Advancing Regional Energy Planning
WHY IT MATTERS
Why Energy Planning Matters
The U.S. electric grid is undergoing a noteworthy transformation. While natural gas remains the dominant source (accounting for 1,802 billion kWh or 43.1% of the electricity generation share in 2023), it is gradually ceding overall share as clean energy sources expand rapidly. Early projections suggest continued expansion across solar, wind, and battery storage technologies. So, what’s next for clean energy—and where will this growth take place?
Where Will Growth happen?
This expansion is especially pronounced in the Southwest and Western U.S., which together are positioned to account for more than half of solar growth and 82% of battery storage additions. At the same time, most new natural gas capacity additions are occurring along the East Coast.
Increasing electricity demand—driven by data centers, AI, EV adoption, and wider electrification—is pushing utilities, grid operators, and private investors to accelerate transmission upgrades.
How are companies responding?
These shifts require significant private‑sector investment. To meet these growing demands and shifting supply dynamics, some energy companies are investing $1.7 billion in grid upgrades and major utilities nationwide are committing tens of billions to expand and modernize transmission systems.
Understanding the Energy Landscape at the Federal and State Level
Federal and state governments are channeling unprecedented levels of investment into the energy economy, with a clear emphasis on supporting businesses, utilities, and industry. Through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, companies were able to access the Investment and Production Tax Credits, which offered up to 30% support for renewable generation and storage projects. However, the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) enacted sweeping changes to U.S. energy policy and reversed several provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Fast Fact: OBBB Summary
- Scales back IRA credits for wind and solar
- Expands oil and gas leasing
- Opens 4 million acres for coal development
- Retains credits for advanced nuclear, geothermal, hydro, and storage
Did You Know?
Federal and state investment scenarios indicate that solar capacity could rise by 64% (156 GW → 255 GW), wind by around 15%, and battery storage could more than double to 97.2 GW.
Did You Know?
Utility-scale solar is projected to grow about 20% annually in 2026–2027, while electricity demand grows less than 5%. As solar expands, it increasingly displaces higher‑cost generation, and battery storage further enhances grid flexibility.
The One Big Beautiful Bill made several changes to federal energy policy.
- Eliminated the Inflation Reduction Act Investment and Production Tax credits for wind and solar projects that begin construction on or before July 4th, 2026 and are not placed in service by December 31, 2027.
- Terminated the Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit, which expired December 31, 2025.
- Eliminated the $7,500 consumer Electric Vehicle Tax Credits that were originally set to expire on September 30, 2027.
- Mandated new onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales on federal lands, and eliminated the Inflation Reduction Act requirement that linked oil and gas leasing to renewable energy leasing.
- Made an additional 4 million acres of federal land available for coal mining.
- Maintained tax credits for advanced nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric, and battery storage.
Related Executive Actions (Resources)
- Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
- Declaring a National Energy Emergency
- Unleashing American Energy
- Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
- Temporary Withdrawal of all Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects
- Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
In his second term, President Trump has:
- Reversed several of Biden’s Executive Orders
- Declared a national energy emergency
- Introduced changes affecting EVs, offshore wind, and nuclear policy
Energy Policy: Support, Setbacks, and Mixed Signals
Despite these changes made by both President Trump’s Executive Orders and the OBBB, several major federal funding streams remain available and continue to support energy and manufacturing projects across the country:
- The Advanced Energy Project Credit, which offers $10 billion for large-scale manufacturing and advanced energy projects
- The Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, which incentivizes domestic production of solar panels, wind components, battery systems, and critical minerals.
- The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) directs billions to small businesses and farms for efficiency upgrades and renewable systems, covering up to 50% of project costs.
Together, these measures strengthen supply chains, accelerate deployment, and ensure businesses are positioned to benefit from the clean energy transition.
At the state level, nuclear energy has seen renewed attention, with more than a dozen legislatures considering measures that expand its role in clean power portfolios, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The Department of Energy is making several billion dollars of funding available for research, cybersecurity, resilience, and grid modernization. However, the Trump Administration also revoked $5 billion in funding for the Grain Belt Express transmission line project that would have brought solar and wind power from the central Midwest to the East Coast. Funding was also withdrawn from another new transmission line in Minnesota and North Dakota.
These seemingly conflicting actions reflect the fragmented structure of U.S. energy governance. States increasingly pursue clean‑energy and nuclear policies, while the federal government has prioritized fossil fuel development and scaled back support for renewable transmission infrastructure. At the same time, long‑term DOE research programs continue due to bipartisan congressional funding.
Ultimately, the federal and state energy landscape remains complex and often contradictory. The Trump Administration has led a new push for oil and gas production and natural gas pipelines. Research into new nuclear technologies continues to be supported as it was under previous administrations. And while solar and wind energy is expected to keep growing, the Trump Administration’s policies will slow this growth.
Why Regional Councils Should Be Involved In Energy Siting
Community opinion strongly affects the siting of new energy facilities. Locally, researchers are finding that community opposition remains a persistent challenge, affecting projects like data centers, transmission lines, nuclear reactors and waste, and large-scale renewables. A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory survey found that wind and solar energy projects across the U.S. have encountered growing local and state-level resistance, significantly contributing to delays and cancellations.
Given the scale of these challenges, councils of government, metropolitan planning organizations, and rural planning organizations are uniquely positioned to help navigate these challenges because energy siting decisions shape the region’s land use, infrastructure, and economic future for decades. Their perspective allows them to convene a broad array of stakeholders early in the process, anticipate community concerns, and coordinate decisions across and among jurisdictions—which individual communities cannot do alone. When councils are involved from the outset, siting discussions are more consistent, transparent, and aligned with long‑term regional priorities, reducing costly delays and ensuring that projects, when they move forward, do so with clearer expectations and stronger community understanding. By combining planning expertise with established community trust, regional councils provide the structure and regional lens needed to make informed, locally grounded decisions about complex energy projects.
These setbacks are largely due to local zoning challenges, grid interconnection issues, and community opposition; the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law noted 395 local and 19 state-level restrictions—across 47 states—capable of outright blocking projects.