As of June 12, 2026, the SunZia Wind Project in New Mexico has begun commercial operations, becoming the largest wind farm in the United States. [1] The project has 3,650 MW of generating capacity from 916 turbines, more than tripling the size of the next two largest U.S. wind farms. Developed by Pattern Energy, SunZia was nearly two decades in the making and is paired with a 550-mile transmission line that delivers electricity from New Mexico to Arizona and California. The project nearly doubles New Mexico's wind capacity, increasing wind's share of the state's generating capacity to 45%. Most of SunZia's electricity will be exported to western markets, helping support growing regional demand for renewable energy. Shortly after the project came online, California recorded a new hourly wind generation record, highlighting the growing impact of large-scale wind development in the western United States.
[USA] Solar overtakes coal generation in US for the first time
As of June 10, 2026, solar overtook coal generation in the US electricity mix in May 2026, according to monthly and preliminary hourly generation data analyzed by think tank Ember. [1] Solar supplies a record 12.8% of US electricity, while coal fell to 12.2%, its fourth-lowest recorded monthly share. Solar generated an all-time high of 45.5 TWh in May 2026, exceeding May 2025 by 17% and surpassing a record set in July 2025. Coal generation hit an all-time monthly low of 39.3 TWh in April 2026. The overall share of coal generation in the US has nearly halved in the last five years, falling from 19.7% in May 2021 to 12.2% in May 2026. In contrast, solar power’s share of the mix more than doubled from 5.4% to 12.8% over the same period. This record succeeds another clean power milestone from March 2026, when renewables collectively generated more electricity than gas for the first time in the US. Together, these records underscore the growth of clean power in the US electricity mix despite the current policy environment.
[USA] Constellation’s restart of Three Mile Island receives FERC waiver
As of June 4, 2026, federal regulators gave a significant boost to Constellation Energy’s effort to restart the former Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor, now renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center. [1] The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a waiver allowing Constellation to transfer grid interconnection rights from its retiring Eddystone fossil-fuel plant to the nuclear facility. Without the waiver, delayed transmission upgrades in the PJM region could have prevented the plant from fully delivering power until 2030–2031, jeopardizing Constellation’s target to restart the reactor in the second half of 2027. FERC concluded that the waiver addressed a concrete reliability problem and met the agency’s standards for granting relief. Under the decision, Constellation will be able to transfer 760 MW of Capacity Interconnection Rights (CIRs) from the Eddystone plant to Crane, increasing the amount of electricity the nuclear unit can deliver to the grid. Constellation has a 20-year deal to sell all the energy, capacity, and clean energy attributes from the nuclear unit to Microsoft for data centers across PJM’s Mid-Atlantic and Midwest footprint.
[USA] MISO resists complaints over competitive transmission bidding from utilities
As of May 28, 2026, a major dispute is unfolding at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over whether incumbent utilities should retain exclusive rights to build regional transmission lines in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Southwest Power Pool regions. [1] Utilities including Entergy and Xcel Energy argue that competitive bidding processes required under FERC Order 1000 delay urgently needed transmission projects by 16–20 months, especially as electricity demand surges from AI data centers and manufacturing expansion. [2] MISO pushed back in a May 27 filing, saying the delays are overstated and that competitive projects represent only a limited subset of transmission buildouts. [3] [4] The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates warned that eliminating competition would undermine consumer protections embedded in FERC Order 1000, while groups such as the Solar Energy Industries Association and independent developer Invenergy argued that utilities are attempting to reestablish monopoly control over transmission development.
[USA] EIA: AI driving record US electricity demand through 2029
As of May 19, 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Today in Energy highlighted how accelerating electricity demand from AI and data centers is reshaping U.S. power markets and generation planning. The agency noted that U.S. electricity consumption is expected to reach new record highs through 2027, with commercial-sector demand increasingly driven by hyperscale computing facilities. EIA forecasts show renewables continuing to expand rapidly, but natural gas generation is also expected to remain elevated as utilities respond to rising baseload needs and transmission bottlenecks tied to data-center growth. The issue is becoming especially acute in regions such as PJM and ERCOT, where grid operators are warning about higher capacity prices, interconnection delays, and infrastructure constraints linked to large new loads. Industry discussions around the report have increasingly focused on whether data-center developers should directly finance dedicated generation and transmission assets rather than relying on broader ratepayer-supported grid expansion.
