The state markets rising to fill the gap

From geothermal to microgrids, here’s where momentum is shifting

Author

Swarnav Pujari
October 14, 2025

Hi there,

Federal turbulence continues to reshape the clean energy opportunity landscape towards states. A leaked DOE “hit list” and the cancellation of a 6.2 GW Nevada solar project reinforce the pivot from federal to state driven momentum. Oregon and California are moving fast, streamlining renewables and geothermal, while utilities like Xcel and innovators like SolMicroGrid push distributed, modular models.

This week’s briefing helps founders spot where policy headwinds are turning into market tailwinds.

🔦 Signals Worth Monitoring

🔨Headline: Federal funding shake-up: DOE “hit list” and cancellation of 6.2 GW Nevada solar project

What Happened: The Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management officially canceled Esmeralda 7, a 6.2 GW solar project in Nevada once slated to power nearly 2 million homes, citing new density and parcel-size limits on public-lands projects. Days later, Canary Media obtained a leaked DOE spreadsheet identifying ~$23 billion in clean energy projects—spanning hydrogen hubs, manufacturing grants, and demonstration sites—flagged for potential termination. DOE has not confirmed the document’s authenticity but acknowledged that further reviews are underway.

Why Founders Should Care: Your weekly reminder to shift your focus toward state-level policy and opportunities.

🔨Headline: Oregon fast‑tracks renewable permits to beat federal deadline

What Happened: Gov. Tina Kotek issued an executive order directing state agencies to prioritize and accelerate permitting for wind and solar projects to ensure they begin construction by July 4, 2026 and qualify for investment and production tax credits before they are phased out by the federal One Big Beautiful Bill. Oregon risks losing about 4 GW of planned wind and solar projects if deadlines aren’t met. The order instructs the Oregon Department of Energy and Public Utility Commission to speed up siting approvals and study transmission interconnections.

Why Founders Should Care: Entrepreneurs developing renewables or interconnection solutions in Oregon and similar states should act quickly to secure permits and partner with utilities. The accelerated timeline may create demand for modular solar, wind, storage and microgrid technologies that can be built quickly.

🔨Headline: California moves toward a Western regional energy market

What Happened: A new California law allows the state to join a Western regional transmission organization, pooling solar, wind, hydro, and battery resources across 11 states. Proponents say a regional market could save consumers $2 billion a year and create up to 657,000 permanent jobs. It has bipartisan support, though critics worry about federal oversight. Nevada and Colorado already passed laws requiring them to join a regional market by 2030

Why Founders Should Care: Entrepreneurs developing grid software, virtual power plants, or flexible resources should anticipate new opportunities to participate in markets spanning multiple states and to offer services like congestion management, forecasting, and demand response.

🔨Headline: Arizona town bans large‑scale renewables

What Happened: The Chino Valley town council in Arizona unanimously adopted an ordinance banning new utility‑scale solar and wind farms while still allowing small rooftop systems. Residents argued that large renewable projects would harm views and rural character. The vote follows similar bans in other rural Arizona communities

Why Founders Should Care: Rural opposition to utility‑scale renewables is spreading. Developers may need to shift to community‑scale or distributed projects and engage early with local communities. Founders offering modular microgrids or rooftop solar can fill gaps in regions that oppose large installations.

🔨Headline: New Mexico report finds 163 GW of geothermal potential

What Happened: A state‑commissioned study concluded that New Mexico has enough advanced geothermal resources (hot dry rock in the Rio Grande rift) to produce 163 GW—enough to meet 60% of the state's electricity demand. Only one geothermal plant currently operates in the state. Officials plan to draft rules for geothermal permitting and create a grant/loan program to accelerate development.

Why Founders Should Care: Geothermal startups and investors should pay attention to New Mexico’s forthcoming policies and incentives. The vast resource and supportive regulatory environment could create a boom in drilling, advanced geothermal technologies, and heat‑to‑power systems.

🔨Headline: California streamlines geothermal approvals but vetoes a bill on exploratory drilling

What Happened: Newsom signed AB 531, expanding the California Energy Commission’s streamlined environmental certification to geothermal plants, placing them on equal footing with large solar, wind, and storage projects. He vetoed AB 527, which would have granted broad exemptions for geothermal exploratory drilling, arguing it would raise fees and discourage development.

Why Founders Should Care: Easing permitting for full geothermal plants could accelerate development of “baseload” renewable projects and benefit firms supplying drilling technologies or power‑plant components. However, exploratory drilling remains subject to stringent reviews, so startups exploring geothermal resources must still navigate environmental regulations.

🔨Headline: GE Vernova and Samsung C&T sign global SMR alliance

What Happened: GE Vernova and Samsung C&T’s engineering and construction arm announced a strategic alliance to deploy GE’s BWRX‑300 small modular reactors (SMRs) globally. The first BWRX‑300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site; TVA’s application for the Clinch River site in Tennessee is pending, and projects are planned in Poland and Sweden. Each BWRX‑300 provides 300 MW of power and is designed to be simpler and cheaper than traditional reactors.

