Sep 30, 2026 · Energy & Climate Daily Digest
Energy and climate highlights compiled for September 30, 2026, with summaries, links, and brief commentary.
I. Policy and Oil-and-Gas Security
1. EU proposes a one-year delay to methane rules for oil and gas imports, warning of a hard winter (Policy)
Summary:
The Jakarta Post reported on September 30 that EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, after informal talks in Dublin with ministers from the 27 member states, suggested delaying by one year rules due in 2027 that would require oil and gas importers to monitor and report methane emissions, in order to ease pressure on energy markets. He said the coming winter will undoubtedly be challenging: Brussels does not foresee a security-of-supply problem, but oil and gas prices will be "very high." Gas prices in Europe have more than doubled because of the Middle East war, just as the bloc needs to refill storage before heating season. Storage averages about 70 percent across the EU, about 82 percent in France and 57 percent in Germany. International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol said after the talks that Europe is heading into a very difficult winter, and diesel prices at pumps across the bloc hit record highs this month.
Links:
Commentary:
The winter supply bill is being managed first by moving the start date of methane monitoring, so a climate constraint is being treated as market pressure that can wait.
2. US to release another 40 million barrels and presses Europe to honor emergency-oil pledges as Brent holds $97–$102 (Oil and Gas)
Summary:
Euronews reported on September 30 that the United States urged European countries to release more emergency oil and said it would put another 40 million barrels on the market. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on September 29 that the United States and Japan are delivering on their commitments, while several European members have released only a fraction of the crude and petroleum products they pledged. The Trump administration is considering a 90-day diesel export ban to contain domestic fuel prices ahead of the November midterms. Brent has traded between $97 and $102 a barrel since late September, $25 to $30 above pre-war levels, and US diesel has surged to $7 a gallon. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said on September 29 that the EU has spent more than €100 billion extra on energy this year without receiving any additional gas or oil. The IEA coordinated a 400-million-barrel release in March, with the EU contributing roughly 20 percent; Birol said about two-thirds has reached the market and one-third is still to come, and that another coordinated release is not currently a priority.
Links:
Commentary:
Washington is asking Europe to deliver the share of oil already promised and not yet on the market, rather than opening a fresh round of coordinated releases.
3. Senate introduces a bipartisan permitting bill as the clean-power trade group warns of a 2028 cliff (Policy)
Summary:
On September 30, Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse, with Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich, introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 to reform federal environmental review and permitting. The bill would keep permits for energy and infrastructure projects in place absent extraordinary circumstances, violations of law, or a court order, and would require data centers to pay all of their associated transmission costs. Axios reported the same day that American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet warned new build could fall off a cliff in 2028 or 2029 if the administration keeps blocking clean-power permits. The Energy Information Administration says wind and solar account for nearly two-thirds of the new capacity developers plan to add this year. A tax law signed in July 2025 accelerated the end of wind and solar credits: projects generally must start construction by July 4 of this year or come online before 2028. A White House official said Tuesday night that the administration and lawmakers had agreed on a "strong bipartisan" package, but that commitments will not stay frozen indefinitely if it does not advance quickly. A final vote is not expected until after the midterms.
Links:
- Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — Four senators introduce the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act
- Axios — The renewables boom faces a Trump-era cliff
Commentary:
Faster permits and a rule that data centers pay for transmission are in the same bill, and whether wind and solar keep getting approved still depends on how long the administration's commitment lasts.
4. White House: South Korea to announce $200 billion in US investment, about $54 billion for Alaska LNG (Oil and Gas)
Summary:
Reuters reported on September 30, citing a White House official, that President Trump will announce on Wednesday $200 billion in South Korean investment in US projects, including about $54 billion for the long-planned Alaska liquefied natural gas project, eight large nuclear plants, and a power plant of more than 6 gigawatts in Encinal, Texas. The package is the first major set of projects under the $350 billion investment commitment in last year's trade deal, which includes $150 billion for shipbuilding and $200 billion for strategic investment. The White House said the Alaska project includes an 807-mile pipeline from the North Slope to a liquefaction plant on the southern coast, designed to move about 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas a day and produce up to 20 million metric tons of LNG a year. Developer Glenfarne said in March it had lined up commitments for 13 million tons a year and needed another 3 million tons to secure financing and make the commitments binding. Japan's JERA and Tokyo Gas have signed preliminary agreements to buy a combined 2 million tons a year if the project is built. Kim Sung-won, who chairs the South Korean parliament's trade committee, told Reuters that any investment placing a heavy burden on public finances must first be checked for commercial viability.
Links:
Commentary:
The $54 billion is aimed at a pipeline that still lacks enough binding offtake, so the financing story is running ahead of a closed commercial case.
