if we're not careful, 30% won't be the ceiling – it'll be the starting point.