It's Tuesday. The newest power plant in the Pacific ran for about as long as a TV ad, a mile underwater, on heat from a volcano. Its builders count that as progress.
In today's edition:
🌋 Big Story: subsea geothermal's first end-to-end test
⚡ Quick Hits: a 28% cell, lithium plus zinc, Microsoft's 1.1 GW deal
💰 Capital: Amazon's Indiana SMR study
📋 Policy Watch: FERC, Chinese inverters, Sri Lanka unplugs solar
📊 Chart of the Day: NYISO's battery queue
The Big Story
Endurance Energy squeezes 29 seconds of power from a seafloor volcano
Seattle startup Endurance Energy said Monday that its 3-ton Adélie unit generated electricity about a mile below the Pacific in September, at Axial Seamount, an active submarine volcano roughly 300 miles west of Oregon. On Sept. 27 its organic Rankine cycle turbine produced about 60 watt-hours over about 29 seconds, making more power than it used for nearly 9 of them, Canary Media reported.
"This was our first end-to-end demonstration of subsea geothermal as a concept, and we learned just an incredible amount from every stop along the way."
The drilled well lacked flow, so Endurance moved Adélie to a natural vent, where ThinkGeoEnergy reported fluid at about 281°C and a 16.5 kW peak.
The run ended when battery overcurrent protection tripped. A Seattle crew operated the plant remotely.
Endurance has raised $63 million, plans a rebuilt unit this winter and a 2 MW project with Tonga, and Redd suggested commercial output could start in 2027.
Emily Pope of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions called it "an eyebrow-raising approach."
Source: Canary Media · ThinkGeoEnergy
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Quick Hits
Technology milestones from across the grid
From a 28% solar cell to a 600 MW battery toll.
JinkoSolar unveiled a back-contact TOPCon cell it says hits 28% peak efficiency and over 27% in production, though its white paper cites no third-party certification. pv magazine
MN8 Energy will pair 280 MWh of lithium-ion with 100 MWh of 10-hour Eos zinc storage at an 86 MW West Virginia solar project, with Google offtaking each for 15 years. Latitude Media
Microsoft signed a 20-year deal adding about 1.1 GW to NiSource's portfolio from 2028, including a 600 MW battery toll, under a large-load tariff that has Microsoft fund its own generation. Data Center Dynamics
Engie won a transmission licence for a 150 MW/300 MWh expansion of its Hazelwood battery on a former Victorian coal site, taking it to 300 MW/450 MWh by 2028. RenewEconomy
CATL CEO Robin Zeng cited SNE Research data showing global storage battery shipments up 71% in the first half, with markets outside China taking over half of volume for the first time. Energy-Storage.news
The Capital Stack
Amazon funds a study of 960 MW of X-energy reactors in Indiana
American Electric Power, Amazon and X-energy signed a joint development agreement to study 12 Xe-100 reactors of 80 MW each at the former Breed Generating Station in Sullivan County, Indiana, with Amazon providing milestone-based development capital, X-energy said. It covers feasibility only, with no construction commitment. It is the second project under X-energy and Amazon's plan for more than 5 GW by 2039, after Washington's 960 MW Cascade project.
Source: X-energy · Data Center Dynamics
Also in the capital stack:
Schneider Electric posted record third-quarter revenue of €11.5 billion, up 17% organically, as its CFO said data-center demand grew at triple digits in three of the last four quarters. Utility Dive
Policy Watch
FERC approved ISO New England's plan for an independent reviewer to test the need, cost and alternatives for utilities' "asset condition" transmission rebuilds, starting in January. About $5 billion of such projects is expected by 2034. Utility Dive
EU and US grid buyers are screening for Chinese parts: from Nov. 1, EU-funded grid projects can't finance "high-risk" inverters, and a DOE rule is due in late December. Wood Mackenzie estimates 4 to 5 GW of planned EU purchases through 2030 may need replacing. IEEE Spectrum
Sri Lanka's system operator told all PV owners to stay disconnected "until further notice" after an Oct. 17 nationwide blackout attributed to transmission instability, local media reported via pv magazine. With 1.94 GW of rooftop solar, the island is a live case of inertia limits on solar-heavy grids. pv magazine
Chart of the Day
Batteries make up 62% of NYISO's newest interconnection cluster
Standalone batteries account for 6.8 GW of the 11 GW in NYISO's 2026 cluster study, against 2.9 GW of gas, Modo Energy found. Only 1.8 GW of the 18 GW of queued storage has reached negotiations or later.
Source: Modo Energy · October 19, 2026
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