According to a May 5, 2025, filing, PJM transmission owners think that the national interest would be best served by a quick dismissal of the proceeding of a 90-day pause in deliberations over the PJM Interconnection’s rules for colocating data centers at power plants. [1] They urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to dismiss a call for stakeholder settlement talks to instead encourage parties to focus on obtaining service under the rules currently in place. [2] The transmission owners include American Electric Power, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Exelon, FirstEnergy, and PPL Electric. The outcome of FERC’s review could set a precedent for colocated load in the power markets the agency oversees, arriving during a surge in data center development in the US.
[USA] Energy Department slashes 47 costly regulations in mass deregulatory effort
As of May 12, 2025, the US Department of Energy announced the first step in its largest deregulatory effort, proposing the elimination or reduction of 47 regulations. [1] These actions include elimination or modification to consumer appliance standards, regulations limiting building and energy production, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements for grant recipients. [2] The list of regulations targets many longstanding energy efficiency standards for appliances. Trump also signed a series of bills eliminating regulations that were enacted at the end of the Biden administration, making them subject to the Congressional Review Act. This means that Congress and the president can undo rules passed at the end of a previous administration more easily. The rules covered tankless natural gas water heaters, commercial refrigerators, freezers, and walk-in coolers.
[2] https://clyde.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3143
[USA] DOE halts fossil fuel ban for federal buildings
As of May 5, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has delayed the compliance date for new provisions regarding Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings (CER). [1] The action delays the standards from the previous administration to limit the use of energy sources such as coal and natural gas, to power federal buildings. The original regulations, issued on May 1, 2024, required certain new federal buildings and federal buildings undergoing major renovations to reduce their fossil fuel-generated energy consumption. The delay will be implemented as DOE reviews recently released implementation guidance and a template for petitions for downward adjustments. This review is being undertaken to ensure alignment with the current administration's new energy policies relating to energy security and reliability. As a result of the action, the compliance date will be delayed for one year. During this time, federal agencies are not required to comply with the energy performance standards outlined in the regulations.
[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-halts-fossil-fuel-ban-federal-buildings
[USA] Michigan joins 17 states and DC to sue Trump administration over wind energy halt
As of May 5, 2025, Michigan joined attorneys general (AGs) from 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for halting wind energy projects. [1] The plaintiffs, which included New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware, filed the suit against President Trump, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and the Department of Commerce, among others. The AGs allege that their states are being harmed by Trump’s executive order that halted federal approvals for onshore and offshore wind energy projects. In a press release, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General said that the directive threatens to thwart states’ significant investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development, investments that already total billions of dollars. The lawsuit states that “the Wind Directive has stopped most wind-energy development in its tracks, despite the fact that wind energy is a homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and supplies more than 10% of the country’s electricity.”
[1] https://www.mass.gov/doc/offshore-wind-complaint/download
[USA] Summer capacity prices jump to $666.50/MW-day for MISO
As of April 29, 2025, MISO’s capacity prices for the upcoming summer season jumped to $666.50/MW-day from $30/MW-day last year across the operator’s footprint, partially driven by declining surplus capacity, according to the results of its latest planning resource auction. [1] MISO used a reliability-based demand curve for the first time, which introduced a reliability-focused pricing structure that reflects the increasing value of accredited capacity as the system approaches minimum resource adequacy targets. [2] In a press release, MISO’s vice president of system planning and competitive transmission stated that the operator’s market reforms continue to assist in providing pricing signals that improve market efficiency and enhance reliability across the footprint. The auction results leave MISO’s northern and central regions with a 10.1% reserve margin for the summer and its southern region with an 8.7% margin for the same period. Most of MISO’s Load Serving Entities (LSEs) either self-supply or secure the capacity they need prior to the auction. Those that enter the auction to procure capacity must pay the Auction Clearing Price and those holding excess sell it at that price. The impact on consumer costs would vary, depending on the size of capacity shortfalls and the terms of wholesale power purchase agreements or state-regulated retail rates.
[1] https://cdn.misoenergy.org/2025%20PRA%20Results%20Posting%2020250428694160.pdf
[USA] EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2025
Published as of April 15, 2025, the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2025 (AEO2025) explores potential long-term energy trends in the US, including projections of energy consumption and supply. [1] The report can help stakeholders examine the ways in which the US energy system could change through 2050. [2] According to AEO2025, total energy consumption in the US will decline through 2040 before increasing again, due to efficiency and the report’s methodology. The report also indicates significant growth in renewable electricity production through 2050, alongside a decline in coal generation. It forecasts growth from 2.57 quads of wind and solar in 2024 to 13.92 quads in 2050. Coal production will decline from 10.26 quads in 2024 to 2.78 quads in 2050. Meanwhile, natural gas production is expected to rise modestly to 43.5 quads in 2050 up from 40 quads in 2024. In a statement, Department of Energy spokesperson Andrea Woods stated that the report reflects the “disastrous path for American energy production under the Biden Administration.”
