Generation
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Permission granted by Consumers Energy
DOE exceeded its authority with coal retirement delay, states tell appeals court
A decision in the Consumers Energy case could set a precedent for legal challenges to Department of Energy orders keeping fossil-fueled power plants from retiring.
By Ethan Howland • May 18, 2026 -
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
Combined NextEra-Dominion would have 130-GW large-load pipeline
Analysts said the deal, which could create the largest regulated electric utility in the world, marks a shift back toward an integrated utility model. The combined business would be “anchored by a more than 80% regulated business mix,” the companies said.
By Robert Walton • May 18, 2026 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineTop 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 -
Permission granted by Erock
Sponsored by ERockData center’s onsite generation strategy could be the key to navigating community opposition
Community resistance to data centers is intensifying. Residents and local officials in states like Indiana, New York and Georgia cite a range of concerns: noise, emissions, water consumption, visual impact, land use and the fear that large new loads will require costly new grid infrastructure — with those costs passed on to ratepayers.
By Joel Yu • May 18, 2026 -
Kent Nishimura / Stringer via Getty Images
DOJ may intervene in NAACP lawsuit over xAI’s data center gas turbines
It is “the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance,” a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice wrote in a court notice suggesting it might intervene.
By Diana DiGangi • May 15, 2026 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
OpinionSecurity beyond CIP: When ‘low impact’ doesn’t mean low risk
Today’s power grid was built to handle an outage at a major facility. But there is a growing risk from many smaller resources failing at once, writes Anirban Ghosh at Black & Veatch.
By Anirban “Sunny” Ghosh • May 14, 2026 -
Retrieved from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
PJM may be ‘too big to function’: FERC Chairman Swett
Each of the 13 states in PJM, and the District of Columbia, have “fundamentally different regulatory structures, resource portfolios and politics,” FERC Chairman Laura Swett said. FERC will host a conference in July to identify potential reforms to PJM’s governance structure.
By Ethan Howland • May 13, 2026 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
2026 Q1 roundup: Utilities divided on data centers as affordability looms large
Physics, policy and politics are beginning to constrain some of the electric utility industry’s highest aspirations for data center-driven growth, Utility Dive learned in first quarter earnings calls.
By Meris Lutz • May 13, 2026 -
Permission granted by Cedric Craig
Q&AHyperscalers driving record clean energy deals: CEBA CEO
U.S. corporate clean energy procurement surpassed 27 gigawatts in 2025, with four companies accounting for about three-quarters of that capacity, Rich Powell, CEO of the newly rebranded Corporate Energy Buyers Association, said in an interview.
By Lamar Johnson • May 12, 2026 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
Constellation Energy enters 5 GW of nuclear, gas, battery capacity in PJM queue
Some potential data center customers are pausing decision-making in the PJM Interconnection to see how the grid operator’s colocation and backstop auction rules shake out, company officials said.
By Ethan Howland • May 12, 2026 -
"Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant". Retrieved from Wikipedia.
Vistra adds 4.5 GW of capacity in line with ‘reasonable’ forecasts for PJM, ERCOT
“While these views remain below many third-party forecasts and ISO projections, they reflect what we believe to be the pace of physical development,” Vistra CEO Jim Burke said of the company’s load growth projections.
By Diana DiGangi • May 11, 2026 -
Diana DiGangi/Utility Dive
PPL ‘advanced’ data center pipeline grows to 28.3 GW in Pennsylvania
A PPL-Blackstone joint venture is securing gas turbines for power plants that would serve data centers, company officials said.
By Ethan Howland • May 11, 2026 -
The image by Eversource NH is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Eversource CEO: ‘We are resisting data centers’
Data centers are of “no value to our residential customer — actually, any customer,” said Eversource Energy CEO Joe Nolan. “It's only going to drive up the price of energy.”
