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Good morning. This unprecedented PPA is out of this world: Data center company Brae Systems has signed a 20-year agreement for space-based solar from Virtus Solis Technologies. Brae plans to harness those extraterrestrial megawatts to power its underwater data centers. But first, both companies must prove that their tech can make it off the ground. 🌊 ☀️
— Molly, Carrie, and the Energy Central editorial team
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An April 2025 snapshot of Dandelion installing its geothermal systems in Colorado. Credit: Dandelion Energy
This geothermal collab could break new ground for gas utilities.
Residential geothermal giant Dandelion Energy and utility Vermont Gas (VGS) have announced what they call a “first-of-its-kind” partnership: The power couple is collaborating on geothermal systems to heat and cool a new affordable housing development in Vermont.
The details: The Riggs Meadow project will include 44 units spread across four buildings, each of which will hook up to a closed-loop geothermal system. How it works: A heat pump inside the building will connect to water-filled pipes that run underground, where they harness year-round moderate temps to pull or dump heat. Drilling is slated to kick off early next year, and the plan is for residents to arrive in late 2027.
The funding: VGS is covering the upfront costs for geothermal installation by tapping into its budget earmarked for climate-friendly, innovative projects—rather than securing funding via a traditional rate case, VGS President and CEO Neale Lunderville told Energy Central over email. He said the project fits into the company’s “broader effort to develop new thermal energy services.”
“Our utility will own the underground infrastructure and absorb upfront investment, allowing the housing provider and its residents to benefit from geothermal without carrying all the initial cost themselves,” Lunderville said. “The project will give us real-world information about installation costs, operations, and customer economics that can inform what a scalable long-term model could look like.”
The benefits: These geothermal systems will bring efficient, affordable heating and cooling to a region that faces brutal winters—and largely depends on increasingly pricey heating oil.
“Geothermal is a real star in the Northeast,” Dan Yates, CEO of Dandelion Energy, told us. “It solves so many problems, and it's affordable…in new home construction, it is the hands-down winner.”
Plus, this infrastructure is designed to last for decades. If utilities add the geothermal equipment costs to their rate bases, Yates noted, they can charge customers minimal amounts over time. And for ratepayers, these fees “will be more than covered by the energy savings of the geothermal system,” he said.
What’s next: Both companies are thinking bigger. VGS hopes to apply the lessons learned from Riggs Meadow in other Vermont communities, where it will harness its existing relationships with developers and customers. Meanwhile, Dandelion is in talks with several utilities, Yates told us, who are "enthusiastic" about pursuing similar projects—once they work through the logistics with their regulators.
The takeaway: Geothermal heating and cooling could help utilities adapt in states where regulators are steering away from gas. This transition is driving companies around the country to pilot neighborhood-scale geothermal systems, too.
“This is a really interesting way for gas utilities who are facing electrification pressure to lean into it—as opposed to having to fight it—and to be able to profit from it,” Yates said.
It actually happened: Senators have landed on a permitting reform deal.
Yesterday, officials announced a long-awaited permitting reform bill, dubbed the “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026.” (Check it out here.)
What’s in it: The bill includes measures to 1) speed up federal approvals for energy projects 2) boost interregional transmission and 3) fast-track generation interconnection. One wonky tidbit: It would ban the federal right of first refusal for regional and interregional transmission projects.
The support: Leaders from across the power industry have applauded the bill, including the SEIA CEO and Grid Strategies president Rob Gramlich, who wrote that it could “expand and de-congest” the US grid. The bill would also offer advanced transmission tech some much-needed support, according to Zach Zimmerman, Executive Director of the AMP Coalition.
The criticism: The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group, was not as keen on it: If the bill becomes law, “the paltry increases in renewable energy will be instantly devoured by AI data centers,” Brett Hartl, the org’s government affairs director, said in a statement. The bill could also weaken key environmental and Tribal protections, the group said.
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FERC (sort of) approved PJM’s emergency auction.
Huh? The agency accepted parts of PJM’s plan to secure 6.8 GW of capacity for the 2028/29 delivery year, which it failed to clinch earlier this year. Plus, FERC said, PJM can’t kick off the auction until Feb. 28…five months later than planned.
In the meantime: PJM needs to fix several issues with the plan, FERC noted. One glaring problem: The grid operator hasn’t ensured that data centers and other large-load customers will cover their own costs. Right now, the proposal is “deeply flawed…with billion-dollar implications for consumers,” FERC Chair Laura Swett said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other officials are urging FERC to block the BlackRock-led $33B AES acquisition.
The deal, spearheaded by BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners, recently got the rubber stamp from Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission (under several conditions). But it has received flak from consumer groups and federal officials.
The latest: Warren (D-MA), along with a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers, wrote a letter to FERC Chair Laura Swett asking the agency to reject the deal. "The private equity industry’s involvement in the public utility market has significant implications for consumers’ energy costs at a time when Americans are facing record high utility bills," the politicians wrote.
While we’re here: A group of state attorneys general and consumer advocates are calling for FERC to halt the NextEra-Dominion merger, following months of political pushback from across the aisle.
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Thanks for reading. TTYL!