PJM Interconnection, the organization that manages the transmission grid delivering electricity to about 65 million people from the mid-Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes, badly needs more power. In fact, its inability to connect projects languishing in its interconnection queues — most of them solar, wind, and batteries ready to replace closing coal-fired power plants — has spiked the cost of power, is threatening state clean power goals, and may put grid reliability at risk before decade’s end.
See the full story at Canary Media.
More DMV News
Higher Energy Bills Shock DMV Residents, Pepco Explains the Spike
WUSA-9 News
Residents across the DMV are facing unexpectedly high energy bills this month, with some reporting their costs have doubled or even tripled. One Pepco customer took to social media, claiming their latest electric bill reached a staggering $887.
In Virginia, Democratic Lawmakers Clash With Youngkin Over RGGI Membership, Flood Relief
Inside Climate News
The Democrats want back into the regional carbon market, while the governor favors using the last of the RGGI funding for a permanent disaster relief fund.
As Power Demand Surges, Va. Lawmakers Seem Ready to Add More Energy Storage to the Grid
Virginia Mercury
Virginia lawmakers want to more than triple the amount of energy storage capacity Virginia’s two public utility companies — Dominion and Appalachian Power (ApCo) — must procure under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
Nonprofits, States Scramble as Trump Administration Pauses Funding for Many Chesapeake Restoration Programs
The Bay Journal
Efforts in recent years to accelerate the Chesapeake Bay restoration have run into a wall of Trump administration executive orders that halted payments for huge swaths of Bay-related work, raising doubt about the future of many projects.
National and International News
EPA Chief Says Biden Was ‘Irresponsibly Shoveling Boatloads of Cash,’ Vows to Get Back $20 Billion
Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency will try to claw back $20 billion that the Biden administration approved for climate projects, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a social media post on Wednesday, claiming without evidence that the money was awarded in “a rush job with reduced oversight.”
The US Smashed Clean Energy Records Last Year. Can it Keep Up the Pace?
Canary Media
Clean energy installations in the U.S. reached a record high last year, with the country adding 47% more capacity than in 2023, according to new research by energy data firm Cleanview.
Mayors Across US Urge Congress Not to Repeal Clean Energy Tax Credits
Inside Climate News
A letter signed by mayors and local leaders across 39 states calls on Congress to protect all clean energy tax credits made available to state and local governments. These credits had been responsible for creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments before President Donald Trump froze the funds.
SEC Rule Suspension is Early Gift for Trump’s Oil and Gas Supporters
Washington Post
President Donald Trump’s energy secretary and two of his major donors won a key victory last week when the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to back off a rule requiring large companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and any plans to reduce them.
How Trump’s Trade War Could Affect Climate Change
New York Times
President Trump’s trade war has begun, with tariffs against all Chinese imports going into effect today. Levies against Mexican and Canadian imports were paused at the last minute, for 30 days, after Trump said both countries had offered concessions to his demands, though how significant these were is unclear.