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Legislation, regulation, incentives, and trade. The rules of the transition.
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Xcimer Energy finalizes up to $30.5M more from DOE fusion milestone program
Denver laser fusion developer Xcimer Energy said on October 6, 2026 that it finalized an agreement for up to $30.5 million in additional funding from the Department of Energy's Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, bringing its potential milestone payments to $39.5 million. The payments come only as pre-agreed milestones are completed and independently verified.
Poland opens PLN 1 billion in home battery grants on October 20
Poland's NFOŚiGW will take applications from October 20, 2026 to October 1, 2027, or until the money runs out, for PLN 1 billion of Modernisation Fund grants toward home batteries and heat stores, up to PLN 19,000 per metering point for prosumers with a grid-connected renewable microinstallation. Batteries must hold at least 10 kWh, carry an energy management system and be able to run as backup in an outage; projects must be finished before applying, with costs from November 1, 2025.
Google backs 890 MW of Constellation nuclear uprates at 11 PJM units
Google and Constellation Energy announced on October 6, 2026 a 20-year power purchase agreement backing uprates at 11 Constellation nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey that Constellation says will add 890 MW to the PJM grid, the first by 2028, plus a 15-year agreement for 2,700 MW from its operating PJM fleet. Constellation calls it a direct response to PJM's bring-your-own-power proposal, which both companies have asked FERC to reject except its registry.
DOE offers Vistra conditional loan of up to $4.2B for nuclear uprates
The US Department of Energy announced on October 5, 2026 a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $4.2 billion to Vistra for uprates and modernization at Beaver Valley, Perry and Davis-Besse, which DOE says will add 433 MW and preserve nearly 4 GW, with an option to finance potential future Comanche Peak uprates. Vistra must meet conditions before the loan is documented and funded; Meta agreed in January to buy 433 MW of uprate output from the same plants, and Vistra plans NRC uprate filings from 2029 to 2032.
US and Korea earmark up to $120B for eight reactors, with no sites named
South Korea and the United States announced Project Power on September 30, 2026, a framework to build six Westinghouse AP1000 and two APR1400 reactors in the US with $120 billion of Korea's $200 billion investment ceiling, including $20 billion of contingency, and agreed to cooperate on a $10 billion advance payment by year-end aimed at long-lead items. No specific sites, owners or power buyers are named; Westinghouse's shareholders call the terms non-binding, Brookfield cites a 5% to 10% Korean stake in Westinghouse, and Cameco puts the APR1400 waiver at about $2 billion of value per reactor.
National Grid's winter heat pump rate clears the DPU at $0.02476 per kWh
The Massachusetts DPU issued two orders on September 30, 2026: D.P.U. 26-84 allowed National Grid's $13,559,331 performance-based ratemaking adjustment for October 1, 2026, and D.P.U. 26-78 allowed the rate summaries carrying a $0.02476 per kWh base distribution charge for November 1 through April 30 for customers enrolled in the optional residential heat pump rate, against $0.06777 on the default R-1 and R-2 rate. National Grid's filing puts the effect for an R-1 heat pump rate customer on Basic Service at a decrease on average of $104.35, or 11.0 percent, compared with the default R-1 rate.
South Coast AQMD adds $60.2 million to GO ZERO with lower home rebates
South Coast AQMD's board approved GO ZERO Phase 2 on October 2, 2026: up to $60.2 million of Rules 1111 and 1121 mitigation fees for swapping gas furnaces and water heaters for heat pumps. The board letter puts up to $20 million each into single-family and multifamily rebates, plus up to $20 million the Executive Officer may release in $5 million increments to those, small business rebates or outreach; it adds solar water heating, lowers amounts for smaller systems including mini-split and window heat pumps, and sets every single-family and multifamily rebate in its table below the pilot's.
Colorado Springs votes 7-2 for grid access or demand charges on new solar
The Colorado Springs City Council adopted Resolution 81-26 on September 22, 2026 by a 7-2 vote: from April 1, 2027, Colorado Springs Utilities' new residential and small commercial net metering customers choose time-of-day rates plus a $1.00-per-day Grid Access Charge with no rollover, or a summer $0.3608 / winter $0.2462 per kW per day demand charge on the highest 15-minute on-peak net load with rollover kept. Utilities puts the average residential net metering bill about $38 a month above the approved 2027 frozen rates either way; earlier agreements keep frozen rates until April 1, 2032.
