This novel power line could link 3 grids across 3 time zones

3 September 2026 at 08:30

Michael Skelly knows it’s hard to build a huge transmission line that connects different regions of the grid. He has spent a decade trying to get one up and running. But Skelly, now CEO of Grid United , thinks his current attempt to build a first-of-its-kind transmission line is on the right track. And he’s gotten a…

California declines to fund its biggest virtual power plant

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

1 September 2026 at 15:04

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has blocked an effort to keep the state’s most successful virtual power plant program funded through next year. State budget language finalized last week does not authorize additional money for the Demand Side Grid Support program , one of the biggest VPPs in the country…

California virtual power plant bills clear key legislative hurdle

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

26 August 2026 at 08:30

Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a slate of bills meant to expand virtual power plants that could offset the state’s fast-rising electricity costs. Will he do the same this year? Earlier this month, two virtual power plant bills made it through a key legislative hurdle. Lawmakers must vote on the bills…

PJM has finally greenlit a lot of new clean power. Can it get built?

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

24 August 2026 at 08:30

The country’s biggest energy market has a problem: It can’t build enough power plants to keep up with electricity demand. For PJM Interconnection’s 67 million customers across 13 states, the consequences are ever-higher utility bills. For PJM itself, it’s unrelenting political pressure, from blue-state lawmakers on…

PJM wants data centers to bring their own power. Pennsylvania’s on it.

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

20 August 2026 at 22:00

Last month, grid operator PJM Interconnection unveiled a long-awaited proposal to prevent data centers from spiking power prices — but the plan largely relies on states to give it teeth . Pennsylvania, one of the biggest states in PJM’s 13-state territory, is taking up that challenge. This week, Pennsylvania Gov.…

Major data center bills advance in California despite industry pushback

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

18 August 2026 at 08:30

California, with its sky-high electricity prices, isn’t facing the same influx of data centers that many other states are. But the massive facilities are still being built and proposed in California — and legislators are racing to stop them from pushing up utility rates and pollution. Two major data center bills…

Federal ruling hands virtual power plants a win in PJM

Canary Media

By: Jeff St. John

13 August 2026 at 08:30

A recent ruling from federal regulators will let virtual power plants help meet surging energy demand in the county’s biggest energy market. Late last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered PJM Interconnection to accept statistical sampling as a valid method for measuring the reliability of programs…

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