RIYADH: Renewable investments continue to flow in, yet the sector is hindered by surging prices and unfulfilled pledges. Looking at the bigger picture: India is investing $1.6 billion (120 billion rupees) in building 10.7 thousand circuit kilometers of new transmission lines with a capacity of 20 gigawatts by 2026, Bloomberg reported. The new lines will transmit energy from green refineries as the South Asian country aims to draw 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. The Czech Republic wants to phase out coal by 2033, according to Bloomberg. But pressure on the European country is mounting to accelerate the plan, along with its neighboring states, to phase out the fossil fuel by 2030. The UK government is under pressure to act swiftly to help ease the pain of soaring energy costs before the energy regulator caps prices on February 7th, according to Bloomberg. Critics claim that the boom in the green hydrogen industry is impeding the implementation of pure green sources such as solar and wind, CNBC reported. This criticism is mainly attributed to the fact that green hydrogen is deemed inefficient and emits carbon in its production process. Through a micro lens: American alternative management firm, The Blackstone Group has injected $3 billion in US multinational power generation development and operations, Invenergy in recent green push, Bloomberg reported. This comes as the alternative asset manager giant has committed $13 billion in 2019 to back clean energy transition and Invenergy – being a leader in the renewable energy sector – posing as a lucrative investment spot. A major aluminum smelter in northern Franc, with an estimated annual capacity of 285 thousand tonnes, is cutting production by 15 percent amid surging energy costs, according to Reuters.