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Chubu files Hamaoka 3 and 4 withdrawal; NRA issues no disposition
Chubu Electric Power's request to withdraw six Hamaoka units 3 and 4 applications, dated September 25, 2026 and signed by then-President Kingo Hayashi, and the Nuclear Regulation Authority's letter of the same date saying it will issue no disposition on them were distributed at the NRA commission's September 30, 2026 meeting. Jiji Press, citing the NRA, reports it is the first time a screening application has been withdrawn because of misconduct; the NRA's inspection continues on three matters before a SERP evaluation.
Oracle deal expected to absorb about $300 million of Point Beach fuel costs
Oracle will subscribe to a portion of Point Beach Nuclear Plant output that We Energies is required to buy; both companies said on October 2, 2026 it is expected to save We Energies customers approximately $300 million in fuel costs, Oracle says it is subject to Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approval, and We Energies says details go to the commission in the following months. Neither release gives megawatts, price or term; Oracle ties the commitment to its Port Washington data center, and the contract behind the plant's rising cost escalates each year to 2030 and 2033.
Vermont Gas will fund and own Riggs Meadow ground loops; Dandelion drills
Dandelion Energy said on October 1, 2026 that Vermont Gas Systems (VGS) will pay the upfront cost of geothermal ground loops at Riggs Meadow, a 44-unit affordable housing development in Hinesburg, Vermont, with Dandelion designing and drilling; drilling is to begin in early 2027. VGS's June 27, 2025 filing in Vermont PUC Case No. 25A-0742 puts the $400,000 loop scope on VGS, $260,000 of it from the Climate Action and Innovation Budget in its Alternative Regulation Plan; the Department of Public Service did not object on July 28, 2025.
Newsom signs SB 868, California's plug-in solar law, as Chapter 985
Governor Gavin Newsom approved SB 868 on September 30, 2026; it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026. The law adds Sections 8530 to 8532 to the Public Utilities Code: a portable solar generation device meeting six conditions, including no more than 1,200 watts of aggregated AC output per dwelling and UL or equivalent certification, is exempt from interconnection requirements and from utility approval, fees and added equipment. The exemption section is repealed on January 1, 2030, when a sales standard for receptacle-connected devices begins.
FERC accepts PJM backstop procurement but suspends it to February 2027
FERC on September 29, 2026 accepted PJM's one-time Reliability Backstop Procurement for filing in docket ER26-3380-000 but suspended it for five months, to February 28, 2027, subject to refund, set a paper hearing on cost allocation, transmission-owner exit rules and load-serving-entity collateral, and opened a section 206 proceeding. It found the core design, from eligibility rules to the $555/MW-day average price cap, just and reasonable and encouraged a new section 205 filing. PJM says the procurement will not begin on September 30 as planned.
Newsom signs SB 913, a 2028 deadline to count aggregations as grid capacity
Governor Gavin Newsom approved SB 913 on September 30, 2026, and the Secretary of State chaptered it the same day as Chapter 987, Statutes of 2026. The law adds Section 380.1 to the Public Utilities Code: by June 30, 2028, the California Public Utilities Commission, with the California Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator, must enhance existing market-integrated pathways for aggregated distributed energy resources to qualify as resource adequacy capacity. The digest key records no appropriation.
Newsom signs SB 925 fusion strategic plan and AB 2647 nuclear assessment
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on September 30, 2026 that he has signed SB 925 (McNerney) and AB 2647 (Calderon). SB 925 requires the California Energy Commission to submit a fusion energy strategic plan by December 31, 2029, and adds fusion manufacturing projects with a certified capital investment of at least $250 million over five years to CEQA-streamlined certification. AB 2647 requires the commission to prepare a nuclear assessment by January 1, 2028 and, in preparing it, to consider recommended revisions to state law and regulations, including to Sections 25524.1 and 25524.2.
