Numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to cleaner energy.

But putting wind turbines at sea requires the cooperation of a powerful landlord: the federal government. Soon, that government will be led by President-elect Donald Trump, who has frequently disparaged offshore wind and said he will “make sure that ends on Day 1.”

In the eight states that have passed legal mandates to reach certain amounts of offshore wind power, Trump’s second term threatens those timelines.

“This is absolutely going to create problems for how we’re going to meet our emissions goals and the energy needs for the state,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat who serves as vice chair on the legislative Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

For many East Coast states that lack a large land base for extensive onshore development, offshore wind in federal ocean waters is central to their plans for a power supply that doesn’t use fossil fuels. Lawmakers in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia have established mandates requiring their states to produce certain amounts of offshore wind power in the coming years. Other states have passed laws to allow for offshore wind to be added to their grids or set nonbinding planning targets to prepare for the industry’s development.

State leaders say they will continue to pursue offshore wind but realize there may be delays during the next four years.

In the meantime, some say they will continue to build out the needed electrical grid and ports to get ready for turbines, in hopes of speeding up offshore wind once Trump’s term ends. Others say they may need to consider building more onshore energy projects, including wind and solar, in the next few years to meet near-term climate goals.

“That’s something states will have to take into account,” said Dylan McDowell, executive director with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, a collaborative nonpartisan forum for state lawmakers. “Is [offshore wind] still feasible, or do there need to be conversations about solar, [onshore] wind, geothermal, other energy sources that could be put into the mix to help meet those goals? There’s more questions than there are answers right now.”

While a handful of offshore wind projects have already started construction or been completed, many more are in various stages of permitting or awaiting lease auctions held by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Industry experts say the Trump administration could deny permits, cancel pending leases and halt further auctions. It could also threaten the industry’s financing by denying clean energy tax credits.

In an extreme scenario, the bureau could even side with opponents who have brought legal challenges against projects that already have been approved and retract permits issued under the Biden administration. Trump’s ability to unwind the moves made under President Joe Biden is “underappreciated,” said Timothy Fox, a vice president at ClearView Energy Partners LLC, an independent research firm.

Trump has repeated claims that offshore wind turbines are a major cause of whale mortality — an assertion that scientists say is false. Many of the groups raising concerns about whales to oppose offshore wind are funded by oil and gas donors.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to an interview request before publication.

Offshore wind also has drawn local opposition from coastal residents who fear it will worsen their views and from fishermen who worry projects could block access to key fishing areas. Meanwhile, some Republicans have pointed to the wind industry’s recent financial struggles to argue that it will increase ratepayers’ bills.

“[T]he business model for these projects has fallen well short of projections to the degree that those wind energy developers are either halting construction or asking the government for additional subsidies to make up for projected cost increases,” four Maryland Republican senators wrote to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in April, unsuccessfully urging him to veto a financing package to boost offshore wind in that state.

Counting on offshore wind

States’ offshore wind goals were already facing difficulties. Numerous projects were canceled or delayed last year as inflation and supply chain issues raised costs dramatically. Now, political headwinds could cause greater delays.

“Offshore wind might not be a viable option over the next four years,” said Fox, the energy analyst. “Unlike a lot of other resources, offshore wind is reliant on a federal review process because these projects are being deployed in federal waters.”

Offshore wind turbines currently provide only a negligible amount of power to the United States. But a handful of projects currently under construction will soon raise that number to 4 gigawatts (1 gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes). And much more is on the way.

Developers of other projects are working to finalize financing or permits, and wind companies are awaiting federal lease auctions that will open up new areas for development. In total, the project pipeline for offshore wind exceeds 80 gigawatts, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory — enough to consistently power more than 60 million homes. The incoming administration could thwart most of that production by denying development permits or leases in federal waters.

East Coast states don’t have a viable way to meet their clean energy goals without that offshore production, said Maryland state Del. Lorig Charkoudian, a Democrat who authored a law last year that increased the state’s offshore wind targets.

“We’ll continue to support the ongoing development of offshore wind until we have to make other adjustments,” she said.

The Maryland law mandates that the state produce 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2031. Developers of a trio of projects off the state’s coast, totaling 1.7 gigawatts, are working to secure permits and financing, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. And the state is counting on future lease auctions by federal regulators to prompt more development.

Charkoudian acknowledged that Trump could threaten those efforts, but she said the state remains committed to its offshore wind plans. She noted that Maryland is working to improve its electrical grid so that offshore wind projects can “land” their power, an effort that will continue.

