Senators strike a deal to speed up permits for power lines and power plants, with the vote put off until after the US midterms

The stories

20 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Senators strike a deal to speed up permits for power lines and power plants, with the vote put off until after the US midterms

   417

   pages in the US Senate's permitting bill

   the biggest rewrite of US federal permit rules since the 1970s [2]

   $7bn

   estimated cut by 2035 in the cost of delivering power in four US regions

   after paying $1.9bn for new lines; household bills fall about $1.1bn, a study for C2ES says [4]

   100 GW

   more wind, solar and batteries the bill could let onto the grid

   plus nearly 40 GW more room to move power between regions, the same study says [4]

   5

   nearly finished offshore wind farms the Trump administration paused last December

   that pause stopped the permit talks for months [3]

   What happened

   • Senators from both US parties said on Wednesday they had agreed a bill to speed up permits for energy projects, which now face years of delay. [1]
   • The 417-page bill is the biggest rewrite of US federal permit rules since the 1970s, the New York Times reports. [2]
   • There will be no vote before the 3 November midterm elections. [3]
   • The US House of Representatives, which must also pass it, is in recess until then. [3]
   • The bill limits court challenges under NEPA, the US law that makes government agencies study a project's harm to nature before they approve it. [1]
   • Republicans pushed to make it harder for environmental groups to sue to stop gas pipelines, oil drilling and mines. [2]
   • The bill also puts new limits on the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. [2]
   • Democrats pushed to make big power lines easier to build, which could carry far more wind and solar power. [2]
   • Data centres would have to pay all the costs of the power lines built for them, so those costs are not passed on to families or businesses. [1]
   • Talks stopped last December, when the Trump administration paused five nearly finished offshore wind farms on the US East Coast. [3]
   • Democrats added words meant to stop a president blocking projects on his own. [2]
   • Senator Sheldon Whitehouse says the treatment of wind and solar is still unresolved. [3]
   • A study for C2ES, a climate research group, estimates the power-line changes could cut the cost of delivering electricity in four big regions by about $7bn by 2035. [4]
   • Clean energy trade groups and a trade group for power-plant owners, whose plants mostly burn gas, both back the bill. [4]
   • The Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental group, calls it a fossil-fuel wish list. [1]

   Cut in the cost of delivering power$7bn

   Spent on new power lines$1.90bn

   Cut in household bills$1.10bn

   Who is involved

   • Shelley Moore Capito Republican senator for West Virginia who chairs the US Senate's environment committee; wants this to be the first vote after the election
   • Mike Lee Republican senator for Utah who chairs the US Senate Energy Committee; expects it to pass in November
   • Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse the top Democrats on the US Senate's energy and environment committees; want wind and solar protected from the Trump administration
   • The Trump administration paused five offshore wind farms last December; it now says it backs the deal
   • Conservation Law Foundation a US environmental group; says the bill weakens protections for clean water and endangered species

   How it unfolded

   1. Last Dec The Trump administration pauses five offshore wind farms, and the permit talks stop. [3]
   2. Recent weeks Trump tells Democrats wind and solar will get better treatment, and talks speed up. [3]
   3. Wed 30 Sept Senators unveil the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. [3]
   4. 3 Nov US midterm elections; Congress is away until then. [3]
   5. After Capito aims to make it the US Senate's first vote, and the House must pass it too. [3]

   Why it matters

   Watch whether the Trump administration commits to letting already-approved wind and solar projects go ahead before November, which Democrats say the deal still needs. [1][3]

   How it works

   Why a deal can stall on the order of its steps

   Whoever acts first is exposed if the other side then stops, so both wait, even when they agree on every step.

   The twist

   Both sides can agree on every step and still not start, because whoever moves first can be let down by the other.

   The picture

   Regulator says yesAugust

   ↓→

   Fixed-price deals520 MW

   ↓→

   Banks lend561m euros

   ↓→

   Power flows2028

   Step by step

   1. 1 Two sides each need the other to act
   2. 2 Whoever acts first is exposed if the other then stops
   3. 3 So each waits for the other to move
   4. 4 The deal stalls on the order of steps, even when the steps are agreed
   5. 5 It moves when both act together, or when someone outside holds the risk

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Iran's offer to reopen Hormuz

     Iran wants the US to lift its blockade before ships move freely. An official says the two sides disagree mainly about the order of the steps.

   • The US Senate permit deal

     Democrats say it can go ahead only if the Trump administration lets approved wind and solar projects proceed, so the vote waits until after November.

   • LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink

     TC Energy committed to expanding the pipeline only after the plant's owners committed to doubling the plant, both on Tuesday.

   • Banks sign for the EU's largest solar farm

     The fourteen lenders signed only once the regulator's approval and the fixed-price contracts were in place.

   Where you've seen this

   Prisoner swaps

   both sides hand people over at the same moment, often on a bridge, so neither has to go first

   Buying a house

   a lawyer holds the buyer's money until the keys change hands

   Online shopping

   the payment company holds the money until the parcel arrives

   The catch

   An argument about the order of steps can also be a polite way to say no, and from outside the two look the same.

   And the whole of it

   The senators, the negotiators for Iran and the US, and the banks in Romania can each see their own risk of moving first. The family waiting for a cheaper power bill sits outside all of these talks and has no say in the order.

   The truth

   • What is really going on Senators from both parties agreed a bill to make US energy projects faster to approve, but it cannot pass before the 3 November elections. [3]Democrats say it still depends on the Trump administration letting approved wind and solar projects go ahead, and that has not been settled. [1][3]
   • Why it works on people The word deal makes a bill sound finished, but nothing in it applies until both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives vote on it. [3]
   • Who gains Companies building pipelines, oil wells and mines in the US — The US Senate bill makes it harder for environmental groups to sue to stop their projects. [2]
   • Who pays People near new energy projects in the US — The US Senate bill limits court challenges under NEPA and puts new limits on the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. [1][2]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the permit bill passes at all.

     The US House of Representatives has not passed it and is in recess until after the elections, and the elections could change which party controls Congress. [3][4]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the Trump administration will stop blocking wind and solar.

     Trump offered to ease the hold-up, but it is unclear how long the offer lasts, and Senator Whitehouse says the question is unresolved. [1][3]

1. 02

   US regulator pauses PJM's emergency power auction

   What happened

   • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees US power markets, on Wednesday delayed a one-off power auction run by PJM, the biggest US grid operator. [5]
   • PJM runs the grid for 13 states from the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest, where data centres have pushed up demand faster than new supply connects. [5]
   • The region is now more than 6,800 megawatts short. [5]
   • The regulator accepted most of the plan but paused it for five months. [5]

   Why it matters

   It told PJM to make sure data centres pay the costs of the extra power, so existing customers do not. [5]

   The US Senate bill in the lead story asks the same of data centres for power lines. [1]

   The truth

   • Who gains Household power customers in PJM's 13 states — The regulator told PJM to make data centres pay for the emergency power bought because of them. [5]
2. 03

   Iran gets a US reply on reopening Hormuz

   What happened

   • Iran said on Wednesday it had received an official US response to its offer to end the seven-month war, without saying what it said. [6]
   • Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane that normally carries a fifth of the world's oil, within a week. [6][14]
   • In return the US would lift its blockade of Iranian ports and release frozen Iranian money. [6]
   • President Trump rejected that offer days ago, and Qatar kept carrying messages. [6]
   • An official briefed on the talks says the two sides disagree mainly about the order of the steps. [7]

   Why it matters

   Oil prices have swung widely for months on doubts about when the war will let oil flow freely again. [8]

   Brent, the world oil benchmark, was at $97.69 a barrel early on Thursday. [8]

   How it works

   Iran wants the US to lift its blockade before ships move freely. An official says the two sides disagree mainly about the order of the steps.

   The idea, in story 01: Why a deal can stall on the order of its steps →

   The truth

   • Who pays People in Iran — The rial fell to a record low of more than 2.5 million to the US dollar on Tuesday. [6]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What the US told Iran.

     Iranian officials confirmed a reply arrived but did not say whether it was a rejection. [6] An official briefed on the talks says the dispute is over the order of the steps. [7]

3. 04

   Canada's biggest gas export plant will double

   What happened

   • The owners of LNG Canada, led by Shell, decided on Tuesday to double their plant at Kitimat in British Columbia, from 14 million to 28 million tonnes of gas a year. [9]
   • The plant chills natural gas into a liquid so that ships can carry it overseas.
   • LNG Canada is the country's first large gas export plant. [9]
   • The same day, TC Energy said its Coastal GasLink pipeline, which feeds the plant, will nearly double what it can carry. [9]

   Million tonnes a year

   LNG Canada now14

   After the expansion28

   Why it matters

   Four of the five owners are Asian companies, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas, alongside Shell. [9]

   TC Energy says tight world gas markets and countries replacing coal with gas are driving new plants like this. [9]

   How it works

   TC Energy committed to expanding the pipeline only after the plant's owners committed to doubling the plant, both on Tuesday.

