Restricting U.S. wind and solar could cost $121 billion
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- Study: Solar and Wind Curbs Risk $121B Cost Spike: Macroeconomic modeling shows that constraining renewable permitting between 2027 and 2033 would add $121.2 billion in unnecessary energy costs nationwide, hitting residential ratepayers hardest as grid demand from AI and data centers climbs. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
- Elementl Power Plans 1.5 GW Ohio SMR Plant: Elementl Power and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy are developing a small modular reactor facility along the Ohio River, roughly 100 miles southeast of Columbus, with a planned capacity of up to 1,500 MW. Read More: Power Magazine.
- Origis Energy Secures $900M for Solar Push: Florida-based Origis Energy closed $900 million in new financing to accelerate its utility-scale solar pipeline, a sign that private capital still sees strong returns in solar even as the Trump administration shifts federal energy priorities toward fossil fuels and nuclear. Read More: CleanTechnica.
- REV Renewables Commissions Kern County Battery: The Tumbleweed Energy Storage facility in Kern County, California, is now online, adding grid-scale battery capacity contracted to community choice aggregators in the state. Read More: Power Magazine.
- SEIA: Solar Uses Just 0.07% of U.S. Prime Farmland: New SEIA data and an interactive map show utility-scale solar occupies a fraction of the agricultural land consumed by golf courses and suburban sprawl — even in high-penetration states like California (0.43%) and Rhode Island (0.42%. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
Solar & Storage
Origis Energy's $900 million financing haul is the week's clearest signal that solar capital markets remain open despite federal headwinds. The company, headquartered in Miami, is using the funds to accelerate a utility-scale pipeline heavily weighted toward and the Southeast — regions where merchant power prices and corporate PPA demand continue to support project returns. That Origis can raise nearly a billion dollars while the Trump administration pursues executive actions favoring fossil fuel and nuclear generation tells investors something concrete: solar's levelized costs are low enough to survive hostile policy weather, at least for well-capitalized developers with permitted pipelines. Read More: Texas.
In , REV Renewables — a subsidiary of LS Power — brought its Tumbleweed Energy Storage project online in Kern County. The battery system is contracted to community choice aggregators, the load-serving entities that now procure power for roughly 11 million Californians. Tumbleweed adds to the state's rapidly growing storage fleet at a moment when CAISO data already show utility-scale solar outproducing gas on the majority of days this year. For CCA procurement officers, more storage means more ability to shift cheap midday solar into expensive evening hours — the margin play that makes California storage pencil out. Read More: California.
But not every state policy is supporting that growth. A documents how several states are rolling back distributed solar incentives even as electricity rates climb. California's own CPUC drew sharp criticism for a recent community solar decision that developers say makes new project economics unworkable. The tension is real: states face rising demand, partly from data center buildouts, yet some regulators are cutting the compensation rates that make smaller solar projects financeable. For community solar developers who lack the scale advantages of a company like Origis, the policy environment is increasingly bifurcated — generous in some markets, hostile in others. Read More: PV Magazine USA analysis.
Meanwhile, two community solar arrays totaling 9.8 MWdc went live on a former coal mine in Minonk. Nexamp and TurningPoint Energy developed the projects across 40 acres of reclaimed mining land in Woodford County. It's a small project by utility-scale standards but a visible proof point for the political argument that clean energy can repurpose fossil fuel brownfields — an argument that plays well in coal country regardless of party affiliation. Separately in , a partnership between Sugar Hollow Solar, PODER Emma, and the Footprint Project brought solar to the rural Emma community near Asheville, in a region still recovering from recent severe weather. That state's clean energy sector remains in legal turmoil, with advocacy groups suing over the Utilities Commission's cancellation of solar procurement — a story that continues to develop. Read More: Illinois, routing savings to local residents and institutions, North Carolina, expanding energy access.
On the equipment side, two announcements point to a supply chain positioning for continued U.S. growth. Spanish tracker manufacturer Soltec secured PFE-compliant certification for its SFOne and SF7 tracker lines, a designation that qualifies the hardware for utility-scale projects under current domestic content and regulatory requirements, according to. And ABB re-entered the power electronics sector with its Proteus portfolio of inverters and power conversion systems designed specifically for solar PV and battery storage — a bet that the addressable U.S. market is large enough to justify a full product relaunch. Read More: Power Magazine.