“Even if other things do get slowed down, this will make things move faster whenever it can get moving again,” she said.

Nick Guariglia, outreach manager with the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, a network of industry and environmental groups, said that projects take many years to develop, a timeframe exceeding one presidential administration. He also noted that the maturing industry aligns with Trump’s goals of restoring manufacturing jobs and American energy independence. Members of Congress in both parties are seeing economic growth in their districts because of offshore wind, he said.

“This industry has a lot of things to prove about why it’s here to stay,” he said. “Actions are much more important than rhetoric.”

Regardless of what happens at the federal level, offshore wind backers will urge New York lawmakers to continue investing in infrastructure and workforce development to support the buildout of more turbines, he said.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

The blade tip, which is being developed in ORNL’s carbon fiber technology center, incorporates two layers each of standard glass fiber and a low-cost lab developed carbon fiber, with such customized conductive carbon fiber key to dispersing electrical energy across the blade surface.

The researchers also declare using industry-standard equipment and methods to show that the technology can be easily integrated with established manufacturing processes.

“We don’t have enough data to know the true scope of the challenge [of lightning strike damage], but we know it’s a concern to industry and utilities,” said ORNL researcher Vipin Kumar.

“We know wind energy is a reliable source of electricity that supports energy security, but I believe anything we can do to make it more resilient and reliable is important.”

Lightning strikes to wind turbine blades are known to be frequent but are rarely catastrophic.

Nevertheless, they are believed to be able weaken blades with internal damage that can translate to increased repair costs over time, and they are the second leading cause of blade-related downtime.

In the project an entire 2m turbine blade tip was built using the novel materials. This was then tested against the forces of simulated lightning in a specialized lab at Mississippi State University, where the blade tip emerged pristine after tests that isolated the effects of high voltage.

Separate tests in the same lab found that isolated high current remained destructive.

The cost of carbon fiber has generally limited its use to the wind blade’s load bearing structure, but ORNL’s efforts to lower the cost of carbon fiber may make it economical to replace glass fibers in the blade tip, where the lightning strikes most often.

With the demonstration highlighting the possibilities of a new approach to protecting blades using conductive materials or coatings, further innovations are being investigated.

With resin making up the largest portion of the blade tip, these include the use of a more conductive resin.

Another notable benefit of the hybrid carbon fiber composite blade tip is its weight, about 41% lighter than a pure glass fiber blade tip, opening the way for larger blades of the same weight, with the potential to generate more electricity.

The approach also is considered of potential for preventing lightning damage to the composites used in airplanes.

Originally published by Power Engineering International.

The projects include wind, solar and renewable natural gas facilities (RNG) as well as battery storage capacity.

Solar and wind projects announced this year are a mix of company-built and owned projects and power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Consumers Energy also worked with farmers to announce construction of multiple RNG facilities across the state following expansion of the utility’s MI Clean Air program. In many cases, RNG is considered carbon negative, as it captures and prevents more emissions than it emits.

Consumers Energy’s clean energy goals include bringing 8,000 MW of solar online by 2040 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions from its electric generation and distribution systems.

The Michigan utility’s Clean Energy Plan also calls for eliminating coal as an energy source in 2025 and meeting 90 percent of customers’ energy needs through clean sources.

The American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary has proposed adding a 450-Megawatt (MW) natural gas plant to be located at the previously retired H.W. Pirkey Power Plant site in Hallsville, Texas. The new Hallsville plant is expected to come online in 2027, pending approval from utility regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. According to regulatory filings submitted December 17, the facility would feature two GE combustion gas turbine generators and utilize existing water intake structures and site infrastructure to minimize project costs, SWEPCO said.

The utility is also planning a coal-to-gas conversion project at the Welsh Power Plant, located northwest of Cason, Texas. The 1,053 MW project would convert the existing coal-fired boilers of Units 1 and 3 to burn natural gas, with Unit 1 conversion anticipated in 2028 and Unit 3 in 2027.

Natural gas currently accounts for 48% of SWEPCO’s existing power generation portfolio. Due to the evolving reserve requirements set by the Southwest Power Pool, SWEPCO anticipates an increasing capacity need.

In addition to the projects mentioned above, SWEPCO has selected a short-term capacity agreement with a natural gas-fired plant in Texas as part of a competitive bid process. The company said this agreement would serve as a bridge to more permanent resource additions.

SWEPCO continues construction on multiple renewable energy projects. The largest one, the 598 MW Wagon Wheel Wind Facility, spans five counties in Oklahoma and is expected to be operational in December 2025.

