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January 22, 2025

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ACEG: More Community Trust, Faster Transmission Development

A new report by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) makes the case that the speed of transmission development often is commensurate with the level of trust that has been built with communities affected by the project.

Released Jan. 15, “The PACE of Trust” lays out a framework for engaging communities during the development of transmission lines in order to ensure the industry can expand the infrastructure on time. The “PACE” framework organizes best practices to four core topics:

    • Participation and engagement of communities.
    • Accountability and good governance.
    • Communication, transparency and trust.
    • Economic and noneconomic benefits.

The report was prepared alongside DNV, which convened a roundtable with ACEG and representatives from agriculture, environmental advocacy, labor, indigenous communities and transmission developers, among others. Through group meetings, surveys and individual interviews, DNV gathered and refined best practices based on the consensus of the roundtable.

“The PACE framework serves as a guide for developers, policymakers and communities to work together in advancing transmission projects,” ACEG Executive Director Christina Hayes said in a statement. “By adopting these best practices and recommendations, transmission planners can support earlier and more effective community engagement, resulting in an energy grid that meets the needs of our communities.”

The first group of recommendations, participation and engagement of communities, involves utilities doing early, ongoing and consistent engagement and fostering representation of broader community interests in decision-making.

Accountability and good governance involves creating a safe forum for gaining representative knowledge and feedback, along with supporting mutual understanding in community benefit plans and agreements. The best practices include streamlined negotiations and enabling local communities to engage in the transmission planning process early.

The third bucket includes providing all parties with accurate and timely information, empowering communities to provide informed feedback, enabling developers to anticipate community needs, addressing feedback and allowing open communication.

The last topic involves community benefit plans and agreements; providing equitable and responsive financial and resource support; and local workforce development.

The report follows a similar one released by ACEG in September that focused on the best practices for state policymakers. (See ACEG Report Lays out Best Practices for States to Build Transmission.)

Local Workforce Development Tricky

The roundtable participants did not come to a consensus on everything, however; they deferred on three areas: pathways to enable workforce development, balancing local and union hiring and training, and forging bipartisan partnerships. Local workforce development is a key priority for affected communities, but it is hard for developers to make that happen given the specialized labor required to build transmission lines, the report says.

The report includes some more specific policy recommendations, such as setting up offices of public participation (like the one at FERC) for all of the regional planning entities. The industry also should facilitate a national roundtable to explore challenges of targeted hiring and local workforce development, it says.

The public should get notice when regional planners are working on large projects, especially when that involves a portfolio of projects, the report recommends. The planning process should include working groups that include representatives from local communities, and it should consider a program that funds local workforce development.

On transmission routing, planning processes should identify route-specific environmental mitigation measures, and routing should start at least a year before a formal siting process — possibly even more for the most complex projects.

“Expanding and modernizing the transmission grid is essential to achieve climate goals and mitigate the effects of climate change,” Richard Barnes, DNV region president for energy systems in North America, said in a statement. DNV “forecasts an almost fully decarbonized electricity grid by 2050, but this will not be possible without transmission infrastructure that can manage the influx of renewable energy. Community support for transmission projects is essential, and the best practices outlined in this report will enable the necessary project development now and in the future.”

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Following DR Exploitation, MISO Announces Stiffer Requirements Before Capacity Auction

CARMEL, Ind. — MISO revealed it will crack down on demand response testing requirements ahead of its spring capacity auction, while some stakeholders argued the stepped-up measures amount to a change that requires FERC approval. 

The announcement at the Jan. 15 Resource Adequacy Subcommittee meeting follows FERC doling out several million dollars in penalties across a string of companies for invented demand reductions in recent years.  

MISO’s Joshua Schabla said before its late March capacity auction, MISO will require all load-modifying resources (LMR) and demand response resources that haven’t submitted real power tests demonstrating 100% of their registered capability to provide documentation explaining why complete reductions couldn’t be achieved and submit 10 days of meter data before, during and after seasonal coincident peak loads. 

Load-modifying resources that contain aggregated retail customers must show a contractual relationship for their megawatt capability, Schabla added. MISO said contracts must be active for all seasons an LMR offers their services and detail response time, how the LMR achieves demand reduction and specify how many megawatts or to what firm service level end-use customers agree to curtail. MISO said those entering aggregations of households must “submit a detailed report describing how the load reduction is achieved, how the load reduction works and how the load reduction value is calculated.”  

Further, resources using a firm service level threshold to measure reductions must show in testing that they can cut use to that level.  

Schabla said the testing and documentation requirements aren’t new and have been in MISO’s business practice manuals. He said beginning with the upcoming Planning Resource Auction (PRA), MISO will begin disqualifying resources that fail to provide required information.  

MISO said it “continues to see testing inconsistencies” among its demand response fleet.   

Some LMRs already are registered for the upcoming auction; MISO said some of those may need to resubmit registrations if they lack detail.  

Representatives from Voltus — the latest company to agree to a multimillion-dollar civil penalty to settle demand response violations — voiced the most opposition to MISO’s doubling down on enforcement. (See Voltus Agrees to $18M Fine to Settle DR Tariff Violations in MISO.)  