Wind Energy
No major new U.S. wind developments broke today, but the $121 billion cost study published by carries direct implications for the wind sector. The macroeconomic model specifically analyzes scenarios in which federal permitting restrictions slow both wind and solar deployment, finding that the resulting reliance on natural gas generation would expose ratepayers to volatile fuel costs. The study estimates households would face an average annual penalty of $11.6 billion — costs that land on utility bills, not federal budgets. For wind developers already contending with the Trump administration's hostility toward offshore and onshore projects, the study provides ammunition for state-level arguments: restricting wind doesn't just slow decarbonization, it raises electricity prices. Read More: PV Magazine USA.
Policy & Markets
The $121 billion study's timing is deliberate. It lands as the Trump administration continues to favor natural gas, coal, and nuclear over renewables in federal energy policy, and as Congress weighs potential changes to the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy tax credits. The report's core argument — that constraining renewables raises costs for everyone — is aimed squarely at moderate lawmakers in gas-producing states where high electricity bills are politically toxic. Whether it changes any votes is another question.
In Illinois, ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus recognized for streamlining EV permitting and readiness policies. The awards are modest in scale, but they reflect a ground-level trend: municipalities are removing zoning and permitting friction for EV chargers without waiting for federal direction. For charging network developers like ChargePoint and Tesla, local permitting speed is often the binding constraint on deployment timelines, making these municipal reforms more consequential than they appear. Read More: nine northern Illinois communities.
Nuclear made news too. Elementl Power's plan for a 1.5 GW small modular reactor campus along the Ohio River in , using GE Vernova Hitachi technology, is among the largest SMR proposals in the country. The project aligns with the Trump administration's stated support for advanced nuclear and could serve surging data center load in the PJM footprint. But SMR projects globally have struggled with cost overruns and timeline slippage — NuScale's Utah project collapsed in 2023 — so investors will watch Elementl's financing and NRC licensing milestones closely before treating 1.5 GW as anything more than aspirational. Read More: Ohio.
SEIA's farmland data deserves a note for anyone fighting local siting battles. The trade group's finding that utility-scale solar occupies just 0.07% of prime U.S. farmland — compared with substantially larger shares consumed by golf courses — is designed to counter agricultural displacement arguments that have derailed projects in Indiana, Virginia, and other states. For developers facing county commission hearings, the interactive map SEIA published is a ready-made exhibit.
LOOKING AHEAD
- North Carolina Solar Injunction Ruling: A court decision on the preliminary injunction filed by clean energy groups against the N.C. Utilities Commission's solar procurement halt could come in the next several weeks, with hundreds of megawatts of contracted projects hanging in the balance.
- IRA Tax Credit Guidance Watch: Congressional negotiations over potential modifications to the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy credits remain fluid; any draft legislative text surfacing before the July recess would immediately reprice project economics across the solar, wind, and storage sectors.
- Ohio SMR Licensing Timeline: Elementl Power's 1.5 GW small modular reactor proposal will need NRC pre-application engagement and site characterization — early filings will signal whether the project has a realistic path or joins the growing list of announced-but-stalled SMR concepts.
TODAY'S QUICK ANSWERS
Q: What does the $121 billion cost study mean for developers in states considering renewable permitting restrictions?
A: It gives them a dollar figure to put in front of legislators and utility commissioners: $11.6 billion a year in excess costs to households if wind and solar deployment is constrained through 2033. The study's modeling specifically ties those costs to higher natural gas reliance, which means developers can argue that blocking renewables doesn't save ratepayers money — it does the opposite. Expect this number to appear in regulatory filings and state legislative testimony within weeks.
Q: Why does Origis Energy's $900 million raise matter beyond one company's balance sheet?
A: It demonstrates that institutional capital — banks, infrastructure funds, tax equity investors — still prices U.S. solar as a bankable asset class despite the Trump administration's policy tilt toward fossil fuels. If lenders were genuinely spooked by IRA repeal risk or federal permitting slowdowns, a raise this size would not close. For smaller developers watching from the sidelines, it signals that the financing market hasn't shut, but access increasingly favors firms with scale, permitted sites, and contracted offtake.
Q: Should clean energy investors take Elementl Power's 1.5 GW Ohio SMR proposal seriously?
A: Cautiously. The project has a credible technology partner in GE Vernova Hitachi and strong political tailwinds from an administration that has made advanced nuclear a priority. But no SMR design has yet been built at commercial scale in the U.S., and the NRC licensing process takes years. The real test will be whether Elementl secures binding offtake agreements — likely from data center operators in PJM — and files for an NRC early site permit. Until then, 1.5 GW is a press release, not a power plant.
THE BOTTOM LINE: With $900 million flowing to solar despite federal hostility and a new study quantifying $121 billion in costs from renewable restrictions, the economic case for clean energy deployment is increasingly winning the argument that politics is trying to lose.