Clean Power Digest: RISE PA progress, clean energy funding cuts, soaring utility bills, and more

by Joe Cullen

Oct 22, 2025 | BIL/IRA Implementation Digest

Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Update

RISE PA is a $396 million statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

PA DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee October 21, 2025 PPT Slides are Here.

 

Upcoming Clean Energy Events

 

Rising Utility Bills – On the Ballot in 2025

22% Jump in Electricity Rates Dominates New Jersey Governor’s Race – By Ivan Penn and Tracey Tully – New York Times – Oct. 9, 2025 – Energy costs have become a central issue in the governor’s race in New Jersey.

  • Most politicians rarely discuss electricity costs. But in New Jersey, they have been featured prominently in campaign ads and stump speeches in the run-up to November’s election for governor. This topic has become critical in NJ because electricity rates this summer climbed 22% from a year earlier, faster than all but one state: Maine. As the governor’s race has tightened and affordability has become a key issue, power costs have become a predominant theme in ads paid for in part by groups associated with both national parties.
  • “Electricity is the new eggs,” said David Springe, executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, referring to the anger over inflation that helped Mr. Trump win last year’s election.
  • New Jersey and a dozen other states are part of the nation’s largest regional electric grid, which is managed by PJM Interconnection, a nonprofit organization. PJM manages the electric grid for 67 million people from Virginia Beach to Chicago, and it effectively sets a significant portion of retail electricity rates.
  • One big reason electricity prices are climbing in New Jersey & other PJM states is an annual auction in which power plant owners submit prices they are willing to accept for supplying electricity at times of peak demand, which typically happens in the summer. The prices set by that auction have climbed sharply in recent years, leading to higher retail rates. At least three-quarters of the 22% increase in New Jersey’s average electricity rate can be attributed to the PJM auction.

Soaring electricity bills could be the sleeper campaign issue of 2025 by Evan Halper – Washington Post – October 15, 2025 – As costs continue to grow, voters are turning their ire toward politicians, shaking up this year’s governors’ races. Anger over soaring utility bills is shaking political fault lines, as electricity shortages and price spikes take center stage in nationally watched gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia — and threaten to haunt candidates throughout the country in next year’s midterm elections.

What Trump’s Victory Taught Democrats About Climate Change – by Debra Kahn – Politico Magazine – October 16, 2025 – Climate change is out. Energy affordability is in…As Democrats continue groping for a way forward after their 2024 defeat, they’ve clearly decided they need to change how they talk about climate and energy issues. And in some cases, it goes beyond rhetoric to the actual policies they’re promoting. It’s also notable that electricity tends to be cheaper in states with higher-than-average concentrations of wind and solar power, as my POLITICO colleagues Zack Colman and Catherine Allen reported. And Republicans’ repeal of much of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits for renewable energy are estimated to raise electricity rates by 5-7 percent by 2030, according to the think tank Resources for the Future.

Energy costs in Delaware are high. Trump isn’t helping. Let’s lower costs – Opinion — Delaware Online – Sen. Chris Coons – October 1, 2025 – Donald Trump promised he’d bring down energy costs and secure our “energy dominance” but if you’re a Delawarean who’s looked at their bills recently, you know costs are climbing. Unfortunately, now our president is throttling American energy production, and we’re all paying for it.

‘Trump is the emergency’: Dems eye second vote on energy order – by Kelsey Brugger – E&E News – 10/06/2025 – The Senate will take a second vote in the coming days against President Donald Trump’s energy emergency. As lawmakers continue to fight over government funding, Senate Democrats are forcing a vote as soon as this week to terminate President Donald Trump’s “energy emergency” declaration, which gives him broad powers to sidestep environmental reviews and boost his favorite energy sources: oil, gas and coal. Democrats plan to argue on the Senate floor that it is Trump who has created a crisis by throttling renewable energy sources like wind and solar. And, they say, it’s only going to get worse, a message that is shaping up to be a key midterm campaign theme. “Pres. Trump is canceling energy projects all over the country,” Kaine argued in an interview in his office last month. “So now what we’re seeing is Donald Trump is the emergency.”

DOE to pull back $13B from clean energy projects – By Brian Dabbs – E&E News by Politico – September 29, 2025 – Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday the money “was slated to go out to subsidize wind, solar, and batteries and electric vehicles.” Wright added “by returning these funds to the American taxpayer, the Trump administration is affirming its commitment to advancing more affordable, reliable and secure American energy and being more responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

The government’s own data rebuts Trump’s claims about wind and solar prices – by Zack Colman and Catherine Allen – Politico – October 10, 2025 – The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power costs.

