Sep 26, 2026 · Energy & Climate Daily Digest
Energy and climate highlights compiled for September 26, 2026, with summaries, links, and brief commentary.
I. Policy & Carbon Markets
1. EU finalises €1 billion industrial heat decarbonisation auction funded by ETS revenues (Policy)
Summary:
The European Commission has published final Terms and Conditions for the Innovation Fund IF26 auction to decarbonise industrial process heat, with a planned €1 billion budget drawn from EU Emissions Trading System revenues and a bidding window expected to open in early December 2026. Winners receive a fixed premium linked to verified direct CO₂ abatement for up to five years. Eligible technologies include electrification (heat pumps, thermal storage, plasma, electric boilers), direct renewable heat (solar thermal, geothermal), and—for the first time—nuclear heat such as small modular reactors. The temperature threshold is lowered from above 100°C to above 80°C, with stronger incentives for grid flexibility. The prior IF25 round selected 65 projects; both auctions are pilots for the planned €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank.
Links:
- European Commission — Terms for €1 billion industrial heat auction
- Energy & Climate Index — EU launches €1 billion auction for industrial heat
Commentary:
Carbon-market cash is being rewritten as a competitive bid for the hardest industrial heat—Europe is putting high-temperature processes on a subsidy auction clock.
2. India orders 112 captive coal plants to run at maximum through year-end (Policy)
Summary:
Reuters reported on September 26 that India’s federal power ministry, invoking emergency provisions of the Electricity Act, ordered 112 captive coal-fired plants of at least 50 MW to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through year-end to meet expected demand growth. Nearly 40% of coal plants already face critically low fuel stocks as El Niño-driven heat lifts power use. The order covers industrial captive units serving aluminium, steel, cement and refining—including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco, JSW, UltraTech, Reliance, Indian Oil and others—and requires surplus power to be sold via exchanges, with weekly reporting to the Central Electricity Authority. A separate full-capacity mandate for Tata Power’s Mundra imported-coal plant was extended to December 31.
Links:
Commentary:
Climate stress empties coal yards first; policy then turns captive stacks to full throttle—security still outranks transition when the heat spike arrives.
3. Report: China has cancelled two-thirds of planned overseas coal capacity, but captive loopholes remain (Policy)
Summary:
A five-year assessment by CREA and People of Asia for Climate Solutions finds that since China’s 2021 pledge to stop building new coal plants abroad, about 67% of the then-planned overseas coal capacity—61.5 GW—has been cancelled, avoiding an estimated 6.4 billion tonnes of lifetime CO₂. In the past year 7.1 GW was cancelled, yet 3.3 GW entered construction and 20.5 GW remains in planning without formal cancellation, representing roughly 2.8 billion tonnes of potential lifetime emissions. Indonesia leads operational China-linked coal (17.1 GW); captive off-grid plants and private developers are flagged as key gaps. Meanwhile about 69.4 GW of China-linked renewables are already operating overseas, with estimated generation exceeding cancelled-coal potential in Brazil, Tanzania and the UAE.
Links:
- CREA — Five years on: China overseas coal ban gaps persist
- SCMP — China has scrapped two-thirds of planned coal plants abroad
Commentary:
The cancellation ledger is long, but Indonesia’s captive industrial parks are the real stress test—pledge boundaries live in contracts and in the loopholes.
4. Bangladesh’s five-year green plan advances mangrove carbon trading and Article 6 projects (Carbon markets)
Summary:
The Financial Express reported on September 26 that Bangladesh’s FY2026–27 budget documents outline a five-year environment and climate plan centred on planting 250 million trees, restoring degraded forests, expanding mangroves, creating green jobs and tightening pollution monitoring. The government aims to bring 50% of coastal mangrove forests under carbon-trading mechanisms and pursue 11 new carbon-trading projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, having already set up a designated national authority and readiness roadmap. A national carbon-market framework is being developed, alongside a proposed Climate Change Trust Fund allocation and a “Circular Future Model” for waste-to-energy, fertiliser and plastics recycling.
