Home buyers want more information on energy usage. Utilities can help.

By positioning themselves as trusted experts for both buyers and real estate agents, utilities can speed the adoption of efficient grid technologies, say residential energy experts.

By Nathan Shannon and Scott Rosenberg • Aug. 19, 2026

Northwest council proposes 11 GW of new generation, 5 GW storage by 2032

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council estimates the portfolio for its Ninth Power Plan would have a fixed cost of $2.3 billion in 2032.

By Marlene Wilden • Aug. 18, 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

Beyond the home meter: How utilities can eliminate the EV ‘renter’s penalty’

Tying affordability measures to the customer rather than a home meter can ensure that predictable charging costs are available regardless of housing type, write experts at GRID Alternatives.

By Zach Franklin and Linda Khamoushian • Aug. 18, 2026

Colorado has provided the blueprint for integrating community power

The state is “tapping private investment and competitive market forces to deliver new grid capacity years faster and at a lower cost to customers than utility-owned infrastructure alone,” writes Common Charge Executive Director Mary Rafferty. 

By Mary Rafferty • Aug. 17, 2026

2026 Q2 roundup: Utilities emphasize project execution and ratepayer protections

Executives tried to show they can secure the equipment needed to meet rising demand without shifting costs to existing customers as politicians take aim at data centers ahead of the midterm elections.

By Meris Lutz • Aug. 17, 2026

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

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

Sunrun pursues direct-sales transition amid industry headwinds

The residential solar-and-storage provider is looking to diversify its revenue while increasing focus on “unlocking value from the customers and assets we already have,” CEO Mary Powell told investors.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 10, 2026

Video gamers give 110-MW Texas solar project a financing boost

“Fractionalized” virtual power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificate transactions can help underwrite clean energy projects, particularly in volatile energy markets, an executive involved in the transaction told Utility Dive.

By Brian Martucci • Aug. 6, 2026

$20B in federal climate grants unblocked by appeals court

A divided court rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to reclaim Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants “based solely on a policy disagreement” with the Inflation Reduction Act. 

By Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Aug. 5, 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

A plug-in solar solution that utilities and lawmakers can agree on

To ensure both household safety and grid reliability, the next wave of plug-in solar state legislation should adopt tiered wattage definitions and export limits, writes CraftStrom CEO Stephan Scherer.

By Stephen Scherer • 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

Community solar can bridge California’s energy affordability gap

Regulatory complexities are thwarting innovation and keeping electricity bills for the majority of Californians far too high, writes Ardi Arian, CEO of Renewable America.

By Ardi Arian • July 28, 2026

Trump’s ‘vindictive’ use of energy, other grants sparks backlash

The administration nixed $7.6 billion in clean energy grants last year “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state,” the U.S Department of Energy said in court documents.

By Robert Walton • July 27, 2026

Renewables, storage can meet one-third of US industrial heat demand: report

The UC Berkeley analysis should be welcome news for a manufacturing industry that is heavily reliant on natural gas, with its volatile prices, said Jose Dominguez, one of the report’s authors.

By Meris Lutz • July 23, 2026

SRP to propose up to 1.7-GW mixed-resource project to its board in September

The Marigold Energy Center, about 45 miles south of Phoenix, would include 400 MW of battery storage, 600 MW of solar generation, up to 675 MW of gas generation and a new substation.

By Robert Walton • July 21, 2026

US data center electricity use could more than double by 2030: report

Policy responses “reflect a tension between furthering state-level economic development interests and balancing local community health and environmental concerns,” the Kansas Health Institute report states.

By Robert Walton • July 21, 2026

Best Buy adds more solar generation to portfolio

The new solar sites include the retailer’s first store with a rooftop “community solar garden” as it looks to a 2040 net-zero target.

By Lamar Johnson • July 20, 2026

Renewables remain cheapest, but their LCOE is rising: Lazard

Utility-scale solar’s levelized cost of electricity ranges between $40/MWh and $98/MWh, while combined cycle gas ranges between $51/MWh and $129/MWh, said a report from Lazard.

By Diana DiGangi • July 16, 2026

Sunrun ‘distributed data center’ pilot taps its home solar and battery network

The announcement comes as ratepayer and clean energy advocates push capacity-hungry hyperscalers to subsidize residential solar, batteries and energy efficiency.

By Brian Martucci • July 15, 2026

New York reaches 8 GW of distributed solar capacity

Tony Smith, chair of the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance, told Utility Dive that other states can learn from New York’s policies that “reduce soft costs, provide investment certainty, and remove utility-specific interconnection barriers.”

By Diana DiGangi • July 9, 2026

IRA clean energy gains mostly on track despite OBBBA, says MIT study

74% of all new clean electricity capacity that would have been added under the Inflation Reduction Act will be preserved despite Trump administration policy changes, the report estimates, including 82% of utility-scale solar generation.

By Diana DiGangi • July 8, 2026

Analysts expect rising PPA prices as clean energy tax credits phase out

“That missing money has to come from somewhere to make the project pencil, and that will likely be through PPA prices,” said Josh Price, director of intelligence and research at Crux.

By Diana DiGangi • July 2, 2026