“Adding more wind and solar to the grid have one guaranteed effect: They make electricity more expensive,” Wright, a former oil industry CEO, told reporters last month in Washington. But federal energy data undermines those arguments. States that embrace renewable energy are far more likely to save money for electricity consumers than those relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power, a POLITICO analysis of federal and industry data shows — findings that undermine one of the Trump administration’s main justifications for its aggressive rollback of federal clean energy policies. POLITICO’s analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration power price data contradicts arguments by President Donald Trump and his appointees that a heavy dependence on wind and solar power drives up electricity prices.

Analysis of US Energy Information Administration Data from POLITICO

See how Pennsylvania compares Here. Source: US Energy Information Administration.

 

Green Banks – Solar for All Updates

See excellent Cheat Sheet Summary of Solar for All Cases at the end of this Digest

EPA faces multi-state lawsuit over canceled grants for solar power – by Rebecca Falconer – Axios – October 17, 2025 – The Trump administration was sued by some two dozen states that are seeking to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from cancelling a $7 billion solar energy program. The states argue in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Thursday that the EPA “illegally terminated” the program that’s “designed to bring low-cost distributed solar energy to over 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.” Joining Thursday’s suit are Kentucky’s governor and the attorneys general of twenty-three states including – the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.

WA co-leads challenge to EPA’s attacks on affordable clean energy for low-income households – State of Washington’s Office of Attorney General – Press Release – October 16, 2025 – Washington and 22 other plaintiffs are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Lee Zeldin for illegally ending a $7 billion program that lowers energy costs and pollution by bringing solar energy to more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. Washington and 23 other grant recipients also filed suit yesterday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to recover damages for EPA’s unlawful breach of the grant agreements that were executed under this program. A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims is available Here. A copy of the U.S. District Court complaint is available Here.

More than 20 states sue EPA over canceled grants for solar power – by Evan Bush – NBC News – Oct. 16, 2025 – During the Trump administration, the US EPA canceled a $7 billion program aimed at making solar power accessible to low-income households. More than 20 states sued the EPA on Thursday, challenging the agency’s decision to cancel a $7 billion program that aimed to make solar power accessible to low-income households. The program, called “Solar For All,” was established in 2022 under the Inflation Reduction Act with loans and grants to deploy rooftop and community solar projects. It was supposed to make solar power more accessible to nearly a million additional U.S. households.

States sue to stop Trump cancellation of $7 billion solar grant program – by Reuters, October 16, 2025 – Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7 billion grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers. In a statement on Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced two lawsuits by a group of states that received grants under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All program.

EPA sued for terminating $7B Solar for All program – Diana DiGangi – Utility Dive October 7, 2025 – “Instead of distributing the Solar for All funds as Congress directed, Defendants hastily and unlawfully terminated” the program, the plaintiffs allege. The plaintiffs include solar installation companies Sunpath Solar and EIS Solar, nonprofits Solar United Neighbors and Black Sun Light Sustainability, trade union Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the nonprofit Rhode Island Center for Justice, and Anh Nguyen, a member of Georgia BRIGHT’s Solar for All advisory board. The suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island.

Groups sue EPA over canceled $7 billion solar program intended to help poorer Americans By  ALEXA ST. JOHN & JENNIFER McDERMOTT – Assoc. Press – October 6, 2025  Several groups and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against US EPA over the canceling of a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power accessible to more than 900,000 lower-income Americans. They say the Trump administration’s termination of the program was illegal and they want a federal judge to direct the EPA to reinstate it. The program is affiliated with another $20 billion in green funding also terminated under President Donald Trump. The lawsuit is the latest legal action against the administration amid its assault on clean energy policy and related funding. Trump has moved to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal.

Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) released an analysis of all Solar for All program workplans and concluded that the program could provide utility bill savings up to 70% for single-family households for the next 20 years, from $495 to $1,400 in household savings per year. According to EPA’s own numbers, 900,000 households were slated to benefit throughout the country. The Solar for All program was designed to provide a minimum of 20% savings to low-income American households on their utility bills using solar, the cheapest source of new electricity generation.

In Georgia, Trump’s Cuts to Solar Projects Hit Some of His Voters by Maxine Joselow – New York Times – October 11, 2025 – The Trump administration canceled a $7 billion program intended to help low- and moderate-income families install rooftop solar panels. Maxine Joselow reports on the impact of canceling the Solar for All program. When Jennifer McCoy entered a drawing for the free installation of solar panels on her home, she was desperate for help with electric bills that have soared to more than $500 a month.

 

Green Banks – Clean Communities Investment Accelerator & National Clean Investment Fund Update 

‘Green banks’ petition for rehearing in $14B EPA funding freeze case – by Diana DiGangi, Utility Dive, September 11, 2025 – Nonprofit recipients of $14 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants filed a rehearing petition late Wednesday after a U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld the freeze. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to uphold the EPA’s freeze on Inflation Reduction Act grants, but the plaintiffs have asked for a rehearing from the entire appeals court. The majority opinion was filed by two judges appointed by Pres. Donald Trump, Judge Neomi Rao and Judge Gregory Katsas.

See PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC in CLIMATE UNITED FUND et al vs. CITIBANK, N.A., USCA Case #25-5122; Document #2134363; Filed: September 10, 2025

See, BRIEF OF IMPACT FINANCE EXPERTS AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEES’ PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC, Impact Finance Experts, Filed September 17, 2025

See Full Docket at U.S. Climate Change Litigation, Sabin Center at Columbia University.

 

PA Advocates Making the Case for Solar Power

Is the Sun Setting on Pennsylvania’s Solar Future? – by Audrey Carleton – Capital & Main – September 29, 2025 – The Trump administration rescinded $156 million to help power low-income homes & the state legislature remains an obstacle if the money is restored. The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority was one of 60 recipients, including state agencies, nonprofits and Native American tribes, to receive termination letters from US EPA alerting them that funds they’d received under Solar for All, a Biden-era initiative to help low-income households access solar energy, would be rescinded. The recipients’ accounts containing the 2024 funds were frozen & the money removed, environmental advocates say. But advocates and many Democrats say that Zeldin and the EPA are acting illegally. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was established with the requirement that the money be “obligated” by Sept. 30, 2024 – after which point it could not be revoked. “That means that that funding is official,” said Elowyn Corby, Mid-Atlantic regional director at Vote Solar, a clean energy advocacy group. “It is real. It has gone to the states. Many of the grantees are already pulling down funds.”  

Pennsylvania’s solar ambitions face high federal and state hurdles – by Audrey Carleton – Canary Media – October 2, 2025 – Even if Pennsylvania can reclaim its share of Solar for All funds clawed back by Trump’s EPA, a bitter impasse in its legislature may block implementation (update and reprint of above article).

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio highlights solar as way to save money, address climate change – By Rachel McDevitt – 90.5 WESA – September 25, 2025 – Even on a wet Wednesday afternoon, the solar array on the rooftop of Community College of Allegheny County was still generating buzz. U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio toured the installation to highlight how renewables can save energy and money, even as Republicans have ended clean energy incentives through the federal spending plan signed by President Trump in July.

‘Innovative’ solar project on Hunting Park church will help nearby households pay their electricity bills – by – Sophia Schmidt – WHYY –  Sept. 29, 2025 – The arrangement is a way to sidestep PA regulations that do not allow community solar in the state.

How neighbors are banding together to get cheaper rooftop solar, by Jeff St. John – Oct. 11, 2025 – Canary Media – Nonprofit Solar United Neighbors helps demystify the buying process & win better deals by bundling customers, becoming a force for solar advocacy.

Pennsylvania schools continue solar projects despite tax rollbacks – by Sophia Schmidt · The Allegheny Front – September 11, 2025 – Dozens of schools in Pennsylvania seem to be sticking with plans to install solar panels on their roofs, despite the rollback of federal clean energy tax credits in President Donald Trump’s signature budget bill.

These Ohioans Got a Deal on Solar Panels. Here’s Their Secret – by Clair Brown – New York Times – September 7, 2025 Print Edition (from NYT’s 50 States, 50 Fixes a series about local solutions). Here’s how it works: Co-ops run for four to eight months and generally include 30 to 100 members. Around the third month, Solar United Neighbors solicits proposals from local installers, who compete for the business of the whole group. After the nonprofit does an initial round of due diligence on the bids, each cooperative appoints its own selection committee, which combs through the fine print and selects the best fit.

 

National Press Stories on Solar Power

Is This L.A. Home the Solution to America’s Growing Energy Crisis? – By Ivan Penn and Malika Khurana – New York Times – Sept. 27, 2025 – One solution is to install more rooftop solar panels and batteries. Each such system is small, but collections of them can act like small power plants by supplying electricity to the grid when demand surges on, say, summer afternoons.

Can crowdsourcing help solve the data-center power crunch? – By Jeff St. John – Canary Media – October 20, 2025 – Data centers are creating problems for the congested, overburdened U.S. power grid. One company thinks it can crowdsource the solution. California-based Voltus operates ​“virtual power plants” across North America, controlling the amount of electricity that participating homes and businesses consume or send to the grid via resources like rooftop solar and batteries. Last month, the firm unveiled its ​“bring your own capacity” plan. The idea is for data center operators to pay other utility customers to reduce their power use when electricity demand peaks, a move that would diminish strain on the system without disrupting computing processes at data centers.

