Monday, 26 October 2026

Mercedes-AMG has unveiled the GT SUV as an all-electric performance SUV, according to Electrek. The model delivers up to 1,153 hp from three axial-flux motors, Electrek reported.

The vehicle supports DC fast charging at up to 710 kW, according to Electrek. The first units are scheduled to reach US dealerships in summer 2027.

The 5th Africa E-Mobility Week & Forum took place at Nooitgedacht Estate in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, at the end of last month, according to CleanTechnica.

It was the first time the event had been held in Southern Africa, CleanTechnica reported. Earlier editions were held in East Africa, in Kenya.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon toured the TerraPower Natrium nuclear plant site in Kemmerer on Thursday, joined by the governors of Utah and Idaho and three U.S. senators, according to Wyoming News.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Idaho Gov. Brad Little accompanied Gordon on the visit, alongside Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jim Risch of Idaho, and John Curtis of Utah.

TerraPower founder Bill Gates joined the elected delegation at the Kemmerer site, Wyoming News reported.

Slovakia's Mochovce 4 nuclear unit has been connected to the grid and started supplying its first electricity, according to World Nuclear News.

The VVER-440 unit was phased into the country's electricity system at 20:41 on Thursday 15 October with the reactor at 20% power output, Slovenske elektrárne said.

The unit has two turbogenerators and a total installed electrical capacity of 471 MW, according to TASR. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate about 3.5 million MWh annually, equivalent to around 13% of Slovakia's current electricity consumption.

The initial synchronisation does not complete the unit's commissioning, according to TASR. The process continues with the synchronisation of the second turbogenerator, followed by further prescribed tests conducted at progressively higher output levels.

FasterCapital has accepted Just Energy Holdings into its EquityPilot program to support early-stage execution of the Onderstepoort Integrated WtE + Solar PV & BESS project for the Gauteng grid in South Africa, according to a press release carried by Event Registry.

Just Energy Holdings proposes an integrated project at Onderstepoort that combines a waste-to-energy plant, utility-scale solar PV on rehabilitated landfill, and modular lithium-ion battery energy storage.

Under the arrangement, FasterCapital will coordinate introductions and help prioritize near-term deliverables for the project.

Most Chinese prefecture-level cities have not reached a stable post-peak phase for energy consumption, according to a study that classified only 88 of 336 cities studied as having done so. Researchers reconstructed energy consumption for the 336 cities using satellite nighttime-light data combined with official energy statistics, covering the period from 2000 to 2022. The 88 cities identified amount to roughly one in four of those examined.

In a separate development, the United States has called for more tax incentives and other concessions for US companies seeking to enter Guyana's market, according to Kaieteur News.

India's data-centre capacity could climb to about 24-26 GW from less than 2 GW currently, according to the Economic Times.

Ghanshyam Prasad said the projected growth in data-centre capacity has already been factored into India's future power-demand projections, with generation capacity being expanded accordingly, speaking on the sidelines of the "Making the Indian Power Sector AI Enabled" event.

Separately, The India Cements entered an energy supply and share subscription agreement to acquire a 3.6% equity stake in Zenataris Renewable Energy, a company engaged in generation and transmission of renewable energy, according to Global Cement.

Zenataris is a special purpose vehicle set up for a hybrid renewable energy project at Kudligi in Vijayanagara District, Karnataka. The vehicle will supply 11 MW of captive renewable energy to The India Cements' local cement plants, according to Global Cement.

U.S.-based Quantum Leap Energy and South Africa's state-owned Necsa signed a binding framework agreement on October 15 to develop a uranium enrichment facility at Pelindaba, near Pretoria, according to Ecofin Agency.

The proposed joint venture would be owned approximately 80% by Quantum Leap Energy and 20% by Necsa, Ecofin Agency reported.

The planned facility will produce high-assay low-enriched uranium for certain advanced nuclear reactors. Quantum Leap Energy already holds supply agreements with U.S.-based TerraPower for the advanced nuclear fuel.

Greece's Ministry of Environment and Energy has opened a public consultation on draft legislation setting new rules for electricity market operations and data center grid connections, according to w.media.

