Massachusetts cuts $500M from state’s energy efficiency program

Eversource Energy thanked state regulators “for listening to customer concerns about affordability and taking the difficult action.”

By Robert Walton • March 5, 2025

Massachusetts to deploy 100 bidirectional EV chargers in first-of-its-kind ‘V2X’ pilot

The program is available for residential, commercial, municipal and school customers and could add 1.5 MW of flexible grid capacity by September 2026, program partners said.

By Brian Martucci • March 4, 2025

10 years of grid modernization: Major progress, stubborn challenges

Improving energy affordability and grid reliability can guide the way on modernizing the grid for tomorrow’s challenges, according to Grid Forward’s Bryce Yonker.

By Bryce Yonker • Feb. 28, 2025

Grid equipment manufacturers anticipate 2% annual US load growth through 2050

Federal policy and incentives will play a key role in meeting the demand, according to National Electrical Manufacturers Association CEO Debra Phillips.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 26, 2025

Fortress backs behind-the-meter gas turbines to support AI hyperscalers

New APR Energy plans to deploy 100 MW of mobile gas turbines in support of an unnamed data center hyperscaler, and more similar deals are on the way, officials said.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 25, 2025

Are utility demand response program costs outstripping their benefits in California?

California Public Utilities Commission policy has been pushing customers to choose utility-run supply-side DR programs over third-party options that face pressure to keep costs low.

By Collin Smith • Feb. 24, 2025

Trump pauses implementation of new DOE appliance efficiency standards

“The people, not the government, should be choosing the home appliances and products they want at prices they can afford,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 24, 2025

Torus, Rocky Mountain Power sign MOU for 70-MW C&I demand response capability

The agreement could add a major commercial and industrial component to RMP’s Wattsmart Battery program, hailed by the Energy Department as one of the country’s most sophisticated virtual power plants.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 21, 2025

DeepSeek called a net positive for data centers despite overcapacity worries

More efficient AI models could reduce demand for liquid cooling retrofits while accelerating adoption, boosting the industry’s longer-term fortunes, experts say.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 20, 2025

The AI energy challenge is coming to a head

There must be a seismic shift in how the industry defines and measures AI advancement, pivoting our idea of technological evolution from raw computing power to energy efficiency.

By Krishna Rangasayee • Feb. 20, 2025

Texas regulators move virtual power plant pilot development to ERCOT

The aggregated distributed energy resource pilot currently provides about 25.5 MW of energy and almost 20 MW of other reserve services to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 19, 2025

2024 ‘a pivotal year’ for virtual power plant policy: report

Following 105 policy actions nationwide last year, 2025 could see continued momentum as load begins to grow, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center and the Smart Electric Power Alliance say.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 12, 2025

Carrier unveils data center strategy, growth in Q4 HVAC sales

The company said it is working with U.S. utilities to provide an end-to-end integrated battery heat pump solution with automated controls that can run the system using stored energy during peak hours.

By Joe Burns • Feb. 12, 2025

ABB and Samsung offer user-friendly energy management platform

Samsung previously launched SmartThings Pro, which extended the smart home technology to commercial environments. 

By Robert Freedman • Feb. 12, 2025

Ameresco secures $140M energy savings project at the Denver Federal Center

The project is funded via the Inflation Reduction Act, however, which the Trump administration is working to rescind.

By Benton Graham • Feb. 11, 2025

Existing US grid can handle ‘significant’ new flexible load: report

“Flexible load strategies can help tap existing headroom to more quickly integrate new loads [and] reduce the cost of capacity expansion,” Duke University researchers said.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 11, 2025

The EV managed charging problem no one wants to talk about

As EV programs grow, utilities face a choice: authorized integrations and partnerships or screen scraping.

Feb. 10, 2025

New York could reach 8.5 GW of grid flexibility in 2040 zero-emissions scenario: Brattle Group

Flexible grid resources like electric vehicles and heat pumps could help avoid marginal generation costs greater than $200/kW per year, substantially above present levels, Brattle found.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 5, 2025

US ‘needs more storage’ to ensure grid reliability, resilience: SEIA

The Solar Energy Industries Association wants to see the U.S. reach 10 million distributed energy storage installations and 700 GWh of grid-connected capacity by 2030, it said last month.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 4, 2025

Boston expands net-zero emissions requirements to new buildings, large additions

The zoning change requires most new buildings to be net zero when they open. The city previously set similar performance standards for existing buildings.

By Joe Burns • Feb. 3, 2025

2025 US power sector outlook

The second Trump administration has ramped up energy transition uncertainty. Meanwhile, electricity demand from data centers and electrification continues to grow, and the resource mix is changing.

By Utility Dive staff • Jan. 31, 2025

New MISO demand response rules could bar resources from capacity auction: Voltus complaint

"Beyond the eleventh hour" requirements by the midcontinent grid operator could keep Voltus from taking part in an upcoming capacity auction, the demand response company told FERC.

By Ethan Howland • Jan. 29, 2025

Why utility leadership is necessary to scale up VPPs in the residential sector

The most effective virtual power plants are embedded within utility operations, providing utilities with direct insight into and control of the distributed energy resources in their network.

By Neil Veilleux and Nick Papanastassiou • Jan. 29, 2025

Trump freezes IRA funding

The White House issued a memo to clarify the funding pause, specifying that it pertains only to aspects of the law mentioned in Section 2 of the executive order.

By Kate Magill • Updated Jan. 23, 2025

AI improvements, DERs and new generation needed to meet power demand: USEA panel

“Serving data center load is absolutely a national security challenge,” said NERC President and CEO Jim Robb.

By Robert Walton • Jan. 22, 2025