[1] https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/2025/AEO2025-narrative.pdf
[2] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-statement-eia-annual-energy-outlook
[USA] FERC approves the PJM capacity auction price cap and floor
As of April 21, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the PJM Interconnection’s proposal to set a price cap and price floor for its next two capacity auctions. [1] This is despite facing opposition from the grid operator’s market monitor LS Power and others. In a 4-0 decision, FERC stated that current market conditions in PJM support a time-limited collar on the capacity market price for two delivery years. [2] The proposal of a $325/MW-day price cap and $175/MW-day floor for its 2026/27 and 2027/28 delivery year base capacity auctions came out of settlement discussions with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. [3] Shapiro filed a complaint at FERC in December seeking to lower the auction’s price cap. Without the collar, the price cap for the next capacity auction in July would have been $500/MW-day and the floor would have been zero dollars. FERC said the proposal represents a balanced approach that addresses past issues with delays by improving short-term cost certainty for electricity consumers and revenue certainty for capacity resource owners. In the meantime, PJM plans to revise key inputs into its capacity price settling process eventually and implement interconnection queue process reforms according to FERC.
[3] https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_number=20250421-3069&optimized=false
[USA] Trump administration orders Empire Wind offshore wind project construction to cease
As of April 16, 2025, the US Department of the Interior has directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to order the 810 megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1 project to cease all construction pending further review, announced Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. [1] Burgum alleged that the project was rushed through by the previous administration without sufficient analysis, in a letter to BOEM. [2] The letter states that there was insufficient consultation among relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project, and that construction will remain halted until the deficiencies are addressed. [3] Equinor, the project developer, stated that all offshore construction for the project would be safely halted, but they would engage with relevant authorities to clarify the matter and consider legal remedies. [4] According to a statement by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, D, the New York project is a fully federally permitted one which had already “put shovels in the ground” prior to the President’s executive orders. BOEM had approved Empire Wind 1’s construction and operations plan in February – a final step in the process of authorizing an offshore wind project. The only steps remaining are the lessee’s submission of a facility design report and fabrication and installation report, according to the agency.
[3] https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/statement-governor-kathy-hochul-74
[USA] Trump administration ordered by court to reinstate IRA funding
On April 15, 2025, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to take immediate action to reinstate the funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that had already been awarded, after the president had frozen it on his first day in office. [1] Judge Mary McElroy of the US District court for Rhode Island ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and the Departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior and Agriculture to release the awards that were previously withheld, after the ruling. [2] The ruling applies to all awardees across the nation and will remain in effect until McElroy rules on the merits of the lawsuit. The ruling impedes President Trump’s plans to block the Biden administration’s climate funding law, which provides billions of dollars and tax credits for domestic manufacturers. The IIJA provides billions of dollars in clean energy funding. After the funding freeze, six nonprofits sued the agencies in March in an attempt to access their funding, after the other court orders had failed. McElroy’s grant of a preliminary injunction requires agencies to turn the funding back on while the case is pending.
[1] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.59116/gov.uscourts.rid.59116.45.0.pdf
[2] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.59116/gov.uscourts.rid.59116.1.0.pdf
[USA] FERC and proposed ROE for Valley Link transmission project
As of April 4, 2025, filings submitted by stakeholders to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) suggest that the agency should reduce the proposed return on equity (ROE) and deny various incentives for a $3 billion transmission project planned by Transource Energy, Dominion Energy, and FirstEnergy. [1] The Valley Link transmission, which includes two 765-kV backbone transmission lines, is part of the PJM Interconnection’s latest Regional Transmission Expansion Plan, which was approved by their board in February. [2] The project is set to be built by Valley Link Transmission, a joint venture between Transource, which is owned by American Electric Power and Evergy, FirstEnergy, and Dominion. [3] In mid-March, Valley Link asked FERC to approve formula rates and transmission incentives for the project, which the company said will ensure reliability and collaboration at a time when cost-effective regional transmission development is essential. According to the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, the incentive package results in an impermissible transfer of risk onto residential ratepayers. According to the OPC, the proposed base ROE of 10.9% is too high, which is why they urged FERC to reject Valley Link’s application.
