AEP raises its building plan to $100 billion for data centres, with three 765,000-volt lines in Ohio, as a Sierra Club count says US power-plant carbon dioxide could rise 42% by 2030

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29 more stories on this beat.

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

1. 02

   QatarEnergy buys US gas for 20 years

   QatarEnergy, Qatar's state energy company, signed to buy US gas from Woodside for 20 years. [8] It will take up to 3 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. [8] The gas will come from Woodside's Louisiana LNG plant, with first deliveries expected in 2030. [8] A week earlier it signed for 4 million tonnes a year from Cheniere, another US firm. [8] That makes QatarEnergy the biggest buyer of US LNG, its boss Saad Al Kaabi said. [8] An Iranian strike on Ras Laffan, Qatar's gas hub, knocked out about 17% of its capacity. [8] Qatar has told buyers in Italy, Pakistan and Bangladesh it cannot deliver until year-end. [8]

   Why it matters — Bangladesh's state gas company says it is buying cargoes at 'a significant cost'. [8] Europe's gas price passed 95 euros a megawatt-hour this week, near its highest since 2022. [8]

2. 03

   A glacial lake bursts in Bhutan

   A glacial lake in Bhutan burst its banks overnight, sending a flood down a valley. [13] Bhutan is a small Himalayan kingdom between India and China. [13] The water came from Shintaphu lake, one of the lakes left by melting glaciers. [13] The flood washed away parts of the Gasa Tshachu hot springs, a tourist site. [13] The area was evacuated before the water came, and no one was reported hurt. [13] Two small bridges may have been swept away, and the road to Laya village is shut. [13]

   Why it matters — India's West Bengal state warned villages along the Sankosh River to move to safer ground. [13] In August a flash flood on Nepal's border with China killed more than 1,500 people. [13]

3. 04

   Floods kill five in Syria

   Floods after heavy rain killed at least 5 people in northern and eastern Syria. [14] Four were children who drowned in Raqqa and Deir Az Zor provinces. [14] Another 5 people, 2 of them children, are missing. [14] The al-Salmani bridge collapsed, cutting the road between Raqqa and Aleppo. [14] Rescuers saved 15 people whose cars were trapped by floodwater. [14] About 375 families were moved out of three camps near Raqqa. [14]

   Why it matters — UNICEF, the UN children's agency, said earlier floods this year hit 17,000 Syrians. [14]

4. 05

   Indonesia's worst fires in 11 years bring protests

   Indonesia faces its worst forest fires and smoky haze in 11 years, Reuters reports. [15] El Nino weather has dried out peatland, wet ground made of old plants, so it burns. [15] The smoke has raised breathing illnesses and drifted over Malaysia and Singapore. [15] On Wednesday, hundreds of students protested in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, and other cities. [15] They want Indonesia's government to declare the fires a national disaster. [15] Some carried photos of orangutans, the apes that suffer most from the fires. [15]

   Why it matters — Indonesia's government says it has prosecuted companies linked to the fires. [15] It has also tried changing the weather to make it rain. [15]

5. 06

   GE Vernova buys a high-voltage parts maker

   GE Vernova, which makes turbines and grid equipment, will buy Trench Group for $9 billion. [7] Trench makes parts for high-voltage equipment, sold to over 800 power firms and tech giants. [7] Its North Carolina factory will be the first US maker of these parts for 765,000 volts. [7] The deal brings about $5 billion of orders already booked, and should close in late 2027. [7] It will pay half in cash and half with borrowed money, Bloomberg reported. [16] GE Vernova's gas turbine orders grew more slowly this quarter. [7] It has 122 gigawatts of turbines under contract, up from 116 three months ago. [7] It now takes bookings for turbines delivered in 2032. [7]

   Why it matters — Its prices for gas turbine orders are on track to rise 50% this year. [7] 'Lead times across the industry are increasingly important,' said Scott Strazik, its boss. [7]

6. 07

   FirstEnergy plans a gas plant for data centres

   FirstEnergy, a US power company, says data centres could ask it for 26 gigawatts. [5] That list of signed and possible demand grew 4.8% in three months. [5] In West Virginia alone it rose to 6 gigawatts, from 4.3 gigawatts. [5] Two FirstEnergy companies want to build Maidsville, a $2.7 billion power station there. [5] It would burn gas to make 1,200 megawatts, with 70 megawatts of solar beside it. [5] They have booked turbines from Siemens Energy for delivery in 2030. [5] They also asked makers for offers on 3 gigawatts more of gas turbines. [5]

   Why it matters — FirstEnergy expects West Virginia's regulator to decide on Maidsville before the year ends. [5] Until big plants are ready, it may use quick 'bridge' power like engines and batteries. [5]

