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The Data Center Bill That Passed 417-3, Then Stalled

The Data Center Bill That Passed 417-3, Then Stalled

Oct 4, 2026 | Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy, Smartgrids

The US House voted 417-3 to make large data centers pay the full cost of the electricity grid they demand. Two weeks later, on September 30, the Senate let the bill die on a 57-43 procedural vote. Neither result changes a single household’s power bill — because...
Energy-Only vs Capacity Markets: What Each Rewards

Energy-Only vs Capacity Markets: What Each Rewards

Sep 24, 2026 | Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy, Smartgrids

An energy-only market pays a power plant for one thing: the electricity it actually generates, priced moment to moment. A capacity market pays it twice — once for that energy, and again, years in advance, simply for promising to be available when demand peaks. That...
The BrightVolt Take: How Texas Out-Built California on Batteries

The BrightVolt Take: How Texas Out-Built California on Batteries

Sep 21, 2026 | Battery Technology, Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy, Smartgrids

Texas has built the largest grid-battery fleet in the United States — roughly 21 GW of operating capacity by mid-2026, against California’s 17 GW — and it did so with no storage mandate, no capacity market and no climate target. The lesson the rest of the...
Capacity Accreditation Explained: Why a 100 MW Wind Farm Counts as 34 MW

Capacity Accreditation Explained: Why a 100 MW Wind Farm Counts as 34 MW

Aug 14, 2026 | Renewable Energy, Smartgrids, Wind

Build a 100 MW wind farm in PJM and the grid will pay you for about 34 MW of it. The turbines are real, the nameplate is real, and the other 66 MW is not a penalty or an accounting trick. It is the grid’s estimate of how much of your wind farm it can count on...
The BrightVolt Take: Storage Just Overtook Wind on Winter

The BrightVolt Take: Storage Just Overtook Wind on Winter

Aug 1, 2026 | Renewable Energy, Smartgrids, Wind

In PJM’s 2026/27 capacity auction, onshore wind was credited at 41% of its nameplate rating and a four-hour battery at 50%. In the 2028/29 auction held this July, wind was credited at 34% and the battery at 59%. Storage has overtaken wind on the one measure wind...