Record-setting geothermal bid signals rising interest in federal leases

One parcel in New Mexico sold for $701 per acre in June. Analysts cited stronger bidder competition as the Bureau of Land Management prepares for another lease sale in Utah scheduled for Aug. 18.

By Marlene Wilden • Aug. 13, 2026

Texas hits new peak demand record, but supply constraints will limit growth

Ascend Analytics says more than 80% of new large loads seeking interconnection will not have matching generation online by 2030, even as data centers and industrial demand continue to surge.

By Marlene Wilden • Aug. 12, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

Xcel asks Colorado Supreme Court to facilitate wind farm interconnection

In June, a district court judge rejected PSCo’s effort to acquire roughly 550 feet of easement via eminent domain to connect two nearly complete wind farms totaling more than 1 GW. The utility says the project delays are harming ratepayers.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 12, 2026

The US infrastructure buildout needs more than capital

The country is not short on infrastructure ambition; what it risks running short on is orchestration, writes Daryl Walcroft, PwC's capital projects and infrastructure leader.

By Daryl Walcroft • Aug. 11, 2026

Caterpillar sales surpass $20B as generators for data centers take off

Power generation retail sales grew 72% year over year. To meet demand, the company is resuming production of a 10-MW medium-speed gas reciprocating engine platform it stopped manufacturing in 2022, said CEO and Chairman Joseph Creed.

By Nathan Owens • Aug. 11, 2026

Evergy has 3 GW of large loads signed and a 5-GW generation pipeline

The company is in “advanced discussions” with large-load customers representing another 1 to 2 GW, CEO David Campbell said during a second-quarter earnings call.

By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 11, 2026

Vistra supports Texas data center pause, execs say

“I'd like to see the queues culled, at the end of the day,” said Vistra CEO Jim Burke in a second quarter earnings call.

By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 10, 2026

PPL-Blackstone joint venture secures 5 GW of gas turbines for data centers in Pennsylvania

Although the PJM Interconnection aims to hold a backstop reliability auction in late September, Vincent Sorgi, PPL president and CEO, said he expects bilateral contracting will be the main pathway for adding generation in the region.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 10, 2026

Siemens Energy’s gas turbine backlog nears 70 GW as company expands manufacturing

The company booked 15 GW in new orders this quarter, executives said, with lead times running three years or more. It also plans to expand its transformer manufacturing capacity 50% by 2030.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 10, 2026

Constellation CEO: Existing power plants are ‘bedrock’ in supplying data centers

Constellation Energy expects Texas’ Batch Zero large load interconnection process will resume without “meaningful delay.”

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 7, 2026

Data center power sales drive $220M increase in TVA’s net income

The federal utility’s total operating revenue was $10 billion over the first nine months of the fiscal year, up 3% year over year, with a net income of $965 million.

By Diana DiGangi • Aug. 6, 2026

NRG nears 1.2-GW hyperscaler deal amid Texas data center pause

President and CEO Robert Gaudette said NRG’s approach to delivering customer-backed capacity would thrive in a more restrictive environment for data center development. 

By Brian Martucci • Updated Aug. 6, 2026

Duke Energy to issue $10B in equity to capture gas generation growth opportunity

President and CEO Harry Sideris said the company is deploying more than $1 billion per month to meet “record demand.” Advocates in North Carolina say the utility has exaggerated growth projections to justify its spending plan.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 6, 2026

PSEG offers large load supply proposals in PJM’s bilateral contracting process

Also, Public Service Enterprise Group is “encouraged” by potential changes to the utility business model in New Jersey, CEO Ralph LaRossa said.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 5, 2026

Southern Co. contracted large load rises to 17 GW

Recently announced projects include a 3.2-GW OpenAI data center near Savannah, Georgia. The contract includes 1 GW of “flexible demand response” for peak shaving — the first such flexibility provision the company has codified with a data center customer.

By Meris Lutz • Aug. 4, 2026

Dominion offshore wind project cost rises nearly $300M

The increase is due to revised network upgrade costs assigned by the PJM Interconnection, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in April and updated turbine installation projections, executives said.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 3, 2026

AEP secures 13 GW of gas turbines as generation ‘central’ to growth plans

Turbines are “a scarce resource and will become increasingly more valuable,” AEP’s Bill Fehrman said. “We're going to continue to be aggressive in our positions on this.”

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 3, 2026

PJM files backstop auction plan at FERC to meet capacity shortfall

The proposal aims to fill a capacity shortfall driven by surging data center demand, which could grow by 70 GW by 2038, according to the PJM Interconnection. The success of the plan depends on states taking steps to protect their retail customers from cost shifts, it said.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 3, 2026

Exelon ‘high probability’ data center load falls 40%

The drop to 11 GW reflects Exelon’s ability to weed out speculative projects through “transmission security agreements,” said CFO Jeanne Jones.

By Ethan Howland • Updated July 31, 2026

Under pressure, Entergy looks to mitigate cost of $1.8B Texas gas plant purchase

“We know that Cottonwood isn't the shiniest new plant out there,” Entergy CEO Drew Marsh told analysts. The deal is “increasingly in doubt,” one says.

By Robert Walton • July 30, 2026

FirstEnergy data center contracts surge 50% in Q2

Mon Power, a FirstEnergy subsidiary, plans to assess a surcharge on its customers to help finance $2.7 billion in generation it is building in West Virginia, mainly for a data center.

By Ethan Howland • Updated Aug. 3, 2026

CMS Energy plans to sell renewable assets to focus on regulated utilities

The Jackson, Michigan-based company said the move would simplify its corporate structure, net about $500 million and set it up to generate nearly all of its earnings from its regulated utilities after 2027.

By Brian Martucci • July 29, 2026

Behind the New York data center pause is legislation that could impact existing facilities

Legislation that’s been put on the back burner while the moratorium is in effect would require large data centers to procure at least a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and might impact those with water-intensive cooling, analyses show.

By Joe Burns • July 28, 2026

PJM board proposes backstop capacity auction, data center curtailment plans

FERC’s response to the proposals will likely “influence utility capital investment, data center development timelines and the allocation of reliability risks and costs,” ClearView Energy Partners said.

By Ethan Howland • Updated July 28, 2026

BNEF chip-based model pegs US data center demand at 207 GW by 2033

A base model anticipates U.S. data center demand of about 118 GW by 2030. As potential demand and proposed data center size both grow, so does the complexity in forecasting, analysts said.

By Robert Walton • July 28, 2026