Offshore Wind vs Trump; Fusion Grants, V2G & Solid-State
1.) The Trump administration requests that a federal judge rescind the 2024 approval of U.S. Wind’s Maryland 2,200 MW offshore wind farm.
2.) Bloomberg reports Northeastern governors are looking at possible quid pro quos with the Trump administration to keep development of multi-billion dollar offshore wind farms on track, with possible concessions including support of small modular nuclear reactor projects and fossil-fuel infrastructure that they have previously opposed.
3.) Chicago utility ComEd kicks off vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric school bus charging pilot with three Illinois school districts.
4.) The U.S. Department of Energy will deliver $134 million in grant funding for two programs designed to support emerging fusion technologies.
5.) Plus Power cuts ribbon 150 MW / 300 MWh energy storage facility in southeastern Massachusetts, the largest standalone battery system in ISO-NE.
6.) A unanimous settlement agreement in Kansas sets new tariff model for data center load with 17-year contracts specifying take-or-pay provisions for 80% of expected capacity. Buyers will also post collateral equal to two years of minimum bills, and pay an interim capacity charge above regular rate if new generation.
7.) At Volkswagen Group press conference, QuantumScape and PowerCo announce world’s first live demonstration of an EV powered by a solid state lithium battery, with a Ducati V21L race motorcycle boasting QuantumScape’s QSE-5 cells.