Newsom signs SB 222, California's heat pump permitting law, as Chapter 738
Governor Gavin Newsom approved SB 222 on September 28, 2026, and it was filed the same day as Chapter 738, Statutes of 2026. The chaptered text requires every California city and county, beginning July 1, 2027, to offer asynchronous inspections for residential heat pump water heater and HVAC installations; it requires real-time online permits for swapouts by July 1, 2028 and caps permit fees at $150 and $200, each with its own small-jurisdiction carve-out; it exempts plug-in window units from permits and voids HOA bans on replacing a gas appliance with an electric one.
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La Verne council ratifies local emergency over MWD battery fire
The La Verne City Council voted unanimously on September 29, 2026 to approve a local emergency over the September 22 fire at the Metropolitan Water District's Weymouth plant, CBS Los Angeles reported; the resolution ratifies the city manager's September 25 proclamation, continuing it until the council ends it, at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant. The city manager's incident-update report says the cause investigation is ongoing and expected to be lengthy and thorough; the city's bulletin at 8:30 PM September 29 says the modules remain isolated and prepared for removal.
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NHTSA final CAFE rule sets standards without counting EV fuel economy
NHTSA's final SAFE Vehicles Rule III, published September 30, 2026 and effective November 30, 2026, sets CAFE standards for model years 2022 through 2031 that it says are based solely on gasoline- and diesel-powered light-duty vehicles, including non-plug-in hybrids, with EV fuel economy and PHEV electric operation not considered. NHTSA estimates the average of manufacturers' requirements at about 34.9 mpg by MY 2031 against about 49.3 mpg under the 2024 standards; inter-manufacturer credit trading ends beginning with credits earned in MY 2028; crossover reclassification starts in MY 2030.
UK announces Great British Grid, a public investor in electricity networks
The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced Great British Grid on September 29, 2026, a publicly owned body within Great British Energy to invest public capital alongside private investment in electricity network infrastructure, with reforms to expand self-build connections and faster competitive tendering of transmission projects. The release gives no investment figure, start date or legislation: start-up costs come from Great British Energy's existing budgets and the long-term budget is left to a future spending review.
NRC issues TVA a construction permit for a 300 MW BWRX-300 at Clinch River
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the Tennessee Valley Authority Construction Permit CPAR-2 for Clinch River Nuclear Unit 1, a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 rated 300 MWe, dated September 28, 2026 and announced September 29 as clearing the way for the nation's first commercial small modular reactor after a 14-month review. The permit sets the earliest completion date at October 1, 2031 and the latest at September 30, 2032, and a separate operating license is required before fuel load; TVA's release says no construction date has been announced.
Australia added 276,011 batteries and 1,894 MW of rooftop solar in H1 2026
The Clean Energy Council said on September 29, 2026 that 180,878 rooftop solar systems (1,894 MW) and 276,011 batteries were installed in Australia in the first half of 2026, counted from applications to the Clean Energy Regulator including some still under review; solar installations rose 35 per cent on the first half of 2025, batteries 52 per cent on the preceding six months, and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program's first twelve months reached 457,439 batteries and 12.9 GWh.
Boston sues DOT over $20M RAISE grant withdrawn for EV charging stations
The City of Boston sued the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, Secretary Sean Duffy and FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill in the District of Massachusetts on September 28, 2026 (case 1:26-cv-14419), asking the court to vacate DOT's September 9, 2025 withdrawal of a $20 million FY2022 RAISE award for three Roxbury street corridors. The complaint says DOT's letter gave the project's EV charging stations, less than 1% of the grant, as its single reason, and that Boston offered on October 8, 2025 to remove them.
EHPA: residential heat pump sales rose 11% in 12 European countries
The European Heat Pump Association said on September 28, 2026 that residential heat pump sales in 12 European countries rose 11% in H1 2026, to around 1,163,000 from 1,048,000 in the first half of 2025. EHPA calls the oil and gas price rise after the Strait of Hormuz closure and the Commission's plans to encourage EU governments to lower electricity tax likely drivers. The release links that sentence to its own March 10, 2026 item on the Commission's Citizens' Energy Package, and cites the July 17, 2026 Electrification Action Plan, which says electricity should not be taxed more than gas.
