Can virtual power plants boost rooftop solar?

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

UTILITIES

• The Edison Electric Institute estimates investor-owned U.S. electric utilities will invest more than $1.1 trillion through 2029 to meet rising demand. (Utility Dive)

• Rising power demand and necessary upgrades to outdated grid infrastructure are increasing electric rates across the country, with little relief in sight. (Vox)

• Experts say Trump’s threats to fire the Tennessee Valley Authority’s new CEO, replace much of its board, and potentially privatize the federal utility have destabilized a power provider already under fire for its expansion of fossil fuel use and lack of transparency. (WPLN)

• Mark Christie departs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with a warning for PJM Interconnection: ​“The reliability threat is not on the future horizon. It is now here.” (E&E News)

NUCLEAR

• U.S. Energy and Defense Department officials defend their increased roles in licensing commercial nuclear reactors. (E&E News)

• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s goal of building a new, one-gigawatt nuclear facility will test the state’s ability to pull off a complex megaproject. (New York Focus)

HYDROGEN

• Fortescue, the world’s No. 4 ironmaker, cancels green hydrogen projects in Arizona and Australia, citing the federal government’s shift away from clean energy for the U.S. cancellation. (Wall Street Journal)

RENEWABLES

• Rooftop solar panels cut the demand on New England’s grid by 5% last year as they generated enough power to run 600,000 homes for a year. (Monadnock Ledger-Transcript)

• Texas’ deregulated energy market has incentivized the shift from fossil fuels to cheaper wind, solar, and battery power, accelerating the clean energy transition even as Republican leaders risk the boom with policies favoring oil and gas. (Telegraph)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Maine is closely watching the development of offshore wind in Canada, in case the state finds itself needing to procure power from its northern neighbors, but advocates say the state doesn’t need to turn abroad quite yet. (Maine Morning Star)

EMISSIONS

• The U.S. EPA is expected to release a final rule this week that will suspend requirements that oil and gas operations expand monitoring and repair of methane leaks. (E&E News)