Five-year US load growth forecast surges 456%, to 128 GW: Grid Strategies

U.S. electricity demand is forecast to increase 15.8% by 2029, according to a new report from Grid Strategies, which called the findings “shocking.” Six regions of the country are driving the growth.

Trump’s SEC pick sparks concern from ESG, climate experts

The president-elect picked Paul Atkins for Securities and Exchange Commission chair. Experts expect him to prioritize maximizing corporate returns over ESG considerations.

PSE&G to pay $6.6M for inaccurately reporting need for local PJM transmission project

The Public Service Enterprise Group utility didn’t give PJM accurate information about the need for a $546 million power line it built in New Jersey, per a FERC settlement.

Regulatory red tape holds back the carbon capture opportunity in Texas

President-elect Trump’s nomination of Lee Zeldin to lead the U.S. EPA could restore sanity to an agency that is holding back billions of dollars in new investment — including in the fast-growing carbon capture industry.

When TOU rates aren’t enough: BGE, other utilities expand active managed charging for rising EV load

With over 3 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, managed charging pilots need to be scaled before infrastructure upgrade costs start rising, analysts and utility executives agree.

BOEM issues final federal permit for US Wind’s 2-GW Maryland offshore wind project

The wind farm will be a first for the state of Maryland and will help shore up the offshore wind supply chain, according to the Oceantic Network.

Clean firm generation is an important piece of the energy transition, but it’s no silver bullet

Due to the high cost of clean firm energy, it may be best considered as part of a broader generation portfolio that relies on much lower cost wind and solar most of the time.

BlackRock, Temasek venture leads $35M funding round for ConnectDER

The latest funding round, led by Decarbonization Partners, will help accelerate growth for the home solar power and EV adapter company.

GM sells stake in Ultium Cells joint venture battery plant

The plant is one of three U.S. facilities that the automaker planned to operate as part of its joint venture with LG Energy Solution.

Meta seeks up to 4 GW of new nuclear power to help meet AI, sustainability objectives

 The Facebook and Instagram parent aims to deploy new nuclear generation capacity to power its data centers beginning in the early 2030s, it said Tuesday.

Updated Dec. 5, 2024

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Amazon Web Services leans on AI to decarbonize data centers, boost energy efficiency

Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary has signed a deal with Orbital Materials and made infrastructure updates to boost data center sustainability and energy efficiency.

Renewable energy developers urge PJM to drop fast-track interconnection plan

The PJM Interconnection’s proposed Reliability Resource Initiative, if approved, will be challenged at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in court, the developers said.

New York finalizes contracts with 23 renewables projects totaling 2.3 GW

The solar and wind projects will provide enough power for more than 700,000 homes and will generate more than $4.7 billion in private investment, the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority said.

Mitigating price volatility: How flexible assets can strengthen renewable portfolios

Together, battery storage, gas generation and demand response provide a crucial buffer against the risks associated with renewable energy, making portfolios more adaptable and financially resilient.

Mitsubishi Electric subsidiary invests $86M in switchgear factory

The company is building a 160,000-square-foot facility in the Pittsburgh area to meet growing demand for transmission and distribution grid products.

Eos Energy lands $304M DOE loan for battery plant expansion

The long-duration battery company says it has a $589 million, 2.3-GWh order backlog and $14.2 billion, 59-GWh commercial pipeline.

NYSERDA, Clean Path NY developers terminate contracts underpinning 175-mile transmission line

Clean Path NY developer Forward Power says it “remain[s] committed to New York’s energy transition” despite the loss of the project’s renewable energy credit purchase and sale agreement.

Texas, other states sue BlackRock, Vanguard for ‘conspiring’ to restrict US coal market

The lawsuit alleged the firms are using the influence gained through their stock holdings to pressure coal companies to reduce output in alignment with the asset managers’ net-zero goals.

11 Boston-area institutions partner on renewable energy virtual power purchase agreements

Harvard, MIT and the Mass General Brigham health system anchor the Consortium for Climate Solutions, which will help develop renewable energy projects in Texas and North Dakota.

A costly lesson in supply and demand: How to address PJM’s capacity shortages

The first law of holes says that you should stop digging when you’re in one. It’s time to stop retiring dispatchable resources if we don’t want the hole we’re in to get any deeper.

Tennessee university to receive federal funding for EV battery recycling project

Tennessee Tech University will develop a mobile preprocessing hub for EV batteries as part of a $4.8M DOE grant. It’s part of a larger federal effort to improve EV battery recycling economics, a priority for the Biden administration.

Duke pauses consideration of DOE loan program with Trump election, new Congress

Given the uncertainties around future Department of Energy lending, it makes sense to delay a review of potential benefits from the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment program, Duke Energy told North Carolina regulators.

Inflation Reduction Act changes ‘not a day 1 priority’ for Trump, Congress: Crux

Though a full repeal of the 2022 climate law is unlikely, a Republican-controlled legislature could repeal or phase out some of its individual provisions beginning next year, policy experts said.

With Maryland’s electric grid ‘battered and getting worse,’ state offers $15M to boost resilience

The Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Energy program plans to fund electric utility weatherization efforts, monitoring and control technologies, undergrounding and other grid-hardening investments.