“A lot of these are changes and they’re being delivered to stakeholders at the 11th hour,” Voltus’ Sean Shafer said. “This does feel like a last-minute surprise.”  

Shafer said it appeared MISO was trying to “push through” testing changes that stand to affect rates without FERC approval.

MISO staff at the meeting disagreed and said the RTO already is authorized to administer rules on its books. “We are going to start enforcing them based on behavior from market participants over the last several years,” Schabla said.  

“We don’t like the situation we’re in either,” Executive Director of Market and Grid Strategy Zak Joundi told stakeholders. 

Jim Dauphinais, representing a collection of MISO end-use customers, said MISO should have raised more stringent enforcement back in September. He said at this point, MISO has appeared to issue conflicting guidance on testing requirements. Dauphinais pointed out that some load-modifying resources already have performed testing for the upcoming auction.  

“You can pursue a more aggressive approach, but you’re going to have to be patient and flexible. Unfortunately, this is going to cause a big scramble,” Dauphinais said, advising MISO to allow testing deferrals.  

“This is a 13th-hour change,” Voltus’ Luke Metcalf argued. “We are 40% of the way through registration. … There is a change here, and MISO should be going through the stakeholder process to codify this.”  

Metcalf said MISO should have communicated a more stringent testing process to stakeholders at least a year in advance. He said until MISO introduces a proposal to bolster testing requirements, market participants should be free to rely on the more lenient LMR testing guidance MISO issued in previous years.  

Schabla said MISO’s chief concern is that resources have cleared the PRA without ever intending to perform. He said some demand response can “effectively take payment from ratepayers” while even opting out of testing requirements. 

“We believe that’s not acceptable,” Schabla said.  

IMM Presses for More Near-term LMR Rules

As some stakeholders say MISO is going too far in requirements, the Independent Market Monitor pushed MISO to enact further edicts on LMRs. 

IMM Carrie Milton said MISO should make a short-term filing to hold LMRs to more stringent rules by the 2026/27 capacity auction. 

Milton said some LMR rules should be rolled out faster than MISO’s ongoing, longer-term effort to move to an availability-based accreditation for its LMRs, demand response and behind-the-meter generation. She advised MISO to draft a separate FERC filing for short-term fixes.  

The IMM said MISO’s filing should strengthen penalties for unavailability and overstating capability, eliminate dual registration of LMRs and emergency demand response, require exclusive contractual rights for LMR output and do away with mock testing.  

“Unfortunately, mock tests have been abused in the past,” Milton said, adding that real performance testing is best.  

MISO in late 2024 announced it would put an end to allowing LMRs to also register as emergency demand response. The RTO plans to make a filing sometime in the coming months.  

Milton said the filing also should rework the tariff’s Attachment TT to become a singular how-to for measuring and verifying demand response and load modifications. Attachment TT should be expanded to include testing and deployment rules and should define firm service levels and their application in use reduction.   

Joundi said MISO is evaluating the IMM’s recommendations and will return to the February meeting of the Resource Adequacy Subcommittee with a response.  

Auction Preparations

Meanwhile, MISO is full steam ahead on other capacity auction preparations. Market participants have until Feb. 1 to question MISO about their resources’ accreditation values. MISO is targeting mid-February to post final accreditation values for resources.  

The auction window will open March 26 and close March 31. MISO plans to publish auction results at the end of April.  

Using summer data, MISO anticipates a 122.66-GW coincident peak and will require a 7.9% planning reserve margin at 135.3 GW. However, the RTO so far estimates it has 124.6 GW in total seasonal accredited capacity despite 159.8 GW in total installed capacity.  

“Today’s data is the first cut, very preliminary and will change,” Manager of Resource Adequacy Andy Taylor said, adding that the current data is only an indication for stakeholders. “There is a whole lot that’s still missing.”  

MISO will finalize accredited capacity values in mid-February and post updated versions of auction data periodically until it opens the offer window.  

LMR Replacements in Capacity Auctions?

Finally, MISO is considering switching up its auction rules in the future to permit load modifying resources to make substitutions when originally contracted load reductions can’t honor reduction promises. 

MISO allows its more traditional resource types to replace zonal resource credits, but that allowance doesn’t extend to LMRs. The RTO uses zonal resource credits to measure its resources’ capacity.  

MISO is contemplating allowing LMRs to make similar, limited replacements if the end-use customers it contracted for reductions must terminate contracts.   

Shafer said MISO’s replacement proposal is “encouraging” and will be helpful in the event facilities close and zonal resource credits need to be replaced. 

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NJ Advances Clean Energy Projects Amid Trump Skepticism

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Board of Public Utilities are pushing ahead with plans to reach zero emissions by 2035, create a new energy master plan and get more electric vehicles on the road even as they face the reality of President-elect Donald Trump, a fierce skeptic of clean energy, taking office Jan. 20. 

Giving his State of the State speech Jan. 14, Murphy (D) called on state legislators to enshrine his “clean energy standard into law.” Without it, the goal — at present set out in an executive order — could be changed relatively easily by any successor to Murphy, who will leave office in a year. 