7. 08

   Hubbell sells 80% more to data centres

   Hubbell, a US maker of electrical and grid equipment, sold over 80% more to data centres. [6] Data centres now buy 15% of what its electrical business sells. [6] Its sales to power companies grew just 5%, with fewer substation buildings sold. [6] A supplier could not get one key part, so Hubbell ran short of electricity meters. [6] Hubbell says that shortage should end by the end of the year. [6] It spends about $25 million a quarter adding factory machines and lines. [6]

   Why it matters — Next year it plans to double that to $50 million a quarter. [6] Most of the new capacity will serve power lines, substations and data centres, it said. [6]

8. 09

   US Senate sets a vote on a power-line bill

   The US Senate is due to vote on 9 November on moving a power-line bill forward. [17] The bill, known as BAAJA, would make big new power lines and projects easier to approve. [17] It would end power firms' automatic right to build new regional lines in their own area. [17] FERC, the US energy regulator, could cut profits of firms that skip needed upgrades. [17] The cost of lines between regions would fall on the customers who benefit. [17] Almost no lines linking regions have been built in a long time, said congressman Josh Harder. [17]

   Why it matters — Harder said that failure is 'not doing the job to lower prices for folks.' [17] Native American tribal groups oppose its changes to a law that protects historic sites. [17]

9. 10

   Palisades nuclear plant to restart this year

   Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, visited the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan on Thursday. [18] He said it would be running again before the end of this year. [18] Palisades shut in 2022, and its owner, Holtec International, is restarting it. [18] It would add 800 megawatts of power, Wright said. [18] In September a bundle of nuclear fuel tipped over there during refuelling. [18] The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said no radiation was released. [18] This month the regulator found staff in two departments afraid to raise safety concerns. [18]

   Why it matters — Critics at Don't Waste Michigan, a local campaign group, call it a 'zombie reactor'. [18] Holtec says it will restart only when all federal requirements are met. [18]

10. 11

    Kazakhstan wants nuclear plants built faster

    Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, wants two nuclear power plants built faster. [9] He said building the Balkhash plant could start as early as next year. [9] He also wants a long-term national store of uranium, the fuel for nuclear plants. [9] He wants spare electricity to power a digital economy and artificial intelligence. [9] In winter Kazakhstan buys power from its neighbours at high prices, he said. [9] In summer it sells power back to them much more cheaply. [9]

    Why it matters — Tokayev said this 'business' had lasted for decades, and blamed corruption in the energy sector. [9] He said such schemes had held up building power plants in several regions. [9]

11. 12

    South Africa's first gas power auction fails

    South Africa failed to award any contracts in its first auction for gas power plants. [19] The auction opened a year ago and drew 4 bids in May. [19] Together they offered 2,830 megawatts, more than the 2,000 megawatts sought. [19] South Africa's Department of Electricity and Energy announced the result on Wednesday. [19]

    Why it matters — Bloomberg says the failure could slow South Africa's move away from coal power. [19]

12. 13

    First Solar opens a South Carolina factory

    First Solar, a US maker of thin-film solar panels, opened a factory in Gaffney, South Carolina. [12] It can finish 1.7 gigawatts of panels a year, rising to 3.4 gigawatts by mid-2027. [12] It finishes panels started at First Solar's factories in other countries. [12] The $330 million plant has filled 500 jobs and expects nearly 200 more. [12] First Solar said US trade rules and a 2025 tax law drove the investment. [12] It is the company's sixth factory in the US. [12]

    Why it matters — By 2027 it expects US capacity of about 17 gigawatts of panels a year. [12]

13. 14

    Masdar starts a floating solar farm in Malaysia

    Masdar, a clean energy company from Abu Dhabi, began building a floating solar farm in Malaysia. [20] The 200-megawatt farm will float on the reservoir of the Chereh Dam in Pahang state. [20] It should power 100,000 homes, Masdar said. [20] Three international lenders put up about $142.9 million for it this week. [20] It is Masdar's first project in Malaysia, built with two Malaysian firms. [20] It will be one of the largest floating solar farms in South-east Asia. [20]

    Why it matters — Masdar already runs a 145-megawatt floating farm at Cirata in Indonesia. [20] The project should create 1,500 jobs, Masdar said. [20]

14. 15

    BYD's exports more than double

    BYD, a Chinese carmaker, exported 550,704 cars from July to September. [11] That is 137% more than in the same months last year. [11] Tesla, the US electric-car maker, delivered 486,532 cars worldwide in those months. [11] Inside China, BYD's sales fell about 12% amid a price war between carmakers. [11] Exports are now 42% of BYD's sales. [11] Its profit for the three months rose 28%. [11]

    Why it matters — Its stock of unsold cars is up 60% since the end of 2025. [11] BYD blames its growing business abroad, where cars sit longer on ships and at dealers. [11]

