Daily Update — September 8, 2026
Solar Power Contracts Dominate in US; AI Tailwinds, Fiscal Headwinds; and Asia-Americas Container Shipping
Today is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Expansion
Solar power purchase contracts dominate first half of 2026
The year began with several notable nuclear agreements, but solar power remained the clean energy source of choice in the US during the first half of 2026. Offtakers signed 96 deals totaling 28.1 gigawatts of clean power contracts during the period, compared with about 22.4 GW in the first half of 2025, according to S&P Global Energy Horizons data. While nuclear deals dominated first-quarter 2026 volumes, offtakers favored solar projects in the second quarter, including solar-only and solar-plus-battery deals.
Offtakers signed 46 solar-only deals totaling over 10 GW in the first half. The largest was Salt River Project's 3-GW agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to develop 500 megawatts per year of solar capacity in Arizona between 2029 and 2034. The agreement would help Salt River Project more than double its power system by 2035 to meet reliability, affordability and sustainability goals, the utility said.
Economy
Listen: Global Growth on Uneven Ground: AI Tailwinds and Fiscal Headwinds
In this episode of “The Decisive” podcast, S&P Global Market Intelligence economists discussed the latest shifts in the global macroeconomic outlook, including the US economy’s resilience, China’s growth profile, Latin America’s political and fiscal developments, and Europe’s cautious recovery.
The episode underscores how global growth is being shaped by a mix of resilience and fragility. AI investment, lower energy intensity and improving policy prospects in some regions are offering support. Meanwhile, geopolitical shocks, sticky inflation, strained public finances, weak domestic demand and fragile trade conditions continue to limit the upside. For businesses and investors, the outlook requires close attention to regional differences, policy shifts and how energy, technology and fiscal risks affect growth.
Global Trade
Asia-Americas container shipping system on a knife-edge
The container shipping system between Asia and the Americas hasn’t been this tight since the early peak season in 2024. Shippers dependent on the trade lane should be wary of the numerous potential pitfalls, from tighter Panama Canal restrictions to stronger-than-expected import volumes. Many factors are stretching the global system to the point where virtually all available tonnage is on water, with global fleet idling at just 0.5% in mid-August, according to Alphaliner data.
Global port congestion, caused by recent storms in Asia that have delayed shipments at major East Asian hubs, has tied up about 4.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units and is occupying more tonnage than during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, according to Linerlytica. However, the growth of global fleet capacity by about 9.1 million TEUs since has eased the share of capacity tied up at ports to 12.6% from 15.7%. Container spot rate indexes are tracking near or higher than two years ago but remain thousands of dollars below pandemic-era highs.
In case you missed it
- Platts JKM, the benchmark price reflecting LNG delivered to Northeast Asia, rose Sept. 2 to its highest level since December 2022, driven by escalating hostilities in the Middle East that have shut the arbitrage window.
- The International Sugar Organization cut its forecast for India's 2026 fuel ethanol production by 750 million liters to 11.3 billion liters, attributing the decrease to constraints from the country's blending mandate rather than the shortage of processing capacity.
- Italy's Eni signed a contract with state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela for operatorship of the Junin 5 oil field on Sept. 2, while Chevron said it would double its crude production in Venezuela to 600,000 barrels/day by 2031.
Upcoming events
- Under Pressure: How Bond Markets and Sustainable Debt Are Responding to Affordability Challenges | September 10 (Webinar)
- AI Workflows in Action: Investment Management | September 15 (Webinar)
- Streamlining Counterparty Credit Reviews Leveraging AI and Automation | September 15 (Webinar)
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