Our most popular stories of 2025 highlighted the news and happenings that resonated across the energy industry this year, but contextualizing such developments is a whole different endeavor. The most important Factor This articles of 2025 go past the headlines to analyze and detail what’s now and what’s next. These selections showcase where things are headed for the industry while also providing you with the insight you need to define your own path forward.

They’re the exact same types of insights that will literally take stage at DTECH, taking place February 2-5th 2026 in San Diego, CA. The event is the leading transmission and distribution event in the United States, offering unmatched value, collaboration, and opportunities to spark real transformation. Learn more here.

The good, the bad, and the ugly impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill on the energy industry

Plenty of digital ink was spilled in 2025 over what the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could and would mean for the energy sector. While there was disorientating white noise and wishful thinking in the lead up to the bill’s passage, the Act would end up fundamentally rewriting the industry’s playbook by doing things like accelerating the elimination of clean energy tax credits and refocusing federal finances on traditional power generation.

There’s no shortage of deep dives into OBBBA specifics like the 45Y and 48E credits, but our “It passed. Now what?” piece outlines the details you need to know while also delivering the good, the bad and the ugly of the Act in a digestible manner. Its warnings about rising costs are already coming true, highlighting the volatility that we could further see in 2026 as supply chains tighten and federal support for wind and solar project further diminishes.

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/policy-and-regulation/it-passed-now-what-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-impacts-of-the-big-beautiful-bill-on-the-energy-industry/

Community solar is the honey badger of clean energy

In a comparison that only Paul Gerke could make, community solar is positioned as the ‘honey badger’ of clean energy, as it’s something that keeps going, regardless of obstacles or environment. He outlines how community solar has evolved into an essential tool for managing distribution-level grid constraints while simultaneously meeting demand that is being driven by data centers and electrification.

By utilizing existing distribution infrastructure, community solar allows for significantly faster interconnection and deployment than utility-scale projects. It represents means to utilize a decentralized grid that can meet state-mandated equity and affordability goals without the expense of traditional transmission expansion. Is it a model more utilities can or should be utilizing?

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/community-solar/community-solar-is-the-honey-badger-of-clean-energy/

Why more electric utilities are trying on the ‘Apple Watch’ of the power grid

Factor This highlighted countless innovations over the course of 2025, but few are as transformative as Heimdall Power’s ‘Neuron’ sensor. A true breakthrough in Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs), the Neuron provides unique and deeper monitoring for high-voltage transmission lines to perform at their peak.

Referenced as the ‘Apple Watch of the power grid,’ these sensors enable Dynamic Line Rating (DLR), allowing operators to replace conservative, static capacity limits with real-time data. This shift can safely increase electricity throughput by an average of 25% on existing infrastructure. By delivering granular data on line sag and weather conditions, the technology allows utilities to defer hundreds of millions in capital expenditures while accelerating the interconnection of new renewable energy projects.

It’s easy to get overly excited about the possibilities of a new piece of technology, but this is a perfect example of why the industry is so specifically bullish on grid-enhancing tech.

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/power-grid/smart-grids/why-more-electric-utilities-are-trying-on-the-apple-watch-of-the-power-grid/

Electricity demand is skyrocketing; US manufacturers don’t have time for a trade war and tax credit uncertainty

If you had to describe 2025 in a single word, what would it be?

I can only imagine how many words you might come up with, but “tariff” should have been one of them. “Liberation Day” is two words, so that doesn’t count.

Trade policy and supply chain volatility have made sourcing essential equipment harder than ever. Since the pandemic, soaring costs and missed deadlines have jeopardized the new generation needed to power the AI boom and electrification. With prolonged tariffs now threatening the bottom line, the path to meeting future load growth has become that much more difficult for utilities to navigate.

While the ultimate impact of these policies is still unfolding, success in this environment requires a granular understanding of hardware costs and the potential for further delays in the renewable interconnection queue. These are the specifics every leader needs to understand as part of an effort to (apologies for the cliché, but it’s just too appropriate) hope for the best while also planning for the worst.

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/electricity-demand-is-skyrocketing-us-manufacturers-dont-have-time-for-a-trade-war-and-tax-credit-uncertainty/

Three things the renewable energy industry is thinking about right now

The fallout from OBBBA and shifting tariff policies dominated industry conversations in 2025, so it’s no surprise they were the central themes at major industry events. Executives went on record to detail the real-world impact of these changes, in the short and long term.

Is it too late to stop the momentum of clean energy? What specific provisions of OBBBA still require clarification? And what does the race to safe harbor equipment actually look like? Leaders from Electric Power Engineers, Burns & McDonnell, ABB, Arevon and more shared their insights to answer these sorts of questions.

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/three-things-that-the-renewable-energy-industry-is-thinking-about-right-now/

AFFORDABILITY BECOMES A PRIORITY ACROSS THE UTILITY INDUSTRY IN 2025

In a recent interview, Meghan Calabro, Vice President of Distribution and Modernization at Burns & McDonnell, mentioned that safety, reliability and affordability have been the three essential pillars for utilities for decades now. However, in 2025, affordability transcended this traditional status of importance to become a defining political and public priority. It’s a shift that highlights what needs to be a new way of thinking about something that has always been a priority.

As aging infrastructure and surging demand from AI and electrification drive up prices, it’s clear that technical solutions are not going to be enough to reduce economic losses or to effectively clear interconnection queues. That’s why utilities need to manage both public and regulatory perception around what’s showing up in someone’s monthly utility bill. Utilities need to proactively communicate how their grid modernization efforts are impacting the reality of affordability.

Success with both the perception and reality of energy affordability in 2026 will depend on shifting the narrative from awareness of costs to empowering customers in a way that reframes proactive utility efforts as the essential means of keeping those monthly bills manageable.

Read the full article here: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/power-grid/affordability-priority-utility-industry-2025/