US ENERGY UPDATE | Feb 27, 2026 View this email in your browser

EIA: A Record-Breaking Year for New Capacity

The numbers are in, and 2026 is shaping up to be historic. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects 86 GW of new utility-scale generating capacity will be added to the grid this year — the most in a single year since 2002. Solar leads the charge at 51%, with battery storage at 28% and wind at 14%. Texas alone accounts for more than half of the planned solar and storage additions. If you needed proof that the build-out is accelerating regardless of political headwinds, here it is.

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Battery Storage Hit a Record in 2025 — But the Pipeline Is Cooling

BloombergNEF confirmed that the U.S. added 15.2 GW of utility-scale battery storage in 2025, a 35.4% jump over 2024. The headline is impressive, but the fine print warrants attention: interconnection applications for new storage declined 20% year-over-year, and the forward pipeline is softening amid tariff uncertainty and supply chain headwinds. The storage revolution is real — but developers and investors should watch whether 2025 represents a peak or a plateau.

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The Largest Wind Project in the Western Hemisphere Is Coming Online

Pattern Energy’s SunZia Wind and Transmission project — 3,500 MW of wind capacity paired with a 550-mile HVDC transmission line from New Mexico to Arizona — is on track for commercial operations this year. When complete, it will be the largest onshore wind project in U.S. history and the largest clean energy infrastructure build-out ever undertaken in this country. For anyone who says wind is stalling, point them here.

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FERC Moves to Unlock Data Center Co-Location in PJM

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered PJM — the grid operator covering 67 million Americans — to overhaul its tariff rules for co-located generation and large loads like AI data centers. The order established new transmission service options designed to speed up grid access for large industrial and tech customers, with February compliance deadlines now in the rearview. The rules PJM files will likely become a national template for how the grid accommodates surging data center demand across every region.

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Rising Electric Bills: The Industry’s Political Problem

A new analysis confirms what ratepayers already feel — the national average residential electricity price is now around 18 cents per kWh, up roughly 37% since 2020. Despite campaign promises to slash energy costs, prices continue to climb, fueled by infrastructure investment, load growth from data centers, and supply constraints. The political backlash is building, and it’s creating pressure on utilities, regulators, and generators alike. This is the affordability conversation the industry needs to be having — and preparing for.

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The U.S. Military Airlifted a Nuclear Reactor — and It Took Three C-17s

On February 15, the Pentagon and the Department of Energy flew Valar Atomics’ Ward250 microreactor — disassembled into eight modules — from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah aboard three C-17 Globemasters. The reactor, rated at up to 5 MW, will be tested at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab with a goal of reaching initial operations by July 4. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey were on the flight. Critics called it a spectacle; supporters called it the start of an American nuclear renaissance. Valar aims to sell power on a test basis in 2027 and go fully commercial in 2028. The policy clock is ticking either way.

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Illinois Sets a 2 GW Nuclear Target — With a Deadline

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order on February 18 directing state regulators to begin soliciting proposals for new nuclear development, with a goal of getting construction started on at least 2 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2033 — enough to power up to 2 million Illinois homes. This comes just weeks after Pritzker signed legislation fully lifting Illinois’ long-standing moratorium on new large-scale nuclear reactors, a ban that dated to 1987. Illinois already leads the nation in nuclear generation, producing over half its electricity from nuclear. The question now is whether the siting, regulatory, and procurement machinery can move fast enough to matter.

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