How EVs can fix the grid and lower your electric bill – by  Matt Simon – Grist – October 17, 2025 – A growing number of cars with cords feature vehicle-to-grid technology, or V2G, also known as bidirectional charging. They can draw clean power when renewables are humming on the grid, and their owners get paid to send some back to a utility to meet growing demand — creating a vast distributed network that could make the electrical system more reliable, not less. That shift is getting a head start in Maryland, where last month the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company partnered with Sunrun, which provides home solar and batteries, and Ford, which makes the electric F-150 Lightning, to activate the nation’s first residential V2G pilot project.

Solar and wind power has grown faster than demand for electricity this year, report says – by ALEXA ST. JOHN – Associated Press – October 6, 2025 – Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, according to a new analysis. Global solar generation grew by a record 31% in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew by 7.7%. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than overall global demand increased during the same period. The findings suggest it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power even as demand for electricity skyrockets with continued investment in renewables including solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy and geothermal energies.

Global solar and wind generation overtake coal for the first time – by Alexander C. Kaufman – Heatmap – October 07, 2025 – Solar and wind outpaced the growth of global electricity demand in the first half of 2025, vaulting renewables toward overtaking coal worldwide for the first time on record, according to analysis published on October 7, 2025 by the research outfit Ember.

 

Tracking Clean Energy Job Creation/Losses

Eos Energy to relocate HQ to North Side, invest $353 million in region, Shapiro says by Chris Potter – 90.5 WESA – October 21, 2025 – The relocation, which is set to take place in the latter part of 2026, is expected to create 735 jobs and retain 265 others. Eos makes zinc-based batteries for industrial and other large-scale uses. Its Turtle Creek operations have been a success story everyone wants to be part of. Eos was among a number of area manufacturers to benefit from President Joe Biden’s clean-energy investments, and politicians ranging from progressive Democratic Rep. Summer Lee to Republican U.S. Senator Dave McCormick have championed its presence. It boasts a unionized work force – employees are members of the United Steelworkers – and relies almost entirely on American-made components and materials.

E2: Attack on Clean Energy Projects Threatens to Put Thousands Out of Work, Raises Energy Bills – E2 Press Release – October 9, 2025 – Last week, US DOE cancelled federal support for 321 major energy projects – including transmission grid upgrades, new hydrogen projects & methane reduction projects for the oil and gas industry by cutting more than $7.5 billion in funding that had previously been promised to American businesses. This week, the Trump Administration is considering plans to pull back an additional $12 billion in funding for projects designed to expand American-made energy. See E2 – Clean Economy Works – Tracker for new clean economy projects, expansions, and production announced across America.

A Dallas Start-Up Raises $5.5 Million to Build 3-D Solar Towers by Arcelia Martin – Inside Climate News – October 22, 2025 – The vertical towers allow for three times more capacity per acre than conventional solar panel arrays and produce 50% more energy than conventional flat solar panel arrays, and 25% more power than those that track the sun. 

 

A Deeper Dive Into the Reasons for Higher Energy Costs in 2025

Monopoly man: How Trump manipulates America’s energy markets – by William S. Becker, opinion contributor – The Hill – September 15, 2025 – The U.S. has been blessed with presidents who intervened when corporations gained too much power. Pres. Trump is cut from a very different cloth. He’s doing everything in his power to create a near-monopoly rather than busting one. He is helping the fossil-fuel industry dominate America’s energy mix. Last year, Trump promised to give the industry a windfall if it contributed enough money to his presidential campaign. It delivered, so Trump is delivering, too. He is relaxing pollution limits, opening new public lands to exploration, giving the industry a $6 billion discount for drilling on those lands, and using tariffs to pressure other countries to buy U.S. oil and gas.

America’s anti-trust laws are designed to promote and maintain fair competition in the marketplace. They are meant to prevent anti-competitive practices that can harm consumers and stifle innovation. Trump has a different objective. His policies send the message that fossil fuels can no longer compete in the economy without the president of the United States rigging energy markets.

New U.S. policy pulls back from renewables as energy demand swells – by Eric Scicchitano – CNHI News – Oct. 17, 2025 – The US produced more energy in 2023 than ever before. That was until 2024, when the domestic energy sector reset the record. Natural gas and crude oil led the way, but the boost in production is owed in no small part to renewable sources: wind, solar, biofuels and more accounted for nearly 10% of all energy produced last year in the U.S., with growing output across sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewables accounted for 21.5% of utility-scale electricity generation, topping coal and nuclear. Energy produced by wind swelled by 8% last year.  Biofuels were up 6%. Solar saw a whopping 25% increase. That falls in line with global trends, where more than 90 percent of new energy generation comes from renewable resources. Rather than taking an all-of-the-above approach to energy production, the Trump (dotted with appointees from fossil fuels) cut renewable energy funding in 2025.

