The Latest

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    Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo via Getty Images
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    Utilities under pressure: 6 power sector trends to watch in 2026

    Facing rising demand and aggressive load growth projections, utilities are rolling out massive spending plans. Now they'll have to walk a fine line with regulators and ratepayers.

  • Construction crews work on a data center.
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    George Frey via Getty Images
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    Labor, tariffs collide with data center boom

    Contractors report booming demand for certain types of builds, particularly data centers and power projects to support them. But outside those sectors, workforce shortages and tariffs weigh on construction.

  • An aerial view of a nuclear plant next to a river
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Project finance is the missing link for the nuclear buildout we need

    This model fuels nearly every major energy infrastructure investment and should be applied to nuclear, too, writes Ruhani Arya of Bank of America.

  • Energy Dome, CO2 battery, Google
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    Courtesy of Energy Dome
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    Google sees CO2 batteries as large-scale way to store renewable energy

    The tech giant is working with a Milan-based company called Energy Dome, which has built a model facility in Ottana, Sardinia, Italy. As part of the partnership, Google has made an equity investment in the company.

  • Three men in blue shirts stand at desks with a bank of computer screens.
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    Permission granted by PJM Interconnection
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    PJM board calls for backstop auction in data center interconnection plan

    The PJM Interconnection’s board also called on stakeholders to consider extending a price collar on capacity auctions to limit their effect on ratepayers.

  • A power plant with smoke stacks at the edge of a river.
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    The image by Acroterion is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Opinion

    A PJM backstop auction could fill the large load supply gap: Talen CEO

    Reliability backstop auctions should not be a permanent, ongoing market feature, but they are the answer to today’s problem, writes Talen CEO Mac McFarland.

  • A high-voltage transmission line runs through barren woods.
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    Permission granted by Minnesota Power
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    Xcel-led coalition proposes Minnesota-North Dakota transmission expansion

    All new infrastructure for the line would be within the right-of-way of an existing 345-kV line that faces thermal and voltage issues, the five utilities said.

  • A nuclear power plant near a body of water.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Trump administration pushes PJM to hold ‘emergency’ auction to supply data centers

    Capstone analysts said the proposal lacks binding authority, “reinforcing that this is policy signaling, not an imminent market reform.”

  • President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    The week in 5 numbers: DJT v. PJM, offshore wind prevails in court

    In another legal setback, a judge said the government violated the Constitution by canceling clean energy grants.

  • Transmission towers against a dark sky
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    US and allies collaborate on operational technology security guidance

    A new report for critical infrastructure operators stresses the importance of logging, network segmentation and strong authentication, among other practices.

  • A power plant with smoke stacks at the edge of a river.
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    The image by Acroterion is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Talen in deal to buy 2.6 GW of gas plants in PJM for $3.5B

    The announcement comes amid a surge in power sector consolidation, as generators jockey to meet growing demand from data centers and electrification efforts.

  • A power plant and wind turbines stand along a hillside.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    PJM trims near-term load forecast on stricter data center vetting, economic outlook

    However, the PJM Interconnection expects long-term load growth to surge past its estimates released a year ago.

  • Offshore wind farm turbines spin over the ocean.
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    Global wind power additions to decline 6% in 2026: WoodMac

    A development slowdown in China will drive the decline, but policy challenges in the United States will also “curb wind’s buildout,” according to analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

  • People walk through an area illuminated by a portable floor light in Grand Central Terminal following a power outage.
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    Alexi J. Rosenfeld via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The data center dependency crisis: When our grid can’t function without big tech

    We're sleepwalking into a future where our electric grid depends on the voluntary cooperation of private technology companies because the short-term benefits are too attractive to resist, writes Mothusi Pahl of Hartwell and Loche.

  • New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy
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    Michael Loccisano via Getty Images
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    NJ governor seeks changes to ‘weaken’ large load tariff bill, lawmaker says

    “We are not willing to bend to any changes to this bill,” Assemblyman David Bailey Jr. told Utility Dive. “If he does nothing, in essence, he pocket vetoes it ... That’s on him.”

  • Electric transmission lines run up a hill through a wooded area.
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    Courtesy of Public Service Electric and Gas
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    Public Citizen challenges cost recovery for $546M PSE&G transmission project

    A $6.6 million settlement between Public Service Electric and Gas and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission indicates costs from the project were imprudent, Public Citizen said.

  • Batteries installed at the Viejas Microgrid project
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    Retrieved from U.S. Department of Energy.
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    Xcel defends storage ownership in distributed capacity pilot

    The Minnesota utility floated modifications to its Capacity*Connect proposal, but it maintained it should own the batteries as it builds out the program. Stakeholders argued for more competition.

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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    America’s new power barons: Who will rule the AI-grade megawatt megasector?

    The winning model will be hybrid: gas for firmness, renewables for optics and cost, and storage for stability, writes NOVUS Energy Advisors’ Emily Easley.

  • An overview of a worker testing copper coils.
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    Getty Images
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    Tariffs push construction input prices higher

    The latest PPI report presents “plenty of cause for concern,” according to Associated Builders and Contractors. Switchgear, switchboard and industrial controls equipment was up 11.1% from last year; copper wire and cable were up 11.7% and unprocessed energy materials were down 4.9%.

  • Rows of electric power lines run through a wooded area.
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    Getty Images
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    Appeals court vacates FERC decision on PJM capacity results for Delmarva zone

    The court ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revisit a complaint over $183 million in “anomalous” capacity costs for parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

  • Construction of Microsoft Azure data center campus, known as IAD01-1 and IAD01-2, on Oct. 19, 2024, in Leesburg, Va.
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    Getty Images
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    Illinois AG files objections to ComEd data center agreements at FERC

    The agreements are based on payment models in which the offtaker promises to pay a minimum and post security if its usage does not match its commitment. The state argues this does not guarantee enough revenue to cover the transmission costs.

  • A tourist couple use their phones to light the streets during a power outage
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    Jose Jimenez via Getty Images
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    SolarMax Technologies to deploy three utility-scale BESS projects in Texas, Puerto Rico

    The combined 400-MW/1-GWh deployments advance a strategic shift toward larger commercial installations amid regulatory and policy changes, the company has said.

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers the New York State of the State address on Jan. 13, 2026.
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    Retrieved from New York Governor's Office.
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    New York Gov. Hochul expands nuclear aspirations to 8-GW fleet

    On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul called for adding 5 GW of nuclear capacity to the state’s 3.4-GW fleet. The state’s new energy plan cast nuclear as key to its reliability and decarbonization goals. 

    Updated Jan. 14, 2026
  • Workshop attendees view a large map of electricity infrastructure.
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    Retrieved from Gregory Cooper/National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
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    Opinion

    Why winning the AI race requires systems intelligence, not just electric capacity

    The future won’t belong to the nations with the most generating capacity, but to those with the best grid coordination, writes Evan Caron, co-founder of Montauk Capital.

  • A person speaks while wearing a hat that says "USA".
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    Trump administration clarifies scope of tariff refunds ahead of Supreme Court ruling

    Government lawyers said in a separate case that if the Supreme Court determines IEEPA tariffs to be illegal and orders refunds, the administration would make reimbursements for all levies instituted under the statute.