US Energy Department offers $10.1 billion in loans to Constellation and Alliant, for nuclear upgrades and new gas plants

The rest of the day

39 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Europe's gas price passes 100 euros

   Europe's main gas price passed 100 euros a megawatt-hour on Wednesday afternoon. [5] It was last that high in December 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. [5] Before the Iran war began in late February, the price was about 32 euros. [5] The war has cut off most gas shipped from Qatar, a big supplier. [5] EU gas stores were 75% full on 21 October, against a usual 90% target. [5]

   Why it matters — The EU's energy chief, Dan Jorgensen, said Europe faces another energy crisis this winter. [5] The US now supplies about 30% of the EU's gas. [5]

2. 03

   Europe's oil bill jumps by a half

   The EU spent 27.6 billion euros a month on oil imports from April to June. [6] In 2025 it spent 17.7 billion euros a month, for almost the same amount of oil. [6] The amount of oil it bought rose only 1.2%. [6] So the EU paid about 9.9 billion euros more each month for the same oil. [6]

   Why it matters — About 20% of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025. [6] With that route cut, the price had to rise, an economist at Dundee University says. [6]

3. 04

   World Bank sees energy up 32%

   The World Bank, which lends to poorer countries, says energy prices will rise 32% this year. [7] The forecast is in the bank's latest Commodity Markets Outlook. [7] It expects Brent, the main world oil price, to average 91 dollars, up from 69. [7] Brent was trading near 115 dollars on Wednesday. [7] World oil supply will fall 5.2% this year, the biggest drop since the 1980s. [7]

   Why it matters — It expects Europe's gas prices to jump almost 60%, as buyers compete for Middle East gas. [7] It has given 8.7 billion dollars to 25 countries hurt by the Iran war. [7]

4. 05

   Cyclone Arnab kills three in India

   Cyclone Arnab came ashore in Andhra Pradesh, on India's east coast, early on Wednesday. [16] Its winds were about 130 kilometres an hour at landfall. [16] It killed 3 people and flooded about 200,000 acres of farmland, officials said. [17] About 89,000 people had been moved from the coast before it hit. [18] Unusually warm sea water helped the storm grow fast, a former weather chief said. [17]

   Why it matters — It came after India's weakest summer monsoon rains since 2015. [17] Full damage counts will take days or weeks, AP reports. [17]

5. 06

   Britain's Budget cuts home heating money

   Britain's Budget cut 1 billion pounds from its plan to warm homes. [9] Chancellor John Healey moved the money to help pay for defence. [9] The plan pays for heat pumps, solar panels and insulation. [9] Grants for heat pumps, which heat homes with electricity, fall by about 800 million pounds. [9] A day earlier it opened low- or zero-interest loans of 7,500 to 35,000 pounds for this. [9]

   Why it matters — Analysts say that could mean about 100,000 fewer heat pumps over three years. [9] Home solar and batteries pay no VAT, a sales tax, now, but 5% from April 2027. [19]

6. 07

   Budget moves hydrogen costs off gas bills

   The Budget cut 200 million pounds for carbon capture and 500 million for hydrogen. [9] Carbon capture traps a factory's carbon dioxide and buries it underground. [9] The carbon capture cut falls on Acorn, a planned project in north-east Scotland. [9] A planned charge on gas bills for hydrogen will now come from taxes instead. [9]

   Why it matters — It will back only clean power projects that lower bills and easily connect to the grid. [9] A Guardian analysis reads that as slowing new offshore wind farms until prices fall. [20] That probably needs cheaper borrowing for the wind farm builders, the analysis adds. [20]

7. 08

   Public car chargers keep 20% VAT

   Britain's Budget says power from public car chargers will carry 20% VAT, a sales tax. [9] The rule takes effect on 1 November. [9] Charging at home carries a lower rate of VAT. [9] Courts had ruled the gap unlawful earlier this year, says ChargeUK, a charging industry group. [9]

   Why it matters — ChargeUK says the rule will do serious damage to the switch to electric cars. [9] Britain's government will spend 100 million pounds to cut prices at local chargers. [9] It says that saves drivers about 150 pounds a year on average. [9]