Projected Impacts of Repealing the Section 45Y and 48E Technology-Neutral Clean Electricity Tax Credits – by Aaron Bergman, McKenna Peplinski, Kevin Rennert, and Nicholas Roy – Resources for the Future – May 15, 2025 – This issue brief examines the potential effects on electricity prices and emissions by repealing tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. “We find that repealing these tax credits is modeled to increase nationally averaged electricity rates by roughly 5–7% across modeled scenarios in 2030, reaching a peak of 6–10% higher rates in 2035.”

Connection Costs – Loophole Costs Customers Over $4 Billion to Connect Data Centers to Power Grid – Policy Brief – Union of Concerned Scientists – September 2025 — The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that in 2024 alone, utilities in seven PJM states passed more than $4.3 billion in additional costs on to customers, with billions more still to come. These costs come from local transmission upgrades made to provide transmission-level service directly to data centers. 

Nobody wants this gas plant. Trump is forcing it to stay open – by Rebecca Egan McCarthy – Grist – September 5, 2025 – The US DOE is citing Trump’s declaration of an “energy emergency” and voracious data centers in its decision to keep the plant outside of Philadelphia running. The NRDC, along with the Sierra Club, PennFuture, and several other environmental groups, is challenging the decision. The emergency stay open order will likely increase costs for ratepayers, NRDC’s Robert Routh explained.

PA Electric Customers Will Pay To Keep An Old Fossil Fuel Power Plant Running Under US DOE Orders – by Peter Hall – PA Capital-Star – September 15, 2025 – The Trump administration will use emergency powers to keep fossil fuel plants online. Electricity customers across a broad swath of the country will bear the costs of running an outdated fossil fuel power plant in PA that federal energy regulators pulled back from the brink of retirement earlier this year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last month approved a plan that allows PJM Interconnection to recover its payments to the plant’s owner, Constellation Energy, from electricity users across its 13-state territory.

Environmental Defense Fund: President’s Subsidies For Costly Coal Saddle Families With High Electric Bills, More Pollution

Fracking was supposed to lower Pennsylvanians’ electric bills. Instead, they’re about to get worse – by Kiley Bense, Dan Gearino – Inside Climate News & PA Capital Star – Sept. 23, 2025 – Natural gas was pitched as a stopgap between fossil fuels and renewables. Instead, it has derailed Pennsylvania’s energy transition. The fracking boom birthed a new way of thinking about energy. By 2013, in a speech about climate change, Pres. Obama was hailing natural gas as a “transition fuel that can power our economy with less carbon pollution,” phrasing popular in messaging on natural gas at the time. It was a “bridge” from dirty coal to cleaner renewables, a temporary solution to lower emissions & secure energy independence. 15 years later, that bridge extends deep into PA’s future. PA now ranks second to last in the country when it comes to the percentage of its electricity generated by renewables, and in 2024, PA ranked 49th for renewable energy growth in the U.S.

Customers in 7 PJM states paid $4.4B for data center transmission in 2024: report – by Ethan Howland – Utility Dive – October 1, 2025. – Transmission lines built for data centers fall into a “regulatory gap,” with utility customers on the hook for the costs, the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

 

Hydrogen Hub Updates

Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law by Emily Pontecorvo –  Heatmap – October 07, 2025 – A new list of DOE grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron. The new list of DOE grants slated for termination reveals an additional 338 awards for clean energy projects that the agency intends to cancel. Some of the most significant new terminations on the list include:

  • All seven awards in the Hydrogen Hubs program created by Congress in 2021 as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
  • All 13 grants awarded under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Domestic Manufacturing Conversions program.
  • 11 of the 15 grants awarded to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing in former coal communities from the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Program.

While two of the seven hydrogen hubs — those in California and the Pacific Northwest — were on last week’s cancellations list, all seven have their status listed as “terminate” on this new list. A $9.8 million grant to Sparkz to build a first-of-its-kind battery-grade iron phosphate plant in West Virginia also makes an appearance.

There’s a second DOE project cancellation list by Maeve Allsup Lisa Martine Jenkins, October 7, 2025 – Latitude Media – According to a leaked document, DOE appears poised to cancel an additional $16 billion worth of Biden-era awards.

What DOE cuts mean for ‘clean’ hydrogen – by Christa Marshall – E&E News by Politico – October 14, 2025 – The Trump administration has begun pulling back billions of dollars that Congress set aside to build a domestic hydrogen industry. The shift in the U.S. toward blue hydrogen comes as China is on track to dominate global production of green hydrogen. A report from the International Energy Agency in September found that China accounts for 65 percent of global capacity of installed green hydrogen capacity. “Renewable hydrogen in China could become cost-competitive by the end of this decade due to low technology costs and cost of capital,” the report said.