By Diana DiGangi • May 8, 2026 -
Courtesy of Meta
Evergy expects retail sales to rise up to 8% annually on data center growth
In response, Evergy has increased its planned gas-fired generation in Missouri to 4.7 GW. Separately, it slashed its long-term renewable energy plans more than 90%.
By Ethan Howland • May 8, 2026 -
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images via Getty Images
Deep DiveWill DOE’s ‘nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses’ solve the US nuclear waste problem?
The Department of Energy wants to collaborate with states that agree to take in and possibly recycle used nuclear fuel, and some have responded positively. But practical and policy challenges remain.
By Herman K. Trabish • May 7, 2026 -
The image by RM VM is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
NRG close to completing 415-MW gas plant backed by Texas Energy Fund
The independent power producer has another 1.1 GW of state-supported gas projects set to come online this decade as it also works to integrate 13 GW of gas-generation assets acquired from LS Power.
By Brian Martucci • May 7, 2026 -
Permission granted by PJM Interconnection
PJM floats options for capacity market overhaul
“The current situation is not tenable,” PJM President and CEO David Mills said. “The region has years, not decades, to make these choices deliberately.” The grid operator lays out three options, including shifting to an energy market model, in a white paper.
By Ethan Howland • May 7, 2026 -
PSEG CEO: Nuclear outlook for New Jersey improves on lifting of moratorium
Nuclear power plants won’t be built, however, without long-term federal financial support and hyperscaler offtake agreements, said Ralph LaRossa, Public Service Enterprise Group CEO.
By Ethan Howland • May 6, 2026 -
Permission granted by Tennessee Valley Authority
Nuclear reaches 41% of TVA’s power supply
TVA interim CEO Mike Skaggs said he wants to “[establish] clarity on our position around new nuclear technologies,” and “work with the federal administration and our board of directors to clarify TVA's path going forward.”
By Diana DiGangi • May 6, 2026 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
AEP eyes exit from PJM, SPP over slow generation interconnection
American Electric Power’s review of its market options comes amid a surge in customer demand across its multistate footprint. Its utilities have contracts for 63 GW of new large load by 2030.
By Ethan Howland • May 6, 2026 -
Permission granted by Applied-Atomics.com
Sponsored by Applied AtomicsNuclear power on a faster timeline is possible. Here is how utilities can make it work.
Safer equals faster. Looking for clean, firm power this decade? Assess your nuclear project against the Applied Atomics deployment model.
May 4, 2026 -
Megan Varner via Getty Images
Southern Co. electricity sales soar on 42% data center growth
The company has 28 large load projects representing 11 GW under contract, and Georgia Power’s first-quarter capital expenditures increased year over year from $1.6 billion to $2 billion.
By Diana DiGangi • May 1, 2026 -
The image by Steven Baltakatei Sandoval is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
TransAlta seeks $19.9M for Centralia plant’s first DOE ‘emergency’ order
The plant didn’t produce electricity, but TransAlta spent money keeping it “available” instead of retiring it as planned. It will cost another $23 million to repair it, TransAlta told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
By Ethan Howland • May 1, 2026 -
Getty Images
DTE sees up to 8.4 GW data center opportunity
The utility will supply a 1.4-GW Oracle data center under construction now, and it has submitted contracts to regulators for a 1-GW Google project also in the works.
By Robert Walton • May 1, 2026 -
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
OpinionCongress should fix the nuclear investment tax credit
A bipartisan bill would restructure the credit to pass its full value on to ratepayers from day one, cutting the sticker price of new nuclear projects by 30% to 50%, writes Samuel Thernstrom at the Energy Innovation Reform Project.
By Samuel Thernstrom • April 30, 2026 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
FirstEnergy opposes key part of PJM data center backstop procurement plan
The PJM Interconnection’s planned backstop auction is flawed, said CEO Brian Tierney. Separately, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration will oppose rate hike requests that fail to meet affordability criteria.
By Ethan Howland • April 30, 2026