LA Metro board approves 220 electric buses from ENC, gates 1,600 options
LA Metro's board on September 24, 2026 authorized a $337,698,727.58 base contract with ElDorado National (California), Inc. for 220 forty-foot battery electric buses and raised the project's life-of-project budget to $434,355,185; deliveries begin in spring 2028, per the board report. A Bass amendment makes any purchase of the up to 1,600 option buses subject to board approval, in increments not to exceed 300, and lets the board decline or rebid options. Metro's July 2026 update counted 140 zero-emission buses, 6.46% of its fleet; Streetsblog LA puts the post-purchase share at over 20 percent.
Newsom signs AB 1738, a remote-inspection option for heat pumps and solar
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1738 on September 18, 2026, adding Section 17970.9 to the Health and Safety Code: cities and counties must offer homeowners, or contractors who give the city or county the homeowner's written consent, a remote-inspection option for heat pump water heaters, heat pump HVAC, reroofs, solar of 15 kW AC or less, energy storage systems, and smoke and CO detectors by January 1, 2028, or July 1, 2028 for cities of 50,000 or fewer; cities under 5,000 and counties under 150,000, with their cities, are exempt. SB 222 was still unsigned on September 27.
BETA flies over 1,300 nautical miles on North Carolina medical test routes
BETA Technologies said on September 23, 2026 that its ALIA CTOL has flown more than 1,300 nautical miles of routes in North Carolina since September 17 under the DOT and FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, with simulated deliveries of healthcare cargo alongside NCDOT, Metro Aviation and healthcare partners including ECU Health and WakeMed. In a DOT statement that day, BETA's Kyle Clark said its aircraft flew more than 16 medical and disaster response missions in the week to September 23. The operations will use a Charge Cube installed at Raleigh Executive Jetport in 2024, per BETA.
FERC denies Oklo complaint; 750-MW project stays out of PJM's Cycle 01
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied Oklo's complaint against PJM Interconnection on September 24, 2026, finding Oklo failed to show PJM violated its tariff when it withdrew Oklo's 750-MW nuclear, gas and fuel-cell project, which Utility Dive places in Virginia, from Cycle 01; the waiver request is moot. It reads section 403(B)(1) as one cure opportunity when PJM timely noticed deficiencies, concedes the five-cycle fault test is not in PJM's guidelines, and notes Oklo can cure the errors and refile for Cycle 02 or use the Expedited Interconnection Track, open to December 31, 2027.
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Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act signed; FERC report within 180 days
The White House said the President signed H.R. 3657, the Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act, into law on September 25, 2026; the Library of Congress record dates both 'Signed by President.' and 'Became Public Law No: 119-112.' to September 25, 2026. The act adds a section 37 to the Federal Power Act: within 180 days of enactment and annually after that, FERC reports to Congress on each pending new license, subsequent license for which sections 14 and 15 have been waived, and original license for which a notice of intent was given at least three years earlier, with six inclusions each.
La Verne lifts evacuations after battery fire at MWD's Weymouth plant
The City of La Verne said on September 25, 2026 that all evacuation orders from the September 22 lithium battery explosion and fire at the Metropolitan Water District's Weymouth Water Treatment Plant had been lifted after crews removed the modules overnight. The city says two 250-kilowatt units serving a solar farm were involved, one burned and the second overheated; its September 25 summaries put air monitoring in the normal range; the packs are expected off site within 3 to 5 days of September 25, pending materials; MWD then leads the investigation; the City Council meets September 29.
NineDot cuts ribbon on Bronx site it says will deliver nearly 20 MW
NineDot Energy said in a September 24, 2026 release that it cut the ribbon the previous day on a Hunts Point, Bronx battery storage site it calls its largest, which it says will be fully operational for summer 2027 and deliver nearly 20 MW to the local community, enough by its account for nearly 20,000 homes during peak grid hours. NineDot's projects page, read September 25, 2026, lists the site as under construction; NYSERDA's incentive dataset, as of September 4, 2026, carries four approved Retail Storage applications on Casanova Street totalling 19,584 kW AC and 78,336 kWh by our addition.