The 200 MW Diversion Wind Farm, located in Baylor County, Texas, is scheduled to begin operations this month.

SWEPCO’s first utility-scale solar farm, the 72.5 MW Rocking R Solar Facility, is also nearing completion in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. SWEPCO will not own the facility and will instead purchase the electricity generated via a purchase power agreement.

Reuters originally reported the news last week citing sources “familiar with the matter,” and GE Vernova confirmed the reports this week. GE Vernova began the probe in response to a July incident, in which a suspected “manufacturing deviation” led to a Haliade-X turbine blade breaking, causing foam and fiberglass to plummet into the waters around Nantucket. Debris continued to wash ashore for weeks after the incident, putting Vineyard Wind 1 and GE Vernova in an uncomfortable spotlight. 

Vineyard Wind said none of its employees or contractors were in the area at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported. Several days later, the joint venture began mobilizing debris recovery teams on Nantucket to survey the southern-facing beaches of the island and recover debris.

Shortly after the incident, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that operations at Vineyard Wind had been suspended until it could be determined whether the “blade failure” impacted other turbine blades on the development. As a result, power production in the lease area was suspended and the installation of a new wind turbine generator construction was also on hold. In August, Vineyard Wind said it obtained federal approval to continue work on the wind farm. 

The blade that caused the Vineyard Wind incident was fabricated at the LM Wind Power factory in Gaspé, Canada, one of two places where the Haliade-X blades are made. GE Vernova said in an August earnings call that the company would reinspect all of the blades manufactured at that plant. The other factory in Cherbourg, France has also made recent headlines for the wrong reasons after an “operational incident” involving a mold used to make a Haliade-X component back in April.

In September, GE Vernova said it planned to cut up to 900 offshore wind jobs globally in a move to reduce its offshore wind footprint. The move came not only amid uncertainty and supply chain constraints in the offshore market but also another incident involving a GE Vernova Haliade-X turbine blade – this time at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm off the northeast coast of England. However, in this case, GE Vernova said its analysis showed that the blade event was not caused by an installation or manufacturing issue but instead occurred during the commissioning process, when the turbine was left in a fixed and static position, rendering it vulnerable during a subsequent storm with high winds.

Vineyard Wind is located about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. Once fully operational, Vineyard Wind 1 will deliver 806 MW.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration. Additionally, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, his choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world.

CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.

Frequently criticizing what he calls a “top-down” approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups, Wright has argued that the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” He has never served in government, but has written that more fossil fuel production is needed around the globe to lift people out of poverty.

Consideration of Wright to head the administration’s energy department won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm.

Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. Hamm helped organize an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trump’s campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if reelected.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group, said Wright’s experience in the energy sector “gives him an important perspective that will inform his leadership” of the Energy Department.

“We look forward to working with him once confirmed to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOE’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world,” Sommers said.

Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright “a champion of dirty fossil fuels” and said his nomination to lead the Energy Department was “a disastrous mistake.”

“The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century,” Wong said. “Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOE’s core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever.”

Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Trump promised bold choices for his Cabinet, and Wright’s nomination delivers.

“He’s an energy innovator who laid the foundation for America’s fracking boom. After four years of America last energy policy, our country is desperate for a secretary who understands how important American energy is to our economy and our national security,″ Barrasso said.

If confirmed, Wright will join North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to be interior secretary, as a key player on energy policy in a second Trump term. Wright will be a member of a new National Energy Council that Burgum will chair. The new panel will seek to establish U.S. “energy dominance” around the world, Trump said.

Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Wright would be “an excellent choice” for energy secretary. Pyle led Trump’s Energy Department’s transition team in 2016.

Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.

National Energy Council

Burgum, in his new role, will oversee a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.

“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump wrote.

The Republican president-elect accused the “radical left” of engaging in a war on American energy, in the name of fighting climate change. His policy of energy dominance, which he also espoused during his first term, will allow the U.S. to sell oil, gas and other forms of energy to European allies, making the world safer, Trump said.

Trump’s policies, if adopted, would represent a near-complete reversal from actions pursued by Democratic President Joe Biden, who has made fighting climate change a top priority and has pushed for more electric vehicles and stricter regulation of carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill and stop offshore wind development when he returns to the White House in January.

Trump, who has called oil “liquid gold,” said oil and natural gas, along with minerals such as lithium and copper, should be exploited to the maximum extent possible. “We will “DRILL BABY DRILL,” expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs,” Trump wrote.