 

The High Costs of Trump Administration Subsidies for Coal

Trump’s sweeping plan to prop up coal – by Kathryn Krawczyk – Canary Media – October 3, 2025 – Coal’s health and climate impacts get no mention in the administration’s latest attempt to breathe life back into the industry. This week, the Trump administration announced its most ambitious pro-coal plans yet — a multipronged effort to resuscitate the industry, despite the financial, health, and climate case against doing so.

  • The administration’s Monday announcement included three big pledges: DOE promised $625 million to prop up coal power plants, the Interior Department will open up 13 million acres of federal land for coal mining, and the EPA is delaying seven deadlines related to wastewater pollution from coal plants.
  • That promised DOE funding includes $350 million for recommissioning or modernizing coal power plants — an indication that the DOE will continue to force such facilities to stay open past their prime.
  • The administration has already kept Michigan’s J.H. Campbell plant open for months beyond its planned retirement in May, racking up $29 million in costs to utility customers in just 5 weeks. At that rate, the plant would cost consumers $279 million each year to keep open, according to a recent Grid Strategies report.

There’s a cheaper, and not to mention cleaner, way forward: According to a 2023 Energy Innovation report, every single soon-to-retire coal plant could be replaced with solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage at a net savings to consumers. The rollback of clean-energy tax credits weakens that calculation, but renewables remain the cheapest, quickest way to add new power generation to the grid.

Energy Bills Are Soaring in America’s Coal Capital – by Ivan Penn – September 29, 2025 – New York Times – As residents’ electricity prices have increased, nearly one out of five customers of the leading utility company in the state is behind on monthly bills. West Virginia is awash in coal, natural gas and oil, making it the fifth-leading producer of energy in the United States. Yet the state’s electricity costs have risen much faster than the national average. Some energy experts say West Virginia is a harbinger of what could happen as President Trump champions fossil fuels and throttles renewable energy. Since 2012, U.S. coal plants have collectively lost about $14 billion, according to RMI, a research group formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Institute. Many of those losses were borne by residents and businesses through their electricity bills.

The Coal Trap New Edition – by James M. Van Nostrand (Author) – Between 2009 and 2019, West Virginian politicians aligned themselves with the interests of the coal industry to the substantial detriment of the citizens and economy of the state. Despite the undeniable low-carbon transformation that was occurring in the energy industry in the US during this period, state political leaders doubled down on coal. Rather than provide the leadership necessary to manage the transition of the state’s economic drivers away from fossil fuels, they largely blamed the demise of the coal industry on the federal government. At every turn, the interests of the coal industry were placed above the economic and environmental health of West Virginians who also face overwhelming obstacles to competing in the economic marketplace of the twenty-first century.

Trump’s Coal Plan Is Doomed by Seth Feaster and Dennis Wamsted (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis), Opinion – Guest Essay – New York Times – October 7, 2025 – The Trump administration is betting that forcing coal plants to stay open, offering $625 million to upgrade plants, giving away coal on federal land, cutting pollution limits and opening more land to coal mining will spark a turnaround for coal-fired power generation. But while these measures could prolong the operating lives of some coal plants for a short period, they will not reverse the decline of an industry hurtling into economic and technological obsolescence. Coal-fired power plants are essentially steam engines, a technology the railroads abandoned in the 1950s and ’60s. They are practically identical to the first coal-fired plant, built in 1882 by Thomas Edison to produce electricity in New York City.

Pa. DEP secretary asks U.S. Health and Human Services not to cut mine safety research jobs – By Ian Karbal – Pennsylvania Capital-Star – September 9, 2025 – The facility is also home to the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, which studies the best ways to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses in mines.

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump – By Lisa Friedman – New York Times – October 13, 2025 – President Trump has been a cheerleader for coal miners. But these miners say his administration is failing to enforce limits on a lethal workplace hazard. They have been waiting months for the government to enforce federal limits on silica dust, a carcinogen that has led to a recent spike in black lung disease. But mining industry groups have sued to block the rule, and the Trump administration has paused enforcement while the lawsuit plays out.

President’s Administration Is Loving  Coal, But Killing The Miners by Adriana E. Ramirez – Reprinted article – October 6, 2025

US Dept. of Energy – Announces $625 Million Investments In Recommission, Retrofit Coal-Fired Power Plants

 

Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Maryland (PJM) Interconnection Issues

How Josh Shapiro wants to reshape the region’s power grid operator as prices rise – by Kate Huangpu – Spotlight PA – Oct. 14, 2025 – As electricity prices rise in Pennsylvania and across the country, Gov. Josh Shapiro is publicly blaming the region’s power grid operator and pushing for changes that would give the state more of a say in its governance. Last month, Shapiro said that PJM Interconnection had “months, not years” to make changes, or else “Pennsylvania will go its own way” — in other words, leave the grid.