5. EDF Energy chief calls new UK oil and gas a "no-brainer" and urges approval of Rosebank and Jackdaw (Transition)
Summary:
The Guardian reported on September 30 that Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF Energy, told the BBC that new oil and gas projects are a "no-brainer" and "no contradiction" to net zero, and that ministers should approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea while speeding support for heat pumps and electric vehicles. He said domestic fossil fuels emit less than long-haul imports, and that UK emissions fall only if fossil use drops at the point of consumption and electricity takes over. EDF Energy generates about a fifth of the UK's low-carbon electricity and has about 8 gigawatts of low-carbon capacity, including eight nuclear plants totaling 6 gigawatts plus 2 gigawatts of wind, solar and storage, and it is building the long-delayed Hinkley Point C. Both fields were licensed under the Conservatives; a court ordered the developers to resubmit applications with the climate impact of burning the fuels. The Guardian said a decision is expected within weeks and was reportedly delayed until after the October 8 byelection.
Links:
Commentary:
A company that supplies about a fifth of Britain's low-carbon power is calling new fields compatible with net zero, so the argument has shifted to who gets to define the contradiction.
II. Clean Power, Storage and Power Prices
6. India approves Green Energy Corridor Phase III: 135 GW of renewable evacuation and 50 GWh of batteries (Clean Power)
Summary:
The Prime Minister's Office said on September 30 that the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Green Energy Corridor Phase-III scheme to strengthen intra-state transmission so states and union territories can evacuate up to 135 gigawatts of renewable energy. The scheme also deploys 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage at renewable plants or other sites important for grid flexibility, to deal with intermittency, congestion, peak-hour curtailment and demand outside solar hours. It is targeted for completion in fiscal year 2032-33, with an outlay of 1.86405 trillion Indian rupees: 1.36378 trillion rupees for intra-state transmission and 500 billion rupees for storage, plus 540.82 billion rupees of central financial support to offset intra-state transmission charges and keep power costs down. New transmission will be procured by tariff bidding on a build-own-operate-maintain basis; upgrades will use cost-plus. The government said the scheme supports a target of 900 gigawatts of non-fossil capacity by 2035.
Links:
Commentary:
This phase of the green corridor writes batteries into the scheme itself, so curtailed solar is meant to be stored rather than met with another line that is only useful at noon.
7. CCICED forum: wind and solar passed 1.9 billion kilowatts in June; a just-transition zone is proposed (Policy)
Summary:
21st Century Business Herald reported on September 30 that the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development held a forum in Beijing on September 28 on high-quality wind and solar growth and a just regional transition, and released studies on a new power system and on transition paths for traditional energy regions. Gao Xiang, a Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and president of Dalian University of Technology, said China's combined wind and solar capacity passed 1.9 billion kilowatts in June and that cumulative solar had surpassed coal power by the end of July. He expects non-fossil power to reach 50 percent of generation by 2030, with new energy above 30 percent and wind plus solar above 2.8 billion kilowatts, and wind plus solar around 3.6 billion kilowatts by 2035. Li Qionghui, chief expert at the China Energy Research Society, said wind and solar each generated more than 1 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2025, 2.3 trillion combined, with penetration above 22 percent; coal-fired generation fell for the first time that year, and wind and solar supplied more than 90 percent of the increase in generation. The studies propose national green just-transition demonstration zones and a national just-transition fund. Foreign chief adviser Zhongjia Wei cited €55 billion in the EU Just Transition Mechanism for 2021–2027 and a World Bank figure of $120 billion in private capital mobilized by blended finance, a record.
Links:
Commentary:
Once capacity has passed coal, the accounting moves to jobs and fiscal revenue in coal regions, and the transition cost is being asked to sit in its own zones and fund.
8. Xinhua: Mulei compressed-CO2 storage project in Xinjiang completes first grid connection (Storage)
Summary:
Xinhua reported on September 30 that China Huadian's compressed-carbon-dioxide storage project in Mulei, Changji, Xinjiang, has completed its first grid connection, described as the country's first 100-megawatt-class project of this type. The article places the connection in September and does not give a specific day. The site covers 848 mu and uses carbon dioxide as a closed-loop working fluid, so it does not depend on particular geology. Core equipment is on the National Energy Administration's fourth list of first-of-a-kind energy equipment and on the National Development and Reform Commission's second batch of green low-carbon demonstration projects. Xinhua said system life is at least 30 years and turbine efficiency is above 90 percent. The project can store 290 million kilowatt-hours of green power in off-peak hours and release 180 million kilowatt-hours at peak, with expected annual generation of about 200 million kilowatt-hours, saving 50,000 tons of standard coal and cutting about 170,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Links:
Commentary:
Storing energy in the phase change of carbon dioxide means compressed-gas storage no longer needs a suitable geological cavern as the ticket to entry.