“As you know, our administration has already set one of the most ambitious clean energy goals in the country: running New Jersey on 100% clean energy by 2035,” Murphy told lawmakers. He called on them to “make sure our state remains on track to reach that goal.” 

The statement was the only substantive mention of clean energy in the speech, which was characterized by his pledge that although he is a lame duck governor, “I’m not done yet.” State law requires the governor to step down after two terms. 

Murphy’s move is part of a delicate dance. Like other states that have adopted aggressive clean energy policies, New Jersey must manage the new political environment: to continue the state’s shift to clean energy while hoping to work with the federal government when necessary and reap whatever help they can. 

Opening the Board of Public Utilities’ (BPU) first meeting of the year Jan. 15, board President Christine Guhl-Sadovy cited Murphy’s comments and reaffirmed the governor’s intent. She also mentioned Trump’s looming inauguration. 

“You know, we are committed to finding common ground with the federal administration as we move forward, and we hope that we will be able to do that,” she said. “So, I am personally wishing the best for our incoming president next week at his inauguration.” 

Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey Chapter, welcomed the governor’s statement as a critical element in maintaining the clean energy course. 

“That tells me that the administration is going full force for energy procurement in all types of clean energy and renewable energy,” she said.  

Ramos-Busot interpreted Murphy’s lack of other comments on energy as meaning the commitment to 100% clean energy by 2035 is all-encompassing. But Murphy also likely was treading carefully around Trump until it’s clear where the new administration stands on different clean energy issues, she said. 

She added that a new bill would need to be drafted to put the executive order into law because an earlier bill, S237, faced opposition from some unions and other parties concerned it allowed the state to buy clean energy from out of state, instead of sourcing in-state. 

EV Trucks and Chargers

The speech preceded the announcement by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Jan. 15 that it would spend $35 million of funds from the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program to put more medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHD) on the road. The money will pay for incentives for local governments to buy electric shuttles, transit buses, garbage trucks and other electric vehicles (EVs). 

In a separate announcement, the DEP on Jan. 14 issued a solicitation for applicants seeking to provide support for the Clean Corridor Coalition Program. The coalition, which consists of representatives from New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, is administering a $249 million grant from the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program to install heavy duty zero-emissions vehicle chargers along the Interstate 95 corridor. (See NJ To Install 167 Heavy Truck Chargers with $250M Federal Grant.) 

Murphy’s biggest clean energy gambit, and one that could be most disrupted by Trump, is his goal of the state installing 11 GW of wind power by 2040. The state has held three solicitations for offshore wind (OSW), approving three projects with a combined capacity of 5.252 GW. The outcome of a fourth solicitation is pending: The BPU was expected to announce approvals for the fourth solicitation by the end of 2024 but has yet to do so. And the agency plans to launch a fifth solicitation this year. (See Uncertainty Clouds NJ Clean Energy in 2025.) 

The state’s most advanced project, 1,510-MW Atlantic Shores, received its Construction and Operations Plan approvals from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October 2024. It now has all its federal permits and can advance regardless, said Ramos-Busot, of the Sierra Club. However, Atlantic Shores is awaiting the results of the BPU’s fourth solicitation, in which the developer submitted a rebid. 

Trump has spoken out against OSW and says he does not believe in climate change. U.S. Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-N.J.) underlined that opposition Jan. 13, issuing a press release stating he’s “working closely with President Trump on drafting an executive order that would halt offshore wind turbine activities along the East Coast.” 

Van Drew, a former Democrat who switched parties in 2020, represents a district in South Jersey that includes Atlantic City and several shore towns that are closest to the state OSW project, and where opposition to the projects is strongest. 

He said he expects the proposed order to be finalized within the next few months and the draft would “lay the groundwork for permanent measures against the projects.”     

Master Plan Concerns

On Jan. 15, the BPU pushed ahead with other clean energy projects. The board agreed to send out a Request for Quotation for a contractor to administer the state Energy Storage Incentive Program, which the board expects to launch in 2025 in support of its goal for the state to reach 2,000 MW of installed storage by 2030. (See Developers Seek Deadline Extension in NJ Storage Plan.) 

The board also approved a modification to the contract for Energy and Environment Economics, which is helping the state develop its 2024 Master Plan. The state’s last plan, released during Murphy’s first term in 2019, formed the basis for his aggressive clean energy strategies. Clean energy supporters see the next Master Plan as key to setting out Murphy’s updated clean energy priorities and providing the foundation for future policies. 

Commissioner Zenon Christodoulou said he was unclear whether the consultant understood the importance of some parts of the project. 

“I’m very concerned that this work product needs to be delivered on time, on budget,” he said. “A lot depends on this, and I haven’t been thoroughly impressed yet with our consultant, and I’m concerned that they don’t understand our time requirements, and that pricing is something that we all pay for.” 

He urged BPU staff to “take additional charge of this to make sure that they deliver on time and not to keep moving this scale as a moving target on budgeting.” 