   The idea, in story 01: Why a deal can stall on the order of its steps →

   The truth

   • Who gains Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas — As LNG Canada's owners, they will be able to ship twice as much gas once the plant is doubled. [9]
4. 05

   A small nuclear reactor gets a US building permit

   What happened

   • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the US nuclear safety regulator, on Tuesday gave the Tennessee Valley Authority a permit to build a small reactor at its Clinch River site, west of Knoxville. [10]
   • The TVA is the largest US power company owned by the US federal government. [10]
   • It is only the second US permit to build a next-generation commercial reactor; the first went to a Wyoming project backed by Bill Gates in March. [10]
   • The TVA has not set a date to start building. [10]

   Why it matters

   The TVA has estimated that its first small reactor could cost about six times as much as a gas plant of the same size. [10]

   It expects costs to fall as it builds more, and it is considering up to four. [10]

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     What the first small reactor at Clinch River will cost, and when building starts.

     The TVA has set no start date, and its own earlier estimate was about six times the cost of a gas plant of the same size. [10]

   Good news

   • The US nuclear regulator gave the Tennessee Valley Authority a permit to build a small reactor at Clinch River in Tennessee. It is only the second US permit ever to build a next-generation commercial reactor.
5. 06

   South Korean money for Alaska gas

   What happened

   • The Trump administration said on Wednesday that South Korea would invest up to $200 billion in US power projects, including eight nuclear power plants and a gas export plant in Alaska. [11]
   • The Alaska project is meant to carry gas from Alaska's North Slope to buyers such as Japan and South Korea. [11]
   • It has been discussed for years, and its developer has not formally approved it. [11]
   • The Trump administration is announcing projects like this to strengthen its economic record before the November elections. [11]

   Why it matters

   The money comes from South Korea's pledge, in last year's trade deal, to invest $350 billion in the US, and many experts question whether it can be met. [11]

   South Korean investment in the US totalled $95 billion as of 2025. [11]

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether South Korea's $54 billion for Alaska gas arrives.

     The developer has not approved the project, and South Korea says it will invest only where projects make economic sense. [11]

6. 07

   Oil ends its quarter 40% higher

   What happened

   • Oil rose 40% over the three months to the end of September and is up 70% this year, Reuters reported on Wednesday. [12]
   • Reuters says it is Brent crude's second-biggest jump in a quarter since the second quarter of 2020. [12]
   • Over the same months, the interest rate on 10-year US government loans passed 5%, the highest since just before the 2007 financial crash. [12]
   • Investors expect central banks to raise interest rates to fight price rises driven by dear energy. [13]

   Why it matters

   Higher interest rates make borrowing dearer, and new power lines and power plants, like those in the lead story, are mostly built with borrowed money.

7. 08

   EU asks countries to use less gas

   What happened

   • Dan Jorgensen, the EU's energy commissioner, wrote to energy ministers last Friday warning of an energy price crisis caused by the Iran war. [14]
   • He asked them to consider cutting gas and electricity use, for example by lowering heating in public buildings, banning outdoor heaters and switching off unneeded public lights. [14]
   • EU gas storage was about 70% full, 12 points lower than a year earlier. [14]
   • Foreign suppliers cover about 80% of the EU's gas. [14]

   EU gas stores now70%

   A year earlier82%

   Why it matters

   Europe has not run short of gas, but high prices mean some countries are struggling to fill their stores before winter, when heating demand peaks. [14]

8. 09

   Abu Dhabi pays to get around Hormuz

   What happened

   • Sheikh Khaled, Abu Dhabi's crown prince, chairs L'imad, a $300 billion state wealth fund that is building ports and routes so the UAE depends less on the Strait of Hormuz. [15]
   • The fund plans to take Abu Dhabi Ports private at a value of nearly $9 billion, and is expected to spend tens of billions more on ports outside the strait. [15]
   • ADNOC, the UAE's state oil company, is building a second oil pipeline to double exports through Fujairah, a port beyond the strait. [15]

   Why it matters

   Fujairah is still within reach of Iranian drones and missiles, and debris from a drone started a large fire there in March. [15]

   Saudi Arabia's own bypass pipeline to the Red Sea was shut for a time after militia attacks. [15]

9. 10

   Banks sign for the EU's largest solar farm

   What happened

   • Rezolv Energy, a power company based in Prague, has signed loans of up to 561 million euros for a 1.3-gigawatt solar farm in western Romania. [16]
   • The Dama project will be the largest onshore renewable energy project in the EU, making about 1.8 terawatt-hours a year, enough for over 280,000 households, Rezolv says. [16]
   • Fourteen lenders, anchored by the European Investment Bank, signed after Romania's energy regulator gave final approval last month. [16]
   • Power is due in the second half of 2028. [16]

   Why it matters

   The loans rest on two fixed-price contracts the project won in a Romanian government auction, covering 520 megawatts, plus a deal to sell power to an unnamed company. [16]

   How it works

   The fourteen lenders signed only once the regulator's approval and the fixed-price contracts were in place.

