energy policy

FERC issued unanimous show-cause orders to all six regional grid operators, giving them until August 17 to justify or revise how data centers above 20 MW connect to the grid.

The Interior Department paid Golden State Wind $120 million to abandon its Morro Bay lease; California subpoenaed the developer and its attorney general anticipates litigation.

The Department of Energy selected eight U.S. companies for $94 million in Tier 2 awards targeting site permitting and domestic supply chain gaps for Gen III+ small modular reactors.

Fusion startup Inertia Enterprises signed three agreements with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on April 14, gaining rights to ~200 patents to build a commercial laser fusion power plant.

Maine's legislature passed LD 307, banning data centers above 20 megawatts until October 2027, making it the first state to enact such a freeze amid growing national backlash over energy, water, and community impacts.

Maine's legislature passes LD 307, an 18-month ban on data centers over 20 megawatts, sending the bill to Governor Mills as similar moratorium proposals proliferate nationwide.

The U.S. energy research agency doubles its cumulative fusion spending in a single announcement, even as the White House proposes cutting the broader fusion budget.

The US Department of Energy has opened a $1.9 billion funding round under its SPARK program to accelerate grid modernization by replacing aging transmission wires with advanced conductors, a strategy that can double line capacity at half the cost of building new infrastructure.

Senators McCormick and Welch introduce legislation to streamline reconductoring of existing transmission lines, projecting $180 billion in savings by 2050.

Federal judges have struck down all five Trump administration stop-work orders on Atlantic offshore wind projects, clearing the way for 7.5 GW of capacity to power 2.5 million homes.

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI pledge to fund their own power generation for AI data centers, but experts question enforceability as moratorium bills spread across U.S. states.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects developers will add 86 gigawatts of utility-scale generating capacity this year — nearly double 2025's total — with solar and battery storage accounting for nearly four-fifths of new installations.