Dive Brief: Capacity prices in the PJM Interconnection’s latest capacity auction hit a $329.17/MW-day price cap across its region, up 22% from a year ago for most of PJM, the grid operator said Tuesday. PJM expects the increase to record-high capacity prices for the 12-month period that starts in June 2026 could lead to 1.5% to 5% bill increases for some ratepayers, depending on what state they are in. PJM estimates that without a price cap that was established in an agreement with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, D, the capacity price for the 2026-27 delivery year would have been nearly $389/MW-day, or about 18% higher. Dive Insight: A year ago, PJM’s capacity auction sent shockwaves through its 13-state region when prices for the delivery year that started June 1 soared to $269.92/MW-day for most of its footprint, up from $28.92/MW-day. Prices in that auction hit zonal caps of $466.35/MW-day for the Baltimore Gas and Electric zone in Maryland, and $444.26/MW-day for the Dominion zone in Virginia and North Carolina. The 2024 auction’s total cost jumped to $14.7 billion from $2.2 billion. The cost of this year’s auction, which opened July 9 and closed July 15, climbed even higher to $16.1 billion, up 9.5% from a year ago. Capacity costs make up a relatively small part of electric bills, according to PJM. PJM capacity costs hit a record high The cost of PJM’s capacity auction in billions of dollars. In the auction, PJM bought 134,311 MW for the capacity year that starts June 1, according to the grid operator’s auction report. About 135,192 MW was offered in the auction, a decline from last year. PJM secured enough capacity to have an 18.9% reserve margin as forecast peak load grew by about 5,500 MW, mainly from data centers.  Gas-fired generation accounted for 45%

The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday announced it has terminated its $4.9 billion conditional loan commitment for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express Phase 1 transmission project. “After a thorough review of the project’s financials, DOE found that the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee are unlikely to be met and it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project,” the agency said in a statement.  Chicago-based Invenergy plans to build the 5-GW Grain Belt Express in phases from Kansas to Illinois. In May, the company made almost $1.7 billion in contractor awards to engineering and infrastructure services companies Quanta Services and Kiewit Energy Group. Invenergy has said it aims to begin construction next year on the portion of the project connecting Kansas and Missouri. It estimates the project will provide $52 billion in energy cost savings to U.S. residents over 15 years. But Republicans have urged the Trump administration to cancel the conditional loan commitment. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on March 6 urged the Department of Government Efficiency to cancel the loan guarantee, arguing that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s transmission plans and business case analyses are “highly biased in favor of over-building transmission.” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, also from Missouri, said July 10 on X that he had spoken with President Donald Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright about canceling the loan commitment. “Wright said he will be putting a stop to the Grain Belt Express green scam. It’s costing taxpayers BILLIONS! Thank you, President Trump,” he wrote on July 10. Grain Belt Express developers responded in a letter to Wright on July 11. The proposed transmission line “has been the target of egregious politically motivated lawfare,” Grain Belt Express Vice President Jim Shield wrote. “Recent false accusations from Senator

Dive Brief: In order to accommodate spiking electricity demand in the U.S., the capabilities of the existing power system should be leveraged using tools like grid-enhancing technologies, and new loads should be co-located in “energy parks” — large microgrids — to minimize the need for transmission upgrades, according to a Tuesday report that the Brattle Group prepared for the Clean Air Task Force. The report recommends states and utilities consider “scaling up promising demand-side programs” and providing targeted incentives for them to customers. Energy efficiency technologies, distributed energy resources, time-varying rates and demand response can “create more headroom in the electricity system to accommodate more load growth,” it says. The report also recommends avoiding the need for costly transmission upgrades as much as possible by creating energy parks, “where large electricity consumers are co-located with generation assets that can be dispatched for grid-related needs, which can offer significantly faster grid access for new loads.” Dive Insight: Several energy parks are already in development, including the $1 billion Meitner Project in Texas, which is “developing 460 MW of wind and 340 MW of solar to power 400 MW of hydrogen electrolyzers,” the report says. It also notes that Google plans to invest $20 billion in energy parks by the end of the decade “to power data centers using solar and battery storage, with the first project expected to be operational in 2026 and complete in 2027.” “To facilitate this co-location arrangement, transmission operators and owners should adopt interconnection processes that appropriately reflect the operation of colocated load and generation, and offer expedited screening processes given the controllable, non-firm nature of their grid injections,” the report says. In December, Grid Strategies issued a report estimating that U.S. electricity demand could rise 128 GW over the next five years — a five-fold increase