[USA] NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy to combine
As of May 18, 2026, NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced a merger, creating the world’s largest regulated electric utility by market capitalization. [1] In a $67 billion deal, NextEra acquired Dominion Energy, a merger that required both federal and state approvals from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Residential electricity rates have risen 7.4% in February 2026 compared to the year before, with a 12.2% spike in Virginia. [2] In a press release, NextEra’s CEO John Ketchum stated that the larger scale and efficiencies gained from merging would translate into more “affordable electricity for [their] customers in the long run,” proposing to provide Dominion Energy customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina with $2.25 billion in bill credits over two years. The combined company will be more than 80% regulated and serve roughly 10 million utility customers across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
[2] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a&
[USA] Electricity generation from solar to exceed coal in ERCOT in 2026
As of May 13, 2026, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasted in their Short-Term Energy Outlook that annual electric power generation from utility-scale solar will surpass that from coal for the first time in 2026 within the grid that spans most of Texas. [1] Solar generation is expected to reach 78 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) in 2026 in the electricity grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) compared with 60 BkWh for coal. Solar capacity additions have steadily been contributing to meeting electricity demand growth in ERCOT. While natural gas is still the dominant source, solar’s share of the generation mix has increased from 4% to 12% between 2021 and 2025, with coal’s share decreasing from 19% to 13% during the same period. The EIA expects approximately 40% of total solar capacity additions in the US in 2026 to occur in Texas. This year, the largest solar photovoltaic project that will come online in 2026 will be in Texas. The solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) combination project Tehuacana Creek 1 Solar and BESS is 837 megawatts (MW).
[USA] FERC Chairman addresses PJM's legitimacy crisis and governance flaws
As of May 12, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Laura Swett spoke at PJM’s Annual Meeting, addressing the legitimacy crisis in the grid operator’s decision-making. [1] She asserted that the operator may be “too big to function,” with an “unacceptable” governance structure, with confidence in its decision-making having “completely eroded.” Swett stated that the 13 states in PJM and the District of Columbia have “fundamentally different regulatory structures, resource portfolios and politics,” with some states relying on competitive markets and others having utilities that own power plants. Despite this, FERC expects PJM to run power markets in a fair and efficient manner, “maintain reliability through extreme weather, shifting fuel mixes, and rapid technological change.” When describing its governance process, Swett suggested that the current stakeholder process is “slow where it must be fast, opaque where it must be transparent, and vulnerable to vetoes and agenda control exactly when the region needs immediate action.” Swett announced that FERC would hold a conference on July 23 to identify the flaws in PJM’s governance process, along with solutions to fix them.
[USA] NERC issues Level 3 alert over computational load risks
As of May 4, 2026, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a rare Level 3 alert – the highest level – after several instances of data centers unexpectedly dropping load or oscillating demand. NERC’s alert, entitled “Level 3 Essential Action Alert, Computational Load Modeling, Studies, Instrumentation, Commissioning, Operations, Protection, and Control,” outlines seven actions registered entities must implement to address the immediate risks posed by computational loads interfacing with the bulk power system (BPS). [1] This mandate applies to transmission planners, operators, system planners, and balancing authorities, among others. The alert was issued as NERC observed customer-initiated large load reductions and major oscillations occurring in a span of seconds, leaving no room for real-time responses and threatening reliability. In a previous Level 2 alert, NERC discussed recommended practices deemed necessary to address emerging risks from large loads. In response to this alert, NERC found that entities generally did not have sufficient processes, procedures, or methods to address risks associated with computational loads.
[1] https://www.nerc.com/globalassets/programs/bpsa/alerts/level-3-computational-load-alert.pdf
[USA] House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing on grid and AI
As of April 29, 2026, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing about rising energy demand, serving data centers and large loads, and ensuring affordability for ratepayers. [1] According to Duke Energy’s Senior Vice President for Grid Strategy, Planning, and Integration, large new electricity customers, if integrated into the grid responsibly, present economic development opportunities and can limit rate growth by spreading the fixed costs of the grid across a larger base. Muse Energy President Whitney Muse suggested that grid investment in new capacity is critical to meeting demand amid impending load growth and bill pressures. In contrast, Ranking Member Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) framed the hearing as an opportunity to “squeeze more out of the existing grid” through grid-enhancing technologies, virtual power plants (VPPs), and demand flexibility. A notable point of disagreement was the Fair Allocation of Interstate Rates Act, which would prohibit grid operators from allocating to one state the costs of transmission projects driven by another state’s energy policies. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) each raised concerns about the bill’s broad definition of “covered policy,” which could capture state policies unrelated to renewable energy mandates, including grid resilience plans for hurricane-prone states. Muse Energy testified that the Act would make it much harder to build interregional transmission, potentially including state and local land use, resilience, and economic development under its broad definition. Overall, utilities were concerned with the need for clear cost allocation rules, while Democratic lawmakers worried that the rules could block projects or shift costs unfairly.