8. 09

   Trump props up half of US coal plants

   Environmental Defense Fund, a US campaign group, studied the 184 coal plants still running. [13] It found the Trump administration has helped 90 of them keep going. [13] 70 got exemptions from limits on mercury and other toxic metals. [13] Six were ordered to keep running when their owners wanted to close them. [13]

   Why it matters — Keeping those six open cost customers up to 593 million dollars by June. [13] It puts the health damage from those six at up to 860 million dollars. [13]

9. 10

   A coal plant kept open costs 303 million dollars

   Consumers Energy, a Michigan power company, has spent 303 million dollars running a coal plant. [21] The 1,420-megawatt Campbell plant was due to close in May 2025. [21] The US Energy Department ordered it to keep running, and it still runs. [21] The 303 million is what is left after 344 million dollars of power sales. [21] A federal appeals court ruled in September that the first order was invalid. [21]

   Why it matters — Consumers will ask FERC, the US energy regulator, to let it recover the full 303 million. [21]

10. 11

    EU says Nord Stream stays shut

    The EU says the Nord Stream pipeline will not bring Russian gas, even after the war. [22] Nord Stream runs more than 1,200 kilometres under the Baltic Sea, from Russia to Germany. [22] It was pushing back at a reported US and Russian plan to restart it. [22] An EU law ends all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. [22]

    Why it matters — Russia's share of EU pipeline gas fell from about 40% in 2021 to 6% in 2025. [22] Much of it was replaced by dearer gas shipped from the US. [22]

11. 12

    EU and Canada to study gas shipments

    The EU and Canada will study long-term shipments of Canadian gas to Europe. [11] The plan is in a draft statement for their summit in Montreal on Thursday and Friday. [11] The gas would be chilled into liquid, called LNG, and carried by ship. [11] Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, backs doubling LNG exports from Canada's west coast. [11]

    Why it matters — The draft does not say how much gas, at what price, or by when. [11] A climate group, CAN Europe, called it a dangerous distraction from clean power. [11]

12. 13

    Tanzania finds new gas

    Tanzania announced its first big gas find in more than 10 years. [10] It is planning a 42 billion dollar project to ship the gas abroad as LNG. [23] Africa imports most of its fuel, so the Middle East war hit it hard. [10] Western lenders had refused to fund gas there, saying it would lock countries into fossil fuels. [23]

    Why it matters — The Trump administration has pushed the World Bank to lend for new gas wells. [23] A Nigerian gas company boss says investors are calling, as his coast has no narrow straits. [23]

13. 14

    Oil spill closes every beach in Sharjah

    Sharjah, one of the seven UAE emirates, closed all its beaches on Wednesday. [24] Oil from a damaged tanker had already shut beaches in two other emirates. [24] Shipping agencies say the tanker, Gem No 2, was hit in a suspected Iranian drone attack. [24] Its 22 Indian sailors were rescued at the time, in early October. [24]

    Why it matters — Fishermen have been told to keep out of the affected waters. [24] Keeping oil off the coast is the top priority, experts told The National. [24]

14. 15

    Britain's climate aid was partly relabelled

    Britain promised poorer countries 11.6 billion pounds of climate aid from 2021 to 2026. [12] It says it met that goal, and records show it spent 12.8 billion. [25] But 2.1 billion came from relabelling money it was already spending, Carbon Brief found. [12] That included its general funding for development banks, and aid to Afghanistan and Sudan. [12]

    Why it matters — Without the changes it would have reached 10.7 billion, 924 million pounds short. [12] Its next goal is about 2 billion pounds a year, half of last year's 4 billion. [12]

15. 16

    China's clean exports cut others' pollution

    China's clean-energy exports this year are on track to avoid 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. [26] That is about what Brazil emits in a year, an analysis for Carbon Brief finds. [26] The exports are solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles. [26] Shipments of electric cars and lorries grew 61%, and wind turbines 45%. [26] Batteries grew 39% and solar 22%, from January to September. [26]

    Why it matters — About 76% of the lifetime savings come in poorer countries of the global south. [26] Many panels land on grids that burn lots of fossil fuel, so each cuts more. [26]

