Ohio's Oak Run solar project nears its final regulatory vote after two years of legal delays

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• Ohio's 800 MW Solar Project Faces Final Vote: The Oak Run Solar Project, delayed two years by appeals from Madison County and its townships, awaits approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board after the state Supreme Court sent the case back for review of visual impacts. Read More: Ohio Power Siting Board.
• Trump Administration Unwinds Offshore Wind Leases: The administration is pursuing negotiated buybacks of offshore wind leases from developers including TotalEnergies, Bluepoint Wind, Golden State Wind, Duke, and Invenergy, according to Power Magazine. Read More: Power Magazine.
• Constellation Delivers $9.88M Transformer to Three Mile Island: A 500,000-pound transformer arrived at the Pennsylvania nuclear plant, marking the first major component delivery for the planned restart. Read More: Pennsylvania nuclear plant.
• Vestas Books 306 MW U.S. Wind Turbine Order: The Danish manufacturer secured the order for undisclosed U.S. projects, signaling continued demand for utility-scale onshore wind. Read More: continued demand.
• Sunrun Partners with Voltus for AI Data Center Power: Sunrun will supply energy capacity from its storage-plus-solar systems to Voltus for AI hyperscaler agreements across the PJM and MISO regions. Read More: AI hyperscaler agreements.

Solar & Storage

The Oak Run Solar Project in Ohio has become a case study in how local opposition can stall even the most advanced utility-scale solar developments. At 800 MW of solar paired with 300 MW of energy storage, it would be the state's largest such installation — and it has been stuck in regulatory limbo since Madison County and its townships filed appeals two years ago. The Ohio Supreme Court cleared most of those challenges but sent the case back to the Power Siting Board for additional scrutiny of visual impacts, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. For developers watching Ohio's pipeline, the board's decision will signal whether the state's permitting process can deliver timely approvals for projects at this scale. Read More: Ohio Capital Journal.

In Washington state, a large-scale battery energy storage project near Snoqualmie in King County has hit new regulatory and siting obstacles, the Seattle Times reports. The project follows two previous failed attempts to develop similar facilities in the region, raising questions about whether King County can site the grid-scale storage assets that state clean energy targets will eventually require. Permitting battles over battery projects are intensifying nationwide, and the pattern in this part of the Pacific Northwest suggests that community resistance is not confined to solar and wind. Read More: Seattle Times reports.

Distributed solar, meanwhile, continues to advance on commercial rooftops. STAG Industrial energized three rooftop solar projects on warehouses in Pennsylvania, developed by Dimension Energy and facilitated by Black Bear Energy, as part of STAG's broader push to deploy solar across its nationwide real estate portfolio, Solar Power World reports. Separately, Trinasolar and Spear Commercial & Industrial completed a carport solar installation for Drake Plastics near Houston, one of several rooftop and carport projects finished this week alongside grid-strengthening work in California by Recurrent Energy and Arevon, and community solar initiatives in Illinois and Minnesota, per Solar Builder. Read More: Solar Power World reports, Solar Builder.

The deal between Sunrun and Voltus represents a different kind of distributed energy play. Sunrun will aggregate energy capacity from its residential storage-plus-solar fleet and supply it to Voltus for AI hyperscaler agreements in PJM and MISO, according to CleanTechnica. The arrangement shows how residential battery fleets are being monetized not just for grid services but for the specific, high-reliability power contracts that AI data centers demand — a revenue stream that barely existed two years ago. Read More: CleanTechnica.

In Pennsylvania, Constellation Energy's restart of Three Mile Island took a tangible step forward with the delivery of a 500,000-pound transformer costing $9.88 million, the first major component to arrive at the Dauphin County site, Maryland Matters reports. The transformer will connect the plant to the grid. For clean energy investors watching the nuclear restart trend, this is the kind of physical milestone that separates announced intentions from actual construction progress. Read More: Maryland Matters reports.

Wind Energy

Vestas secured a 306 MW wind turbine order for undisclosed U.S. projects, reNEWS reports. The company did not identify the buyer or locations. But the order is notable for its size at a time when onshore wind development in the U.S. faces headwinds from permitting delays and policy uncertainty. Developers who have locked in turbine supply agreements are better positioned to meet construction timelines — and a 306 MW order suggests at least one or two substantial projects remain on track. Read More: reNEWS reports.

Offshore wind faces a far more difficult moment. The Trump administration is unwinding offshore wind leases through negotiated buybacks with major developers, including TotalEnergies, Bluepoint Wind, Golden State Wind, Duke, and Invenergy, Power Magazine reports. The buybacks represent a systematic reversal of federal support for the sector. For developers still holding leases, the question is whether to negotiate an exit or hold firm in hopes of a future policy shift — a calculation that grows harder with each month of regulatory hostility. Read More: Power Magazine reports.

Policy & Markets

Data center power demand is forcing hard choices at the local level. In Maryland, counties are responding to the proliferation of data centers with bans and moratoriums, while state lawmakers push for clean energy requirements and grid accountability, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports. The scramble reflects a tension that is emerging across the mid-Atlantic: jurisdictions want the tax revenue and jobs that data centers bring, but they do not want to absorb the grid strain without guarantees that new load will be served by clean power. Read More: Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

California's legislature is advancing a batch of bills aimed at expanding distributed generation. Senate Bill 868 would allow plug-in balcony solar systems, while Assembly Bill 1813 targets community solar reforms. Additional measures address virtual power plant capabilities, PV Magazine reports. The bills arrive as the state grapples with rising electricity rates — which also prompted Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra to propose offering residents up to two free hours of electricity per day, starting with low-income families, according to Canary Media. Whether any of the legislative measures or Becerra's proposal can meaningfully bend the cost curve for ratepayers remains to be seen, but the political salience of electricity prices in California is now impossible for any candidate or legislator to ignore. Read More: PV Magazine reports, Canary Media.

Colorado, meanwhile, is drawing attention for a policy framework that leverages private investment and competitive market forces to expand grid capacity more quickly and cheaply than utility-owned infrastructure alone, Utility Dive reports. The state's approach to integrating community power could offer a replicable model for states looking to accelerate grid modernization without relying exclusively on traditional utility buildout. Read More: Utility Dive reports.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Ohio Power Siting Board Decision on Oak Run: The board's ruling on the 800 MW solar and 300 MW storage project will set a precedent for how visual impact concerns are weighed against Ohio's utility-scale solar pipeline.
• California Clean Energy Bills Move Through Legislature: SB 868 (balcony solar) and AB 1813 (community solar) face further votes; passage would reshape distributed generation rules in the nation's largest electricity market.
• Offshore Wind Lease Buybacks: Watch for additional developers to reach buyback agreements with the Trump administration, which could further shrink the active U.S. offshore wind pipeline heading into fall.

THE BOTTOM LINE: From Ohio's two-year permitting fight to the federal unwinding of offshore wind leases, today's news reinforces a single reality for clean energy developers: securing regulatory approval — and keeping it — has become as consequential as securing financing.