The American grid is many things, but boring isn't one of them. PJM fast-tracks natural gas and nuclear in a rare burst of regulatory clarity, the battery sector flexes with $100 billion in planned domestic investment, and the Trump administration’s freeze is starting to bite—with nearly $8 billion in green energy cancellations.

PJM Picks 51 Projects to Shore Up Reliability

PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, has greenlit 51 generation projects totaling 9,361 MW of unforced capacity under its one-time Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI). That includes a blend of gas (combined and simple cycle), battery storage, nuclear, coal, and a whisper of wind—a fossil-heavy move in an era obsessed with renewables. Here’s the breakdown:

• 39 projects are capacity uprates at existing plants

• 12 are new builds (6 gas, 5 battery, 1 nuclear)

• Nearly all are expected to be online by 2030

The initiative comes amid growing panic that interconnection delays and generator retirements are outpacing new capacity. PJM’s shift from a "first-come" to "first-ready" interconnection queue has already yielded 18 GW of signed agreements, but the grid's appetite is bigger than its belly.

The takeaway: This is PJM turning the dial toward reliability, not climate optics. If you’re expecting a wind- and solar-only future, don’t look east of the Mississippi.

Battery Industry Commits $100B to U.S. Manufacturing

The American Clean Power Association and industry executives announced a $100 billion commitment to U.S.-based battery manufacturing by 2030. This fivefold jump in domestic investment could, in theory, cover 100% of U.S. storage demand without relying on Chinese supply chains. But that future hinges on one thing: policy stability. Factories are already sprouting:

• Tesla’s refinery near Corpus Christi and expanded Megapack facility in Nevada

• Form Energy’s iron-air battery plant in West Virginia

• Multiple LG and Fluence facilities across the South and Midwest

The IRA supercharged storage economics with generous credits, but with that law now in legal limbo and tariffs looming over key components, optimism is conditional. As ACP CEO Jason Grumet put it, "Best investment conditions in a generation, highest uncertainty in a generation." This is the energy sector holding its breath.

$8B in Clean Energy Projects Canceled in Q1

The mood is souring fast. E2, a clean energy policy group, says nearly $8 billion in clean energy projects were canceled or downsized in Q1 2025. It’s the first time the group tracked cancellations—a response to the growing chill around the Inflation Reduction Act. Among the dead:

• Kore Power’s $1.2B Arizona battery plant

• Freyr Battery’s $2.6B Georgia facility

• Multiple solar, wind, and EV investments halted or reversed

The reasons are obvious: The Trump administration froze IRA funds pending a federal review, dialed up tariffs, and signaled hostility toward EV and solar subsidies. Courts temporarily reinstated some IRA funds, but investor sentiment has already turned cautious. Still, $1.6B in clean energy investments were announced in March alone, including a rebranded solar pivot from Freyr (now T1 Energy). It’s not winter, but it’s definitely a late autumn.

Upgrade to Grid Brief Premium to get extra deep dives into energy issues all over the world.

Conversation Starters

• Canary Media: Why coal won’t save the grid – Trump wants to bail out coal for reliability, but data shows batteries and demand-side management are already filling the gaps better.

• SCMP: China fast-tracks fusion reactor – The "Best" tokamak in Hefei aims for net energy by 2027. Faster than SPARC? Maybe. Trustworthy? Let’s see.

• Houston Chronicle: Man pleads guilty to $1M fake utility scam – Electricity fraud is now an organized racket. Grift meets grid.

Good Bet, Bad Bet

Good Bet: Quanta Services (PWR)
Transmission is now the bottleneck, and Quanta owns the wrench. With PJM fast-tracking 9.3 GW of generation, nearly all requiring new or upgraded lines, Quanta's role as the dominant contractor in grid buildouts becomes indispensable. The company doesn’t just benefit from federal dollars—it thrives on regional urgency. And as utilities shift from speculative renewables to shovel-ready gas and nuclear, expect Quanta to land more lucrative, long-duration projects. Their backlog could balloon just as competitors retreat.

Bad Bet: Freyr Battery (FREY)
Freyr just pulled the plug on a $2.6B Georgia battery plant and rebranded as “T1 Energy,” but name changes don’t fix balance sheets. The IRA freeze and tariff threats have gutted the very incentives Freyr banked on. Unlike Tesla or LG, Freyr lacks U.S. manufacturing scale or political leverage, and its tech pitch—semi-solid lithium—remains unproven at scale. Even if IRA funds thaw, Freyr is now months behind its peers and hemorrhaging investor confidence. This isn’t a pivot, it’s a retreat.

Share Grid Brief

We rely on word of mouth to grow. If you're enjoying this, don't forget to forward Grid Brief to your friends and ask them to subscribe!