Declining solar, storage valuations drive increased M&A: Mercom

“When there is uncertainty, there are good deals to be had,” said Mercom CEO Raj Prabhu. “People are looking for late-stage, low-risk projects that are ready to go, and those are hot commodities.”

By Emma Penrod • March 3, 2026

Sunrun installation volumes fall in Q4 2025 as VPP capacity grows

Executives with the largest provider of residential solar and battery subscriptions in the U.S. said regulatory uncertainty and a business model shift impacted 2025 volumes and its 2026 outlook.

By Brian Martucci • March 2, 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

California orders utilities to add 6 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2032

“Eligible new resources must be either zero-emitting or otherwise eligible under the [renewables portfolio standard] program,” according to the California Public Utility Commission order.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 27, 2026

Illinois’ new renewables plan compensates for OBBBA losses

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved a long-term renewable resources procurement plan with contract-level provisions aimed at reducing financial barriers to development.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 26, 2026

Massachusetts’ least-cost 2050 peak power mix is combustion-free: report

But a top official with a regional independent power producer group said the focus now, amid rising demand, should be on “energy addition, not retirement or replacement.”

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 25, 2026

Solar and wind PPA prices up 9% in 2025, set to continue rising with energy demand

Meanwhile, energy storage agreements have emerged as a fast-growing new product category.

By Emma Penrod • Feb. 25, 2026

ConEd eyes $38B in capital spending through 2030

The downstate New York utility company sees robust demand growth from electric vehicles and buildings amid heightened reliability challenges and affordability concerns.

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 24, 2026

Evergy’s capital spending plan jumps 24%, to $21.6B, driven by generation

Evergy this month signed electric service contracts totaling 1.9 GW with Google, Meta and Beale Infrastructure, with at least one more contract expected this year, company officials said.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 20, 2026

Corporate clean energy buying fell globally in 2025, reversing trend: BNEF

“The U.S. is still the largest market, hosting a record 29.5 GW of deals, driven by Big Tech’s pivot to nuclear, hydro and geothermal,” BloombergNEF said.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 19, 2026

PGE in $1.9B deal to buy PacifiCorp’s Washington utility operations

The deal could yield system resilience, transmission and clean energy investment opportunities as well as new large load customers, Portland General Electric officials said.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 18, 2026

Treasury issues FEOC guidance, clarifies material assistance cost ratio

The notice offers interim safe harbor guidance for calculating a project or component’s material assistance cost ratio, or MACR, and provides relevant MACR thresholds.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 13, 2026

DOE ‘does not have a plan’ for oversight of billions in energy funds: GAO

Since the IIJA appropriated about $21.5 billion of “no-year appropriations” for clean energy demonstration projects, DOE will “have an ongoing need to solicit and review applications for additional projects,” the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 12, 2026

300-MW Ameren fast-track project hits snag on DOE transmission funding uncertainty

It’s unclear if the U.S. Department of Energy will help fund a set of 345-kV projects in the Great Plains region, leaving Ameren Missouri in doubt about potential interconnection costs for its project.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 12, 2026

Growing demand will be met mainly by solar: EIA

The Energy Information Administration expects solar generation to jump 17% this year and an additional 23% in 2027.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 11, 2026

New Jersey utilities begin to develop virtual power plants

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities asked for information from utilities on distributed energy resource hosting constraints and how new interconnections can be accelerated.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 9, 2026

First Solar releases poll showing support for solar among GOP voters

When asked if all forms of electricity generation, including utility‑scale solar, should be allowed to compete fairly in the marketplace without political interference, 79% of GOP-aligned voters surveyed agreed.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 5, 2026

Why regional manufacturing will power the next clean economy

If regions align around shared climate goals, fragmented progress can become a unified national movement, write Lara Croushore from SecondMuse and Stacey Weismiller of the American Manufacturing Futures Institute.

By Lara Croushore and Stacey Weismiller • Feb. 5, 2026

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.

By Leslie Nemo • Feb. 4, 2026

House lawmakers press FERC on affordability, reliability and gas

Commissioners cited inadequate transmission infrastructure as a major concern. A gas-fired project in the PJM Interconnection needs $1 billion in grid upgrades to come online, said Commissioner David Rosner.

By Ethan Howland • Feb. 4, 2026

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.”

By Brian Martucci • Feb. 3, 2026

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.

By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 3, 2026

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. 

By Meris Lutz • Jan. 30, 2026

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.

By Robert Walton • 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.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 30, 2026

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.

By Robert Walton • Jan. 30, 2026