Under the proposed framework, data center investors would pay the full cost of connecting their facilities to the electricity grid, including any power-system upgrades resulting directly from those connections, w.media reported.

The draft bill would introduce a financial guarantee of EUR 200,000 per MW of requested capacity, according to w.media.

El Dorado residents are weighing an ordinance that would ban certain data centers and battery energy storage systems within city limits, according to KSN.

If approved in the Nov. 3 general election, the ban would take effect immediately and remain in place for 10 years, KSN reported.

Separately, Energy Storage Europe said it supports the European Commission's direction on energy-sector cybersecurity while raising targeted concerns.

Scottish Labour MP Kirsteen Sullivan has urged Labour ministers to secure jobs at Invinity Energy Systems after the company threatened to leave the UK, according to The Scotsman. The firm lost out to a Chinese company under a government support scheme.

Invinity said it would quit the UK after only one vanadium flow battery project was selected for Ofgem's long-duration energy storage scheme, according to The Scotsman. Sullivan called on her own party's ministers to protect the company's workforce.

Invinity operates sites in Motherwell and Bathgate, according to The Scotsman. The company had hoped to create up to 1,000 jobs in Scotland's central belt by expanding its manufacturing operations.

The UK Government has been pressed to stop the firm from leaving after it failed to win support under the scheme.

Google agreed to buy 396 MW from Fervo's Cape Station facility in southwest Utah, an amount described as enough to power around 430,000 households, according to the Albuquerque Express. The report described Cape Station as a facility set to come online.

Data-center growth is raising demand for renewable generation elsewhere. CleanMax founder and managing director Kuldeep Jain estimated that an Indian data-center capacity scenario of 5 GW would require 30 GW to 40 GW of renewable generation capacity, according to TokenPost.

New-energy vehicles made up a record 67% of China's domestic passenger-car retail sales in September, according to data the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on October 12.

Battery-electric vehicles captured 47.3% of the market, while plug-in hybrids accounted for another 19.7%, according to Fulghum.

Elon Musk posted on X on Thursday that China's dependency on oil is dropping fast as the country shifts to electric vehicles.

Zimbabwe's government has urged the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) to prioritise affordable energy supplies, strengthen consumer protection and accelerate independent power generation in its 2027 strategic framework, according to the Daily News.

Separately, energy minister Michael Shanks said government policy favours overhead power lines over underground cables, according to the News and Star. Shanks said undergrounding is four or five times more expensive than pylons, a cost borne by consumers.

California sold nearly 87,000 new zero-emission vehicles in the second quarter of 2026.

Research by Tal suggests vehicle availability helped drive California's sales rebound, according to the findings cited in coverage of the state's market. The same research attributes weaker demand elsewhere in the country to expiring federal incentives and automakers pulling back some electric models.

Russian strikes on Rivne and surrounding areas were causing large-scale power supply disruptions, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Ukrenergo, Ukraine's state-owned electricity transmission operator, said that strikes on thermal power plants due to operate through winter had somewhat worsened its winter forecasts, though the company did not assess the situation as critical.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde raised fresh concerns that Nigeria LNG (NLNG) dividend funds meant for states were being withheld.

Makinde said each state was entitled to NGN 250 billion from NLNG dividends, according to New Telegraph.

The governor alleged that the funds had been withheld until after Nigeria's 2027 elections.

Makinde described the delay as a major setback for subnational development planning and long-term infrastructure investment.

A fuel assembly at the Palisades nuclear reactor in Covert, Michigan, tipped on August 30 as new fuel was being lowered into the reactor, putting the plant's planned restart on hold, according to The National.

The NRC said no radiation was released during the incident, The National reported.

Separately, the NRC found a chilled work environment in the plant's supply chain and quality assurance departments, where employees were hesitant to raise safety concerns using all available avenues without fear of retaliation, according to The National.

Hibiscus Petroleum and Seri Pajam Development signed a heads of agreement on Sept. 30 to jointly explore power generation projects, according to The Sun. The document was signed by Hibiscus Petroleum managing director Datuk Dr Kenneth Gerard Pereira and Seri Pajam Development CEO Ten Wee Seong.

