As we accelerate the energy transition, we face a critical juncture. While significant investment and policy focus have been directed towards strengthening renewable generation — from large-scale solar and wind farms to battery storage — the influence of subsidies for these endeavors highlights fundamental vulnerabilities. The acceleration to clean energy lies not solely in what we generate, but in how intelligently and efficiently we manage what we consume. Consumers are bringing more low-carbon devices into their home, with household spending on these types of assets reaching $184 billion in 2023, a 340% increase from the year before. Utilities need a way to manage these distributed energy resources effectively. Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are an undeniable powerhouse of the future, particularly when managed within a unified, intelligent platform. The potential of VPPs, which aggregate diverse distributed energy resources (DERs) like smart thermostats, electric vehicles (EVs), and water heaters, is immense and largely untapped. For instance, in the U.S., a mere 20% of eligible devices are currently enrolled in VPP programs, which contrasts with the 50% enrollment rates observed by the UK’s largest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, for their customers with smart meters. By addressing this gap, utilities have the opportunity to unlock gigawatts of flexible capacity, alleviate grid strain, and accelerate decarbonization without the same policy uncertainties facing large-scale generation projects. And utilities are taking notice: just last month, the Mercury Consortium met to discuss the importance of bringing customers along this journey, and how interoperability is paramount to unlocking the true potential of consumer devices. Increased demand, and driving factors like electrification of transportation and increased power needs of emerging technologies, such as AI, characterize the current energy landscape. This escalating demand, coupled with limitations on conventional supply-side expansion, highlights the urgent need for demand-side innovation. VPPs offer a powerful

Oil held steady as traders weighed renewed tariff threats from the US against the potential for widespread conflict in the Middle East.  West Texas Intermediate traded in a roughly $2.50 range before closing the session with a small drop to near $68 a barrel. The commodity temporarily inched into positive territory on an ABC report that Israel is considering taking military action against Iran in the coming days. Traders have been on edge since Iran threatened to strike American bases if nuclear talks fell through. Weighing on prices were earlier comments from President Donald Trump that he intended to set unilateral tariff rates on trading partners in the next one to two weeks, which blunted appetite for risk assets. Iran’s threats on Wednesday jolted crude out of the narrow range it had traded in for most of the past month, highlighting oil’s sensitivity to geopolitical tensions. The Middle East produces about a third of the world’s oil, driven by OPEC+ members Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Prices are up about 12% this month, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Thursday said oil could reach $130 in a worst-case scenario.  The move has also been coupled with big shifts in options pricing as traders assess the risk of escalation. Bullish call options on the global Brent benchmark are trading at premiums to bearish puts, and volatility spiked.  Oil still is down for the year on expectations the US-led trade war would erode demand as OPEC+ revives idled production.  On Iran, Trump has consistently said he wants an agreement that curbs the nation’s atomic activities and that the US could strike Iran if talks break down, before saying that he would “love to avoid conflict” with the country. Tehran says it is preparing a fresh proposal regarding the program before a sixth round of negotiations in

Dive Brief: The U.S. doubled its solar cell manufacturing capacity and added 8.6 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity in the first quarter of 2025, marking the third-largest quarter for new solar manufacturing capacity on record, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie for the Solar Energy Industries Association. Despite the strong first quarter figures, Wood Mackenzie expects the solar industry to contract about 2% annually between 2025-2030, adding an average 43 GW of new solar generation per year in that time. New solar installations are expected to decline 7% between 2025-2027. Wood Mackenzie’s projections for the solar industry do not take the proposed wind-down of clean energy tax credits that has passed the House into account. Cutting the tax credits could trigger project cancellations and a possible energy shortage, according to Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for SEIA. Dive Insight: Despite growing demand for energy, the solar industry faces a rocky road over the next few years — particularly if the Senate concurs with renewable energy tax credit cuts that have already passed the House, according to this week’s report from Wood Mackenzie and SEIA. Solar manufacturing posted particularly strong growth in the first quarter of 2025, though Wood Mackenzie notes that the growth upstream manufacturing of solar components, especially polysilicon and wafers, “remains slow or non-existent.” New solar generation capacity totaled 10.8 GW, 7% lower than first quarter installations in 2024 and 43% lower than the fourth quarter of 2024 — but still the fourth largest quarter for deployment on record, according to the report. The first quarter records don’t appear to represent an attempt by the industry to wrap up projects before the potential application of new tariffs or cuts to applicable tax credits, Gallagher said. Most of the projects that came online in the