Links:
Commentary:
An adaptation-focused state is turning mangroves into carbon assets—the test is whether Article 6 credits survive integrity scrutiny, not headline counts.
II. Clean Power & Storage
5. Kubuqi desert mega-base supporting coal units top out all four indirect-cooling towers (Clean power)
Summary:
China Central Television reported on September 26 that China Three Gorges said all four indirect-cooling towers at the supporting coal plant for the Kubuqi north-central new-energy base in Dalad Banner, Inner Mongolia—China’s first 10-GW-class desert wind-and-solar base—have topped out, accelerating toward unit commissioning. The base plans four 1 GW ultra-supercritical coal units to firm renewables through deep coal–storage coordination, using a four-tower-in-one design that combines cooling, stack, desulphurisation and wastewater concentration without a standalone chimney. Wind, solar, CSP, storage and ultra-high-voltage DC transmission are advancing in parallel; once complete, the base is expected to deliver about 40 billion kWh a year to the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region.
Links:
- China Economic Net — Kubuqi desert base supporting coal towers top out
- Securities Times — Key progress at first 10-GW-class desert base
Commentary:
Desert mega-bases still run on renewables first and coal as ballast—true “deep linkage” with storage will depend on whether dispatch rules keep pace with concrete.
6. CGN Yangjiang Fanshi 2 GW offshore wind reaches full capacity with 18 MW turbines (Clean power)
Summary:
China Energy Industry Development Network reported on September 26 that CGN’s 2 GW Fanshi offshore wind project in Yangjiang, Guangdong, reached full commercial operation on September 24—the first Chinese project to deploy 18 MW ultra-large turbines at scale—and completed the country’s first 500 kV intermediate reactive-power compensation station at an offshore wind farm. Located south of Nanpeng Island, with farthest turbines about 81 km offshore and water depths up to 53 m, the site hosts 131 turbines including 33 of the 18 MW class. Annual output is projected above 6.6 billion kWh, saving about 1.92 million tonnes of standard coal and cutting about 5.1 million tonnes of CO₂. Yangjiang’s offshore wind capacity now exceeds 8 GW, the largest among Chinese prefecture-level cities.
Links:
Commentary:
Deep-water, long-distance grid bottlenecks are being cracked by 500 kV mid-station compensation and 18 MW rotors—Greater Bay Area clean power is now priced in gigawatt blocks.
7. Ansteel–CIMC coke-oven-gas-to-hydrogen and LNG project starts production (Transition)
Summary:
On September 26, the Ansteel CIMC (Yingkou) New Energy Technology coke-oven-gas-to-hydrogen and LNG project at Bayuquan, Liaoning—a joint venture of CIMC Enric and Ansteel—formally entered production. The plant separates and purifies steelmaker by-product coke oven gas into high-purity hydrogen and LNG, with annual hydrogen capacity of 15,000 tonnes and expected annual cuts of 470,000 tonnes of CO₂, 174 tonnes of SO₂ and 1,344 tonnes of NOx. Industry estimates put coke-oven-gas hydrogen’s carbon advantage at roughly 88% versus natural-gas reforming and 95% versus coal-based hydrogen. Hydrogen can serve hydrogen metallurgy and fuel-cell vehicles; LNG can displace diesel and industrial coal. Framework deals with transport, petrochemical and gas partners were signed the same day.
Links:
Commentary:
Steel by-product gas is shifting from “burn it” to “split it into H₂ and LNG”—heavy-industry decarbonisation often starts with re-sorting molecules already on site.
III. Climate & Disasters
8. Reuters: Europe’s seas post hottest summer in 45 years, hitting fisheries and nuclear cooling (Disaster)
Summary:
A Reuters analysis published September 26 finds European waters averaged 21.6°C from June to August—the highest since reliable satellite records began in 1982. The Bay of Biscay ran more than 2.4°C above the 1991–2020 mean and logged 186 marine-heatwave days by end-August. Sampling along Asturias suggests about 95% of large kelp forests have vanished, with lobsters, crayfish and sea urchins collapsing; English Channel octopus landings jumped from under 30 tonnes a year before 2025 to about 2,600 tonnes last year and more than 3,000 tonnes so far this year, prompting shellfishers to call 2026 an “octopus apocalypse.” France’s Gravelines nuclear plant was forced offline again in August when jellyfish clogged cooling systems—the second such incident in two years.
