Birol argues Australia is well placed to lead climate talks despite its fossil exports, saying the world would benefit from at least five Australias.

In fighting climate change, he says, “I would feel much better if there were not one, but at least five Australias in this world.”

Birol says renewables are expected to rise from one-third to nearly half of global electricity generation within five years.

Over the next five years, renewables are expected to grow from one-third to nearly half of global electricity generation

Birol says energy security, rather than environmental concern, is now the main driver of renewables expansion as countries cut exposure to imported fuels.

"Previously, environmental concerns were the policy priority behind the growth of renewables, whose falling costs have made them a competitive option in many markets - but today, it's mainly energy security that is driving renewables' expansion as more and more countries seek to reduce their exposure to imported fuels," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Birol says renewables are spreading globally and will rise from a third of global electricity generation today to close to half within five years.

"The new chapter of the renewables growth story is a truly global one as their deployment spreads well beyond major markets into every corner of the world. This is making them a key pillar of the global power sector. Today, they account for a third of global electricity generation; in the next five years, they will be getting closer to half of it."

Birol says existing technologies and policy tools can make buildings far more efficient, cutting emissions and bills, and the priority is to deploy them now.

"More energy-efficient buildings can cut emissions worldwide while making a tangible difference to people's daily lives," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "By accelerating progress, we can lower energy bills and help more people access secure, affordable energy. This report shows that we already have the technologies and policy tools to deliver these benefits. The priority now is to put them to work."

Birol says India's renewables buildout strengthens its energy security and shows other emerging economies how consistent policy can cut costs and attract investment.

India’s renewables expansion is delivering major benefits for its energy security at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets. As countries look to strengthen domestic energy supplies, India’s experience shows how consistent policies can help drive down renewable energy costs and attract investment, offering valuable lessons for other emerging economies.

Birol said India's renewable expansion delivers major energy security benefits amid global market uncertainty, and that stable, consistent policy lowers costs, attracts investment and offers lessons for other emerging economies.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said India's renewable energy expansion is delivering major energy security benefits at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets. He noted that India's experience demonstrates how stable and consistent policy measures can help lower renewable energy costs, attract investments and provide lessons for other emerging economies.

Birol says solar is growing fastest globally, followed by wind, with higher fuel prices also boosting biofuel use.

Globally, solar energy is seeing the fastest growth, followed by wind. Rising prices for diesel and gasoline have also spurred an increase in the use of biofuels

Birol says EVs are expanding rapidly worldwide as countries seek to cut oil dependence, with the trend extending beyond Europe.

Over the past few months, EVs have seen rapid expansion in various markets worldwide, with the desire to reduce dependence on oil serving as a key driver. Several countries are accelerating the electrification of transport through measures such as subsidies and tax incentives. This trend is not limited to Europe; it is also evident in Brazil, Australia, and across Southeast Asia.

Birol says the world has faced the greatest energy security challenge in history since March.

the greatest energy security challenge in history

Birol praised China's crucial role as host and chair of the APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting.

China played a crucial role as the host and chair.

Dewitte aims for Oklo to become the leading fabricator of advanced fuel forms, serving third parties amid a capacity shortage.

our goal is to be the leading fuel fabricator for advanced fuel forms. We're not working on TRISO, obviously. But for what we're doing with metallic fuel with high-assay, low-enriched or LEU type plus oxide fuels for advanced reactors as well as for support for next-generation fuel forms like nitrides and zirconium hydrides, things like that, that we will have the capabilities and expertise and capacity to be able to support.

Dewitte argues Aurora-Idaho can monetize fast-neutron irradiation services, which are unavailable in the West, alongside power and isotopes.

it can sell power, but it can also sell irradiation services. There is no fast irradiation -- fast-neutron, sorry, irradiation capability really in the Western world operational anymore today, right? And the U.S. government was going to spend billions of dollars to build a new capability that ultimately didn't go anywhere because of the lift of that, but that's what Aurora-Idaho is going to be able to produce and provide for.

Dewitte expects data centers to keep concentrating in supportive states, shifting power demand geographically.

I do think that you're going to see continued concentration of data centers in states that are supportive of this because there are states that are going to be supportive and interested in having these things, and that's just going to further pull demand into some different locations.

Dewitte believes nuclear's bipartisan support leaves it well positioned for clean-power incentives after the election.

nuclear has a strong bipartisan level of support. It -- I think one thing we're going to see probably is a focus on also moving and heavily incentivizing in the ways that are possible, clean power generation to come in and support whether it be for data center generation or just new generation as a whole in light of the election results. Nuclear is really well positioned to do that.

Dewitte says interconnection processes struggle with novel technologies, explaining PJM's rejection of the Virginia application.

One of the things that some of these interconnection processes struggle with is novelty. Novelty is key to going to the future, and that was one of the things that stood out about this was we were bringing in a mix of fuel sources, and their processes just didn't know how to handle it

Dewitte is more confident than ever about enrichment markets as incumbents and new entrants step up.