   The idea, in story 01: Why a deal can stall on the order of its steps →

   Good news

   • Fourteen lenders signed loans of up to 561 million euros for the Dama solar farm in western Romania, the largest onshore renewable energy project in the EU. Its builder says it will make enough power for over 280,000 households from 2028.
10. 11

    India gets less Russian oil

    What happened

    • Indian refiners expect less Russian oil in October and November, four trade sources told Reuters on Monday. [17]
    • India has been the biggest buyer of Russian oil shipped by sea since 2022, when Russia began selling it cheaply after Europe stopped buying. [17]
    • Now China is paying more and booking cargoes earlier, because the Iran war cut its supply from the Middle East. [17]
    • Russian oil arriving in India is set to fall to about 1.75 million barrels a day in September, the lowest since April. [17]

    Why it matters

    Indian refiners are turning to dearer oil from the UAE, Iraq and Angola. [17]

    Shipments from Novorossiysk, Russia's Black Sea oil port, have roughly halved as drone attacks keep stopping loading. [17]

    The truth

    • Who gains Oil buyers in China — By paying more and booking earlier, they are taking Russian oil that Indian refiners used to buy. [17]
    • Who pays Indian refiners — They are replacing cheap Russian oil with dearer oil from the UAE, Iraq and Angola. [17]
11. 12

    Britain drops a climate reporting rule

    What happened

    • The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain's financial regulator, on Wednesday dropped its plan to require listed companies to report their climate risks to investors. [18]
    • It had proposed in January that they follow a new UK climate reporting standard. [18]
    • Instead, companies can keep the rule in place since 2020: report, or explain why they have not. [18]
    • Companies had complained about the cost and about competing with firms abroad. [18]

    Why it matters

    The EU has already weakened its own climate reporting rules, and the Trump administration dropped plans for any in the US. [18]

    The regulator found that 92% of the UK's 350 biggest listed companies followed the existing climate reporting rules in their 2025 annual reports. [18]

    The truth

    • Who gains Britain's listed companies — They avoid the cost of a new climate reporting standard and can keep reporting or explaining instead. [18]

    Good news

    • In their 2025 annual reports, 92% of the UK's 350 biggest listed companies followed its climate reporting rules, which only asked them to report or explain why not.
12. 13

    Eni caps Italy's pump prices

    What happened

    • Eni, Italy's state-controlled oil company, said last Friday it would cap pump prices at its stations for at least a month from Monday 28 September. [19]
    • Diesel costs no more than 2.19 euros a litre and petrol no more than 1.99 euros, about 17 cents below average prices. [19]
    • Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government has spent about 2.8 billion euros on fuel tax cuts in recent months. [19]
    • Its diesel tax cut shrank to about 6 cents a litre until 5 October. [19]

    Why it matters

    Eni blamed crises abroad and too little refining in Europe for the prices. [19]

    A consumer group said the cap could persuade Italy's government to drop a possible extra tax on energy companies' profits, which the economy minister has not ruled out. [19]

    The truth

    • Who pays Italian taxpayers — Italy's government has spent about 2.8 billion euros on fuel tax cuts in recent months. [19]
13. 14

    A western US grid runs short of power

    What happened

    • The Southwest Power Pool, which runs the grid across parts of the central and western US, says its new western area is short of power. [20]
    • Plants there can make 9.2 gigawatts, but only 4.7 gigawatts was offered to the market from April to August, against 6.5 expected. [20]
    • The grid operator issued three energy emergency alerts in that time. [20]
    • Under rules federal regulators approved, the area has no requirement to keep enough power on hand until June 2027. [20]

    What plants can make9.2 gigawatts

    What SPP expected6.5 gigawatts

    What was offered4.7 gigawatts

    Why it matters

    SPP wants to fine companies that do not bring enough power from 11 November. [20]

    Its own market watchdog asked federal regulators to reject the plan, and three power suppliers say it needs changes. [20]

    The truth

    • Who pays Power users in the Southwest Power Pool's western area — Three energy emergency alerts were issued from April to August, and no supply requirement applies there until June 2027. [20]
    • Nobody knows yet

      Why so little power was offered in the Southwest Power Pool's western area.

