That average is driven by a “rethink” of grid capacity and resilience as demand grows and infrastructure keeps on aging, per new analysis by Visible Alpha.

Leading the big spending: Constellation Energy, whose capex is predicted to spike by 128% this year compared with 2025 (reaching $6.7B). Entergy trails with a 49% spending hike (hitting $11.5B). 

Over the near-term, these orgs’ aggregated spending bumps are projected to peak in 2028—at just over $1.4T.

Not unless the Interior Department follows the recent federal court order to keep solar and wind projects moving, according to Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Angus King (I-ME). 

After all, why should they vote for permitting reform if the Trump administration won’t even pass along the permits? Interior Sec. Doug Burgum recently said that he’s willing to process wind and solar permits…but wouldn’t clarify if DOI will actually follow the court ruling (which he “vehemently” disagreed with).

A new Third Way assessment of 22 active US nuclear projects warns that the industry is essentially giving out “participation trophies"...while falling far behind the Trump administration’s goal of 4Xing capacity by 2050.

By the numbers: Out of 22 analyzed projects, only half are intended for commercial use; of those, just seven have secured offtake commitments and two hold NRC construction permits. And if every active project and planned restart actually succeeds? The US would still stop 289 GW short of Trump’s target.

Follow the money: While the administration keeps hyping its "Reactor Pilot Program,” critics call it a "splashy" distraction from the NRC licensing slog—though private equity is still betting on the backbone, as evidenced by Arlington Capital’s recent $1.25B acquisition of Enercon (a heavy-hitter in US nuclear engineering and licensing services).

Get a sober (but optimistic) look at the US nuclear revival from author and energy commentator Robert Bryce, who recently joined us on Power Perspectives.

FERC has approved PJM’s request to extend its “price collar”—a floor of $175/MW-day and cap of $325/MW-day—through the 2030 delivery year. It’s aimed to blunt the extreme volatility driven by the data center buildout.

PJM’s other weapon against this volatility (the “backstop” plan to procure 15 GW of emergency capacity) received pushback from FirstEnergy CEO Brian Tierney. He thinks power developers should contract directly with data centers…rather than relying on the RTO as a middleman and shifting commodity risk onto utilities.

Developer Compass Datacenters has abandoned its plans for a project that would rank among the world’s biggest. The controversial, lawsuit-ladened Digital Gateway would include around 37 buildings collectively spanning over 20M square feet. 

VA courts have pulled the zoning authorization, and Compass is backing out after pouring in millions. Fellow developer QTS is still involved, but the project’s fate remains unclear.

US Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) called this move a “scam,” and said the Trump administration will “light a lot of federal taxpayer money on fire if we let them.” On Wednesday, Huffman and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) sent a letter to TotalEnergies (which Trump handed $1B in March) informing the company of the Dem. probe over the “backroom deal.”

Chinese battery giant CATL signed its first big sodium-ion deal, committing to ship 60 GWh of cells to Beijing HyperStrong over three years. It’s a signal that the industry has resolved the moisture control and energy density hurdles slowing the tech’s mass production.

Stateside, iron-flow leader ESS Tech is partnering with Alsym Energy to add 8.5 GWh of sodium-ion batteries to its portfolio for short- and medium-duration applications.

Why it matters: As lithium prices remain volatile, sodium-ion offers a cheaper alternative with a simpler supply chain (and without the thermal runaway risks). This makes it a prime candidate for fire-sensitive data centers and residential deployments.

The context: In 2016, San Bernardino County supervisors voted to block the $700M, 300-MW Soda Mountain Solar Project project (due to now-addressed concerns over impacts to bighorn sheep migration). But the developer kept things rolling by opting into state review by the California Energy Commission. 

Now, the commission’s approval marks the first example of a major solar project successfully circumventing county pushback via state authority. Soda Mountain is currently headed for final federal review.

Zoom out: This move sets the foundation for utility-scale developers to work around California’s local land-use rules, which have long delayed renewable projects.