Nothing But Net Zero - July edition
George Richardson
Executive Search | Low Carbon & Climate Tech | Leadership Advisory | Energy Transition Strategy
July brought a wave of megaprojects, policy recalibrations, and mounting questions about the grid’s ability to absorb AI-fuelled energy demand.
Across Asia, China accelerated its push into large-scale clean energy. It launched the world’s most powerful hydropower project and confirmed a $557 million partnership with Tesla to develop an integrated solar, battery storage, and supercomputing hub. Southeast Asia also featured prominently, with solar manufacturers doubling down on commercial solutions tailored to the region’s growing energy needs. But financial strain remains a challenge, with global supply chains and developer margins still under pressure.
In the Middle East, momentum is picking up. Saudi Arabia unveiled an $8.3 billion investment to deliver 15 gigawatts of new renewable capacity, a major step toward diversifying its energy mix. In parallel, partnerships between utilities and healthcare providers are showing how clean power is being embedded into essential services. Green hydrogen diplomacy is also gathering pace, with European and Gulf stakeholders working more closely on future trade and infrastructure alignment.
Europe’s attention shifted toward regulation and reality. A new framework for calculating emissions savings from low-carbon fuels aims to tighten accountability. Innovation at the local level continues to drive progress, but data shows clean energy output fell while fossil fuel generation picked up. It is a signal that the transition remains vulnerable to both structural and seasonal pressures.
In the United States, long-term energy planning is being tested. Demand is being reshaped by the rapid expansion of AI data infrastructure, including a $25 billion investment from a major tech company. Some studies suggest clean energy could meet this new wave of demand, but only if upgrades to grid systems and permitting frameworks are made quickly. Broader policy uncertainty continues to affect how confidently investors and utilities can plan ahead.
As we move deeper into the second half of the year, the pace of deployment is impressive, but the system’s ability to handle it is under growing scrutiny. Energy security, infrastructure resilience, and smarter coordinationwill be just as important as new capacity in determining how far and fast we go.