15. 16

    Toyota's electric car sales double

    Toyota sold 309,766 battery electric cars worldwide from January to September. [10] That is 127% more than in the same months last year. [10] But Toyota's total sales fell for a third month in a row in September. [10] In China, Toyota sold 18.9% fewer cars than a year earlier. [10] Toyota said dearer petrol hurt sales of its petrol and hybrid cars there. [10]

    Why it matters — Volkswagen, the German carmaker, sold 38% fewer cars in China in the same quarter. [10] Toyota plans to build a new electric Lexus in Shanghai, China, from next autumn. [10]

16. 17

    Rivian's electric van goes further

    Rivian, a US electric-vehicle maker, is delivering a longer-range version of its delivery van. [21] A bigger battery gives it about 30% more range. [21] The battery now holds 129 kilowatt-hours of energy, up from 100. [21] The old van was rated at up to 160 miles on one charge. [21] A new all-wheel-drive version is meant for longer rural routes on gravel, mud and snow. [21] Most of Rivian's vans so far have gone to Amazon. [21]

    Why it matters — GM stopped making its BrightDrop electric vans, and Canoo went bankrupt, so rivals are fewer. [21]

17. 18

    Western Australia moves to allow plug-in solar

    Western Australia plans to let people plug solar panels into an ordinary wall socket. [22] The state is consulting on a safety standard based on Germany's rules. [22] Systems could make up to 2 kilowatts, and batteries are allowed too. [22] That opens cheap solar to renters and flat-dwellers who do not own a roof. [22] A plug-in kit can move with a family when it changes home. [22] Only one is allowed per home, and none where rooftop solar is already fitted. [22] It would be a first in Australia. [22]

    Why it matters — Solar Citizens, a campaign group, wants Australia's government to set a national rule by next July. [22]

18. 19

    Solar farms took 2,798 more hectares of Italy

    Solar farms built on the ground covered 2,798 more hectares of Italy in 2025. [23] The figure comes from ISPRA, Italy's environmental research institute. [23] Italy added 1,700 hectares of solar farms in 2024, and just 75 in 2021. [23] Solar was about 27% of all the land newly built on in Italy last year. [23] ISPRA counts solar farms as land that can be given back, unlike roads and buildings. [23] Italy's rooftops could hold 140 to 193 gigawatts of solar without new land, ISPRA says. [23]

    Why it matters — Italy's top court this year upheld limits on solar farms on farmland. [23] Projects with signed grid deals could need over 10,260 more hectares within two years. [23]

19. 20

    A solar cell without scarce indium

    Researchers in China built a solar cell that needs no indium, a rare and costly metal. [24] Indium is normally used in the clear layer that carries current off a cell's surface. [24] The team used zinc oxide with a little gallium in its place. [24] The new cell turned 24.92% of sunlight into electricity. [24] That was only 0.68 points below a matching cell made with indium. [24]

    Why it matters — The researchers say the high cost of indium drove the search for a substitute. [24]

20. 21

    An oil pipeline plan splits eastern Montana

    Bridger Pipeline wants to build a 650-mile oil pipeline across Montana and Wyoming. [25] It would carry Canadian tar sands oil, a thick mix of sand, clay and heavy oil. [25] Tar sands oil makes about 20% more greenhouse gas than ordinary crude, Grist reports. [25] President Trump gave it a permit this spring to cross the border from Canada. [25] Bridger has paid about 450 landowners on its main route to let surveyors in. [25] Farmers hit by drought hope to be paid for letting the pipe cross their land. [25] Daniels County, home to about 1,600 people, has no pipeline paying it taxes yet. [25]

    Why it matters — The US Bureau of Land Management must still publish a review for public comment. [25] Keystone XL, a pipeline planned across the same area, was cancelled in 2021. [25]

21. 22

    Calls grow to drain Lake Powell

    Lake Powell is one of the two biggest reservoirs on the Colorado River in the US. [26] A 27-year drought, the longest in 1,200 years, has shrunk the river. [26] Last month Powell hit a record low, under 150 feet above 'dead pool'. [26] Dead pool is the level below which water can no longer flow out past the dam. [26] The Glen Canyon Institute wants new tunnels to empty Powell into Lake Mead, downstream. [26] Powell's dam makes about 730 megawatts of power, which backers say solar could replace. [26] About 11% of the reservoir's water evaporates every year, experts say. [26]

    Why it matters — The US government left draining out of its 10-year river plan, finalised in August. [26] New tunnels would take about a decade and cost billions of dollars. [26]