Guhl-Sadovy said “I know folks are eagerly awaiting” the plan’s release. But she added that “we do want to make sure that we get it right and have all the information that we can utilize and ultimately share with the public.”  

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IEA Sees Momentum Toward New Nuclear Era, Obstacles

The International Energy Agency concludes in a new global review that high cost, long delays and other challenges must be addressed before nuclear power can experience the sustained growth many people expect. 

In its announcement Jan. 16 of “The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy,” IEA said the rebound it predicted several years ago is well underway, with 70 GW of nuclear capacity under construction worldwide and a new record for generation likely to be set in 2025. 

The report also flags a marked leadership transition: Most of the existing nuclear fleet is within countries with advanced economies, and most of it is decades old. The majority of projects under construction are in emerging markets and developing economies, most notably China. Of 52 reactors that have started construction since 2017, 25 were designed in China and 23 in Russia. 

China is on course to displace the United States as the leader in installed nuclear capacity by 2030, but many other nations are seeking lesser amounts of capacity of their own. 

“More than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity is under construction globally, one of the highest levels in the last 30 years, and more than 40 countries around the world have plans to expand nuclear’s role in their energy systems,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a news release. 

But enthusiasm alone will not make those plans a reality, he said: 

“Governments and industry must still overcome some significant hurdles on the path to a new era for nuclear energy, starting with delivering new projects on time and on budget — but also in terms of financing and supply chains.” 

A more diverse fuel supply, shorter development timelines and a pile of money are key to nuclear’s success in its new era, the report says. 

More than 75% of mined uranium comes from just four countries and more than 99% of enrichment capacity is concentrated in four countries as well — one of them Russia. Diversifying this key supply chain “needs to be given much greater attention,” the report urges, particularly by nations that import enriched uranium. 

Cost and schedule overruns are equally thorny problems, and they are intertwined: The predictability of return on investment is key to attracting private capital. And private capital will be needed, the reports states, because public funding alone would be insufficient to create a new nuclear era. 

Small modular reactors could be a solution to the issue of speed and cost, the report indicates, if their promise of standardization comes to pass. 

Many people already are betting on SMRs, years before they come to market: IEA reports that 25 GW of plans in varying degrees of maturity already have been floated publicly. 

If the evolution of the technology and the business model is successful, IEA writes, far more SMR capacity could be built: 

“With the right [government] support, SMR installations could reach 80 GW by 2040, accounting for 10% of overall nuclear capacity globally. However, the success of the technology and speed of adoption will hinge on the industry’s ability to bring down costs by 2040 to a similar level to those of large-scale hydropower and offshore wind projects.” 

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FERC Approves SPP Price Formation Rules; Needs More Time on Resource Accreditation

FERC issued a pair of orders on SPP’s markets at its regular meeting Jan. 16, accepting new price formation rules while setting reforms to capacity certification for additional hearings.

The first order approves new rules to address price formation during load shedding and emergency assistance events, which SPP started working on after Winter Storm Uri in 2021 (ER25-138).

During the storm, SPP had to shed load and bring in emergency imports, but those also cut resource obligations, causing “a steep decline in the market price of energy.” While the grid was in an emergency, prices did not reflect that.

To ensure the right prices are there to attract supplies during emergencies, SPP proposed changing its tariff to provide that if load is shed or emergency imports are requested due to a system-wide capacity issue, then prices would be set as if those imports and load shedding did not occur.

“SPP explains that the pricing solution will continue to reflect the value of energy and ancillary services that exist in the absence of the balancing authority action of shedding load and initiating emergency imports,” the order said. “SPP asserts that its proposed tariff revisions will not impact market prices if market prices naturally increase or decrease due to a non-directed decrease in demand or additional imports being initiated by market participants without balancing authority action.”

FERC found the proposal to be just and reasonable, saying it will produce market prices that better reflect the grid’s condition and incent additional supplies. The rules will go into effect after SPP works out some issues with the Western Area Power Administration to avoid unintended financial harm to the federal entity.

The second order was about implementing effective load carrying capability accreditation for wind, solar and storage and a performance based accreditation for traditional resources that was followed by a fuel assurance proposal for traditional resources (ER24-1317 and ER24-2953). The order accepted and suspended both sets of revisions and consolidated them for paper hearings. Parties will have the opportunity to make another round of comments.

The two cases at FERC deal with the same question — whether the RTO’s proposed resource accreditation methods satisfy the Federal Power Act — and raise common issues of law and fact. Once the later fuel assurance policy was filed, several parties renewed or modified arguments they presented in the accreditation filing.

“Noting the extensive comments previously filed in the two proceedings, parties need not repeat arguments raised in earlier pleadings,” FERC said. “This is an opportunity for parties to provide additional comment on the effect of evaluating the accreditation filing and fuel assurance filing together.”

Public interest organizations filed a complaint on SPP’s accreditation policies in EL24-96, which they asked to be consolidated with the two Section 205 dockets. FERC declined to include the complaint in the joint proceeding, saying it deals with whether the RTO’s current policies are just and reasonable, not the reforms proposed in the two consolidated dockets.

