EUCI Blog

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) received the greenlight for a $6.7 billion plan to build 38 transmission projects over the next 10 years mainly to meet growing demands for electricity. The CAISO Board of Governors approved the plan May 19. CAISO operates a wholesale electric market over 26,000…

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…

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The global energy crisis and a pending increase in export costs spurred a month-over-month doubling in March of Chinese photovoltaic (PV) solar exports to a record 68 gigawatts (GW), according to Ember, a clean energy think tank. “The latest data shows that the regions most affected by the unfolding…

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…

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…

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 –…

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…

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer An estimated $1.6 billion in clean energy factories and projects were cancelled in September facing pressure from Trump administration and 500 solar projects, nearly 116 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, are also at risk, according to industry analyses. There has been a steady drum beat of cancellations for clean energy…

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer The virtual power plant (VPP) market grew by 13.7% year-over-year in 2025, reaching 37.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity with an increase in company deployments, companies buying VPP energy credits, and utility-run programs, according to a Wood Mackenzie market report. The 33% in the number of a participants in the…

By Mark Jaffe, EUCI energy writer Solar and storage continued to dominate in new capacity in the first half of 2025, accounting for 82% of all new installations, but the sector faces headwinds from Trump administration policies with some areas already faltering. In the first half of the year, 18 gigawatts (GW) of solar were…

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…

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…