  • More representation on PJM’s board isn’t Shapiro’s only idea. Another possibility his administration has raised is expanding states’ ability to file proposals with federal energy regulators. These filing rights could be expanded to allow states to propose new rules to FERC without first having to prove that the current rules are unfair, which would lower the burden of proof for states.
  • For example, rather than disputing that the capacity market was unfair and suggesting a new way to calculate the price cap, as he did last winter, Shapiro could suggest a new price cap to federal regulators.

Joshua Macey, a professor at Yale Law School who specializes in energy law, said states are currently unable to “propose the rules you want directly,” and instead are “always responding to PJM.” He said giving states or their representatives these expanded filing rights creates more avenues for change. Of Shapiro’s other idea for more PJM board representation, Macey said he thinks it “would be extremely useful” but didn’t think it would “would fix all of these problems.” “The filing rights approach would be a nice complement, because it would give states a direct line to fixing how the Mid-Atlantic grid works,” he added.

PJM Interconnection needs 43 GW of energy storage by 2045: Brattle Group – By Brian Martucci – Utility Dive Oct. 14, 2025 – A report commissioned by the U.S. Energy Storage Coalition said North America’s largest grid operator needs to rapidly build storage to ensure reliability and mitigate cost increases.

21 Democratic House members press PJM for interconnection reforms – by Ethan Howard – Utility Dive – October 16, 2025 – Lawmakers called on the PJM Interconnection to bolster rules for energy storage and grid-enhancing technologies while considering options such as “connect and manage.” A group of 21 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the PJM Interconnection to make it easier to bring power supplies online, a move they said could help lower electricity costs. In some parts of PJM, consumers face electric rate increases of more than 20% at a time when many people are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, according to the lawmakers. “These rate increases are unaffordable and necessitate that PJM respond effectively to pursue reforms to the interconnection process that would address and prevent current and future rate hikes,” the lawmakers said in a letter, which was led by Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.

PJM Pursues Rule Change to Meet Data Center Surge. Critics Fear Gas Suppliers Could Benefit by Rambo Talabong – Inside Climate News – October 13, 2025 — PJM is racing to craft new rules to meet surging data center demand through a fast-track process, one that could reshape the grid if federal regulators sign off. As data center growth across the US is expected to create stress on electrical grids, PJM Interconnection, a pivotal grid operator that has come under criticism for delays, is scrambling for ways to keep up. PJM, which serves 13 states, is seeking public comment on a rulemaking shortcut known as the Critical Issue Fast Path or CIFP—a process launched by its board as a way to expedite its months-long review process for suppliers seeking to join the grid.

Lawmakers urge PJM to take steps so clean energy projects can meet tax credit deadlines – by Ethan Howland – Utility Dive – September 30, 2025 – A group of 107 state lawmakers on Monday, September 29, 2025 urged the PJM Interconnection to take steps to support the rapid addition of clean energy resources onto the grid to ensure the grid operator has enough power supplies to meet the region’s needs. “Either we have a resource adequacy issue, or we don’t — and I believe we do — so we need to be getting all of this energy online as quickly as possible,” Maryland Delegate Lorig Charkoudian said.

Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Building A.I. Data Centers Without Breaking Electric Ratepayers Or Reliability In PJM

Inside Climate News: PA Governor Threatens To Pull Largest Power Producer Out Of PJM Regional Power Grid Citing Need For ‘Significant Reform’

PA Capital-Star: PA Gov. Shapiro Said Electric Grid Operator PJM Needs Reform To Put Consumers First

 

Fracking & Health Impacts

Five Years After Pennsylvania’s Landmark Fracking Report, Its Public Health Goals Remain Largely Unmet, Groups Say by Jon Hurdle– Inside Climate News- June 26, 2025 — A grand jury convened by Josh Shapiro, then attorney general and now governor, made eight recommendations to protect public health and the environment from fracking, the state has largely failed to follow through, five environmental groups said on the anniversary of the report. On Wednesday, the groups – Earthworks, the Sierra Club, Protect PT, the Center for Coalfield Justice and Environmental Health Project – called for Gov. Josh Shapiro and legislators to do more.

What’s happening with  the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) in Ohio River Valley states? by Ted Boettner, Ohio River Valley Institute – October 14, 2025 – This research brief reviews how Ohio River Valley states: Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are implementing the MERP program. All together these four states received $115.1 million or about one-third of the $350 million in state formula MERP grants based on their proportion (150,000) of marginal conventional wells.