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LPO Offers Eight Utilities $22.9B in Loan Guarantees

The U.S. Department of Energy has made conditional loan commitments totaling $22.9 billion to utilities for transmission, pipeline and clean power investments. 

An estimated 14.8 million customers in 12 states stand to benefit from the lower-cost debt issued through DOE’s Loan Programs Office. 

The LPO said Jan. 16 that the projects planned will add much-needed transmission capacity; provide new wind, solar and hydropower generation on the gigawatt scale; and replace more than 3,000 miles of leaky gas mains and distribution lines that pose a threat to public safety and to the climate. 

LPO listed the following details about the guarantees: 

AEP — $1.6 billion to benefit 3.8 million customers in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia by reconductoring or rebuilding almost 5,000 miles of transmission lines, increasing transmission capacity by 70% and creating a more reliable and efficient system better able to meet growing energy demands. 

Consumers Energy — $5.23 billion to benefit 3.1 million customers in Michigan through the CE Clean Energy project, a wide-ranging plan that includes more than 1.8 GW of new solar and wind capacity; battery storage; virtual power plants; and replacement of legacy gas pipelines. 

DTE Electric — $7.17 billion to benefit 2.3 million customers in Michigan by building thousands of megawatts of generation and battery storage capacity that will be cleaner than existing generation. 

DTE Gas — $1.64 billion to benefit 1.3 million customers in Michigan by updating older gas mains and lines and moving metering infrastructure outdoors. 

Interstate Power and Light — $1.43 billion to benefit 500,000 customers in Iowa; parent company Alliant Energy retired a major coal-fired facility in Iowa in 2023 and plans to add approximately 2 GW of wind power and battery storage capacity in Iowa and Wisconsin. 

Jersey Central Power & Light — $716 million to benefit 1.2 million customers through the New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor, a package of substation expansions and 40 miles of transmission upgrades that will increase capacity by nearly 4.9 GW and 20 MMWh. 

PacifiCorp — $3.52 billion to benefit 2.1 million customers in California, Idaho, Oregon and Utah through Project WIRE, which is intended to augment system capacity and reduce curtailment of existing wind plants by building and reconductoring transmission lines to support existing and future power generation. 

Wisconsin Power and Light — $1.62 billion to benefit 500,000 customers in Wisconsin; parent company Alliant Energy plans to stop burning coal at a Wisconsin plant before 2030 and plans to add approximately 2 GW of wind power and battery storage capacity in Wisconsin and Iowa. 

The conditional loan commitments announced Jan. 16 are through the LPO’s Title 17 Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. 

DOE and the recipients must satisfy technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions before DOE finalizes and funds the loan guarantees. 

AEP said in a news release that it expects to close on the loan this quarter.  

President Bill Fehrman said: “AEP is investing $54 billion in transmission, distribution and generation projects over the next 5 years. Funds from this program will support these investments and save our customers money while we work to improve reliability and bring economic growth to our states. The funds we are able to save through this program enable us to make additional investments to enhance service for our customers.” 

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Trump DOE Nominee Wright Seeks to Assuage Senate Democrats

Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy, positioned himself as a supporter of an all-of-the-above approach to developing generation and transmission before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 15.

In doing so during his three-hour confirmation hearing, Wright — the CEO of Liberty Energy, a natural gas fracking company — acknowledged climate change is real and sought to allay Democratic concerns that the department would favor fossil fuels, though he declined to make specific commitments.

In a typical exchange, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the committee, asked Wright for an assurance that the work of the department’s Grid Deployment Office would be continued “to support the kind of transmission projects that increase reliability and save consumers money.”

Heinrich referred specifically to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and its recommendation for eliminating the GDO, which has overseen transmission upgrade and expansion initiatives such as the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, funded with $10.5 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Without mentioning GDO, Wright said he was “aligned” with Heinrich and, if confirmed, “will seek to find the best ways to improve our transmission grid, including expansion and new lines.”

On the Republican side, Wright provided a nuanced answer to a question from Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) on how to overcome skepticism to increasing fossil fuel production in the U.S. and globally.

“You have to understand that there isn’t dirty energy and clean energy,” Wright said. “All energies are different, and they all have different tradeoffs. Different geographies or locations have climates more favorable to this energy versus that energy. So, it’s a complicated dialogue, which means it’s not easy to get people to share this broader perspective on it.”

Without the growth of new energy technologies, “we wouldn’t have as much energy as we have today,” he said, but “it’s proven very hard to displace hydrocarbons in the global energy system.”

He also told Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) that he would support new research on fossil fuel innovation.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

“Fossil fuels, again, have powered the world throughout my lifetime and will continue to do so,” Wright said. “Even though it’s a critical technology for us, there’s been less interest in it; less interest to talk about it. I don’t share those aversions. I am all about new technology to improve energy sources across the board … including hydrocarbon energy sources.”

Trump’s nomination of Wright as secretary of energy on Nov. 16 was met with mixed reactions, praise from Republicans and cautious optimism from some Democrats who noted his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley and a resume that includes stints in nuclear, wind and solar energy.

