The Latest
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TVA pursues 6.2 GW of new generation, citing data centers, population growth
Data center demand “climbed to 18% of our industrial load in 2025, and we are projecting data center growth to double in our region by 2030,” said CEO Don Moul.
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Tesla sets battery storage deployment record in Q4 as EV sales slump
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said “energy will have very high growth for as far into the future as we can imagine.”
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AI, ICE protests and karaoke: DistribuTECH comes to San Diego
“As an industry, we’ve gone from ‘Keep the lights on and stay out of the news,’ to now being the lead story for energy independence, national security and AI development,” said Del Misenheimer, GE Vernova’s VP and CEO of grid automation and software.
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Opinion
Why reinforcement learning belongs in residential utility billing
Accurate billing is often treated as a back-office function, but billing errors undermine customer confidence, discourage conservation and expose utilities to risk, writes Metergy Solutions analyst Yueqi Tian.
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Landfill solar projects have taken off but still face practical limitations
The United States now has hundreds of solar installations on closed landfills. Increasing that number could prove tricky, however, as remaining sites may be limited by shifting federal policy, remediation costs and geography.
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Trump administration is now 0-5 in latest effort to halt offshore wind
Ørsted’s 924-MW Sunrise Wind was the fifth and final affected project to win a preliminary injunction. Like others, it said the government refused to share information about alleged national security risks invoked in the blanket ban.
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Utility conferences to watch in 2026
See our annual list of notable power-sector conferences where industry leaders will share knowledge in a rapidly-changing landscape.
Updated Jan. 30, 2026 -
Transmission planning, development improved since 2023 in most US regions: report
However, the grade for Texas slipped to a "D-” and the Southeast continues to get failing marks, according to a report released Tuesday by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid.
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Tariffs lifted nonresidential construction costs 3.2% in 2025
Trade policy will “continue to put upward pressure on certain materials” in 2026, said the chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors. In December, copper wire and cable jumped 22% year over year. Iron and steel were up 12%.
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Coal plant owners say DOE ‘emergency’ order to run it violates Constitution
By mandating the generator’s availability to operate, the order “constitutes both a physical taking and a regulatory taking” of property by the government without just compensation or due process, they said in a request for rehearing.
Updated Feb. 2, 2026 -
Opinion
Quick fixes won’t solve high energy bills
As grid spending increases, policymakers should look beyond residential customers to cover costs, writes Arjun Krishnaswami, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.
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Trump signs bill increasing DOE’s wind and solar spending by $250M
The White House asked that Congress zero out the solar and wind energy programs of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, but lawmakers provided $320 million to those two Energy Department programs.
Updated Feb. 2, 2026 -
Gas, electricity prices spiked year over year in November: EIA
The residential price of electricity rose 5.5% in November compared with November 2024, while the price of gas rose 88.5%, according to the Energy Information Administration.
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Deep Dive
Customers, don’t expect electric bill relief in 2026: ‘The cake is baked.’
Energy affordability has long been a problem for the poorest Americans, but now middle-income families are starting to feel the squeeze.
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(2025). "ENERGY STAR NextGen Certification for Commercial Buildings" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Energy Star.
Energy Star gets full 2026 funding from Congress
Despite the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate the program, it received $33 million as part of a fiscal 2026 funding bill signed by the president.
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Opinion
The AI boom needs power. Tariffs can make it fair.
Large load tariffs can be used to deliver community benefits, lock in clean, reliable power and strengthen energy resilience, writes Ava Community Energy’s Olivia Vasquez.
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2026 US power sector outlook
Read Utility Dive's road map to the year ahead for FERC, affordability, renewable energy, distributed energy resources and more.
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NERC forecasts peak demand to rise 24% on new data center loads
“The system is changing faster than the infrastructure needed to support it,” said John Moura, NERC's director of reliability assessments and performance analysis.
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Katich, David. (2020). "WAPA DSW HEC operations being completed mid-air". Retrieved from Western Area Power Administration.
DOE nixes $1.8B loan to Arizona Public Service for transmission, renewables and storage
“Additional de-obligations are in process but cannot be publicly disclosed until finalized,” said Olivia Tinari, deputy press secretary for DOE’s Office of Public Affairs.
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PJM prepares to call on data center, large load backup generation to avoid blackouts
However, it is unclear how much generation could be available, and the grid operator doubts it will be needed during the ongoing bitter cold.
Updated Jan. 30, 2026 -
GE Vernova Q4 gas turbine orders surge 74%
Wind turbine orders increased 8% in 2025 — mainly outside the U.S. — despite the Trump administration’s efforts to stifle offshore wind development.
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Retrieved from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Deep DiveFERC in 2026: Rising costs cloud regulators’ options on data centers, transmission and more
DOE’s colocation proposal and transmission planning reforms will set FERC’s agenda this year against a backdrop of rising concern over affordability, former commission chairmen and experts say in our 2026 outlook.
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US coal generation jumped 31% during Winter Storm Fern: EIA
Gas generation in the Lower 48 states increased 14%, while solar, wind and hydropower contributions declined from the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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NextEra bets on gas as data center pipeline remains steady at about 15 GW
The company touted gas supply and pipeline acquisitions. “We expect more gas-fired generation ... so having the ability to move molecules around the country is a critical skill set,” said CEO John Ketchum.
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Retrieved from Senate EPW on January 29, 2026
Republican, Democratic senators call for project certainty at permitting reform hearing
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said permitting talks could resume if the Trump administration stops its moves to thwart wind and solar projects.