PJM Interconnection is reviewing more than 800 new power project proposals
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- PJM Reviews 800+ Power Projects Amid Grid Surge: The nation's largest grid operator is processing an unprecedented wave of interconnection proposals spanning solar, wind, storage, gas, and even a fusion plant in Virginia, driven by soaring data center electricity demand across its 13-state footprint. Read More: Maryland Matters.
- Shoals Opens 638K-Sq-Ft Tennessee Battery Factory: Shoals Technologies consolidated three sites into a single mega-facility in Portland, Tennessee, backed by $80 million in committed investment, to manufacture balance-of-system components for solar, battery storage, and data center markets. Read More: Solar Builder.
- Longroad's 340MWh Arizona Solar-Storage Goes Live: The Sun Pond project in Maricopa County, pairing 111 MW of solar with 340 MWh of battery storage, reached commercial operation and will serve two California community choice aggregators under long-term contracts. Read More: Energy Storage News.
- CAISO Chief Taps Batteries for New Day-Ahead Market: CEO Elliot Mainzer said battery storage will play a pivotal role in the newly launched Extended Day-Ahead Market, which expands California's wholesale energy trading framework across the Western grid. Read More: Energy Storage News.
- Ivanpah Decommissioning Battle Draws Expert Fix: Solar industry experts have proposed a compromise to resolve the dispute over shuttering the chronically underperforming Ivanpah solar thermal tower in California, as two utilities move to exit their power contracts. Read More: CleanTechnica.
Solar & Storage
Longroad Energy's Sun Pond project in Maricopa County, Arizona, has reached commercial operation, delivering 111 MW of solar generation paired with 340 MWh of battery storage to two California community choice aggregators — Ava Community Energy and San José Clean Energy. The project, reported by both and , underscores a now-dominant pattern: Arizona's abundant solar resource is increasingly being harnessed to serve California load under long-term power purchase agreements, with battery storage smoothing delivery into evening peak hours. Read More: Solar Power World, Energy Storage News.
The Sun Pond milestone arrives just one day after Salt River Project and NextEra Energy Resources announced a massive 3,000 MW Arizona solar buildout — a sign that the state's role as a clean energy exporter to California and the broader West is intensifying. The co-location of solar and storage at utility scale has become the default development model, a shift driven by grid operators' demand for dispatchable renewable capacity and by the economics of the Inflation Reduction Act's investment tax credit for standalone storage, which remains in effect despite broader Trump administration skepticism toward clean energy subsidies.
Meanwhile, the long-troubled Ivanpah concentrating solar thermal plant in California's Mojave Desert is moving closer to decommissioning. Two California utilities are exiting their power purchase agreements with the 392 MW solar tower facility, which has. Solar industry experts have now proposed a compromise to resolve the standoff between project partners — including Google and PG&E — over who bears the cost of shutting down and remediating the site. The Ivanpah saga serves as a cautionary tale about technology risk: the concentrating solar tower design that once attracted billions in investment has been thoroughly eclipsed by plummeting photovoltaic and battery costs. Read More: underperformed since its 2014 launch.
On the community and distributed solar front, Ann Arbor, Michigan's Sustainable Energy Utility has begun installing solar-and-storage systems for municipal subscribers, a novel "supplemental" utility model designed to improve local grid reliability and reduce costs. As , the approach lets the city layer renewable generation on top of its existing utility relationship rather than replacing it — a structure that could become a template for other municipalities navigating state regulatory constraints. Read More: Utility Dive reported.
In a quieter but notable development, Skyview Ventures and its subsidiary Davis Hill Development expanded a partnership with HiveTracks to deploy pollinator monitoring and biodiversity intelligence across eight solar project sites in New York, West Virginia, Tennessee, Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The program, covered by both and , reflects the industry's growing recognition that demonstrating ecological co-benefits — pollinator habitat, dual-use agriculture — is becoming essential to winning community support and clearing permitting hurdles. Read More: Solar Builder, Solar Power World.
Policy & Markets
The single most consequential grid story this week continues to be the flood of new generation proposals hitting PJM Interconnection. The grid operator, which manages power delivery for 65 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia, disclosed that it is reviewing more than 800 proposed power projects — the first major queue opening since the operator overhauled its interconnection process four years ago. The proposals span the full technology spectrum: utility-scale solar, onshore wind, battery storage, natural gas plants, and notably, a proposed fusion power plant in Virginia. As , the surge is being driven overwhelmingly by data center electricity demand cascading through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and neighboring states. Read More: Maryland Matters reported.