He started Liberty in 2011 and has built the company into a major player in the natural gas industry by developing highly energy-efficient fracking equipment. Liberty also has invested in sodium-ion energy storage and next-generation geothermal, and Wright sits on the board of Oklo, a developer of small modular reactors.

A Colorado native, Wright was introduced at the hearing by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who readily admitted to a long history of disagreeing with the nominee on many energy issues.

“He is indeed an unrestrained enthusiast for fossil fuels in almost every regard,” Hickenlooper said, but “he is a scientist who is open to discussion, and he is, again, a scientist who is a successful entrepreneur and has that ability to assess what is possible and what isn’t.”

‘The Hype over Wildfires’

Wright’s nomination is opposed by some who point to his record of past social media and video pronouncements downplaying the impacts of climate change and denying the existence of an energy transition. Such statements, and his financial support for Trump’s campaign, drew some of the sharpest questions at the Senate hearing.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) cited a social media post in which Wright wrote, “The hype over wildfires is just hype to justify more impoverishment from bad government policies.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

When Padilla pushed him on the statement ― asking if “given the devastation that we’re currently experiencing in Los Angeles, do you still believe that wildfires are just hype?” ― Wright answered, “I stand by my past comment.”

Padilla also asked the nominee if he would stand up to Trump or other administration officials if they pressured him to withhold or suppress research from DOE or the National Laboratories.

“I would follow the scientific method,” Wright said. “I will be honest in integrity and follow the laws and statutes of our country.”

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) brought up the April 2024 fundraising dinner Trump held at Mar-a-Lago for oil and gas executives, during which he asked for $1 billion in campaign donations and pledged to roll back Biden administration environmental rules.

Responding to Hirono, Wright said he was at the dinner but denied that Trump made a pitch for donations or promised regulatory rollbacks.

GOP Back in the Chair

The hearing also was the first session of committee under its new Republican chair, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who set the tone for the session with a blistering critique of President Joe Biden’s energy policies.

“Over the past four years, the [Biden] administration has dismantled domestic energy production, canceled leases, and weaponized regulations to discourage investment in pipelines and critical energy infrastructure,” Lee said. “Instead of unleashing American energy, this administration has instead decided to reduce our access to energy, and they’ve reduced many of these tools within the Department of Energy to political tools for advancing extreme climate policies that prioritize ideology over innovations, security and affordability. These failures have caused devastating harm.”

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) | Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

He called on Wright to “ensure that the Department of Energy returns to its founding and all-important purpose,” which he sees as “producing more energy here at home.”

Similarly, Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), one of the committee’s new members, made a pitch for the centrality of fossil fuels in U.S. energy policy and its economy. “The moment in time when you absolutely believe that we can do without fossil fuels in this world today, you’re living in a cave,” he said.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil production hit a record 13.2 million barrels/day in 2024, and the U.S. remains a major natural gas exporter.

Despite some hard questions from Democrats, Wright appeared to have enough bipartisan support to win committee approval and have his nomination voted on by the full Senate.

In his opening statement, Wright echoed Trump’s energy policies aimed at increasing “baseload” resources and rolling back regulations. If confirmed, Wright said his immediate priorities at DOE will be to restore U.S. energy dominance by unleashing American energy at home and abroad; protecting and accelerating the work of the National Labs to promote innovation and U.S. competitiveness; and removing barriers to building new energy projects.

“Energy has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I’ve never been shy about that,” he said. “President Trump shares my passion for energy, and if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy.”

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Shapiro Warns of ‘Reevaluation’ of PJM if Capacity Prices not Addressed

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Jan. 13 urged PJM Board of Managers Chair Mark Takahashi to “intervene with” RTO leadership to revise the design of the capacity market before conducting the 2026/27 Base Residual Auction (BRA) to avoid an “unacceptable” increase in capacity market prices.

The letter follows a complaint the governor filed with FERC in December seeking to revise the auction’s price cap by setting it at 1.5 times the net cost of new entry (CONE); the status quo is the greater of gross CONE or 1.75 times net CONE. Arguing that 1.5 times net CONE is the highest price necessary to ensure that the reference resource is profitable, Shapiro said the existing price cap could cause consumers to overpay by as much as $20 billion, a claim he repeated in the letter (EL25-46). (See Pennsylvania Seeks Lower PJM Capacity Price Cap in FERC Complaint.)

“As I have directly related to PJM’s leadership team in multiple conversations, I find the specter of such a vast wealth transfer to be unacceptable,” Shapiro wrote. “In light of this prospect, it is irresponsible for PJM to push to conduct the next auction without directly addressing widespread concerns over the price cap.”

If capacity prices continue to “spiral needlessly upwards,” it “will prompt me to call for more sweeping changes, including a reevaluation of the responsibilities that states have entrusted to PJM,” Shapiro warned.

Shapiro noted that a lower price cap has been advocated for by the Independent Market Monitor, Organization of PJM States Inc. (OPSI) and the governors of Illinois, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

“The PJM board could choose to resolve the ‘cloud of uncertainty’ that recent statements describe by instructing PJM staff to support these common-sense measures on an expedited basis at FERC,” Shapiro wrote, appearing to refer to the RTO’s response to a complaint about reliability-must-run agreements that public interest organizations filed in September. (See FERC Approves PJM Capacity Auction Delay.)