22. 23

    Australia is losing the fight against wild deer

    Wild deer are spreading across Australia, a leaked government report card shows. [27] Six kinds of deer, brought in from abroad, now live wild there. [27] They cost more than $91 million a year in lost farm output and control work. [27] Every state and territory is failing to control them, except South Australia. [27] South Australia began a plan to wipe them out in 2022. [27] It got a green mark in all 4 areas the report card scored. [27] New South Wales and Tasmania got red marks in all 4. [27]

    Why it matters — 'Deer are the next feral pig,' said Reece Pianta of the Invasive Species Council. [27] He says acting now could still hold back or reverse their spread. [27]

23. 24

    England's drought outlasts the storms

    Most of England and Wales is still in drought, despite Storms Austen and Boelo. [28] Parts of southern England had their driest April to September in over 100 years. [28] The Environment Agency is England's environment regulator. [28] It estimates England needs about 120% of normal rain from September to April. [28] Rain must soak through the soil before it reaches rock that holds water underground. [28] That groundwater, held in chalk and sandstone, supplies much of southern England's tap water. [28] This is England's third drought in five years. [28]

    Why it matters — A dry winter could mean England starts next summer in drought, writes scientist Hannah Cloke. [28]

24. 25

    Fire weather spreads into the US south-west's winter

    A new study looked at 83 years of fire weather in the US south-west. [29] Fire weather means hot days with very dry air, when fires start and spread easily. [29] From December to May, that risk has grown steadily as temperatures rose and air dried. [29] Those months are outside the region's usual fire season. [29] In summer, the risk follows a slow swing in Pacific Ocean temperatures that lasts decades. [29] Summer risk fell from 1940 to 1980, and has risen since 1981. [29]

    Why it matters — Climate models capture the heat but miss much of the dry-air swing, the authors say. [29]

25. 26

    What China wants from the COP31 climate talks

    COP31, this year's UN climate summit, will be held in Turkey. [30] Carbon Brief, a climate news site, asked six experts what China wants there. [30] At COP30 last year, China helped win a 'dialogue' on climate-related trade barriers. [30] China's deputy environment minister Li Gao said rich countries cut too little and pay too little. [30] Experts expect China to push for solar panels and batteries to cross borders freely. [30] They also expect pressure for delivery of a $300 billion climate finance goal. [30]

    Why it matters — China says it gave 177 billion yuan, or $26.5 billion, in climate finance since 2016. [30] It has given no new figure since the COP29 summit. [30]

26. 27

    Europeans doubt green policies, poll finds

    A poll in 10 countries finds most people still worry about climate change. [31] Mandate Research, a British research firm, commissioned the poll. [31] But many said green policies have made ordinary people worse off. [31] In the Netherlands 54% said so, and just 12% said people had gained. [31] Net zero by 2050, adding no more greenhouse gas than is removed, ranked low. [31] In 8 of 10 countries, more clean power ranked as the best way to cut bills. [31]

    Why it matters — EU leaders asked for a review of ETS2, a carbon price on heating and road fuel. [31] ETS2 is due from 2028, and Italy and others want it delayed until at least 2030. [31]

27. 28

    South African anti-pollution campaigner dies

    Desmond D'Sa, a South African campaigner against refinery pollution, has died in a car crash. [32] His son Rodney and his sister-in-law also died, South Africa's environment department said. [32] For over 30 years he fought pollution from refineries and factories in south Durban. [32] In 1995 he helped found an alliance of 21 local groups against that pollution. [32] Under apartheid, South Africa's old system of racial separation, his family was forced from its home. [32] In 2008 his home was petrol-bombed, and he kept campaigning. [32] He won the Goldman Environmental Prize, a top award for activists, in 2014. [32]

    Why it matters — His group says his campaign helped force changes to ageing pipelines in south Durban. [32]

28. 29

    California's charger rules come into force

    California's rules to make public electric-car chargers more reliable are finally in force. [33] Laws in 2022 and 2023 told the California Energy Commission to set them. [33] They cover chargers paid for by state agencies or regulated power companies. [33] Fast chargers installed since 28 September must use a shared software standard. [33] So a charger can keep working with new software if its maker closes. [33] In 2024, Enel X Way quit and left about 25,000 of its chargers on odd software. [33]

    Why it matters — One big charging network calls the rules 'largely an onerous data-reporting exercise.' [33]

29. 30

    A golden eagle chick fledges on a grouse moor

    A golden eagle chick has flown from a nest on a grouse moor in southern Scotland. [34] Grouse moors are estates kept for shooting game birds. [34] It is the first chick there to fledge on such land. [34] The RSPB, a bird charity, says 64.3% of UK attacks on birds of prey happen there. [34] Eagles have been moved from the Highlands to the Moffat Hills since 2018. [34] The south of Scotland now has more than 50 golden eagles, a record. [34]

    Why it matters — Gamekeepers named the chick Beaky Junior, one of five to fledge there this year. [34]