[2] https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_number=20250404-5218&optimized=false
[3] https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_number=20250314-5309&optimized=false
[USA] Regulatory relief for certain stationary sources to promote American energy
As of April 8, 2025, the White House issued an executive order to amend a prior EPA rule titled National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review, 89 FR 38508, which reformed the existing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule to make it more stringent. [1] The order states that coal-fired generation is necessary as an affordable means to promote energy security and the prior EPA rule represents an “unattainable” emissions control standard that jeopardizes the use of coal. The order goes on to discuss how the rule places severe burdens on coal-fired power plants by requiring compliance with standards for emissions-control technologies that do not yet exist in a “commercially viable form.” The order suggests that the current compliance timeline of the rule raises the risk of the shutdown of many coal-fired power plants, which threatens economic and energy security. It also states that certain stationary sources subject to the rule are exempt from compliance for 2 years beyond the compliance date.
[USA] PJM fast-track interconnection process draws 26.6 GW in proposals
As of March 21, 2025, the PJM Interconnection’s Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI), a fast-track interconnection process, attracted 94 applications totaling 26.6 GW. [1] The projects include new and uprated nuclear and natural gas-fired power plants, as well as new battery storage. [2] Half of the proposals are new projects and the other half increase capacity at existing power plants. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved PJM’s one-time RRI in mid-February on a 3-1 vote. PJM will consider adding up to 50 shovel-ready projects that meet certain reliability and commercial operation date criteria to the recently-started interconnection Transition Cycle 2. The RRI proposal is in response to PJM’s concerns that its power supply margins are declining in the face of power plant retirements and growing demand. PJM estimates that its initiative could bring about 10 GW online 18 months earlier than if the projects followed the normal interconnection process.
[1] https://insidelines.pjm.com/reliability-resource-initiative-draws-94-applications/
[2] https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/filelist?accession_number=20250211-3120&optimized=false
[USA] DOE identifies 16 federal sites across the country for data center and AI infrastructure development
As of April 3, 2025, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to continue promoting artificial intelligence (AI) while lowering energy costs by co-locating data centers and new energy infrastructure on DOE lands. [1] DOE has released a Request for Information (RFI) to inform the potential use of DOE land for AI infrastructure development to support the growing demand for data centers. The DOE has identified 16 possible sites for rapid data center construction, including those with in-place energy infrastructure that can facilitate fast-track permitting for new energy generation, such as nuclear. The Department is seeking input from data center developers, energy developers, and the broader public to advance the partnership further. This information will be used to inform development, encourage private-public partnerships, and enable the construction of AI infrastructure at select DOE sites with a target of commencing operation by the end of 2027.
[USA] US biodiesel use increases outside of the transportation sector
As of March 26, 2025, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that a small but increasing amount of biodiesel in the US is consumed in the residential, commercial, and electric power sectors. [1] Previously, all US biodiesel consumption was allocated to the transportation sector, where a vast majority is consumed. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced using fats, oils, or greases usually blended with petroleum diesel and consumed by trucks. In 2023, the transportation sector accounted for about 95% of the 46 million barrels of biodiesel consumed in the United States. Biodiesel can also be blended with heating oil to heat homes and businesses. Residential and commercial sectors combined accounted for nearly 5% of US total biodiesel consumption in 2023, up from about 1% a decade before. The introduction of biofuel blending mandates for heating oil in some northeastern states is contributing to this growth.
[1] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64824
[USA] Texas Senate passes bill to establish dispatchable power credits trading program
As of March 20, 2025, the Texas Senate passed a bill to create a new dispatchable power credits trading program that would require utilities, generation companies, and electric cooperatives in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) territory to offset new renewables and battery capacity with an equal amount of new dispatchable capacity beginning as early as next year. [1] The bill defines dispatchable generation to exclude batteries and exempts companies that only operate battery storage systems. S.B.388 updates a 25-year-old section of the Texas Utilities Code to reflect the intent of the legislature that 50 percent of the megawatts of generating capacity installed in ERCOT power region after January 1, 2026, be sourced from dispatchable generation other than battery energy storage. It requires the Texas Public Utilities Commission to establish a program through which covered utilities and power generation companies would buy dispatchable power credits to cover any deficit in dispatchable generation capacity under the companies’ ownership or control. The bill says that the PUC must activate the credit trading program if it determines that dispatchable generation may provide less than 55 percent of all new generating capacity installed in the ERCOT power region after January 1, 2026.