“A failure to hear the voices of Pennsylvania consumers speaking against this market failure will cause me to question whether Pennsylvania should remain within a construct that inflicts such unjust outcomes on our consumers.”

PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields said the RTO is taking actions that will address the issues raised in Shapiro’s letter, pointing to an announcement of initiatives to speed generation interconnections and changes to the capacity market that have been filed at FERC.

“We appreciate the governor’s letter and have reached out to his office to discuss next steps,” he said in an email.

Shapiro requested that Takahashi respond to his letter by Jan. 16.

Gregory Poulos, executive director of the Consumer Advocates of the PJM States, told RTO Insider that advocates are concerned about rising capacity and transmission costs and he is glad to see state leaders taking action.

Move to Consolidate

Since filing his complaint last month, Shapiro has motioned to have it consolidated with two dockets for proposals PJM has made seeking to revise elements of its capacity market, arguing that they are insufficient so long as the price cap remains unchanged (ER25-682, ER25-785).

One proposal includes reverting the reference resource to a combustion turbine, modeling the output of some generators operating on reliability-must-run agreements and adding tariff language that resources categorically exempt from the requirement that they offer into the capacity market do not hold “safe harbor against allegations of the exercise of market power that benefits an affiliated portfolio of market manipulation power.”

The second would extend the must-offer requirement to apply to intermittent and storage resources. (See PJM Capacity Market in Flux Going into 2025.)

Shapiro urged FERC to accept PJM’s changes “as well as [emphasis added] the reform proposed by the commonwealth in its Section 206 complaint. Adopting the reform proposed in the commonwealth’s complaint before the next auction is necessary to protect consumers across the PJM footprint.”

PJM opposed the motion to consolidate, stating the governor’s complaint is outside the scope of the RTO’s filings and combining them could impair the ability to resolve the dockets in time for the 2026/27 BRA, which is scheduled for July. Given the shorter timeline for the commission to act on the complaint, PJM said consolidating the dockets would leave it with less time to decide on matters unrelated to Shapiro’s complaint, such as the must-offer requirement.

The PJM Power Providers and Electric Power Supply Association also jointly opposed the motion, stating that PJM’s proposed revisions would have substantial impacts on capacity market prices that should be considered separately from Shapiro’s complaint. It also argued that complaints under Federal Power Act Section 206 cannot be used to “shoehorn its preferred rate into a utility’s pending [Section] 205 proposal changing its own rate.”

The groups also requested that FERC extend the comment period on the Pennsylvania complaint to after Feb. 7, the deadline for FERC to act on PJM’s first filing.

Shapiro responded that his $20.4 billion estimate already assumes that PJM’s proposals are approved, underlining the need for more thorough changes.

The Monitor commented that the complaint addresses issues with PJM’s capacity market that would not be resolved by approving the two proposals and that it should be considered as expeditiously as possible without a lengthening of the comment period.

“Complaints have made proposals to address identified issues that PJM omitted and made constructive proposals to address PJM’s flawed proposals. The complaint of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania has raised a critical issue related to the maximum price in the auction that it is essential to address prior to the auction and that PJM failed to address,” the Monitor wrote.

OPSI commented that the governor’s complaint mirrors one of the requests the organization made in two letters sent to the PJM board in September and November requesting that it lower the price cap. It supported the motion to consolidate, saying that the commission must act quickly if changes are to be implemented for the 2026/27 auction, noting that PJM has stated that it would need an answer on its capacity market filing by Feb. 21.

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CARB Drops Multiple EPA Waiver Requests Ahead of Trump Inauguration

California regulators have withdrawn their request for federal approval of a statewide ban on diesel truck sales after 2035, saying they’ve run out of time before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. 

In a letter to U.S. EPA dated Jan. 13, Steven Cliff, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, said CARB was withdrawing its request for a waiver and authorization under the Clean Air Act for its Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. 

In similar letters on the same day, Cliff withdrew waiver requests for CARB’s In-Use Locomotive standard and portions of two other regulations, the Commercial Harbor Craft and Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth regulation and the Transport Refrigeration Unit Engine standards. 

Withdrawal of the waiver requests comes just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20. 

“While we are disappointed that U.S. EPA was unable to act on all the requests in time, the withdrawal is an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and has said will continue to oppose those programs,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said in a statement provided to NetZero Insider. 

Under the federal Clean Air Act, California may set its own vehicle emission standards as long as they’re as stringent in aggregate as federal standards. EPA must issue a waiver for the state to enforce the regulations. Other states may then choose to adopt California’s rules rather than sticking with federal standards. 

In November, Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to D.C. to push for federal approval of pending Clean Air Act waivers, ahead of the incoming Trump administration.  

His efforts were partly successful. On Dec. 18, EPA approved a waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II rules, which require manufacturers to provide an increasing percentage of zero-emission cars for sale in the state each year. By 2035, all new cars sold in the state must be zero-emission or plug-in hybrid. (See EPA Approves Waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Rules.) 