Speaking to reporters at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort before his selection as interior secretary was announced Thursday night, Burgum said he and Trump are concerned about “the nexus between energy and inflation and the nexus between energy and national security.”

“Energy is a component of everything — it’s the clothes you wear, the food you eat,” Burgum said, adding that the U.S. needs to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence.

“The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,″ Burgum said, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration″ to address it.

Burgum, 68, was elected North Dakota governor in 2016, his first campaign for elected office. A former software executive, he led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum has also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.

Burgum, a Republican, has taken a pro-business style as governor of a state where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed income tax cuts, reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a “data-driven” approach to governing, advocated for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.

He ran for president in 2023, but dropped out after his bid failed to resonate. He later endorsed Trump.

Industry groups welcomed Burgum to the new administration and said Trump’s creation of an energy council signaled renewed emphasis on spurring domestic production and streamlining regulations.

Burgum’s “deep understanding of American energy resources and public lands positions him to tackle critical issues such as enhancing energy affordability … and strengthening the U.S. in the global energy marketplace,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which promotes offshore drilling. Milito is a former vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s top lobbying group.

David Seabrook, president of The Wilderness Society, called Burgum “a longtime friend to fossil fuel interests” who played a role in an April event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to his campaign, with the expectation that he would curtail environmental regulations if re-elected.

“The first Trump administration treated (public lands) like they’re meant to be dug up, drilled or sold off for profit,” Seabrook said. “Gov. Burgum’s long track record of pushing for unchecked fossil fuel development sends a loud signal about which path they will take this time around.”

Generator cost data are reported to EIA through the EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Inventory. Average construction costs for solar generators increased by 1.7% in 2022, and for wind turbines they increased by 1.6%, EIA said.

Solar, wind and natural gas comprised 86% of the capacity added to the U.S. electric grid in 2022.

Natural Gas

Between 2021 and 2022, EIA said the average construction cost for natural gas-fired generators decreased by 11%, primarily due to a significant drop in costs for combined-cycle facilities. In 2022, the average cost for generators at combined-cycle facilities fell by 42%, reaching $722/kW.

In contrast, costs for other natural gas technologies rose in 2022. The average construction cost for a combustion turbine nearly doubled to $1,006/kW, while costs for natural gas-fueled internal combustion engines increased by 27% to $1,677/kW, the agency said.

Solar

The slight increase in solar construction was primarily driven by a 13% increase in the construction cost for crystalline silicon tracking panels, which increased to $1,605/kW, the highest price since 2018. Average overall U.S. solar construction increased to $1,588/kW.

The average construction cost for crystalline silicon fixed-tilt panels decreased by 13%, but they remained the most expensive of the major solar technologies at $1,788/kW, according to EIA. The average cost for Cadmium telluride panels also decreased by about 6% to $1,529/kW in 2022.

More generally, the average cost of U.S. solar construction has fallen in the last decade, as more utility-scale solar capacity has increased.

Wind

The average construction cost for U.S. onshore wind turbines increased in 2022 to $1,451/kW. This was driven by increases in construction costs for wind farms greater than 100 MW in nameplate capacity, EIA reported. The cost for wind farms between 100 MW and 200 MW of capacity increased by 10% to $1,614/kW.

In 2022, construction costs for the largest wind farms—those exceeding 200 MW—rose by 1.4%, reaching an average of $1,402/kW. Meanwhile, for wind farms with capacities between 1 MW and 100 MW, construction costs continued to decline, dropping by an average of 7.3% to $1,806/kW.

Due to an “unprecedented increase” in projected customer demand seen in its fall load growth forecast, Duke Energy provided state regulators with supplemental modeling on Jan. 31, 2024.

In July this year, prior to the NCUC’s evidentiary hearing on the plan, Duke Energy, the NCUC Public Staff, Walmart and the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association reached a broad settlement on most topics at issue in the Carolinas long-range plan. The settlement committed Duke Energy to increasing the amount of solar energy and battery storage on its system through 2030, provided the opportunity to upgrade existing small solar facilities that are approaching the end of their contract terms with Duke, and committed Duke Energy to continued reform of its transmission planning process.

Duke Energy originally filed its proposed Carolinas Resource Plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) On Aug. 17, 2023, two days after filing the same plan with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC). The Carolinas Resource Plan is Duke Energy’s proposed road map for its dual-state system serving North Carolina and South Carolina.