Shipowners and oil traders are staying away from Russia-backed Nayara Energy Ltd. as part of the fallout faced by the Indian refiner, after it was singled out in the latest round of European Union sanctions. At least one oil tanker, the Talara, u-turned and sailed away from Vadinar port on Sunday, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data. The vessel was meant to pick up a cargo of fuel – likely diesel – from Nayara, shipbrokers said. The booking was cancelled following Friday’s sanction, they said, and the cargo was not loaded.  Another tanker, the Chang Hang Xing Yun, that was on its way to Vadinar this week, halted off the southwestern coast of India, ballasting, ship-tracking data and chartering fixtures show. The ship is now heading to the Arabian Gulf to pick up cargoes bound for southern Africa, after its previous plans to load products from Vadinar were cancelled yesterday, shipbrokers said. Shipbrokers added owners have become wary of dealings with Nayara this week, be it fuel exports or crude imports. Rosneft PJSC holds a 49.13 percent stake in the Indian processor.  Global oil market observers are waiting to see if the hesitation among shipowners will spread beyond logistics to trading counterparties and even financiers. Indian refiners have been seeking more clarity from the EU in the past days on a variety of matters including Nayara’s blacklist and a ban on the diesel supplies made from Russian crude.  Owners from Greece to Norway control a significant portion of the world’s shipping fleet, with companies likely to adhere to EU restrictions to some extent. Since the Ukraine war in 2022, however, Greek owners have played a crucial role in the Russian oil trade, particularly when barrels were below the price cap.  Talara’s diversion adds to the concerns surrounding Nayara, after it sought advance payment or

Motor racing, a sport known for flashy, petrol-guzzling racecars speeding at hundreds of kilometers per hour across twisting asphalt tracks, hasn’t been a pastime known for sustainability. Formula 1 is trying to change that.  Often referred to as “the pinnacle of motorsport,” the racecar organization, which hosts an annual championship featuring the best drivers in the world, has seen its carbon emissions drop 26% since 2018. At the end of the 2024 season, the sport’s carbon footprint fell to 168,720 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 228,793. F1 said in a statement on Wednesday that it’s halfway toward achieving its minimum 50% reduction target, as set out in its “net zero by 2030” commitment.  “It’s a key milestone and the culmination of a lot of work,” said Ellen Jones, head of environmental, social and governance at F1, in an interview. “We’ve changed the way we operate, changed the way we work” with the racing teams and promoters, as well Formula 1’s management and regulator, she said. A major factor in the reductions has been a years-long shift to renewable energy, Jones said. Investment in sustainable aviation fuel for travel and freight use, and other alternative energy sources, including solar and biofuels, contributed to the decline. Next year, F1 has set a target for the cars to have new hybrid engines and be powered entirely by advanced sustainable fuel. “We’re not only changing what we’re doing materially, we’re also changing the technologies,” Jones said. The sport has achieved carbon reductions across the four major categories that it tracks: factories and facilities, down 59% since 2018; logistics, down 9%; event operations, down 12% on a per-race basis; and travel, down 25%.  An increase in using remote operations and changes to the race schedule also have resulted in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Having remote broadcast operations has allowed about 140 personnel to avoid having to travel to the race location each

Electric utilities will invest more than $1.1T by 2030 to meet demand growth: EEI | Utility Dive Skip to main content An article from The electric utility sector’s capital expenditures “are higher than any other sector in the U.S. economy,” Edison Electric Institute President and CEO Drew Maloney said. Published July 23, 2025 A composite wind blade. U.S. electric utilities brought 52 GW of total new generating capacity online in 2024, 11% more than in 2023 and 48% more than in 2022, according to a July 23, 2025, report from the Edison Electric Institute. Scott Olson via Getty Images Investor-owned U.S. electric utilities will invest more than $1.1 trillion in the 2025-2029 period, marking a rapid increase in capital expenditures as the sector rushes to meet growing power demand, according to a Wednesday report from the Edison Electric Institute. Capital expenditures from 2015 to 2024 totaled $1.3 trillion, the trade group noted. Permission granted by Edison Electric Institute The electric utility sector’s capital expenditures “are higher than any other sector in the U.S. economy, outpacing transportation, retail, and other capital-intensive industries,” EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney said in a statement.  “As demand for electricity continues to grow, we remain committed to making the investments needed to strengthen America’s energy security while ensuring that our customers receive reliable, affordable energy.”  Much of the investment is going to meet rising demand from data centers. While predictions for AI-related load growth vary, EEI’s financial review cited a McKinsey study predicting data center demand will rise about 20% annually from 2023 to 2030, from 60 GW today to 170-220 GW. Depending on factors, demand could even reach 300 GW, the McKinsey analysis said. But not all proposed data centers will ultimately be built, experts agree. A Schneider Electric 2030 AI power demand estimate put scenario ranges