Links:
Commentary:
Climate risk no longer stops at the shoreline—when sea heat rewires food webs, even nuclear cooling becomes a biological choke point.
9. Powerful US Northeast nor’easter drives coastal flooding and outage risk (Disaster)
Summary:
AFP, ABC and other outlets reported on September 26 that a strong early-season nor’easter battered the US Northeast, with the National Weather Service warning of major Mid-Atlantic coastal flooding across multiple high-tide cycles. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Long Island could see up to about six inches (15 cm) of rain over coming days; gusts of roughly 50–60 mph and waves of 6–12 feet were expected from the Jersey Shore into southeastern New England. Boston Logan alone cancelled about 130 flights, while outages and travel disruption hit major cities; tens of millions from Virginia to Massachusetts were under flood or high-wind alerts.
Links:
- France 24 — Powerful storm pummels US Northeast
- ABC News — Nor'easter brings coastal flooding and high winds
Commentary:
An early-autumn storm just re-priced coastal real estate—grids and airports are the first ledgers to show the damage.
10. Bangkok declares all 50 districts a disaster zone after nearly 300 mm of rain (Disaster)
Summary:
Al Jazeera reported on September 26 that Bangkok authorities declared a disaster zone across all 50 districts after three days of continuous rain caused heavy flooding. Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said almost 300 mm had fallen since Thursday afternoon, with the east hardest hit as roads and canals overflowed into homes and shops and cars were abandoned. Officials said canals were full and pumping was strained; later they described conditions as “stabilised” but said drainage could still take two to three days if rain stops. National disaster authorities warned of continued low pressure through Sunday across eastern, northeastern and central Thailand, with flash-flood and landslide risks.
Links:
Commentary:
Monsoon cities are being broken by persistent rather than brief downpours—disaster labels are arriving faster than the pumps.
IV. Oil, Gas & Transition
11. TotalEnergies takes FID on Absheron full-field development to raise output to 6 BCMA (Oil & gas)
Summary:
On September 26 TotalEnergies (35%, operator), with SOCAR (35%) and XRG (30%), took the final investment decision for full-field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea, about 100 km southeast of Baku. Recoverable gas is estimated at about 140 billion cubic metres; phase one started in 2023 at 1.5 BCMA of gas and 12,000 barrels per day of condensate. Full-field development will lift total production to 6 BCMA and 47,000 bpd of condensate, with start-up expected in 2029, supplying domestic markets and exports to Turkey via existing links toward Europe. Four subsea wells will feed a fully electrified onshore plant; scope 1 and 2 GHG intensity is stated below 4 kg CO₂e/boe.
Links:
Commentary:
A “low-emissions gas” narrative and regional energy security are bound into one FID—molecules still scale up, only intensity gets the front-page billing.
Today's Summary
- The EU locked in a €1 billion ETS-funded industrial heat auction that for the first time admits nuclear heat, pushing carbon revenues deeper into hard-to-abate manufacturing.
- India ordered captive coal plants to full output for winter demand, while assessments of China’s overseas coal pledge show large cancellations alongside persistent captive loopholes; Bangladesh advanced mangrove carbon trading under Article 6.
- In China, Kubuqi’s coal-backed desert mega-base and CGN’s scaled 18 MW offshore wind advanced together, and Ansteel–CIMC began turning coke oven gas into hydrogen and LNG.
- Europe’s record marine heatwaves, a US Northeast nor’easter and Bangkok’s citywide disaster zone underlined climate impacts on fisheries, nuclear cooling, coastal grids and urban drainage.
Daily Framing:
Today was an “industrial-heat auction opens, coal emergency meets marine heatwave” day in the energy-climate cycle—Europe monetised ETS cash for high-temperature process heat, coal still underwrote Indian and desert-base security, and ocean heat plus urban floods put physical risk on the front page.
This digest is compiled from real-time search results and is for reference only.