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Clean technology investments lag in the first quarter of 2026 with utilities one bright spot

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer Clean energy and transportation investments in the United States totaled $61 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 9% year-over-year quarterly decline and a 3% drop from the last quarter of 2025, according to Rhodium Group. The decline in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the 2026 first…

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Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz is a boost for renewable energy and some LNG

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The war in Iran, while upending world energy markets, may have some winners in U.S. liquefied gas (LNG) exports and renewable energy, according to an analysis by industry risk consultant DNV. Still, the war is exacting a heavy and lasting toll. “Without knowing the duration and possible escalation of…

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Trump administration issues $26.5 billion loan package to Georgia and Alabama utilities

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Feb. 25 issued its largest loan package ever – $26.5 billion – to help finance 16 gigawatts (GW) of generation and 1,300 miles of new transmission in Georgia and Alabama. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, received $22.4 billion, and Alabama…

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New Jersey Gov. Sherrill looks to address electricity affordability issues on day one

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill – making good on a campaign promise to deal with rising utility bills – on her first day in office issued two executive orders aimed at freezing rates and creating more generating capacity. “I promised the people of New Jersey bold action to lower…

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Global investment in clean tech lagging as geopolitics and tariffs add uncertainty

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer While having made progress on deploying clean technologies, global efforts to meet 2030 decarbonization targets – set as part of the 2016 Paris Agreement – are falling short and new initiatives are wavering, according to a McKinsey & Company analysis. “The energy transition shows signs of slowing momentum –…

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Soaring data center demand for power spurs coal, natural gas, and nuclear generation

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer Soaring U.S. data center power demand for firm generation is reviving the prospects of coal-fired, nuclear, and natural gas-fired plants and creating a pivot in policy for the utility sector, according to two analyses. “After years of emphasis on decarbonization, the strategic shift to firm legacy power generation sources…

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PJM’s monitor asks FERC to put the brakes on a deal to power an Amazon data center

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The independent market monitor for the PJM Interconnection is calling on federal regulators to reject an agreement to provide power to a planned Pennsylvania Amazon data center until there is evidence it won’t impact retail energy costs. The PJM is the largest grid operator in the U.S. covering Midwestern…

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DOE taps 10 companies to speed development of small modular nuclear reactors

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The Trump administration, with an eye toward having the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) up and running by July 4, 2026, announced it will help fast-track 11 advanced nuclear projects. Building on a May executive order by President Donald Trump calling for a nuclear pilot program, the reactors…

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PJM capacity auction sets another record at $16.5 billion as governors protest rates

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer Prices for guaranteed power in the PJM Interconnection – through a capacity auction – rose 22% from last year’s price to $329.17 a megawatt-day, the nation’s largest grid operator announced July 22. The jump would have been even sharper at $389 a megawatt-day, if the PJM had not agreed…

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U.S. utilities caught “flat-footed” by surging data center electricity, Wood Mackenzie says

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer U.S utilities have been caught “flat-footed” in the face of the soaring demand for electricity from data centers and manufacturing plants, according to a Wood Mackenzie study. Wood Mackenzie is tracking 134 gigawatts (GW) of proposed data centers across the U.S., a 68% increase from the 50 GW in…

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Surge in data center demand for electricity can be a boost to nuclear power, Deloitte says

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer As data centers multiply and with them a sharp increase in the demand for electricity, nuclear power is poised for a resurgence providing as much as 10% of data center power in the next decade, according to a report by Deloitte. “Nuclear energy presents a potential solution for meeting…

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Clean energy startup investments, totaling $230 billion over the last decade, are slowing

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer In the last 10 years more than $230 billion has flowed into energy startups, but in the face of economic and political uncertainty, that funding stream has slowed, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Between 2015 and 2022, funding for a broad range of startups rose 570%, but…

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