[USA] Over 800 new generation projects seek to connect under PJM’s reformed interconnection process
As of April 29, 2026, PJM Interconnection announced that 811 new generation projects worth 220 GW have applied to connect to the grid through the Cycle of PJM’s reformed interconnection process. [1] This is the first major intake to improve the certainty and speed of project review using a redesigned approach. PJM is beginning a validation phase to confirm which projects have submitted the required technical and financial information to move forward. The projects entering the queue include 106 GW of gas-fired generation, 67 GW of storage, 18 GW of nuclear, 15 GW of solar, 9 GW solar-storage hybrid and 5 GW of wind. As part of the reformed process, PJM expects to complete the project reviews in one to two years, depending on the project, by using the AI-enabled tool ‘HyperQ,’ developed by Google’s Tapestry. However, despite having 103 GW of signed interconnection agreements since 2020, many of the projects are either “not being built at all or are being slowed by hurdles such as state permitting and supply chain backlogs,” PJM warns.
[USA] Court blocks administration from delaying renewable projects
As of April 21, 2026, a federal judge ruled that the Department of Interior and the Army Corps of Engineer must end a set of policies that limit solar and wind energy permitting on federal land while litigation over the issue plays out. [1] 57.2 GW of wind, solar, hybrid, and offshore wind capacity have been canceled or remain at risk of cancellation or delay beyond 2029. [2] RENEW Northeast, the Southern Renewable Energy Association, Interwest Energy Alliance, and other clean energy groups showed that their members faced imminent harm by 5 policy actions of the Trump administration, leading US District Court judge Denise Casper to grant their request for a preliminary injunction. [3] Casper stated that the plaintiffs are likely to win their suit since they showed that the public interest favors preliminary relief from the agency actions because they harm the public by delaying and preventing the development of wind and solar energy projects in the US. [4] This injunction affects five issues: the DOI review procedures memo which listed 68 permitting actions subject to review by the DOI secretary for solar and wind; a ban on the use of the Information for Planning and Consultation website for solar and wind developers; the DOI “land order” which barred wind and solar projects on federal land by requiring ‘capacity density’ consideration; an Army Corps’ memo that directs the agency to prioritize its permit reviews to high capacity density projects; and the Zerzan M-opinion, which effectively bars new offshore wind projects. [5] [6]
[1] https://ipac.ecosphere.fws.gov/
[3] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.293725/gov.uscourts.mad.293725.89.0.pdf
[6] https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-05/m-37086.pdf
[USA] FERC to act on large load interconnection docket by June 2026
As of April 16, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an Order Regarding Intent to Act in Docket No. RM26-4-000, formally signaling that it will move forward by June 2026 on establishing standardized interconnection procedures for large electricity loads, including data centers and other high-intensity demand users. [1] The order builds on the Commission’s broader effort to address rising interconnection queue backlogs across U.S. regional transmission organizations and to improve coordination between transmission planning and rapidly growing load forecasts. It specifically highlights concerns that existing processes were designed primarily for generation interconnection rather than large-scale demand connections, creating procedural gaps as load growth accelerates. The Commission also notes that inconsistent regional treatment of large-load interconnections has begun to create planning uncertainty for both transmission providers and customers, particularly in high-growth areas tied to electrification and digital infrastructure expansion.
[1] https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-act-large-load-interconnection-docket-june-2026
[USA] Georgia Power’s BYO clean resources plan for large loads approved
As of April 7, 2026, Georgia regulators approved the Customer Identified Resource (CIR) program, which allows energy customers to bring clean generation resources onto the system in exchange for renewable energy certificates and credit for the energy value of the resource. [1] The framework allows up to 3 GW of customer-identified resources through 2035, representing the majority of Georgia Power’s plan to procure 4 GW of new renewables over the course of the same time period. The eligible projects may be located in other states as long as they can deliver power to Georgia Power under an approved interconnection framework. The CIR program builds on Georgia Power’s Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription program, which allows customers to purchase a pro-rata share of the production of renewable resources that are procured through the company’s utility-scale renewable requests for proposal process. Then the utility retires the RECs on the customer’s behalf. According to Nidhi Thakar, CEBA’s vice president for policy, this bring-your-own-resource program can be scaled nationally to bring new energy resources to the system more quickly.
[USA] Champlain Hudson transmission project market rules approved
As of April 13, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the market rules for the Champlain Hudson Power Express project. [1] The project is a $6-billion, 1,250 MW merchant transmission line that will start delivering hydropower from Canada to New York City in May 2026. [2] The line spans over 300 miles and is slated to deliver 10.4 TWh a year from Hydro-Québec under a 25-year contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. [3] The market rules that were approved include revisions to New York ISO’s (NYISO) Open Access Transmission Tariff and its Market Administration and Control Area Services Tariff. The revisions will allow NYISO to integrate the project’s physical reservation model with the ISO’s financial reservation system. The project will be NYISO’s first transmission facility that employs physical reservations to allocate transmission rights.