9. CATL to supply a 313 MW / 1,639 MWh battery to Mexico's La Alegria solar project (Storage)
Summary:
Energy Storage reported on September 30 that CATL signed an agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to supply a 313-megawatt, 1,639.45-megawatt-hour battery to the La Alegria solar project in Campeche, Mexico, about 5.24 hours of storage at rated power. CATL said it will be Mexico's first battery system above 1 gigawatt-hour and the country's largest to date. In March, Mexico's environment ministry approved a regional impact statement for 788.719 megawatts-peak of solar and a 177.69-megawatt, 314.98-megawatt-hour battery; the energy capacity now announced is about 5.2 times the storage in that approval. CATL will supply its TENER system, introduced in 2024. The company also said it supplied more than 80 percent of the storage capacity awarded in Mexico in 2026 and put near- and medium-term new projects in the country at about 15 gigawatt-hours; both figures were provided by the company.
Links:
Commentary:
The contracted storage is about five times the capacity in the March environmental approval, so the battery design is still ahead of the permitted documents.
10. Eurelectric: EU power prices rose 22.8% from February to August while gas rose 88.4%; storage lags the 2030 goal (Power Prices)
Summary:
European electricity industry group Eurelectric published its Power Barometer 2026 on September 30. From February to August, EU electricity prices rose 22.8 percent while gas prices rose 88.4 percent. After the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded, gas rose 41 percent from February to May while EU electricity prices fell 7 percent; a record-hot summer, weaker Nordic hydro and lower nuclear availability from hot rivers then pushed power prices back up. The report said 72 percent of EU generation in 2026 was clean. After Bulgaria built 5.4 gigawatts of batteries, its wholesale prices moved from 21 percent above the EU average in 2024 to 8.3 percent above in 2026. Utility-scale storage in Europe was 64 gigawatts in 2025; even with 78 gigawatts of planned additions, that remains far below the EU's 200-gigawatt target for 2030. Secretary general Kristian Ruby said the bet on clean electricity is paying off, but storage, grids and flexibility still have to be built faster if homegrown power is to absorb shocks from imported fossil fuels.
Links:
Commentary:
Power prices rose by less than gas because so much generation is already clean, and Europe is still a generation of projects short of its 2030 storage target.
III. Climate, Disasters and Litigation
11. China's climate center: a super El Nino may peak around November at 3.2 to 3.5 degrees Celsius (Climate)
Summary:
People's Daily reported on September 30 that the China Meteorological Administration's September 29 briefing gave the latest El Nino readings. The central and eastern equatorial Pacific entered an El Nino state in May and kept warming in September. Sea-surface temperature indices for the first five pentads were 2.70, 2.94, 3.01, 3.01 and 3.02 degrees Celsius, the first time on record that pentad and ten-day indices have exceeded 3 degrees. The National Climate Center expects the index to peak around November at 3.2 to 3.5 degrees, above the historical maximum of 2.8 degrees in the 2014–2016 super El Nino, which would make this the strongest such event on record. This autumn, parts of Jiangnan and the eastern southwest may see 50 to 80 percent more rain, while southwestern Inner Mongolia and the northeast of the northwest may see shortfalls of more than 20 to 50 percent. This winter is expected to be warmer overall with slightly more cold waves; the event should decay quickly in spring and summer 2027, but extremes are still expected to increase and summer heatwaves to be stronger and wider.
Links:
Commentary:
Once the anomaly has crossed 3 degrees on a pentad scale, the question is no longer whether a super El Nino arrives but how far the peak sits above 2015–2016.
12. Remnants of Hurricane Polo flood the US Southwest and trigger dam evacuations in New Mexico (Disaster)
Summary:
The Associated Press, via NPR on September 30, reported that Hurricane Polo struck Baja California Sur on Tuesday morning with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour), then weakened to a tropical storm and moved northeast, with its remnants battering the US Southwest. By Tuesday evening the New Mexico Department of Transportation reported flooded roads and debris statewide, and parts of Arizona saw water rescues. Fear that a dam in south-central New Mexico could fail prompted evacuations in Rincon, Salem and Garfield, three communities with hundreds of residents along the Rio Grande; residents were later told to leave Hatch and, farther north, Placitas. Parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watches, with flooding possible through at least Thursday. The National Weather Service said an unusually wet September had already saturated the ground, so runoff and flooding would develop faster.
