The Trump administration has ordered all offshore wind generation construction halted and has stalled some onshore wind projects.

The degree of risk and uncertainty springing from indifferent or outright obstructive new federal policies in 2025 has trimmed planned solar deployment.

Commercial nuclear energy in the U.S. begins 2026 with strong momentum toward future expansion, but it will be years before new-build capacity comes online and possibly a decade or more before a significant amount of new gigawatts is added to the grid.

An announcement by the U.S. Department of Interior said the Department of Defense had identified wind farms as national security risks and is pausing offshore wind leases.

The House passed the SPEED Act, which aims to cut the timelines and litigation around NEPA reviews, but Democrats urged their Senate colleagues to improve the bill in a chamber where their votes are needed for passage.

House Republicans amended the SPEED Act on its way to a floor vote, in order to allow the Trump administration to keep repealing Biden-era permits for offshore wind, which led renewable energy groups to drop support for the bill.

Data center developers’ imperative of speed to market not only stresses the power grid but also is felt on the ground as the giant facilities — often paired with onsite generation — spring up in neighborhoods overburdened by pollution.

Attendees at the gridCONNEXT conference, including the acting under secretary of energy and U.S. representatives, debated federal energy policy.