The US ordered some staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad, officials said, after Iran threatened to strike American assets in the Middle East in the event it’s attacked over its nuclear program. The decision to reduce staffing in Iraq was “based on our latest analysis,” according to the US State Department. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized family members of US military stationed across the region to leave, according to a Pentagon statement. The State Department also said US government employees and family members in Israel are restricted from traveling outside major cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem until further notice. None of the statements cited a specific threat. But they came after the New York Post published an interview with President Donald Trump in which he said he was less confident the US will reach a deal with Iran. The countries are negotiating an agreement that would curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Trump has consistently said he wants an agreement with Iran and to avoid a war, but that the US could resort to military action if Tehran doesn’t accept a deal. “I sincerely hope it won’t come to that and that the talks reach a resolution,” Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday. “But if they don’t, and conflict is imposed on us, the other side will undoubtedly suffer greater losses.” Iran announced the start of military drills on Thursday, “with a focus on enemy movements.” The head of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the force was “ready for any scenario.” The same day, the Islamic Republic said it would establish a new uranium-enrichment center in response to a decision by the United Nations atomic watchdog to censure it. Oil prices jumped on the reports the US would move

Six liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the United States have secured agreements with JERA Co. Inc. for the sale of up to 5.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) over 20 years to the Japanese power utility. JERA signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for about two MMtpa from NextDecade Corp.’s Rio Grande LNG in Brownsville, Texas. The agreement is for train 5; NextDecade has yet to make an FID (final investment decision) on the fourth and fifth trains. The three-train first phase of the project is under construction. Rio Grande LNG holds a permit to export to FTA and non-FTA countries. Another SPA involves around one MMtpa from Kimmeridge’s proposed Commonwealth LNG in Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana. In February the Department of Energy (DOE) granted the project a conditional permit to export to countries with no free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. Kimmeridge expects to make an FID in the third quarter of 2025 and start production 2029. JERA also signed an SPA with Venture Global Inc.’s CP2 LNG in Cameron Paris, Louisiana, for approximately one MMtpa. The project recently started site work after completing clearance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In March the DOE granted a conditional permit for CP2 LNG to export to non-FTA countries. The project has already secured authorization for its export volume when it received FTA approval April 2022. Meanwhile Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG phase 2 in Jefferson County, Texas secured heads of agreement with JERA for about 1.5 MMtpa. Late last month the DOE granted Port Arthur LNG Phase a non-FTA permit, marking the resumption of the issuance of final orders for LNG export following the previous administration’s pause. JERA also penned heads of agreement with Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Corpus Christi LNG and Sabine Pass LNG. Train 3 of Corpus

Dive Brief: A group of 13 House Republicans sent a letter to their Senate counterparts Friday asking the Senate to make further alterations to changes made to the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, as the chamber takes up its portion of the budget reconciliation process. The Republicans were led by Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, who said in a June 6 press release that though she supported the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” as it stands, “there remains significant room for improvement in preserving the clean energy tax credits.” The requested changes largely mirror those requested by Kiggans and her colleagues prior to the House’s passage of the bill. The group’s letter cites more than $14 billion in clean energy projects that have been canceled this year, with signatories stating that “project cancellations will continue to snowball” if Congress does not provide “business certainty as these provisions are phased out.” Dive Insight: Kiggans and a nearly identical group of House Republicans wrote to their House colleagues last month seeking positive changes to the clean energy tax credit phaseout plan that came out of committee work on the reconciliation bill. Instead, the House-passed version of the bill imposes a faster phaseout timeline, including a repeal of tax credits for projects that don’t begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s enactment. The Republican lawmakers in support of IRA’s clean energy credits asked that the Senate alter that provision — along with a foreign entity of concern provision that was again called “overly prescriptive” — and maintain tax credit transferability throughout the credits’ lifetime. The group said that though they were “proud to have worked to ensure that the bill did not include a full repeal of the clean energy tax credits,” they remain “deeply concerned about those provisions.” The