16. 17

    Labour MPs fight over Rosebank decision

    Labour MPs are lobbying Britain's prime minister not to overrule the energy secretary on Rosebank. [27] Rosebank is an oilfield waiting for Britain's government to grant environmental permission. [27] Sources say Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh leans towards refusing it. [27] Her aides sent MPs a memo calling her the only decision maker. [27]

    Why it matters — The Budget's official forecasts already assume Rosebank will be approved. [9] Labour MP Catherine Fookes said approval would 'blow a hole in our green credentials'. [27]

17. 18

    300,000 people live in Himalayan danger zones

    At least 300,000 people in parts of the Himalayas live where floods could reach them. [28] Building in risky zones of Nepal, Tibet and northern India grew 45% from 2016 to 2023. [28] Near lakes made by melting glaciers, it grew almost 78%. [28] Such lakes can burst, sending floods down the valleys. [28]

    Why it matters — The study, in Scientific Reports, was done before August's floods killed over 1,400 in Nepal. [28] The Himalayas are warming about twice as fast as the rest of the world. [28]

18. 19

    Grid batteries could share old connections

    PJM, which runs the grid in 13 US states, will start changing its rules for batteries. [14] Its committee looks at the next steps on 4 November. [14] The rules let a solar or wind farm add batteries on its existing grid connection. [14] Only 2 of 14 such requests in PJM had been approved by last November. [14]

    Why it matters — A Berkeley Lab researcher says PJM could add 24 gigawatts of storage this way. [14] Such projects can be running in 1 to 2 years, far faster than new plants. [14]

19. 20

    US backs a New York gas pipeline

    The US Energy Department plans up to 42 million dollars for the Constitution gas pipeline. [29] The pipeline would run 125 miles from Pennsylvania into upstate New York. [29] New York refused it a water permit in 2016, and courts backed the state. [29] Williams, the builder, asked federal regulators to skip New York's permit. [29]

    Why it matters — The pipeline is now an issue in New York's election for governor. [29] The Republican candidate, Bruce Blakeman, has floated ending the state's fracking ban. [29]

20. 21

    Egypt's smelter gets a solar plant

    Scatec, a Norwegian company, began building a solar plant for Egypt's aluminium smelter. [8] The first stage has 569 megawatts of solar and 100 megawatt-hours of batteries. [8] Three development banks lent 217 million dollars toward the 271 million dollar first stage. [8] They are Europe's EBRD and EIB and the African Development Bank. [8]

    Why it matters — It should start in the first half of 2028 and make about 1.4 terawatt-hours a year. [8] Egypt aims to get 42% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. [8]

21. 22

    Spain's solar power deals get cheaper

    Long deals to buy Spanish solar power fell to 30.93 euros a megawatt-hour. [30] These deals fix a price for years between a solar farm and a buyer. [30] The price is down 7.7% on a year ago, says LevelTen Energy, which tracks such deals. [30] Across Europe the average rose 0.4% in three months, partly because borrowing costs went up. [30]

    Why it matters — LevelTen says Spanish prices are near the lowest at which projects can still borrow. [30] More deals now add batteries, and Spain and Portugal have almost half of them. [30]

22. 23

    Few countries plan for a slowing Atlantic current

    Only 2 of 91 national climate plans for coping with damage mention a key Atlantic current. [31] The current, called the AMOC, carries warm water north and keeps northern Europe mild. [31] Neither of the 2 plans says what to do if it collapses, the study finds. [31] A full collapse is unlikely before 2100, the researchers say. [31]

    Why it matters — But one study projects it could be 50% weaker by 2100. [31] A collapse could bring winter cold of minus 20C to London, the authors write. [31]

23. 24

    England's water firms rated worst on record

    England's water companies got their worst score on record for harming the environment. [32] They won 16 of a possible 36 stars, in the regulators' first joint report. [32] 8 of the 9 companies were rated poor or needing improvement. [32] Only Severn Trent got the top rating. [32]

    Why it matters — The companies have spent 5 billion pounds on cutting pollution over five years. [32] Customer bills are expected to rise 36% on average to pay for more work. [32]