I feel today more confident than I've ever felt, about what's happening in the enrichment markets where you've had such a stagnant industry for so long now being spurred to life for so many reasons that you're seeing the incumbents and the legacy players stepping up and executing in exciting ways, you see new entrants coming forward.

Dewitte warns that a Russian uranium import ban will hit enrichment supply hard next year.

we're looking at an import ban and cliff hitting pretty hard next year. Add to that then also just growth and uprates. It's an exciting time in the space.

Dewitte explains that electrical noise management and instrument calibration, learned from Groves-1, add schedule buffer to Aurora-Idaho's 2028-2029 start-up.

Electrical noise management is a huge thing in nuclear plants. It's one of those things that's kind of like everyone kind of knows it and then you kind of -- you don't forget it, but each site is so different for so many reasons

Dewitte says government surplus plutonium would likely come at no fee, with recipients bearing fabrication costs, and timing should clarify in months.

The question is then about like cost structure. I mean, in general, again, one of these things that is somewhat dependent on programmatic structures and contours, but generally inclined to being provided to you as is with no specific fee or cost, but then the cost of fabricate is obviously burdened by the recipient.

Dewitte sees AI and computational biology opening co-development opportunities in radioisotope drug carriers, enabled by abundant isotope supply.

the application of computational biology to explore the ligands, to explore the different molecular carriers of these isotopes has been pretty significantly underexplored, frankly, radically underexplored. And now with AI, it's just not really being done because there wasn't a lot of interest

Burke argued interconnection queues are inflated by speculative developers and that policymakers are working on longer-term fixes.

As we've said for some time, load interconnect queues were overstated across the country and especially in ERCOT, driven by speculation from developers who are keeping options open to see where progress can be made. Residents in some communities are understandably concerned about the level of proposed development activity and policymakers are working on longer-term solutions.

Burke advocates higher collateral, take-or-pay commitments, equipment visibility and end-customer agreements to filter interconnection requests.

raising the bar on these projects can go a long way towards identifying the ones that are likely to move forward. This includes higher collateral requirements for interconnect requests, committing the take-or-pay agreement for the incremental wires charges, line of sight to equipment and an agreement with an end-use customer.

Burke maintains 4-6% ERCOT and 2-3% PJM load growth through 2030 and says flexible gas remains the cheapest, quickest incremental supply.

We still see load growth of 4% to 6% in ERCOT and 2% to 3% in PJM through 2030. Vistra with its large diversified fleet is well equipped to meet this growth. Our flexible combined cycle gas plants and quick-start peaking plants can operate at higher utilizations and that remains the cheapest and quickest source of incremental generation.

Burke is bullish on dispatchable, flexible CCGT assets, citing higher capacity factors as renewables grow.

We think as renewable penetration continues throughout the country, you're seeing these assets get called on more. And you see that even in the appendix where you look at the CCGT capacity factors across our fleet, they're all up in Q3 relative to prior years. So we've been bullish on dispatchable. We've been bullish on flexibility.

Burke said the 2030 outlook assumes no power price recovery; near-term ERCOT pricing hinges on how fast load is connected.

We are not making any assumptions about power price recoveries. It reflects the curves as you see them as noted in our hedge profiles and just kind of stepping that forward based off public available information. Now we think the near term on this is really going to be function of how does Texas get back into gear in terms of hooking up load.

Burke warned a Texas data center moratorium would be problematic for many customers but considers it unlikely.

if Texas decides to just go down a moratorium, it would be problematic, I think, for lots of customers, not just our Comanche Peak project. I don't know what form that would actually take. So that would take some potential legislative activity, I think, to have something that would create that type of a significant limiter.

Burke said Vistra won't haggle over long-term contracts to chase buybacks, aiming for a contracted book that lowers the discount rate.

we're not going to work with long-term customer relationships and negotiate around $1 or $2 a megawatt hour trying to just react to the stock buyback opportunity in the moment. This is a franchise, and we have a reputation, and we're going to build a book of business that will also be a contracted book of business, which I think also lowers the discount rate ultimately.

Burke said Vistra is deliberately under-hedged in ERCOT for 2028, awaiting signs of load connection pace and pent-up demand.

with the 78% hedged for '28, we are much less hedged in ERCOT than the 78%. So we do not look at the curves for 2028 and feel a need to be moving a lot of power at this point in time. And I do think as we see what the pace of play is for hooking up load in 2027 and seeing what the pent-up demand is

Burke supports PJM's shift toward bilateral contracting and sees the RBP delay as helping those deals.

we've been supportive of the emphasis on bilaterals and markets moving towards contracting for capacity and energy and not being as dependent on a single clearing price of a centralized auction. And I think the pushout of the RBP a little bit from a timing standpoint can help facilitate some of those bilateral conversations.

Burke says the closed Cogentrix deal adds about 5,500 MW of gas generation and leaves Vistra well positioned for growing power demand.

With the Cogentrix acquisition now closed, we've added approximately 5,500 MW of new natural gas-fueled generation to our portfolio, and we continue to be well positioned for the growing demand ahead.

Burke sees more long-term power agreement opportunities like the Odessa deal as the power landscape evolves.

As the power landscape evolves, we continue to see more of these opportunities. Our team remains focused on delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to our customers, and we look forward to finishing the year strong.

