On January 29, 2025, FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) to construct and operate its Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (Project).
The Project expands Transco’s existing natural gas transmission system in Virginia and North Carolina and will add approximately…
On January 29, 2026, FERC accepted PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.’s (PJM) revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) to create a separate, fast‑track interconnection process for “Replacement Generation Resources” that assume Capacity Interconnection Rights (CIRs) from retiring generators. The new process is intended to bring replacement capacity online more quickly, limit how long CIRs sit unused, and run in parallel with PJM’s interconnection queue.
On January 22, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued a 40‑year original license to FFP Project 101, LLC (FFP) to construct and operate a 1,200‑megawatt pumped storage hydropower facility, the Goldendale Energy Storage Project, in Klickitat County, Washington. FERC found that, with conditions, the closed‑loop pumped storage project will add significant long‑duration capacity and flexibility to help integrate renewable resources in the Western grid.
On January 13, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) in FERC v. PJM Interconnection, LLC., et al., held that FERC erred in concluding that a prior decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit) foreclosed its authority under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act (FPA) to review and potentially modify PJM’s 2024/2025 capacity auction results. The court ruled that the Third Circuit’s application of the filed‑rate doctrine to PJM’s tariff amendment under Section 205 did not decide whether FERC could, in a separate proceeding, determine that the re‑run auction’s outcome was unjust and unreasonable and grant relief under Section 206.
On January 7, 2026, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Decentralized Access to Technology Alternatives Act (DATA Act) (S.3585), that if adopted, would exempt isolated large loads from regulation under the Federal Power Act (FPA) and the implementing regulations of FERC and the Department of Energy (DOE). Specifically, the DATA ACT would amend the FPA to create the consumer-regulated electric utilities (CREU) category and then broadly remove qualifying CREUs from federal energy regulation.
Host Bill Derasmo sits down with ZincFive’s vice president of global sales and product management, Brandon Smith, to talk about why nickel-zinc battery chemistry is built for the AI era. With a career that spans oil and gas, UPS systems, and now nickel‑zinc, Brandon explains why nickel‑zinc batteries are turning heads as a safer alternative to lithium‑ion and how they’re set to reshape backup power for AI-driven data centers.
On January 14, 2026, FERC accepted the Southwest Power Pool, Inc.’s (SPP) revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff (Tariff) to create a High Impact Large Load (HILL) study process and High Impact Large Load Generation Assessment (HILLGA) process. The HILL study process establishes study and operational requirements for HILLs connecting to SPP’s transmission system. The HILLGA is a new interconnection process for interconnection requests of generation resources necessary to serve HILLs. The Tariff revisions are effective as of January 15, 2026.
On January 15, 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the long-awaited proposed rule Updating the Water Quality Certification Regulations (Proposed Rule), which, if adopted, would largely reinstate the previous Trump administration’s 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule (2020 Rule). EPA’s proposal seeks to limit the scope of state-issued water quality certifications (WQCs) under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to water quality impacts associated with discharges authorized by federal agency actions. The Proposed Rule also addresses concerns raised by applicants for federal licenses and permits (including for hydroelectric projects, natural gas pipelines, and other energy and infrastructure projects) that certain states have overstepped their Section 401 authority to impose onerous terms and conditions unrelated to water quality and artificially extended the statutory time limits for issuing WQCs.
On December 29, 2025, FERC terminated the hydropower license for the 0.9-megawatt Au Train Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 10856), located on the Au Train River in Alger County, Michigan (Termination Order). FERC concluded that termination of the license by “implied surrender” was warranted because the project’s licensee, UP Hydro, LLC (UP Hydro), had abandoned good-faith operation of the project through years of safety violations, loss of control over project lands, and financial collapse. The order ends more than two decades of federal oversight over the project and transfers regulatory authority to the State of Michigan to oversee the decommissioning of the dam.
On January 2, 2026, the D.C. Circuit declined to rehear en banc its prior order restoring the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Title V affirmative defense to liability for excess emissions caused by emergency events. A group of environmental organizations had petitioned for rehearing en banc, arguing that the court’s reasoning violated D.C. Circuit precedent.
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