24. 25

    Hack keeps a Chilean solar plant offline

    A solar plant in northern Chile has been offline for two months after a cyberattack. [33] The Huatacondo plant has 103 megawatts of solar and a large battery beside it. [33] Chile's grid operator listed both at 0% availability on 27 October. [33] The attack was first reported on 27 August. [33]

    Why it matters — The same report blames cyberattacks for 2 other power plants losing remote control. [33] It does not say whether the attacks are linked. [33]

25. 26

    A Tesla lorry burns on a California freeway

    A Tesla Semi electric lorry caught fire on Interstate 880 in Hayward, California, on Tuesday. [34] There was no crash, and the driver got out unhurt. [34] Police closed the freeway because the burning battery could give off harmful smoke. [34] One side of the road stayed shut for about 10 hours. [34]

    Why it matters — It is the second Tesla Semi fire to close a California interstate, after one in 2024. [34] The cause is under investigation, and Tesla has not commented. [34]

26. 27

    CATL shows bigger grid batteries in Australia

    CATL, a battery maker, launched a grid battery holding 9 megawatt-hours in Melbourne. [35] It says the new system needs up to 40% fewer containers for a project. [35] It also showed a grid battery using sodium, which is far more common than lithium. [35]

    Why it matters — It signed deals with Hitachi Energy and an Australian university to connect big batteries. [35] CATL says Australia's grid needs such storage as more power comes from sun and wind. [35]

27. 28

    BYD now employs over a million

    BYD, the Chinese firm that sells the most electric cars, now has over 1.02 million workers. [36] That is more than Toyota, GM, Ford and Tesla employ together. [36] It had about 869,600 at the end of 2025. [36] So it added about 150,000 people in ten months, while its car sales fell. [36]

    Why it matters — Up to 120,000 are engineers working on batteries, motors and chips. [36] Its chairman, Wang Chuanfu, says making its own parts is what built that size. [36]

28. 29

    Rarest great ape given a red warning

    Two green groups put out a red warning for the Tapanuli orangutan on 24 October. [37] It is often called the world's rarest great ape. [37] Only about 658 are left, all in one forest area in North Sumatra, Indonesia. [37] Floods and landslides after a cyclone in 2025 killed at least 58 of them. [37] A gold mine and a 510-megawatt hydropower plant lie within their range. [37]

    Why it matters — Indonesia suspended both after the floods, then let them restart this year after fines. [37] The groups say no more forest can be lost if the species is to survive. [37]

29. 30

    IEA review: Turkey burns most coal in Europe

    Turkey burned about 120 million tonnes of coal in 2025, the most in Europe. [38] That is from a new review of Turkey by the International Energy Agency. [38] Renewables made 43% of Turkey's electricity last year, and the plan is 55% by 2035. [38] Its power use grew almost 5% a year from 2005 to 2024, fastest among IEA members. [38]

    Why it matters — Akkuyu, a nuclear plant now being finished, should supply about 10% of capacity. [38] More nuclear plants will need solid financing, the IEA says. [38]

30. 31

    California lets home batteries help the grid

    Two new California laws let home batteries and electric cars sell power to the grid more. [15] One, SB 913, gives regulators until June 2028 to count groups of them as supply. [15] The other, SB 905, makes power companies collect data on how fully their wires are used. [15] Supporters say worry over power prices helped both pass after earlier bills failed. [15]

    Why it matters — The aim is to get more out of the grid California already has. [15]

31. 32

    Tougher fines for unreliable power savers

    A US regulator approved tougher penalties for firms paid to cut power use in emergencies. [39] The firms work in the grid run by MISO, across much of the central US. [39] They were paid for 9.1 gigawatts of cuts and 4.3 gigawatts of on-site power. [39] One firm, Voltus, agreed to pay a 10.9 million dollar penalty in an earlier case. [39] The new rules start on 1 June. [39]

    Why it matters — Two of the regulator's members warned the fines could drive out firms that do deliver. [39]