Burke notes record peak demand in ERCOT and PJM in July, during which Vistra's fleet kept nearly 95% commercial availability.

This summer brought record weather across our markets, including the new all-time peak demand records in July in both ERCOT and PJM. Through that period, our fleet achieved commercial availability of nearly 95%.

Sideris said officials share Duke's goal of protecting customers and making large loads pay their fair share.

They share our goal, too, of protecting our customers and making sure these large loads pay for their fair share.

Sideris said talks to convert the remaining large-load pipeline are going well but taking longer due to complexity.

They're going very well, but it's taking longer because of the complexities.

Sideris said natural gas will play an important near-term role in ensuring grid reliability.

Our resource plan makes clear the important role natural gas will play in the near term to ensure reliability.

Sideris defended the denied 255 MW North Carolina gas unit as a low-cost solution to generation needs.

We still feel very confident that that's a good project. It's a small project, but it is a low-cost solution to help the generation need that we have in the state to serve our customers reliably and affordably.

Sideris says large load tariffs make big customers like data centers cover their service costs and deliver billions in benefits to other customers.

The progression of large load tariffs across our states ensures large customers, users, cover the cost of serving their facilities and deliver billions of dollars in benefits for our customers and communities over the life of their contracts.

Sideris says natural gas is key to near-term reliability, with over 5 GW under construction and another 5 GW in development.

Our resource plans made clear the important role natural gas will play in the near term to ensure reliability. That's why we're advancing regulatory filings specific to natural gas generation with more than 5 gigawatts under construction in the Carolinas and Indiana and another 5 gigawatts in development.

Sideris says nuclear remains important and Duke is focused on upgrading and extending existing units.

We still feel nuclear is very important to our current system as well as our future. So we're focused on the same things we were before, upgrading our current units.

Sideris says Duke won't proceed with new nuclear until customer and investor protections, supply chain clarity and balance sheet safeguards exist.

We're not going to go forward with anything until we have the protections for our customers and investors until we have clarity in the supply chain and the executability of these projects as well as being able to protect our balance sheet.

Sideris says Duke only counts large-load projects once signed as ESAs, and expects to convert the rest of the pipeline by 1H27 despite complexity.

we're not counting anything until it hits the ESA level because we feel like that is a durable contract and lets us count those earnings and that growth more readily.

Sideris says Duke is open to a Genco structure in Indiana if needed but can serve customers under its current model.

We always are evaluating when we will need or if we will need a Genco kind of operation. So we're open to that. We continue to feel like we can continue to provide the service that we need for our customers under our current model.

Sideris acknowledges the Smith CPCN denial but remains confident in the project and in future approvals such as Davie-Davidson.

Our Smith CPCN that we filed was denied by the commission. They had some questions. I think they were really focused on the IRP proceeding and validating the load requirements in there. We still feel very confident that's a good project.

Ketchum said NextEra is going beyond its already large benefits package for Dominion Virginia customers, arguing Virginians should not have to choose between near-term bill relief and affordable, reliable power later.

We have already put forward a historic package of benefits for Dominion Energy Virginia customers, workers, and communities, and we are going even further. Virginia should not have to choose between relief on electric bills today and affordable, reliable power tomorrow.

Wright predicts gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September and will keep falling meaningfully in the coming months.

Gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September, they're on their way down, and they will continue down meaningfully in the months ahead.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged prices are high but argued high prices are the best remedy because they spur greater supply.

“Prices are high. The best cure for high prices is high prices,” Wright said Tuesday on Fox Business. “It grows supply."

Wright says US natural gas output exceeds the next three producers combined, prices are flat year on year, and gas is now America's largest energy source, ensuring affordable supply for generations.

We produce more than the next three largest producing countries combined. Natural gas prices today are the same as they were 12 months ago, since the beginning of the Trump administration. It is also the largest source of energy in America.

Wright says Hormuz strikes haven't disrupted flows, Gulf exports are rising, and Iran, which hasn't shipped since July, will eventually have to make a deal.

Iran hasn't shipped anything since July, and of course that's choking their economy. They are increasingly disappointed. They see no way out, but eventually they will have to make a deal.

Wright predicts gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September and will fall significantly as supply rises from the Gulf, India and the US.

The best cure for high prices is high prices. This increases supply. So, the supply is increasing. Gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September. They are on the decline and will drop significantly in the coming months

Wright argues the Paris Agreement failed, merely exporting emissions and wrecking European competitiveness through high energy prices.

Since they signed these agreements , they have not reduced greenhouse gas emissions. They simply moved them outside of Europe. They made it impossible to produce goods and work in Europe by raising prices.

Wright warns that Democratic-run states have 40-50% higher electricity prices and that high energy prices are a political choice.

Roughly half of the states have been run by Democrats for the past decade . Their electricity prices are 40-50 % higher. If we look only at the Trump administration, the last 2 years, in states controlled by Republicans, electricity prices have increased less than the rate of inflation.

Strazik said GE Vernova is still in the early stages of an electricity investment super cycle.

still in the early stages of this electricity investment super cycle.