“We believe this is a constructive outcome that allows us to deploy increasingly clean energy resources at a pace that protects affordability and reliability for our customers,” Duke Energy said in a statement. “The order confirms the importance of a diverse, ‘all of the above’ approach that is essential for long-term resource planning and helps us meet the energy needs of our region’s growing economy. We look forward to thoroughly reviewing the NCUC order and incorporating it into our future resource planning.”

After gathering input from public hearings, evaluating Duke’s proposal, modeling, and settlement – along with modeling from Public Staff and targeted recommendations from intervenors – and conducting an extensive evidentiary hearing across two weeks, the NCUC issued its decision late last week. The order accepts the July settlement in its entirety.

Specifically, the order directs Duke Energy to pursue the following:

Near-Term Resources

• Solar: 3,460 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation, beyond the NCUC’s 2022 order – 6,700 MW total by 2031.
• Battery: 1,100 MW of battery energy storage, beyond the NCUC’s 2022 order – 2,700 MW total by 2031.
• Onshore Wind: 1,200 MW of onshore wind in operation by 2033, including at least 300 MW in operation by 2031.
• Combustion Turbines (CTs): Four CTs by 2030 – 900 MW of additional CTs (two units) beyond the 800 MW (two units) in the NCUC’s 2022 order.
• Combined Cycles (CCs): Three CC units by 2031 – 2,720 MW of additional CC capacity (CC2 and CC3) beyond the 1,200 MW (CC1) in the NCUC’s 2022 order.

Long-Term Resources

• Bad Creek II: Approved continued development work, including requested $165 million in early development costs.
• Nuclear: Approved continued development work, including requested $440 million in early development costs, targeting 300 MW of advanced nuclear capacity on line by 2034 and a total of 600 MW by 2035.
• Offshore Wind: Approved continued development work through the Acquisition Request for Information (ARFI) to advance the evaluation of offshore wind’s role in future resource plans, with results filed no later than July 30, 2025, and targeting between 800 and 1,100 MW of offshore wind by 2034 and 2,200 to 2,400 MW by 2035.

Modeling, Reserve Margin, Interim Carbon Reduction Target and Other Key Findings

• Confirmed Duke Energy’s recommended portfolio, P3 Fall Base, as the “reference portfolio.”
• Approved increase in the minimum planning reserve margin to 22% by 2031.
• Waived the requirement to model 70% carbon reduction by 2030, agreed that the evidence in the case supported the decision to extend the date for achieving 70% carbon reduction beyond 2032, and ordered Duke Energy to continue pursuing “all reasonable steps” to achieve 70% carbon reduction by the earliest possible date.
• Confirmed proposed coal retirement dates.
• Noted that “The Commission must be mindful of the impacts to customers when determining the appropriate action to take … to ensure that Duke, and North Carolina, continue this trajectory of rates that are at or below the national average,” highlighting the inflation-adjusted bill impact of the plan as a 0.9% increase by 2038.

The PSCSC continues to deliberate on the resource plan and will issue an order on or before Nov. 26, 2024. Following that order, Duke Energy said it will begin executing the plan while simultaneously developing the modeling required for its 2025 plan update in North Carolina, which must be filed by September 2025. As outlined in North Carolina law, the plan must be checked and adjusted every two years, incorporating technology advances, updated cost forecasts and applicable federal funding that could help customers save money over time.

In it’s 2024 filing to the NCUC, Duke said “new economic development wins, including manufacturing and technology projects across the Carolinas” make up the primary driver of the increased electric demand. The utility said annual demand expects to increase 22% by 2030 and 25% by 2035 from 2022 planning cycles — driven by significant additional economic development activity that took place during 2023. Notably, according to the Census Bureau, South Carolina’s population grew faster than any state’s in 2023.

Duke Energy put forth its original resource plan to regulators in August 2023. The company presented three portfolio scenarios but recommended one that achieves 70% CO2 emission reductions from 2005 levels by 2035. The “Portfolio P3 Fall Base,” introduced almost 6.8 GW of additional resources.

This strategic partnership combines KKR’s experiences in digital infrastructure, power and the energy value chain with ECP’s energy transition platform in electrification and power and renewable generation.

The strategic partnership is intended to deliver scaled data center and power solutions for hyperscalers and other market participants to support their infrastructure needs across geographies to drive model training, tuning, and inferencing at scale. KKR and ECP plan to engage with industry leaders including utilities, power and data center developers, and independent power producers to accelerate the delivery of data center campuses required by hyperscalers.

KKR is funding the strategic partnership from existing infrastructure and real estate strategies and insurance accounts managed by the firm. ECP is funding the strategic partnership from existing and future infrastructure capital pools.

