A U.S. investor fund is threatening to dump its TotalEnergies stake over the French oil major's…
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- U.S. Fund Threatens TotalEnergies Divestment Over Wind Exit: An American institutional investor is warning it may sell its TotalEnergies position after the company abandoned offshore wind commitments, framing the move as a direct consequence of the Trump administration's hostility toward wind energy —. Read More: Financial Times.
- Clearway Completes 1,280-MWh Battery Storage Behemoth: Clearway Energy brought online the Honeycomb Energy Center, a 320-MW / 1,280-MWh battery storage facility contracted with PacifiCorp under 20-year agreements —. Read More: Solar Power World.
- Dominion Plans 3-GW Virginia Gas Plant Alongside Offshore Wind: Dominion Energy unveiled plans for a 3,000-MW natural gas plant in Cumberland County, Virginia, targeting 2033 operations while continuing work on its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project —. Read More: Virginia Mercury.
- Hawaii Bill Threatens State's Solar Tax Credit Program: Hawaii legislators are weighing SB 3125, a tax relief measure that could gut the state's renewable energy tax credit, alarming solar installers in the nation's most solar-dependent state —. Read More: Solar Power World.
- Oregon Regulators Order Data Centers to Pay Fair Grid Costs: The Oregon Public Utility Commission ruled that data centers must pay higher electricity rates and shoulder grid infrastructure costs, setting a potential precedent as AI-driven power demand surges nationwide —. Read More: Portland Oregonian.
Solar & Storage
The battery storage sector notched one of its biggest milestones of the year as Clearway Energy announced the completion of the , a 320-MW facility with a staggering 1,280 MWh of storage capacity — enough to power roughly 100,000 homes for four hours. The project, comprising four 80-MW battery systems positioned adjacent to Clearway's existing solar arrays, is contracted under 20-year power purchase agreements with PacifiCorp, underscoring the utility's bet that paired solar-and-storage will anchor its Western grid portfolio for decades. The completion comes just days after Longroad Energy's 340-MWh Sun Pond project in Arizona reached commercial operation, signaling a wave of large-scale storage facilities entering service across the West this spring. Read More: Honeycomb Energy Center.
On the solar development side, EDP Renewables and Meta signed a , the third deal between the two companies, bringing their cumulative contracted capacity to 545 MW. The agreement is the latest evidence of Big Tech's insatiable appetite for clean power — a demand cycle that is simultaneously transforming energy markets and straining grid infrastructure. That tension was on full display in Wisconsin, where the for Meta's hyperscale data center campus in Beaver Dam despite sharp criticism of the company's lack of transparency. The facility will consume six to eight times more power than the entire city currently uses, raising pointed questions about who ultimately bears the cost of grid upgrades. Read More: power purchase agreement for a 250-MW solar project, Public Service Commission approved a power contract.
In Illinois, Summit Ridge Energy completed a in Melrose Park, partnering with LBA Logistics and Black Bear Energy to install the system atop an industrial building. While modest in scale compared to utility-scale behemoths, the project reflects community solar's steady expansion into Midwest industrial real estate — a segment that offers large, flat rooftops and avoids the siting fights that have plagued ground-mounted installations. Meanwhile, in Michigan, to Danish developer Ørsted, with commercial operation targeted between 2029 and 2030. The transaction keeps a major international player invested in U.S. energy storage even as the current administration's posture toward renewables grows more adversarial, and supports Michigan's ambitious goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040. Read More: 1.62-MW rooftop community solar project, ESA Solar Energy sold its 150-MW / 600-MWh Salzburg battery storage project.
On the risk management front, designed to quantify thunderstorm damage to utility-scale solar installations — a tool that has grown more urgent as severe weather events drive insurance costs higher and make underwriting solar projects in hail-prone regions increasingly difficult. As we reported earlier this week, the model targets the intersection of climate risk and solar finance that is reshaping how projects get built across the Great Plains and Southeast. Read More: Renew Risk launched a new machine-learning catastrophe model.
Wind Energy
The investor revolt against fossil-fuel companies retreating from wind energy escalated this week as a over the French energy giant's exit from offshore wind. The confrontation puts a fine point on the contradictions facing the global energy industry in 2026: while the Trump administration has blocked more than 228 wind projects on national security grounds and sent a clear chill through the sector, institutional investors with long-horizon mandates are pushing back, arguing that abandoning wind exposes companies to transition risk and stranded-asset liability. The standoff may force TotalEnergies and similarly positioned majors to choose between placating short-term political pressures and maintaining the confidence of capital allocators who increasingly view clean energy exposure as a fiduciary necessity. Read More: U.S. fund threatened to divest its TotalEnergies stake.
