Overview

• Last week, the Energy Department canceled a loan guarantee of up to $4.9 billion for Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, a project designed to carry wind power 800 miles from Kansas to supply over 3 million homes.
• New York’s Public Service Commission paused a planned offshore wind transmission line to New York City after the president’s executive order halted new offshore wind leasing.
• The Interior Department issued a directive requiring personal approval from Secretary Doug Burgum or his deputy for virtually all wind and solar developments on or crossing federal lands.
• An Energy Department study projects that the U.S. must construct more than 5,000 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines annually to meet demand and decarbonization goals, compared with just 322 miles built in 2024.
• Under Congress’s reconciliation package, any wind or solar project must begin construction by July 4, 2026 to qualify for federal tax credits, intensifying pressure on developers amid tighter permitting and reduced federal backing.