“Data center power demand is expected to grow by 160% by 2030, a demand that will go unmet without the right infrastructure in place, which is critical to boosting productivity, supporting electrification and helping countries create a competitive edge in AI,” said Joe Bae, Co-Chief Executive Officer, KKR.

To date, KKR has invested more than $29 billion across 22 investments in relevant digital infrastructure companies across data centers and fiber, as well as $15 billion in power, utilities and energy. KKR’s global data center footprint spans four platforms with several GW of deployed assets across over 100 facilities and more under development globally. KKR’s portfolio also includes over 10 renewable energy developers with over 50 GW of global development pipeline.

ECP has owned, controlled, and operated over 83 GW of power generation across all major U.S. power markets, spanning a variety of technologies including natural gas, geothermal, hydro, solar, wind, battery storage and waste-to-energy since its founding in 2005. ECP is also the majority owner of an aeroderivative power turbine platform and manufacturer, ProEnergy, which the companies say will provide an important link in accelerating the delivery of electricity to data center projects.

After years of flat load growth on the U.S. grid, electricity demand is rising due to numerous factors – notably industrial onshoring, widespread electrification and the adoption of AI data centers.

According to a recent EPRI white paper, electricity usage by hyperscalers more than doubled between 2017 and 2021. This increase is expected to continue, with data centers projected to consume 5% to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up from 4% today. Demand for computing power from data centers, fueled by artificial intelligence and other new technologies, requires enormous amounts of power. 

In the U.S., data center demand is expected to reach 35 GW by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022, McKinsey & Company projects. 

According to EPRI, 15 states accounted for 80% of data center capacity in 2023, led by Virginia, Texas, California, Illinois, Oregon, and Arizona. That concentration creates economic opportunities for states hosting data centers, but could also stress the grid.

It’s time for the state to get with the times on renewable energy.

A report released Wednesday by the Alaska Environment Research and Policy Center shows Alaska gets just 2.6% of its retail electricity from solar, wind, and geothermal sources, ranking it 44th in the nation. In 2023, 16% of total electricity generation in the U.S. came from renewable resources.

Renewables on the Rise 2024 contends almost all of Alaska’s tremendous clean energy potential remains untapped, and that’s a good thing when federal funding is readily available for clean infrastructure projects.

“We have a lot of reasons to develop a truly sustainable and resilient energy system in Alaska, and now is the time to dive in,” said the state director of Alaska Environment, Dyani Chapman. 

The report’s dashboard documents the growth of six key clean energy technologies across the United States over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles (EVs), and electric vehicle charging stations.

Although Alaska lags behind the national averages in many categories and IRA-driven investment has been slow to make its way up there, progress is being made.

The state has the 12th-largest battery energy storage capacity in the nation. Alaskan EV registrations increased by more than 5,000% in 2023 from a decade ago, thanks largely to the development of charging infrastructure. In 2014, Alaska had just one public EV charger, but by the end of 2023, 124 ports were open to the public. As the report points out, there was essentially zero grid-connected solar in Alaska ten years ago, but now it provides power for the equivalent of 2,191 homes.

According to Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) data, has just over 30 MW of installed solar, including 11.9 MW in 2023. SEIA tracked just $19 million in solar investment in 2023 but expects installations to continue on an upward trend through 2029.

In August, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy signed Senate Bill 152 into law, creating a framework for adopting community solar projects in the state. Dunleavy inked the legislation on the site of Chugach Electric Association’s proposed 500-kilowatt community solar project expected to become operational next year. Chucagh, Alaska’s largest utility cooperative, initially saw the project rejected by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) in 2019 but it rekindled public interest. The utility aims to reduce its 2012-level carbon emissions by 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

To harness Alaska’s potential, the authors of Renewables on the Rise 2024 recommend that state and local governments set clean energy goals with clear benchmarks and leverage federal resources to hit them. Lawmakers and regulators should ensure that utility policies fairly compensate investors in clean energy technology and adopt policies for permitting and interconnection that make adopting clean energy technologies hassle-free. They also suggest cutting energy waste by expanding efficiency programs and policies, including utility energy efficiency programs, energy codes for buildings, and appliance efficiency standards.

“This report offers a timely reminder that we have an immense, largely untapped opportunity when it comes to clean energy here in Alaska and we should take full advantage of federal tax credits, grants, and rebate programs to help realize our clean energy potential,” Chapman said. “Alaskans are already reaping the benefits of the progress we’ve made so far, but there is so much more we can do to usher in the clean, renewable energy future we need.”

Originally published in Renewable Energy World.