The collaboration identifies SPD Tech Valley in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, as a potential location for power generation development, according to StarProperty.

Potential projects under the agreement may use gas turbines, gas engines, solar power and carbon capture systems, as outlined under the heads of agreement, according to The Sun.

Venezuela's government says the 600 MW unit 6 at Planta Centro, the country's largest thermal power plant, will be connected to the grid "very soon" with help from China.

China Machinery Engineering Corp. plans to switch on the 600 MW oil-fired unit next month, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the plan is not public.

TCL Solar is introducing shade-resistant panels built to hold stronger electricity production when sunlight is partially obstructed, according to cleanthesky.com.

The company's T5 Pro module generates 17% more electricity under shading than conventional half-cut modules, according to cleanthesky.com.

Separately, the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, a solar education facility on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, prepares Native American adults for jobs in the sustainable energy workforce, according to newscenter1.tv.

At its 46th Board meeting, running October 26 to 29, 2026 in South Korea, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will take up new climate financing proposals, rules governing its next fundraising cycle, and tighter monitoring of climate investments.

The four-day session convenes at the Fund's Songdo, Incheon headquarters, the GCF said in a statement. Board members will assess projects spanning both adaptation and mitigation across the regions the Fund serves.

The meeting closes less than two weeks before COP31, the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, set for November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Türkiye.

Nvidia and German energy firm PreussenElektra GmbH (PEL) are exploring whether decommissioned nuclear power plant sites in Germany can be converted into high-performance AI data centers, according to Tom's Hardware. The two companies entered a preliminary partnership in an announcement on October 21st to assess the conversion.

The open-ended exploration will evaluate existing grid connections, available land and industrial infrastructure at the former nuclear sites to determine whether they meet the operational requirements of AI factories, according to Tom's Hardware.

By repurposing the facilities, Nvidia hopes to significantly reduce cost and development timelines, Tom's Hardware reported.

The initiative remains strictly in an experimental feasibility phase. No investment amounts, approved development plans or definitive construction agreements have been finalized, according to Tom's Hardware.

BorgWarner Inc. signed a Master Supply Agreement with TurboCell to supply a modular turbine generator system, marking its entry into the global data center power market. According to enterpriseitworld.com, TurboCell is a subsidiary of Endeavour.

In a separate case, residents urged the Ohio Power Siting Board to reject the application for the proposed 450 MW PowerConneX New Albany 3 Energy Center. According to the Newark Advocate, those opposing the application included New Albany second-grader Whitney Priestas.

Tesla's proposed USD 10 billion Project Crystal Sun solar factory in Texas could receive up to 35 years of local equipment tax breaks under four agreements approved by Fort Bend County commissioners on Thursday, according to toptech.news.

The structure combines two phases. A Chapter 312 agreement would eliminate 100% of county property taxes on the plant's equipment and other tangible personal property for 10 tax years, toptech.news reported.

After that abatement ends, the county would return 90% of Tesla's equipment taxes as annual grants for 20 years, keeping 10% for its general fund, according to toptech.news.

Tesla has not committed to building the plant in Texas, toptech.news reported.

Venezuela expects close to $76 billion in oil and gas investment over five years under 61 signed agreements, with 44 more under negotiation, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on October 17, according to ET Edge Insights.

The investment drive supports a production push. Venezuela is seeking to raise oil output to 1.3 million barrels per day in 2026 and 1.5 million barrels per day in 2027, according to Caribbean News Global. That target opens potential work for companies with the technical expertise and financial resources to take part in field rehabilitation, enhanced oil recovery, drilling and production expansion.

Chevron's Venezuelan joint ventures plan to invest more than $7 billion over five years after the company secured expanded development rights in the Orinoco Belt in September, according to Caribbean News Global.

International operators, oilfield service companies and strategic partners are being invited to register as commercial partners for the Venezuela Energy Week 2027 Deal Room, where companies can pursue joint ventures, service agreements, technology deployments and offtake arrangements, according to Caribbean News Global.

