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Good morning and happy Friday,
It’s been a wild week in the markets as the war in Iran caused big swings in the price of oil. On Wednesday, IEA members committed to the biggest ever release of global oil stockpiles. The U.S. followed suit, releasing 172 million barrels from the nation’s strategic reserve—about 40% of current holdings, which are at a three-decade low.
On Thursday, the IEA characterized the war as triggering the “largest oil supply disruption in history,” and Iran said the world should “get ready for $200-a-barrel oil.”
Observers are split on whether the conflict is good or bad for clean energy, with many advocates arguing it’s making the case for renewables. In terms of its impact on utility bills, some states are more vulnerable than others.
The political fallout is a separate matter, and members of the GOP have been holding their breath as oil prices rise. Critics say that the president’s ‘tiger team’ is “struggling to find its roar” amidst “the biggest energy crisis of his second term.”
Closer to home, a new study examining state-based permitting for wind and solar projects across 19 states finds relatively positive outcomes—but against a backdrop in which 755 U.S. counties have effectively banned renewable energy, it underscores the need for the renewable sector to push for additional state-level interventions to keep the project pipeline moving forward.
Read on for more.
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Voltage and Votes
Local utility board elections—normally of interest to only a handful of insiders—are emerging as high-stakes political contests, as debates over electricity prices, reliability, and clean energy intersect with broader partisan battles. Recent races in Arizona and Georgia show that even decisions about how electricity is produced and delivered have become deeply political, with national groups and advocacy organizations actively shaping outcomes that were once unnoticed by most voters. Here’s what’s happening:
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Turning Point USA is engaging in the Salt River Project board race to influence voters on electricity affordability and reliability, aiming to build political momentum in Arizona and shape local energy policy ahead of high-stakes elections.
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Experts worry the group could push decisions for political gain rather than sound economics. “They have nobody with any background or training in the water or electric sectors, but that’s not stopping them from trying to tell Arizona voters” how to shape the future of water and power in the state, said a utility analyst.
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A similar dynamic has unfolded in Georgia, where Democrats recently won seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission after campaigning heavily on lowering electricity bills. The upset victory flipped multiple counties that had previously supported Donald Trump and marked the first time in more than two decades that Democrats secured seats on the commission.
⚡️ The Takeaway
Currents of influence. Together, the races highlight how energy policy is becoming more visible—and more political—at the state and local level. Utility regulators play a major role in determining electricity prices and approving new power plants, giving them significant influence over how quickly states shift toward cleaner energy sources. At the same time, rising power bills and rapidly growing electricity demand—from economic development, electrification, and data centers—are becoming a political liability and pushing these once-obscure offices into the spotlight.
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Record Report Card
This week, ACP and SEIA released their annual reports on the U.S. clean energy sector. Both highlight record-breaking growth for wind, solar, and storage in 2025, underscoring the dominance of these technologies in new capacity additions, while also flagging policy uncertainty and supply chain pressures that could influence the industry’s trajectory in the coming years. Here are some key deets:
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ACP reported a record 50 GW of utility-scale clean power added in 2025, accounting for over 90% of all new U.S. grid capacity. Energy storage surged 41%, adding 16.2 GW and now representing nearly a third of new capacity, while utility-scale solar contributed nearly half of new power.
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Solar and storage accounted for 79% of all new electricity capacity, with Texas, California, and Indiana leading installations. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie forecast steady growth over the next decade, though distributed solar remains sensitive to policy shifts, tariffs, and permitting changes.
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The U.S. solar industry added 43 GW of capacity, leading all technologies for the fifth consecutive year, though installations fell 14% from 2024. Utility-scale solar dropped 16%, and community solar declined 25%.
⚡️ The Takeaway
Powered by policy. Despite record deployments, clean power procurement fell 36%, with power purchase agreements down 27%. Domestic manufacturing reached historic milestones with new module, cell, and wafer capacity, but rising component costs pushed prices higher. Experts warn that policy uncertainty and fluctuating tariffs are limiting new project development, making sustained momentum challenging without stable federal policy frameworks and predictable market conditions.
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Mikie Likes It
New Jersey is going all in on distributed solar and energy storage as part of a broader push to lower electricity costs. In moves that support Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s push to expand solar and storage, the NJBPU approved a sweeping set of incentives and procurements to expand distributed solar and energy storage, aiming to tackle rising electricity prices while strengthening grid reliability.
At the center of the push is a 3 GW expansion of the state’s community solar program, the largest in New Jersey’s history. The move could boost participation from roughly 37,000 subscribers to as many as 450,000 households. More than half of each project must serve low- and moderate-income customers, who will receive at least a 25% discount on electricity bills—a structure that also creates a large pipeline of new off-site solar projects for developers.
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New Jersey is also accelerating battery deployment. Regulators approved 355 MW of energy storage projects and opened a solicitation for another 645 MW through the Garden State Energy Storage Program. The batteries are intended to provide flexible power and help relieve grid constraints in the PJM Interconnection market as electricity demand climbs—driven in part by new data centers.
Meanwhile, the state continues to expand solar through its Competitive Solar Incentive program, awarding new projects—including what could become the largest floating solar facility in the U.S.—and opening another round of bids for larger installations.
The signal to clean energy developers is loud and clear: bring your solar and batteries. With strong policy backing from Trenton, solar and storage are poised to drive the state’s next wave of power development.
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Thanks for diving into the Developer Dispatch with us.
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Building American power requires a powerful team. |
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