We made this bulletin because we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between keeping up with the news and your well-being. Here’s our latest round-up of the climate and clean energy news we're following—including short summaries and why we think they matter—and positive stories to keep us all hopeful in this fight. (Today’s voltage: 398 words)
🔌 News We're Plugged Into
Fixing PJM’s Interconnection Queue
PJM might not be a household name, but it’s an organization that affects your household if you’re one of 65 million Americans living across 13 states from the Midwest to the East Coast.
That’s where PJM controls the electricity grid, and its broken process for approving energy projects has prevented low-cost, mostly clean, power from being built. But there’s good news: New modeling shows that if PJM makes a handful of key reforms, it would save customers an average of $505 per year on energy bills and create 313,000 jobs each year across the region.
Why this matters—Surging data center and AI demand require new, cheap, reliable energy sources. PJM's choice—to clear the interconnection queue or maintain the status quo—will determine whether millions of customers realize energy savings or face massive price hikes.
Amp up your knowledge:
- Evergreen Action: Approving Clean Energy Projects Faster Could Save Consumers $505 a Year in These 13 States
- E&E News: PJM gets a political message to speed up renewable projects
- Maryland Matters: Study: Marylanders could save hundreds on electric bills if grid undergoes reform
- POLITICO: Democrats’ newest villain is a power player you’ve never heard of
- Utility Dive: PJM agrees to lower price cap for upcoming capacity auctions
💪 Empowering Headlines
- AP: Chevron ordered to pay more than $740 million to restore Louisiana coast in landmark trial
- Canary Media: In a first, clean power beat fossil fuels on US grid last month
- BBC: Clean energy's share of world's electricity reaches 40%, report says
- Yale Climate Connections: A legacy of resistance lives on in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
- Thumbwind: Michigan Clean Energy Support Remains Strong Across Party Lines
- New York Times: Republican Plan to Kill California’s E.V. Policies Hits Senate Snag
- Fast Company: ‘Hands Off' protests drew hundreds of thousands of people who decried Trump's attacks on democracy
🎧 Watts On Our Playlist
Imagining Our Climate Future
This podcast is an oldie but a goodie—a timely guide to transforming climate anxiety into action. In this episode, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson speaks to Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about her book “What If We Get It Right, Visions of Climate Futures,” the importance of envisioning the future we all deserve, and taking the necessary steps to secure it.
Tune in:
- A Matter of Degrees: The Questions We Ask Matter with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
✨ Sparking Joy
Now, time for a snack break!