32. 33

    Islands show clean power is a people problem

    A report studied 11 islands that get most or all of their power from renewables. [40] It comes from a research group of the IEA, an agency set up by rich countries. [40] Kodiak Island in Alaska gets 99 to 100% of its power from water and wind. [40] Yakushima in Japan runs entirely on small hydropower plants. [40] They range from 88 people on Apolima in Samoa to over 57,000 on Denmark's Lolland. [40]

    Why it matters — The report finds the hard part is people, politics and planning, not the equipment. [40]

33. 34

    Botswana seeks floating solar on its dams

    Botswana's state water company opened a tender for solar panels floating on its dams. [41] A tender asks companies to bid to build and run the plants. [41] Companies must say they are interested by 19 November. [41] Botswana has about 190.5 megawatts of solar running today. [41]

    Why it matters — A 500-megawatt solar farm with batteries broke ground earlier this year. [41] Floating panels would put the water company's own dams to work making power. [41]

34. 35

    Worst 'forever chemical' pollution found at old RAF base

    Tests at RAF Upper Heyford, a former air base, found Britain's worst recorded PFAS pollution. [42] PFAS are man-made 'forever chemicals' that do not break down, and some cause cancer. [42] They came from fire-fighting foam used in training on the base for decades. [42] A developer wants to build 9,000 homes on the site. [42]

    Why it matters — Water samples at the site of a planned primary school were above safe levels. [42] The developer says soil tests show the home areas are safe to use. [42]

35. 36

    CATL nears solid-state car batteries

    CATL says it has started trial production of 20-amp-hour solid-state battery cells. [43] Solid-state batteries use a solid in place of the liquid inside today's cells. [43] CATL aims to store 500 watt-hours in each kilogram of battery. [43] It plans small-scale production in 2027 and mass production around 2030. [43]

    Why it matters — CATL made 39.9% of the world's electric car batteries in the first half of 2026. [43] Toyota aims to sell its first solid-state electric car in 2027 or 2028. [43]

36. 37

    Tesla moves into Vietnam

    Tesla is hiring staff in Vietnam, and a recruiter says it is officially coming. [44] One of its 5 job openings is for building car charging points. [44] Vietnam's own electric carmaker, VinFast, sold about 36% of all new cars there this year. [44] That counts petrol cars too, so VinFast leads the whole market. [44]

    Why it matters — Tesla entered Thailand and the Philippines the same way, within months of hiring. [44] No prices or models for Vietnam have been announced. [44]

37. 38

    A bill to bring back US electric car credits

    Greg Landsman, an Ohio Democrat in the US Congress, wants electric car tax credits back. [45] The old credit of up to 7,500 dollars ended for cars bought after September 2025. [45] His bill offers up to 15,000 dollars for a new car, 8,000 for a used one. [45] It was introduced on 22 October and has no co-sponsor yet. [45]

    Why it matters — Electrek, an electric car news site, says it has almost no chance of becoming law. [45] It warns some buyers may wait for a credit that never comes. [45]

38. 39

    Renault and EDF plan two-way car charging

    Renault, the French carmaker, and EDF, a French power company, will sell two-way charging. [46] Cars could send power from their batteries back to the grid. [46] It starts in France in summer 2027, for buyers of Renault, Alpine and Dacia cars. [46] EDF will fit the chargers, and Dreev, a company it co-owns, will run the software. [46]

    Why it matters — Badly timed charging could raise evening demand peaks, pv magazine notes. [46] Managed well, parked car batteries could help the grid when demand is high. [46]

39. 40

    Cheaper aerogel could insulate old homes

    Two start-ups say they can make aerogel, the lightest solid on Earth, more cheaply. [47] Aerogel is mostly trapped air, so heat moves through it very slowly. [47] Britain has about 8 million old homes with solid walls that are hard to insulate. [47] Thermulon, in Britain, plans to make 100 tonnes a year in 2027 for lime plaster. [47] Keey Aerogel, in France, plans a plant near Mulhouse making up to 2,000 tonnes a year. [47]

    Why it matters — It will still cost more than ordinary insulation, New Scientist reports. [47] For some old homes it may be the best way to switch to low-carbon heating. [47]