Taking Stock of NYCW and Xpansiv Climate Week Summit

For one week each year, New York takes on a different purpose. Coffee shops fill with climate conversations, hotel lobbies become networking hubs, and delegates from around the world move between panels and receptions.

This year, the mood was pragmatic, with more optimism than the headlines suggested. Most conversations centered on projects already underway and what it will take to get them financed and built.

Fewer people are asking, “Can we do this?” Far more are asking, “How do we do this?” and “Who can we learn from?”

With more than 1,500 events to choose from, it’s natural to gravitate toward one corner of the market. Xpansiv Climate Week Summit kept all five sessions on one stage, so conversations regularly crossed from one market into another. Take stainless steel. Data centers are now a major driver of U.S. demand for it, which ties heavy industry to the same power buildout reshaping energy markets. Sectors that once seemed separate are quickly becoming connected.

Panelists were candid. Some large technology buyers that had set net-zero goals five years ago are now backing more projects that rely on fossil fuel generation to meet new power demand. The goals are still there, but many are having to reconcile long-term sustainability commitments with the power that is available today.

The sessions discussed how changes in buyer demand and regulation are showing up in transactions. Twelve million MiQ certificates, which certify natural gas by its methane emissions, have traded through Xpansiv’s exchange in 2026. The CORSIA market, long held back by uncertainty over how many credits will qualify, picked up sharply in late summer. One panel described airlines in Asia and the Middle East seeking 500,000 to 1 million tonnes at a time. In power, Granular Energy has found 46 companies offering hourly-matched tariffs, in markets that account for just over 70% of global electricity demand.

Companies are already finding ways to adapt and keep their goals in reach. Large power users in Texas that agree to load flexibility requirements may be able to connect faster. Pairing solar with batteries can increase the capacity assigned to a new project. Corporate customers are sharing the cost of sustainable aviation fuel with airlines through book-and-claim certificates. And for technology buyers backing new gas power plants, capturing carbon at those plants could be cost competitive with what they pay for carbon credits today, once the 45Q tax credit is applied.

Of course constraints remain. Permitting timelines for certain projects have as much as doubled in two years.  Before this year’s fuel price spike, sustainable aviation fuel cost U.S. airlines about $2 a gallon more than conventional jet fuel, even after incentives.

Jigar Shah closed the day in conversation with Xpansiv CEO John Melby. His view was that rapid economic growth is putting new pressure on a grid built for a different era, but that many of the technologies needed to respond already exist.

No single event can address every question facing the energy transition, but Xpansiv Climate Week Summit continues to provide an opportunity for leaders across industries to learn from and inspire one another.

Recordings of all five sessions, including the keynote, will be released over the coming weeks. Follow Xpansiv on LinkedIn or subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch them first.