Eleven other states, along with D.C., have adopted ACC II. 

CARB’s emission standards for small off-road engines, such as those used in landscaping equipment, received an EPA waiver Dec. 19. And CARB received waivers this month for portions of its Commercial Harbor Craft and Transport Refrigeration Unit Engine regulations. 

But time ran out on a waiver for CARB’s in-use locomotive standard, which was considered a groundbreaking measure to replace the worst-polluting diesel locomotives with cleaner engines by 2030 and to transition to 100% zero-emission locomotives over the next three decades. (See CARB Approves Clean Locomotives Regulation.) 

The CARB board approved the regulation in April 2023 and a waiver request was submitted to the EPA in November 2023.  

Assessing Next Steps

The Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation also did not receive an EPA waiver.  

The regulation, which the CARB board approved in April 2023, requires truck fleet operators to start transitioning to zero-emission vehicles beginning in January 2024. The regulation applies to three categories of fleets: drayage fleets, state and local government fleets, and federal and high-priority fleets. Fleets are considered high priority if they have 50 or more vehicles or more than $50 million in annual revenue. The speed of the zero-emission transition depends on the type of fleet. (See CARB Adopts Clean Fleets Rule Despite Broad Skepticism.) 

In addition, ACF requires all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission starting in 2036. But without an EPA waiver, CARB cannot enforce the regulation. 

Randolph said in her statement that CARB is looking at ways to continue improving the state’s air quality.  

“The waivers and authorizations recently approved, along with other existing programs, will advance essential emissions reductions in key sectors as we assess next steps,” she said. 

Among regulations still in place is CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, which requires truck manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year starting with model year 2024. The percentage varies based on the weight class of the truck. The ZEV sales requirements top out at 55% for class 2b-3; 75% for class 4-8; and 40% for class 7-8 tractors in 2035 and beyond. 

The CARB board adopted the ACT regulation in 2021 and received an EPA waiver for the rules. Ten states in addition to California have adopted ACT. 

In October, the CARB board approved Advanced Clean Trucks amendments intended to make it easier for truck manufacturers to comply with the regulation. (See Calif. Revises Clean Truck Rules to Ease Compliance.) 

The amendments also clarified that new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in 2036 and later must be zero-emission, consistent with the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. 

It was unclear whether the ACT amendments need an EPA waiver to take effect. CARB didn’t respond to questions about the fate of the ACT amendments. 

Advocates had urged EPA to approve California’s waiver requests before the end of the Biden administration. 

Without approval of the waivers before Jan. 20, “the incoming Trump administration could either deny the waivers or refuse to act on them,” the Coalition for Clean Air said in a Jan. 2 release. 

If the waivers were issued, the Coalition said, the Trump administration could try to revoke them, “but the law offers protections against that, and California could prevail.” 

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BPA Not Planning Any Major Resource Acquisitions

The Bonneville Power Administration is not planning to acquire any major energy resources but is taking steps to ensure it’s ready in case those predictions change, BPA staff said during a presentation of the agency’s 2024 Resource Program on Jan. 14.

“Until we have a little more certainty about what the load obligations will be placed on us under our new long-term power sales contracts that are under development, at this juncture, we’re not planning to acquire any major resources,” Suzanne Cooper, BPA senior vice president of power services, said during a webinar hosted by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

“But we’re taking steps to prepare in the event that we do need to acquire resources and augment the system,” Cooper added.

The comments came as BPA staff presented the agency’s 2024 Resource Program, which analyzes potential system needs and available resources. The biennial program study examines uncertainty in loads, water supply, natural gas prices and electricity market prices to develop least-cost portfolios to help meet BPA’s obligations.

For the 2024 program, BPA ran various sensitivities, including adding limits on access to the power market, to assess needs and potential solutions.

“Not surprisingly, we continue to rely heavily on energy efficiency, demand response and market purchases to meet BPA needs throughout all of the sensitivities,” said Allie Mace, manager of market analysis and policy.

Ryan Egerdahl, manager of long-term power planning, said BPA plans to publish the 2024 Resource Program document later this month and will start work on the 2026 program “basically immediately,” with an expected publish date in September 2026.

Additionally, based on comments from stakeholders during the development of the 2024 program, BPA will work on improving modeling capabilities in the next resource program by including additional assumptions, Egerdahl said.

Potential enhancements include assessing the capacity metric under extreme weather and low water to account for longer-duration extreme weather events than BPA has usually accounted for.

Extreme weather events are “lasting longer than three days, which has been our age-old assumption,” Egerdahl said.

“So, we’re considering having a longer-duration extreme weather event, and maybe looking at different water conditions like happened a year ago in January 2024 where the event was like five plus days and we had really low water,” he added.

Other enhancements include:

    • reintroducing the balancing reserves study to Needs Assessment;
    • connecting resource solutions to the Western Resource Adequacy Program forward showing position;
    • including additional candidate resource options;
    • refining and refreshing characteristics for candidate resources, including performance of renewables; and
    • enhancing linkages between resource solutions, market assessment and needs assessment modeling.