John Healey's first budget as chancellor will introduce the opening measures in a package of deep reforms intended to lower British energy costs toward the European average.

Alongside short-term steps meant to give households and businesses a breather, the government will pursue longer-term reforms to address what it sees as a key structural weakness of the economy.

Options under consideration include new measures to separate, or delink, gas and electricity prices.

Under the current system, gas sets the wholesale electricity price whenever it is needed alongside wind, solar and nuclear generation, and many renewable generators are paid gas-linked prices.

SGE has entered a shareholders' agreement with ZE PAK to establish PAK BWRX, a joint venture to develop small modular reactors, according to law firm Pinsent Masons, which advised SGE on the deal.

PAK BWRX will develop and operate six reactors using BWRX-300 technology, with a combined capacity of 1.8 GW, according to Pinsent Masons.

The development will be located in Pątnów, a district of Konin in Poland, on land owned by ZE PAK, Pinsent Masons said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed up to USD 221 million to a platform holding stakes in Scatec's solar, wind, and battery storage projects in Egypt, according to statements from Scatec and the EBRD.

The platform, Egypt Renewables Holdings B.V., will be owned 60% by Scatec and 40% by the EBRD.

The portfolio is expected to add 2.7 GW of solar, 900 MW of wind, and 4.2 GWh of storage to Egypt's grid, according to the EBRD.

The GCC's non-oil economy is set to contract 0.8% this year, according to the IMF.

The bloc as a whole is forecast to shrink 4.8% this year. The IMF projects the non-oil economy will grow 4.5% in 2027, per its Regional Economic Outlook report for the Middle East and Central Asia.

IMF Regional Outlook findings released on October 22, 2026 point to a 1.3% contraction across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan this year as the Iran war continues to disrupt energy production, shipping, tourism and international trade.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) estimated UK proven and probable oil and gas reserves at 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2025, down 0.4 Bboe from a year earlier.

No exploration wells were drilled on the UK Continental Shelf in 2025, according to the NSTA.

The decline came as production of around 380 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2025 was not offset by additions to the reserves base, the NSTA said, with no Field Development Plan approvals or further reserves adjustments for producing fields.

The government has issued an ordinance regulating the installation, operation and approval of solar power systems with capacities of up to 5 MW, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

Eligible institutions may install systems under either an operational expenditure (OPEX) or capital expenditure (CAPEX) model, according to the Daily Sun.

Electronic government procurement will not be mandatory for procurement covered by the ordinance, the Daily Sun reported.

The ordinance also sets penalties for theft, damage, unauthorized connections and obstruction of solar installation or maintenance work.

Constellation Energy's agreements with Google and Amazon will raise nuclear generating output by a cumulative 1,080 MW through uprates at 13 reactors across four states.

Google signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for 890 MW of new capacity from uprates at 11 Constellation-owned units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Constellation plans to invest more than USD 4.3 billion in those uprates, with the first unit online in 2028 and all 890 MW available by the end of 2032.

Constellation and Amazon announced a 20-year power purchase agreement for 690 MW on September 30, which will directly lead to 190 MW of new generation through an uprate. The Amazon agreement will enable more than USD 3 billion in Maryland infrastructure investment, including improvements at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant, according to Constellation.

Former Polar Train LNG chief executive Joel Riddle alleges that Novatek financed and exercised strategic influence over the Alaska project before the necessary US sanctions permissions were obtained, according to Herald.Wales.

Riddle resigned in September and was followed by most of Polar Train LNG's senior executive leadership.

Polar LNG disputes Riddle's account and says its activities comply with US law.

Egypt's Higher Committee for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Affairs approved a package of infrastructure projects to be delivered under public-private partnership arrangements, covering industrial wastewater treatment, seawater desalination and electricity infrastructure, according to Daily News Egypt.

The committee approved tendering four industrial wastewater treatment plants and endorsed the procedures proposed for offering them to investors, according to Ahram Online.

On desalination, the committee cleared a tender for a central seawater plant in Port Said with daily capacity of 900,000 cubic metres, according to Daily News Egypt. It also approved tendering a Suez desalination plant sized at one million cubic metres per day across two phases.