[USA] MISO proposes framework to accelerate generation interconnection
As of March 17, 2025, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) asked federal regulators to approve an Expedited Resource Addition Study process (ERAS) to provide a framework for the accelerated study of generation projects that can address urgent resource adequacy and reliability needs in the near term. [1] MISO asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve the ERAS proposal to be effective by May 17. MISO is on pace for near-term capacity shortfalls, if resource retirements continue as planned. MISO told FERC that recent surveys and forecasts demonstrate the urgency with which MISO needs to address significant resource adequacy needs in its footprint that are compounded by the addition of unexpected large spot loads. In its proposal, MISO said that the ERAS proposal is their answer to addressing these resource adequacy and reliability needs in the near term. MISO said it wants to sunset ERAS by the end of 2028, reflecting its intention for these projects to be completed as soon as possible and providing sufficient time to complete other queue process improvements.
[1] https://cdn.misoenergy.org/2025-03-17_Docket%20No.%20ER25-1674-000685943.pdf
[USA] EPA withdraws air quality permit for 1.5-GW Atlantic Shores offshore wind project
As of March 14, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remanded the Atlantic Shores wind energy project’s Clean Air Act permit. [1] The Environmental Appeals Board said EPA’s Region 2 office, which covers New Jersey, requested the voluntary remand so that the region may reevaluate the project and its environmental impacts. [2] This is in light of President Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, which mandated a pause on offshore wind leasing and a review of existing leases. The filing said that Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind filed a March 7 response objecting to the remand, asserting that the Region 2 didn’t provide good cause for it, but the board said it has broad discretion over the voluntary remand. Region 2’s review of the permit will involve conferring with other executive branch agencies regarding further evaluation of various impacts that may result from the Project, including environmental concerns.
[USA] DOE approves LNG export permit extension for Golden Pass
As of March 5, 2025, the US Department of Energy (DOE) approved a liquefied natural gas export permit extension for Golden Pass LNG. [1] The project is owned by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil and is under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas. This is the third LNG project authorization by the DOE since President Trump took office, reversing the Biden administration “pause” on export approvals. Golden Pass is set to begin exporting as early as later this year and will become the ninth large-scale export terminal operating in the United States. Once completed, Golden Pass will be able to export almost 2.57 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG. The DOE’s decision follows two February actions: the export approval for Commonwealth LNG and the order on rehearing that removed barriers to using LNG as “bunkering fuel” used by the ships transporting it.
[USA] Ontario applies 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the US
As of March 10, 2025, the Ontario government has applied a 25 per cent surcharge on all electricity exports to the United States as part of their initial retaliatory measures against US tariffs on Canada. [1] The surcharge will affect 1.5 million homes in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York, costing up to $400,000 every day that it remains in place. Any generator selling electricity to the US is required to add a 25 per cent surcharge valued at $10 per megawatt-hour (MWh) to the cost of power. This surcharge is in addition to the initial round of $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs. Ontario currently exports electricity generated across the province directly to Michigan, New York, and Minnesota. Between 2021 and 2023, Ontario exported 14.6, 14.2, and 12.0 terawatt hours of electricity to the United States. Ontario has 26 transmission connections with neighboring jurisdictions: 11 with Quebec, three with Manitoba, one with Minnesota, four with Michigan, and seven with New York.
[USA] PJM board approves $6.7B transmission expansion plan
As of February 26, 2025, the PJM Interconnection board approved $5.9 billion in new transmission projects to bolster reliability across the grid operator’s footprint. [1] That, along with the changes to the scope and cost of existing projects, mean PJM’s latest Regional Transmission Expansion Plan is set to cost $6.7 billion, according to the grid operator. [2] The plan contains a modified version of a proposal to build a 765-kV, multistate transmission backbone offered by American Electric Power, Dominion Energy Virginia, and FirstEnergy. [3] This $4.6 billion set of projects aims to bolster west-east regional power transfers according to PJM staff analysis of its recommended plan. The plan calls for 260 miles of 765-kV transmission line between Putnam County, West Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland. It also calls for a 155-mile line between Campbell and Fauquier counties in Virginia, according to AEP. The board also approved a revised cost estimate - $1.5 billion, up from $739 million – for transmission additions, PJM needs to allow Talen Energy to retire its coal-fired Brandon Shores power plant in Maryland. Exelon subsidiaries Baltimore Gas and Electric, PECO Energy, and Potomac Edison will be the projects’ primary builders.