Get it while it’s hot: Under PJM’s new “first-ready, first-served approach,” the capacity-strapped grid operator will now review 715 potential new generation projects (totaling over 200 GW). To qualify for this study process, applicants had to prove their readiness (with, for example, upfront financial commitments.) Now, PJM says it’ll review these projects over a typical timeline of one to two years.

The pieces of the pie: Natural gas leads the charge at 99.8 GW, followed by storage (60 GW) and nuclear (17 GW). Half of the requested gigawatts come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia.

The context: Previously, PJM studied interconnection requests on a first-come, first-served basis—and the queue got clogged with projects that didn’t pan out. In fact, 74% of projects studied by PJM between 2020 and 2026 dropped out of the queue. Now, the hope is that more of the generation pie can hit the grid as the capacity gap grows.

Who’s saving: EDAM’s first participants (PacifiCorp East, PacifiCorp West and CAISO). How? The day-ahead market distributes cheaper supply across the region and “improves the utilization of available generation,” according to a recent CAISO report.

More where that came from: CAISO predicts that these savings will grow “substantially” as new participants join EDAM and grow the market’s footprint—as is the case with the Western Energy Imbalance Market. Think of it like a power potluck. 🍲

Dive deeper into EDAM with Mike Wilding, PacifiCorp’s VP of Energy Supply Management.

The lay of the land: Last month, New York became the first state to (temporarily) ban data centers—and it might not be the last. As of last month, 15 states were considering similar bans, and some Senators have even floated a federal moratorium. Why? Many politicians cite ratepayer frustration as bills rise amid the data center buildout, along with environmental concerns.

What ratepayers think: In a June poll by Data for Progress (with just over 1K US respondents), 67% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans said they support a year-plus countrywide ban.

So, are bans the right move…or are there better options? We dove into the data and duked it out. Check out our debate on data center bans here (and share your POV in the comments).

Going once, going twice: AEP edged out a “household name” data center developer to clinch the 710-MW Longview coal plant in West Virginia. The mysterious developer reportedly had considered funneling all that power to its AI facility—and away from roughly 355K homes. 

So, is coal back? If this deal is any indication, the power rush appears to be thrusting coal back into the spotlight. Longview filed for bankruptcy multiple times in recent years, and in 2021 AEP committed to downsizing its coal portfolio. But now, AEP hopes the Longview plant can help it meet rising demand in PJM (where the company has contracted 18 GW from data centers). 

Ouch: Gas turbines are designed to run at a steady pace for days (or months) on end. But during AI model training, shifting power consumption can twist and snap turbine generator shafts. 

It’s a bit like shifting gears too quickly in a fancy sports car. "The risk can be severe” and "is definitely something we are concerned with," a FERC spokesperson told Investor’s Business Daily.

The fix? Unclear, for now. But a Tesla-funded study (currently in peer review) looked into the exact cause of these wrecks and suggested a method to curb these demand fluctuations.

Hush hush: The world is betting big on nuclear—and Westinghouse is cashing in (quite the comeback for a company that went bankrupt in 2017). Westinghouse has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement for an IPO, and it’s keeping the specifics under wraps.  

Billions for batteries: Startup Base Power has raised $1B in its latest funding round, bringing its total capital to >$2.5B. The company also announced a Texas-built 40-kWh battery that it calls “one of the largest home batteries on the market.” The startup is partnering with utilities including El Paso Electric, Austin Energy, and CoServ to bring its batteries to customers’ homes.

Going independent: Utility-scale solar and energy storage developer Avantus secured a $1.05B loan as it transitions into an IPP. The company’s pipeline includes 13 GW of solar and 44 GWh of battery storage capacity.