This Week's Top Five Energy Stories

1. Andy Burnham: What is the New PM's Track Record on Energy?

Andy Burnham is the UK’s newest Prime Minister, but what is his approach to climate action, sustainability, electrification, transport & renewable energy?

After being elected leader of the UK’s Labour Party last week, Andy Burnham will move into 10 Downing Street today. He becomes the country’s seventh prime minister in the past decade.

As the MP for Makerfield, Andy served in the UK Government as Secretary of State for Health and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport during Gordon Brown’s time as Prime Minister (2007-2010).

His popularity with UK voters and Labour Party members grew during his nine years as Mayor of Greater Manchester (May 2017 to June 2026) in North West England.

This rise in support helped him replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

2. Ember: How Hybrid Power Projects Can Unlock 25GW in Europe

New data from Ember suggests up to 25GW of clean energy could be added to Europe’s grids without the need to upgrade existing network infrastructure

Europe’s net zero ambitions depend, of course, on the generation of renewable energy, but they rely equally upon the upkeep of power grids.

While the adoption of wind and solar has skyrocketed across the continent, the infrastructure needed to connect new generation has failed to keep pace.

As a result, developers are facing mounting delays as grid connections become one of the biggest barriers to expanding renewable capacity.

New analysis from Ember suggests there is a way to unlock more renewable electricity without waiting years for costly network upgrades. The think tank estimates that as much as 25GW of additional clean energy capacity could be connected by making better use of existing grid infrastructure through hybrid energy projects.

3. Get Blue, AWS and the Relationship Between Energy and Water

Amazon is linking AI data centre growth with water stewardship through Get Blue, advancing efficient cooling and expanding access to safe water worldwide

The rapid expansion of AI is forcing technology companies to rethink how they manage the resources needed to run digital infrastructure.

While electricity demand from data centres continues to dominate industry discussion, water is becoming an equally important consideration as operators look to cool increasingly powerful computing systems without placing additional strain on local communities.

For Amazon, these challenges are closely connected.

As the company invests more and more in AI and cloud infrastructure, it is also broadening its work on water stewardship through Get Blue, a global initiative designed to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Alongside its growing renewable energy portfolio and efforts to improve data centre efficiency, Amazon is positioning responsible water management as another pillar of its long-term infrastructure strategy.

4. Rosebank & Jackdaw: Why North Sea Oil & Gas is Controversial

With Andy Burnham's stance on drilling in the North Sea in the headlines, we look at the controversy surrounding the Rosebank & Jackdaw oil and gas fields

Andy Burnham had not even settled into 10 Downing Street before the North Sea threatened to become his first political headache. 

On Saturday 18 July, the BBC reported that the incoming Prime Minister was preparing to announce new oil and gas drilling plans upon taking office, fuelling speculation that the Labour Party was about to abandon its manifesto pledge on exploration licences. 

By Sunday, Deputy Leader Lucy Powell had shut that story down. 

“Andy has been clear he stands by the policies in our manifesto in relation to that,” she told the BBC. 

While the issue was seemingly squashed, the reaction from trade unions, energy companies and environmentalists had been intense, with arguments over energy security, carbon emissions and utility bills all swirling.

So, why exactly is drilling in the North Sea such a cause célèbre in the UK? Energy Digital looks into the issue.

5. OpenAI Backs Grid Stability With 3.2GW AI Campus in Georgia​​​​​​​

OpenAI has structured Project Camellia, a proposed 3.2GW AI data centre campus in Effingham County, Georgia, around a set of commitments on electricity supply, water use and grid stability.

The campus is designed to receive power in phases between 2028 and 2032 and the arrangement with local utility Georgia Power could offer a model for how large AI infrastructure connects to the grid without shifting costs onto households.

The scale of the project places energy planning at the centre of its design.

According to OpenAI, the campus is expected to support next-generation AI computing while creating thousands of construction and permanent jobs in southeast Georgia.

The 3.2GW of electricity required by Project Camellia raises the question of who bears the infrastructure cost. OpenAI says Georgia households will not shoulder that burden.

Under Georgia Public Service Commission rules, the company will pay the full infrastructure and electrical service costs needed to connect the campus. This could prevent those costs from being passed on to existing customers.

Aaron Mitchell, Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth for Georgia Power, says: "At Georgia Power, we are working every day to help ensure that growth from data centers and other large-energy users brings value for our customers through higher reliability and lower prices."