The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on May 26 approved a site permit for Xcel Energy to develop the Sherco South and West Battery Energy Storage Project, a 600-megawatt battery facility planned at the site of the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota. The decision advances Minnesota’s efforts to replace retiring coal-fired generation with battery…...
Utilities and regulators across the Western U.S. are advancing interconnection reforms, transmission expansion, and wildfire mitigation measures as rapid load growth and climate-related risks place increasing…Read the full report …...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on May 19 highlighted projections showing electricity demand from data center servers rising sharply through 2050, driven by expanding artificial intelligence applications and deployment of high-powered computing infrastructure across the commercial sector. In its Annual Energy Outlook 2026, released April 8, the agency projects server-related electricity consumption could climb to…...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on May 18 approved a broad set of safeguards governing how Xcel Energy may serve future high-demand electricity customers, including data centers and industrial facilities, as Minnesota prepares for rapid growth in electricity demand. The action implements a state law requiring very large customers to pay the full costs associated…...
Rapid growth in electricity demand is reshaping transmission planning across the U.S., prompting new…Read the full report …...
PJM Interconnection on May 7 released its summer reliability forecast projecting sufficient electricity supplies to meet expected peak demand across its 13-state region, while warning that tightening reserve margins and extreme weather conditions could increase reliability risks during periods of elevated electricity use. The grid operator expects summer electricity demand to peak near 156,400 megawatts…...
PJM Interconnection on May 6 launched a broad review of its wholesale electricity markets with the release of a report outlining long-term options for maintaining grid reliability amid surging power demand, rising costs, and weakening investor confidence. The paper, titled “Powering Reliability Through Market Design,” assesses whether the existing capacity market can continue to support…...
ISO New England on May 1 released its 2026–2035 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission, projecting that regional electricity consumption will increase about 9 percent over the next decade, signaling a reversal of long-standing declines and highlighting growing winter reliability pressures. The grid operator projects net annual electricity use will rise from 116,679…...
Virtual power plant (VPP) initiatives are expanding across U.S. states as customer-owned generation and storage are increasingly viewed as…Read the full report …...
