Business Manager: Sean W. Daly
A federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's halt of the Revolution Wind offshore project, allowing construction to resume on the nearly-complete wind farm. Gov. Lamont praised the ruling, stating the project will deliver diverse energy supply and lower utility costs for over 300,000 Connecticut homes while creating good-paying jobs.
Connecticut's 2026 gubernatorial race centers on electricity affordability as candidates navigate Trump administration policies shifting federal energy support away from renewables. Gov. Lamont pursues an "all-of-the-above" strategy including natural gas expansion, while facing criticism from both progressive Democrats favoring clean energy investments and Republicans seeking to eliminate public benefits charges on electric bills.
Dispatch Energy energized a 4-megawatt fuel cell power plant at Bridgeport's Bunnell Block, providing clean baseload electricity for approximately 3,400 homes. The project, developed with United Illuminating under Connecticut's Shared Clean Energy Facility program on a former brownfield site, aims to reduce emissions by 50 percent while strengthening grid reliability amid rising demand from data centers.
Avangrid activated the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line, delivering 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower to Massachusetts with potential benefits for Connecticut ratepayers. The $1.6 billion project is expected to ease wholesale electricity prices across New England by reducing competition for power from regional generators, though the impact on individual bills may be modest according to industry experts.
Microsoft announced a "Community-First AI Infrastructure" policy ensuring communities won't bear the full cost of electricity consumption and grid expansion from its data centers, following Trump administration pressure. The company's commitment comes as IEA estimates US datacenter electricity demand could triple by 2035, from 200 to 640 terawatt-hours annually.
Wind and solar generated 30% of EU electricity in 2025, surpassing fossil fuels at 29% for the first time, driven by a surge in solar installations that grew 20% for the fourth consecutive year. Energy think tank Ember reports coal power fell to a record low of 9.2%, though gas generation rose 8% due to lower hydropower availability, lifting import costs to 32 billion euros.
US electricity consumption is forecast to reach record levels in 2025 and 2026, driven primarily by surging demand from data centers and AI workloads. EIA projects total power demand rising from 4,110 billion kilowatt-hours in 2024 to over 4,260 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, marking the first time since 2007 that demand has risen for four consecutive years.
The Trump administration halted construction on five offshore wind projects in December citing classified national security concerns, but has refused to share specifics with developers or the public. Wind companies filed lawsuits arguing the lack of transparency suggests political motives rather than legitimate security threats, as experts note that concerns about wind turbines affecting military radar systems have been known for decades.
The Trump administration suffered three court losses last week in its campaign against offshore wind, as federal judges lifted stop-work orders on major projects. Industry advocates and even some oil industry figures have grown alarmed by the administration's anti-wind vendetta, which threatens to restrict power supply at a time when electricity demand is surging from data centers and other sources.
The January 2026 blackout in Caracas during US military operations against Venezuela demonstrated how cyber warfare targeting industrial control systems has become a precision weapon in modern conflict. Experts warn that widespread adoption of insecure distributed energy resources like residential solar inverters creates decentralized vulnerabilities, while examples like Stuxnet, Industroyer, and Volt Typhoon show nation-states are actively pre-positioning within critical infrastructure networks.
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