For electricity, the committee approved tendering the right to operate the Hadayek El-Assema transformer station, its connecting lines and associated networks under the PPP framework, according to Daily News Egypt.

The Northeast heating oil action involves a 315,000-barrel loan, according to the New York Times. Analysts said the volume is too small to make much of a difference in regional prices.

The barrels will be loaned from reserve sites in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, with deliveries to be completed by Nov. 13, according to the department.

The average price for gas fell 17 cents last week in San Luis Obispo County, according to AAA. The decline brought the average to $6.20 a gallon.

President Bola Tinubu has pressed international oil companies working in Nigeria to hand more contracts to local engineering firms, Ecofin Agency reported.

The push supports a government goal of lifting local content in oil and gas to 70% by 2027, according to Ecofin Agency.

Domestic sourcing of goods, services and expertise in the sector has already climbed from 26% in 2016 to 56% in 2024, Ecofin Agency reported, citing data published in December 2025.

That same month, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Bank of Industry set up a USD 100 million fund for Nigerian oil and gas companies.

The International Energy Agency has warned of a significant global diesel shortage. The IEA reported that shipping crude from the Gulf to Asia cost more than USD 37 per barrel by mid-October.

Global gas oil and diesel exports fell by approximately 700,000 barrels per day year on year in September, according to the IEA.

Former Canadian environment minister Catherine McKenna warned that renewable power absorbed by AI data centers may not deliver the wider gains other consumers need, according to Financial World. She urged technology companies to bring their own renewable supply.

The comments land as local opposition to data center power arrangements builds elsewhere. The Richmond County Coalition for Justice & Black Empowerment raised concerns in Rockingham about air pollution from Amazon's data center, according to Your Daily Journal.

The coalition pointed to the project's temporary power supply, which includes 57 diesel generators expected to run continuously until a permanent grid connection is available.

Up to 315,000 barrels of ultra-low-sulfur distillate will be drawn from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Oct. 21, according to the New Haven Register.

Stocks sit in South Portland, Maine, in Boston, and across the Groton/New Haven area, the New Haven Register reported. Wholesalers buying the fuel should receive their deliveries by Nov. 13.

The release runs as an exchange rather than a sale. Recipients owe back the same volume, with a premium added, before the 2027-28 heating season, the New Haven Register reported.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the exchange aims to hold down home heating oil prices heading into winter and cover supply disruptions.

Türkiye plans to announce a revised National Energy Plan on November 5 with stronger targets extending through 2040, a senior energy official said.

Combined installed wind and solar capacity has exceeded 44 GW, according to Ozkaya, who recalled Türkiye's 2024 target to raise capacity to 120 GW by 2035.

An earlier estimate put transmission and distribution investment needs at USD 80 billion through 2035, the official said, adding that requirements would rise as the planning horizon extends to 2040.

The government deferred a proposal to buy liquefied natural gas directly from Japan's JERA Global Markets Pte Ltd (JERAGM), pending legal vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division.

The proposal sought in-principle approval for direct LNG procurement from JERAGM under applicable public procurement provisions. No final approval for the purchase or the signing of agreements was granted at the meeting.

Decisions on Greek energy subsidies covering the first half of November are expected next week, according to dnews.gr, leaving households uncertain about heating and transportation costs as winter approaches.

The Greek government is examining whether it can obtain between EUR 300 million and EUR 400 million through an EU energy-related fiscal escape mechanism, dnews.gr reported, potentially drawing on a EUR 1 billion funding envelope. Access to those resources requires European approval, creating uncertainty over both the scale and duration of additional support.

HR Wallingford plans to seek permission for the UK Deep Water Testing Facility (UKDTF) at Howbery Business Park in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, according to the Oxford Mail. The research and consultancy organisation would use the site to support floating wind technology.

The facility would let developers test turbine designs and supporting platforms under simulated deep-sea conditions, the Oxford Mail reported.

The project is part-funded by The Crown Estate's GBP 50 million Supply Chain Accelerator, according to the Oxford Mail.

HR Wallingford aims to submit an outline planning application for the facility by the end of the year.