** Hurricane Helene’s death toll rises to more than 200, making it the second deadliest U.S. hurricane in the last 50 years. Tennessee state authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the company that owns a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by cataclysmic flooding unleashed by Hurricane Helene.
** The Hualapai Nation continues to push back against proposed exploratory lithium drilling in western Arizona, saying it would destroy hot springs and disrupt ceremonial practices.
** A federal judge temporarily blocks industry’s challenge to California’s law requiring railway firms to replace diesel locomotives with zero-emissions ones.
** Advocates file a lawsuit seeking to block the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Western solar plan, saying utility-scale development under it could harm national scenic and historic trails.
** After two decades of stagnant electricity demand growth, the United States could need up to 300 GW of incremental effective capacity by 2035, according to a BofA Global Research report published Monday reported Utility Dive.
** The fire that razed the historic Maui town of Lahaina last year was caused when Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. re-energized broken utility lines that caused sparks to ignite unmaintained dry vegetation, the Maui Fire Department said.
** Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) reported U.S. sales of 162,595 vehicles in September, a decline of 20.3% in volume and 9.9% on a daily selling rate basis. In September, electrified vehicle sales—including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, pure electrics, and fuel cells—accounted for 48.4% of total sales, totaling 78,683 units. This represents a 22.4% increase in volume and a 38.3% rise on a daily selling rate basis.
World
** A record 2.5 million jobs were created in the renewable energy sector in 2023, most of them in China, the International Renewable Energy Agency and International Labour Organization said on Tuesday. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s new solar and wind power capacity was installed in China, which added a total of 1.84 million renewable energy jobs
** Southeast Asia will miss its renewable energy production goal, highlighting the difficulties in weaning the region off fossil fuels like coal and liquefied natural gas, according to an intergovernmental think tank.
** A flurry of big-ticket German acquisitions over the past few weeks has taken deal volumes to nearly $100 billion, outpacing gains in the rest of Europe and giving bankers hope of a resurgence for the remainder of the year. On Tuesday, state-owned Adnoc announced it’s buying chemical producer Covestro AG for €11.7 billion ($13 billion) in the largest-ever Middle Eastern acquisition in Germany, while buyout firm TPG Inc. clinched a €6.7 billion deal for metering company Techem.