This development comes as analysis from highlights the investment case for solar and storage as core infrastructure to meet this accelerating demand. The numbers are striking: over 30 GW of solar and 12.6 GW of energy storage were installed in just the first nine months of 2025, representing the majority of all new U.S. capacity additions. The industry's growth trajectory increasingly positions solar-plus-storage not as an alternative energy play but as the backbone of new American electricity infrastructure. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
CAISO CEO Elliot Mainzer signaled another important market evolution, telling that batteries will play a central role in the grid operator's newly launched Extended Day-Ahead Market. The EDAM extends California's wholesale trading framework to utilities across the Western interconnection — building on the momentum from PacifiCorp's recent integration into the market, reported over the weekend. For battery storage developers, the EDAM opens new revenue streams by allowing storage assets to arbitrage price differences across a wider geographic footprint, a development that could meaningfully improve project economics. Read More: Energy Storage News.
On the manufacturing side, Shoals Technologies' opening of a 638,000-square-foot facility in Portland, Tennessee, represents a significant domestic production bet. The company, which makes balance-of-system electrical components critical to solar, storage, and data center installations, consolidated three existing Tennessee sites into the single mega-factory with a $30 million initial investment and $80 million committed over five years, according to and. The facility's focus on both clean energy and data center infrastructure reflects the convergence of those two markets — a dynamic that is reshaping supply chains and investment strategies across the energy sector. Read More: PV Magazine, Solar Builder.
Meanwhile, a reveals that local opposition to battery storage projects is now a material financial risk, with developers beginning community engagement six months or more before filing zoning applications. The market has responded with a stark valuation gap: permitted storage projects now command roughly $20,000 per MW more than early-stage proposals, a premium that quantifies the cost of community resistance and incentivizes proactive outreach. Read More: PV Magazine analysis.
LOOKING AHEAD
- PJM Queue Outcomes to Shape Eastern Grid for a Decade: With 800-plus proposals under review, which projects survive PJM's interconnection study process will determine the generation mix serving the nation's largest electricity market through the mid-2030s — watch for early signals on approval rates and timeline.
- CAISO Extended Day-Ahead Market Expansion: Following PacifiCorp's entry, additional Western utilities are expected to join CAISO's EDAM in coming months, potentially creating the largest organized wholesale electricity market in the Western United States and reshaping battery storage economics.
- Ivanpah Decommissioning Decision Looms: The proposed compromise for the troubled Mojave Desert solar thermal plant could set precedent for how aging renewable energy projects are retired and remediated — a first-of-its-kind challenge the industry will face more frequently as early utility-scale installations reach end of life.
TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS
Q: What does PJM's 800-project queue mean for clean energy developers in the Eastern U.S.?
A: It means intense competition for grid interconnection — and significant wait times. While the volume signals robust demand, historically only a fraction of queued projects reach construction. Developers with site control, community buy-in, and secured financing will have a decisive advantage. The inclusion of a fusion project in Virginia also suggests grid operators are now fielding proposals from technologies that won't be commercially viable for years, which could complicate queue management.
Q: Why should the industry pay attention to the $20,000-per-MW permitting premium for storage projects?
A: Because it quantifies what was previously anecdotal: local opposition is now a priced risk. Developers who invest early in community engagement — six months or more before zoning — are seeing materially higher project valuations at the point of sale or financing. For a 200 MW battery project, that premium translates to $4 million in additional value, more than justifying the upfront cost of community outreach and environmental co-benefit programs like the pollinator initiatives Skyview Ventures is deploying across six states.
Q: What does Shoals' Tennessee mega-factory signal about clean energy manufacturing strategy?
A: It signals that smart manufacturers are hedging across markets. Shoals isn't betting solely on solar and storage — it's positioning the same facility to serve data center infrastructure, the fastest-growing source of electricity demand in the country. With $80 million committed over five years, the company is banking that domestic manufacturing capacity for electrical balance-of-system components will be in high demand regardless of shifts in federal energy policy under the Trump administration.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The convergence of data center-driven electricity demand, battery storage's expanding market role, and a domestic manufacturing push is creating a clean energy growth dynamic that is increasingly self-reinforcing — and increasingly independent of federal policy direction.