 

In Case You Missed It

In First Address on Climate Change, Pope Leo Signals Continuity With Francis—and Opposition to Trump – by Carl David Goette-Luciak – Inside Climate News – Oct. 2, 2025 – Pope Leo called on people all over the world to demand action on climate from their governments. Right-wing pundits in the U.S. immediately denounced his message as “woke.” Pope Francis, who died earlier this year, placed climate and ecology—alongside concern for the poor—as central to his papacy, thrusting the Catholic Church into the world’s debate over climate change. In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, an instruction addressed to all Catholic leaders, Francis linked ecology and theology, framing the destruction of the environment as a moral and spiritual issue. Laudato Si’ asserted human activity to be the unambiguous driver of climate change and castigated the inaction of the world’s political leaders as a dereliction of moral duty.

 

New Research Reports

AI boom sparks battle over giant data centers in Pennsylvania towns – by Jon Hurdle of Inside Climate News | Oct. 17, 2025 – As plans to build huge data centers multiply across the United States, some Pennsylvania communities are pushing back. Responding to public opposition, commissioners in Hampden Township, near Harrisburg, voted in September against allowing data centers in office park zones. In the borough of Blakely, northeast of Scranton, a developer dropped plans for a data center that same month after local protests. Twenty-one data centers are now planned in Pennsylvania, according to padatacenterproposals.com, a database that tracks the projects.

New, overlapping pipeline proposals are redundant–and unnecessary by Julia Stone – Ohio River Valley Institute – October 14, 2025 – Dueling pipeline proposals submitted by Mountain Valley Pipeline and Williams await state and federal approval

Expanding data center demand near Appalachia could slow down regional decarbonization efforts – by Zane Gustafson – Ohio River Valley Institute – October 14, 2025 – This piece explores the variations in demand growth and historic fuel composition across the PJM region. Overall, the regional grid in 2023 continues to be carbon intensive, with 70 percent of power generated from either natural gas or coal. Increasing electricity demand in the form of data center expansion will likely either encourage continued growth of gas generated electricity or delay the retirement of coal plants.

PATHWAYS FOR ACTION – AFFORDING OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE – Just Solutions – October 2025 – Across the country, households are struggling to pay for mounting energy costs. Georgia Power, for example, increased electricity rates six times in the last three years. In Nevada, the average residential gas price doubled in the last five years. Across the U.S., average residential gas and electricity prices both grew faster than inflation from 2019-2024. Meanwhile, utility disconnections are on the rise from South Carolina to Oregon. From state to state, the costs of everything from mitigating wildfires to integrating new data centers loads are driving up utility bills. States now face an urgent need to address energy costs—and to do so in a lasting way that ensures long-term bill savings and continues to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. 

 

Cheat Sheet on Solar for All Lawsuits as of October 17, 2025* 

  1. Harris County, TX vs EPA – US District Court (DC)
  • This is a single grantee of the SFA program suing EPA. They are seeking declarative and injunctive relief (they are asking the court to declare the decision to terminate the grant unlawful and to vacate that decision).
  • Their arguments rest on some constitutional claims as well as claims resting upon the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act
  1. Southern Environmental Law Center + labor/business (3rd party)
  • Southern Environmental Law Center, along with Lawyers for Good Government, Conservation Law Foundation, and the Lawyers Committee for Rhode Island, fileda legal challenge in federal court on behalf of a coalition of businesses and nonprofits.
  • Plaintiffs include RI AFL-CIO, Solar United Neighbors
  • Arguments are focused on violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the US Constitution, and they are seeking to overturn the termination of the SFA program and a full restoration.
  • Note that because most of these plaintiffs are not grantees of SFA, this case has a greater chance of staying in district court than being directed to the Court of Federal Claims.
  1. 22 states + DC (as states themselves) – US Dist. Ct. for the W. Dist. of Washington
  • Includes: AZ CA CO CT DCHI IL KY ME MD MA MI MN NJ NM NY NC OR PA RI VT WA WI (NV part of case #4 below)
  • This case is in the district court & the claims are constitutional, violations of CAA, admin procedure act. The claims differ subtly from those of the SELC case [described in #2 above].
  • The plaintiffs are seeking that the court declare EPA’s interpretation of HR 1 (reconciliation/OBBBA) incorrect and require them to vacate it. They want an injunction prohibiting the EPA from implementing terminations based on their interpretation. They want the SFA program reinstated and EPA staff it appropriately.
  1. 23 states + DC (represented by the entity that won the federal award) – Court of Federal Claims
  • Includes: AZ CA CO CT DCHI IL KY ME MI MA MD MN NJ NM NY NC OR PA RI VT WA WI NV* (represented by the NV Clean Energy Fund)
  • This case is pending in the Court of Federal Claims and focuses on US EPA’s failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts it signed with the awardees. Procedures were not followed and legal.
  • Plaintiffs are seeking to recover damages due to EPA’s breach of contract.

* Summarized & prepared by Jessica Lubetsky

Joe Cullen