Week ending October 16, 2026

The PJM Interconnection intends to assess SoftBank Group’s roughly 10-GW AI data center complex planned on federal land in Ohio, and the generation and transmission needed to serve it, under a “state agreement approach” framework, according to a study agreement filed Tuesday at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The project, dubbed “Flagship,” was announced by the White House in mid-February as part of a $550 billion trade deal with Japan.

While clean energy “continues to account for the largest share of planned U.S. power sector development,” EDF said planned development has slowed while fossil fuel deployments have caught up.

“Based on capacity factors, planned natural gas project capacity is now comparable to that for solar and wind,” the report said.

Brattle’s analysis of residential VPP potential comes at a time of rising bills and economic anxiety across the U.S.

The average U.S. residential electricity rate increased 33% between 2019 and 2025, in nominal terms, Brattle analysts said.

FERC’s decision comes as the agency is awaiting proposals from regional transmission organizations and independent system operators for beefing up their processes for interconnecting large loads such as data centers.

Those proposals — due next month — are driven by a set of “show cause” orders FERC issued in June that found that RTO and ISO large load interconnection rules appear to be inadequate, including for protecting existing customers from cost shifts when large loads require grid system upgrades to come online. 

Ninety-three percent of the BESS safety incidents EPRI reviewed worldwide resulted in no injuries or fatalities, according to the report. 

In the United States, no reported injuries or fatalities have occurred as a result of BESS failures since April 2019, when an explosion at an Arizona Public Service facility seriously injured four firefighters.

The proposal would help offset concerns about lost demand for ethanol producers and farmers after the EPA announced in August it would waive renewable fuel volume obligations for 29 small refineries that argued the requirements would cause economic hardship.

The EPA proposed reallocating 100% of those waived fuel volume obligations and is seeking public comment after putting forward two approaches.

Under the terms of the exchanges, participating companies will return the borrowed crude oil with additional premium barrels in 2027, helping replenish and strengthen the SPR at no additional cost to taxpayers.

"With this emergency exchange, the Energy Department is acting swiftly to help maintain refinery operations, limit disruptions to fuel supplies, and ensure American families and businesses continue to have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 8.6 million barrels during the week ending October 9, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Thursday.

The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 415.6 million barrels, according to government data, which is now 3% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Calgary-based Waterous Energy Fund is preparing to raise approximately US$1 billion in new investment capital, with plans to establish another major Canadian oil and gas producer through acquisitions and industry consolidation.

The proposed fund, reported by The Wall Street Journal on October 13, would follow the investment strategy that has helped financier Adam Waterous build significant positions in Canadian energy companies, including Strathcona Resources and Greenfire Resources.