      SPP blames companies for not bringing enough energy to market, while its own watchdog says SPP's fix would block trade between regions. [20]

14. 15

    US spies weigh a Saudi nuclear deal

    What happened

    • A classified US intelligence assessment given to Congress says Saudi Arabia has left open the option of building a nuclear weapon, US officials told the New York Times last Friday. [21]
    • Lawmakers are reviewing a Trump administration deal to help Saudi Arabia build nuclear power plants for electricity. [21]
    • The deal would let US companies help develop nuclear power projects there. [21]
    • The officials said Saudi Arabia has not decided to seek a weapon. [21]

    Why it matters

    Some lawmakers from both parties fear a civilian nuclear programme would make a weapon easier to build. [21]

    Saudi Arabia has threatened before to build one if Iran did. [21]

15. 16

    Russia hides more of its energy data

    What happened

    • Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday limiting what can be published about Russia's energy exports. [22]
    • It covers their price, sellers, buyers, routes and destinations, and customs data too. [22]
    • Such data may be published only if a company in the deal reveals it. [22]
    • Russia had already stopped publishing figures such as its crude oil output after Western sanctions began in 2014. [22]

    Why it matters

    The decree's stated aim is to make Western sanctions harder to enforce. [22]

    It comes as India, Russia's biggest sea buyer, is getting less Russian oil. [17]

16. 17

    Aramco plans a separate gas company

    What happened

    • Saudi Aramco, the state oil company and the world's biggest energy firm, has hired the bank Evercore to plan a separate gas division, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. [23]
    • The split could bring in outside investors or lead to a share sale valuing the gas business at more than $100 billion. [23]
    • The new division would develop gas in Saudi Arabia and build a business selling liquefied gas abroad. [23]
    • Aramco did not comment. [23]

    Why it matters

    Aramco is looking for outside money to pay for Saudi Arabia's plans to rely less on oil, while the Saudi government's finances are under pressure. [23]

    Gulf oil companies have sold parts of their businesses before while keeping their main oil operations closed to outsiders. [23]

17. 18

    BP looks at buying Texas shale oil

    What happened

    • BP is weighing a bid for Devon Energy's oil fields in the Eagle Ford area of south Texas, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. [24]
    • BP spent years putting money into renewable energy and has turned back to oil and gas, now under Meg O'Neill, its chief executive since April. [24]
    • Analysts at TPH Research value the fields at about $4.5 billion; people close to the sale put them at $3.5 billion to $4 billion. [24]

    Why it matters

    US oil fields have become more attractive because they keep pumping whatever happens in the Middle East. [24]

    Looking at the sale's papers does not mean BP will bid. [24]

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      What Devon's Texas oil fields are worth.

      Analysts at TPH Research say about $4.5 billion; people close to the sale say $3.5 billion to $4 billion. [24]

18. 19

    A US ban on Chinese cars waits for November

    What happened

    • The two US senators behind a permanent ban on Chinese cars will not seek a vote until the US Senate returns in November, aides said on Wednesday. [25]
    • The bill would stop companies more than 15% owned by Chinese investors from selling vehicles in the US. [25]
    • Republican Senator Rand Paul held it up because it would catch Mercedes-Benz, which is nearly 20% owned by Chinese investors. [25]
    • Chinese electric cars already face US tariffs above 100%. [25]

    Why it matters

    A rule from early 2025 already keeps Chinese carmakers out, but President Trump said this month he would accept them building cars in the US, which alarmed US carmakers. [25]

19. 20

    A Thai gas pipeline shuts for checks

    What happened

    • Petronas, Malaysia's state energy company, said on Thursday that the Songkhla Export Pipeline has been shut for now after a routine inspection found a problem. [26]
    • The pipeline is run by a joint company of Petronas and PTT, Thailand's state energy company. [26]
    • It is part of a system that brings gas from fields under the Gulf of Thailand to processing plants and buyers in Thailand and Malaysia. [26]
    • It will restart only once it is confirmed safe. [26]

    Why it matters

    Petronas called the shutdown a precaution and gave no date for restarting. [26]

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      How long the Songkhla gas pipeline stays shut.

      Petronas has not said what problem the inspection found, or when the line will reopen. [26]