"The auction secured 135,684 megawatts for the period from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026. The power mix from generators included 48% gas, 21% nuclear, 18% of coal, 1% of solar, 1% of wind, 4% of hydro, 5% of demand response and 2% from other resources, PJM said."

"High-voltage transmission construction — 345-kV or greater — has fallen since the early 2010s when about 1,700 miles was added each year on average, according to the report. High-voltage additions fell to 925 miles on average from 2015 to 2019, and 350 miles a year from 2020 to 2023, Grid Strategies said."

"Indeed, new transmission lines and renewable projects are facing growing opposition from people who don’t want them in their proverbial backyard. The International Energy Agency said in a 2023 report that the US was among the places with the strongest barriers to grid development 'that relate to public acceptance of new projects.'"

"The three Texas battery installations — Lumina I, Lumina II, and Radian — are expected to be up and running in 2024. They will store solar power already flowing from Intersect’s 640 megawatt Lumina project and its 320 megawatt Radian project in Texas, helping provide additional flexibility to a state that outpaced California in solar deployment as of last year and is forecasted to beat California in energy storage deployment in 2024."

"There is a need to close regulatory gaps for local transmission planning. Customers are eager to collaborate with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, states, and regional partners to enhance transparency and review the prudency of local transmission projects."

"Storage capacity in the U.S. has grown enough in recent years to be able to power many millions of homes, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. California and Texas dominate the industry, but projects are in the works in Nevada, Arizona and elsewhere to help meet growing power demand from artificial-intelligence data centers and manufacturing plants."

"Domestic production of smelter aluminum—which is known as primary aluminum—is on pace this year for 689,000 metric tons, which would be the lowest since 1950. Smelters have been steadily going out of business for years, pinched between stagnant aluminum prices and escalating power costs, which in some cases have climbed by more than one-third in recent years."

"Not every data center functions the same way. A March report from Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, the infrastructure spinoff from Google parent company Alphabet, found that under certain applications, data centers can 'provide large-scale flexibility to the grid.' Planned properly, the report said, data centers could help shave peak load, soak up excess wind and solar power, and utilize existing transmission that might otherwise be stranded."