[2] https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Large-Scale-Renewables/Tier-Four
[3] https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/20200529162139-ER20-1214-000.pdf
[USA] DOE announces funding for critical minerals processing and manufacturing
As of April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $500 million in funding aimed at strengthening domestic critical minerals and materials processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling capabilities. The initiative is focused on scaling supply chains for key minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite, which are essential inputs for batteries used in electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage, and other electrified systems. The funding will be allocated through competitive programs that support projects across multiple stages of the supply chain, including raw materials processing, advanced manufacturing of battery components, and recycling systems to recover critical materials. The program is intended to reduce dependence on foreign supply sources, increase domestic production capacity, and support long-term resilience in energy and industrial supply chains, particularly as electricity demand growth continues to accelerate across transportation, grid storage, and electrified infrastructure.
[USA] Hitachi Energy announces new Power Electronics Center in North Carolina
As of April 10, 2026, Hitachi Energy announced a $10 million investment to establish a new Power Electronics Center of Competence in North Carolina. [1] The center will focus on the engineering, testing, and system integration of advanced power electronics used in transmission and distribution systems. According to Hitachi Energy these technologies are critical for maintaining grid stability, managing voltage fluctuations, and enabling higher penetration of renewable energy sources. The facility is also designed to support the growing electricity needs of large industrial loads, particularly data centers and electrified infrastructure, by improving the speed and reliability of grid interconnection processes. In addition to technical functions, the investment is expected to expand the company’s U.S. engineering and R&D presence, supporting collaboration with utilities, developers, and industrial customers on grid modernization and high-voltage equipment deployment.
[USA] Large load tariffs grow prevalent as states regulate data centers actively
As of March 31, 2026, the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) Database of Emerging Large Load Tariffs indicated that state policymakers are looking to large load tariffs as a way to shield ratepayers from the surge in interconnection requests from data centers, with 77 tariffs pending or in place across 36 states. [1] In 2025, state regulators approved 29 large load tariffs, compared to 14 between 2018 and 2024. [2] The database has added 12 entries and 3 more states since it was last updated in November 2025. The definition of large load has evolved as the size of projects have grown; utilities used to define them using a threshold of five, 10, or 25 MW a few years ago, but now define them as 50 MW or more. These tariffs ask loads to pay more of the upfront costs for studies or power delivery infrastructure, minimum contract terms, minimum load guarantees, and more, in case a project falls through. Early evidence shows that although it is too soon to tell if tariffs are effective, they can eliminate speculative requests from the pipeline. AEP Ohio cut its large load forecast by over 50% after a large load tariff was approved in 2025 despite inflated data center demand.
[1] https://sepapower.org/large-load-tariffs-database/
[2] https://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?CaseNo=24-0508
[USA] Solar installations declined in 2025
As of March 31, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) found that solar developers installed 26.5 GW in 2025, down 22% from the 33.8 GW they installed the previous year in 2024. [1] Despite this, solar still led all other sources in 2025 installations. [2] According to FERC, solar makes up 12.2% of installed generating capacity in the US, behind natural gas at 42.2% and coal at 14.3%. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar installations remained largely the same year over year, but volumes fell by almost 40% in the fourth quarter. By the end of 2025, installations totaled just under 35 GW as many utility-scale projects were delayed into 2026 and 2027. FERC data suggests that natural gas added fewer units in 2025 at 84, compared with 122 the previous year, despite a 1.5 GW increase in installed capacity. Wind capacity grew with 5.7 GW of additions in 2025 compared to 4.5 GW the year before. No new nuclear capacity came online in 2025.
[1] https://cms.ferc.gov/media/energy-infrastructure-update-december-2025
[2] https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2025-year-in-review/
[USA] DOE declares that emergencies requiring coal plants to run need not be imminent
The DOE’s May 23 2025 order directing Consumers Energy to continue running a coal plant in West Olive, Michigan, past retirement, faced challenges from Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, the Sierra Club, and other groups. [1] They contend that the DOE failed to show the Midcontinent region around the plant faces an energy emergency. In response, the DOE told a federal appeals court that the DOE secretary has broad authority under the Federal Power Act to declare emergencies to prevent power plants from retiring, and that they need not be imminent. [2] In a March 17 brief with the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, the DOE states that the statute’s text grants the secretary discretion to determine that an emergency exists. [3] In these orders, the DOE asserts that the power plants need to keep running to prevent blackouts in the face of rising electric demand. Under the Federal Power Act, the DOE has not allowed these orders to lapse, issuing new 90-day orders when the old ones expire.
[1] https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27899615/doe202cbrief.pdf
[3] https://www.energy.gov/ceser/does-use-federal-power-act-emergency-authority