This development comes as Dominion Energy revealed plans for a , expected to come online between 2033 and 2034. Dominion framed the gas plant alongside its ongoing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, suggesting the utility views both as essential to meeting surging electricity demand. But the juxtaposition is striking: a 3-GW gas plant represents a generational commitment to fossil fuel infrastructure at a moment when the economics of renewables-plus-storage continue to improve. For Virginia ratepayers, the question is whether they will end up paying for an asset that becomes uncompetitive well before the end of its useful life. Read More: massive 3,000-MW natural gas plant in Cumberland County, Virginia.
Policy & Markets
In Ohio, the outcome of this week's Richland County referendum is now final and sinking in: residents on utility-scale solar and wind energy across 11 of the county's 18 townships. The margin, though not overwhelming, was decisive — and the result carries significance well beyond one rural Ohio county. It was one of the first citizen-led efforts anywhere in the country to use the ballot box to reverse local renewable energy restrictions, and its failure will likely embolden other communities considering similar bans. For developers eyeing Ohio's substantial solar pipeline, the message is clear: winning permits is not enough if local politics can shut projects down at the township level. Read More: voted 53-47 to uphold the ban.
Across the Pacific, Hawaii's solar industry faces a different but equally existential threat. The state legislature is , a tax relief bill introduced by Sen. Ronald Kouchi that could eliminate Hawaii's renewable energy tax credit. In a state where rooftop solar penetration is the highest in the nation and electricity prices regularly top 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, gutting the tax credit could stall installations and undermine Hawaii's aggressive decarbonization timeline. Industry groups are mobilizing, but the bill has bipartisan appeal because of its promise to reduce the tax burden on low-to-middle-income residents. Read More: advancing SB 3125.
Oregon, meanwhile, is taking a very different approach to the data center boom that is reshaping utility planning nationwide. The and absorb grid infrastructure costs — a decision that could become a template for other states grappling with the same explosive demand growth. Combined with the Wisconsin commission's pointed critique of Meta's transparency, a pattern is emerging: regulators are increasingly unwilling to let existing ratepayers subsidize the enormous power appetites of Big Tech. For clean energy developers, the implications are double-edged — higher data center costs may slow demand, but they also strengthen the economic case for on-site or dedicated renewable generation. Read More: Oregon Public Utility Commission ordered data centers to pay higher electricity rates.
Also noteworthy: New York City's for renters represents a creative approach to urban grid management as summer approaches. The initiative deploys battery-integrated AC units to reduce peak demand during heat waves while lowering power bills for tenants — a model that, if successful, could scale to other cities facing the twin pressures of extreme heat and aging grid infrastructure. Read More: air conditioning battery pilot program.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Hawaii SB 3125 Vote Looms: The legislature's decision on whether to eliminate the state's renewable energy tax credit could come within days, with the solar industry bracing for what one trade group called a potential "existential blow" to Hawaii's rooftop market.
- Ørsted's U.S. Storage Bet Takes Shape: After acquiring the 150-MW / 600-MWh Salzburg project in Michigan, watch for signals on whether the Danish developer plans to expand its American battery storage portfolio or scale back amid federal policy uncertainty.
- Data Center Power Fights Spread: With Oregon and Wisconsin both cracking down on tech companies' grid demands, expect more state regulators to weigh in this summer on who pays for the infrastructure upgrades needed to power the AI boom.
TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS
Q: What does the TotalEnergies investor revolt mean for offshore wind's future in the U.S.?
A: It signals that institutional capital is not simply following the Trump administration's lead on wind energy. Even as the federal government blocks projects and discourages development, long-horizon investors are making the opposite bet — that abandoning wind creates more financial risk than staying in. For developers, this means private capital may remain available for offshore wind even without federal support, though project timelines will stretch and costs will rise without streamlined permitting.
Q: Why should clean energy developers pay attention to Oregon's data center ruling?
A: Because it could reshape the economics of the single largest source of new electricity demand in America. If more states force data centers to pay full freight for grid upgrades, tech companies will have stronger incentives to procure dedicated renewable generation — potentially accelerating utility-scale solar and storage PPAs. Oregon's rule could become a national template, with at least a half-dozen states considering similar measures as AI-driven power consumption soars.
Q: What does Richland County's vote mean for solar siting in the Midwest?
A: It's a warning shot. Ohio has roughly 15 GW of solar in its interconnection queue, and the failed reversal in Richland County demonstrates that once a local ban is in place, it is extraordinarily difficult to undo — even with organized citizen support. Developers should expect more counties to pursue similar restrictions, making early community engagement and benefit-sharing agreements not just good practice but essential to project survival.
THE BOTTOM LINE: As the Trump administration's anti-wind posture triggers the first serious investor backlash and state regulators begin forcing Big Tech to pay its fair share for grid growth, clean energy developers face a market defined less by federal policy and more by the tug-of-war between local politics, institutional capital, and the relentless demand for power.