Links:
Commentary:
Dry washes and ground that is already saturated turned the same rain into evacuation orders, and the flood kept moving north along the Rio Grande.
13. Climate Impact Lab: this El Nino could cause about 451,000 excess heat deaths in nine months (Climate)
Summary:
Deutsche Welle reported on September 30 that the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab estimates unusually high temperatures linked to the current El Nino could cause about 451,000 excess deaths worldwide from June 2026 to February 2027. Research head Tamma Carleton said land temperatures over the coming months are forecast to run about 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal, roughly the warming climate change is projected to bring in about 20 years, arriving at once. The estimate covers only the first nine months that seasonal forecasts can see; the lab expects the final number to be meaningfully higher, and it excludes indirect deaths from drought, floods and food shocks. The largest increases are expected in the Sahel, South and Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America, with the highest tolls projected for Nigeria, Sudan, Niger, Chad, India, Indonesia and Brazil. Ben Armstrong, emeritus professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said he could not independently verify the 451,000 figure; if it is based on annual mortality, most of those counted would have lived at least six months longer.
Links:
Commentary:
The 451,000 figure is a forward estimate of direct heat deaths, the lab itself says the final toll will be higher, and floods and crop losses are not in it.
14. Exxon and Suncor go to the US Supreme Court; Boulder's climate-damages case is argued next Monday (Litigation)
Summary:
EnergyNow on September 30 carried a Reuters report that ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy are asking the US Supreme Court to throw out a climate lawsuit filed in 2018 by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, with argument set for next Monday, the first day of the court's new term. Boulder accuses the companies of driving climate change and misleading the public about fossil-fuel risks, and seeks unspecified damages for past and future infrastructure, environmental, emergency and public-health costs; the companies deny wrongdoing. Exxon and Suncor told the justices that nearly 60 state and local governments have filed similar suits seeking billions of dollars, and that a ruling for the companies could lead to many of those cases being dismissed. The Trump administration backs the companies, arguing federal law precludes Boulder's claims. The Colorado Supreme Court last year rejected the argument that the claims intrude on federal law and the Clean Air Act. Justice Samuel Alito is recused because he owns stock in other oil and gas companies; his disclosure shows he does not own Exxon or Suncor.
Links:
Commentary:
The Court is being asked to decide whether state law can keep climate damages in a local courtroom, not to price one city's repair bill.
15. PJM delays a data-center backstop auction that was due to open today after a partial FERC rejection (Grid)
Summary:
Utility Dive reported on September 30 that PJM, the largest US grid operator, is delaying a reliability backstop procurement that was set to open Wednesday and run from September 30 through October 21, buying backup capacity after data-center load growth left a shortfall. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on September 29 only partly approved the plan, finding that cost allocation, transmission-owner exit rules and collateral requirements for load-serving entities may be unjust and unreasonable. Chairman Laura Swett said in a concurrence that the filing arrived at the last minute and that the commission will not be forced to accept a deeply flawed procurement with billion-dollar implications for consumers. PJM intends to acquire 6.8 gigawatts of new capacity to cover a shortfall for the 2028/29 delivery year across 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia; a new timeline is not yet set. The order said Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative would have had to post roughly $2 billion in collateral under the proposal.
Links:
Commentary:
The capacity data centers need has not been procured, and regulators have held the auction until there is an accepted rule for who pays.
Today's Summary
- The EU proposed delaying methane rules for oil and gas imports that were due in 2027, with gas storage near 70 percent; the United States is releasing another 40 million barrels and says Europe has not honored emergency pledges, with Brent around $97 to $102 and US diesel near $7 a gallon.
- The Senate introduced a bipartisan permitting bill that would make data centers pay their transmission costs; the White House said South Korea will invest $200 billion, about $54 billion of it in Alaska LNG, while EDF Energy publicly urged approval of two North Sea fields.
- India approved a green-corridor phase to evacuate 135 gigawatts and add 50 gigawatt-hours of storage; China's wind and solar passed 1.9 billion kilowatts in June, a compressed-CO2 project in Mulei connected to the grid, and CATL is supplying more than 1.6 gigawatt-hours of batteries in Mexico.
- China's climate center expects the strongest super El Nino on record to peak around November; remnants of Hurricane Polo flooded the US Southwest; the Climate Impact Lab estimates about 451,000 excess heat deaths by February 2027.
Daily Framing:
Today was a "supply security rewriting climate constraints" day in the energy-climate cycle—Europe moved to delay methane rules for importers, Washington pressed for more oil and an Alaska LNG package, India, China and Europe added grids and storage, and a record-strength El Nino forecast plus Polo's floods put the week's climate losses on the books early.
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