Why Founders Should Care: US startups working on SMR components, advanced fuels, or modular construction can explore partnerships or supply‑chain opportunities. Founders should monitor regulatory developments as U.S. utilities (e.g., TVA) move toward construction.

🔨Headline: Surging utility assistance demand in Arizona

What Happened: As Arizona’s summer utility‑disconnection moratorium expired, community action agencies reported a surge in households seeking aid. Some families owed over $1,600 for electricity bills, driven by cooling costs during record heat. Utility APS donated $3 million to assistance and heat‑relief programs.

Why Founders Should Care: Founders developing efficiency upgrades, community solar, or demand response solutions have an opportunity to deliver cost savings and partner with assistance programs.

🔨Headline: SolMicroGrid buys underperforming commercial solar arrays and converts them to microgrids

What Happened: SolMicroGrid announced its “Array to Microgrid” program, which acquires underperforming commercial & industrial solar arrays and upgrades them with batteries and other DER components. Using an energy‑as‑a‑service contract, the company layers peak shaving, demand response, and arbitrage value streams without requiring new capital from property owners.

Why Founders Should Care: Shows a pathway to repurpose stranded solar assets into resilient microgrids. Founders in the microgrid and financing space can replicate this model to unlock revenue from existing solar sites by offering EaaS agreements and aggregating grid services.

🔨Headline: Xcel Energy files plan for 200 MW of distributed batteries across Minnesota

What Happened: Xcel Energy proposed a novel “distributed capacity procurement” plan that could deploy up to 200 MW of behind-the-meter battery storage at Minnesota businesses, churches, and non‑profits by 2028. Under the program, the utility would work with Sparkfund to install 1–3 MW batteries at hosts’ sites, pay hosts a fee, dispatch the batteries during peak periods, and take ownership after ten years

Why Founders Should Care: Demonstrates utilities’ willingness to treat aggregated behind‑the‑meter batteries as a system resource. Distributed capacity contracts create new revenue opportunities for building owners and DER developers while providing grid support, a model founders can replicate in other states.

📌 RFP Bulletin

See all of the RFP’s we’ve discovered in calendar format or table view.

Clean Power Alliance (CPA) – Innovation Solicitation

Georgia Power – 2025 Energy Storage System (ESS) RFP

  • 📅 Key Dates: Final bid portal opens Dec 19, 2025 and closes Jan 27, 2026

  • 🎯 Focus Areas: Procuring up to 500 MW of energy‑storage resources. Both standalone storage and storage paired with renewable generation are allowed; resources must provide at least a 2‑hour discharge duration.

  • 🗺️ Region: Georgia

  • 🔗 RFP Link: https://www.ascendanalytics.com/georgia-power/gpc-rfp-for-ess-2025#:~:text=Georgia%20Power%20is%20pleased%20to,storage%20duration%20of%202%20hours

  • 🗒️ Our Notes: Bidders submit proposals through an independent evaluator website. Georgia Power seeks dispatchable storage to support peak demand and integrate renewables. Shortlisted bidders will negotiate long‑term power‑purchase or tolling agreements during 2026.

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) – 2025 Distributed Solar & Storage RFP

  • 📅 Key Dates: Proposals due via online portal Jan 30, 2026

  • 🎯 Focus Areas: PSE seeks distributed solar and energy‑storage projects, including both system‑wide DER proposals and targeted substation capacity projects. Projects must be interconnected to PSE’s grid in Washington State and meet technical and safety requirements.

  • 🗺️ Region: PSE service territory

  • 🔗 RFP Link: https://www.pse.com/en/pages/energy-supply/acquiring-energy/2025-Distributed-Solar-and-Storage-RFP

  • 🗒️ Our Notes: Respondents will use a dedicated submission portal (open at end of this month). PSE plans to finalize agreements in Q3 2026, giving applicants time to develop project designs, secure permitting and negotiate interconnection.

Startupbootcamp BOLD2 Energy & Climate Accelerator (Amsterdam)

  • 📅 Key Dates: Applications close Dec 7, 2025

  • 🎯 Focus Areas: A 3‑month accelerator for startups tackling renewable energy, energy storage, sustainable mobility and climate‑tech solutions. Participants receive hands‑on mentorship from over 100 industry experts and access to seed funding, corporate partners and a network of investors.

  • 🗺️ Region: Hybrid, Amsterdam

  • 🔗 RFP Link: https://www.startupbootcamp.org/energy-climate-3

  • 🗒️ Our Notes: This intensive program aims to accelerate the commercialization of disruptive climate innovations. Selected teams will participate in workshops, mentorship sessions and investor meetings. The hybrid format allows participation on‑site or virtually.

Miller Center for Global Impact – Social Enterprise Accelerator

  • 📅 Key Dates: Application deadline Nov 1, 2025

  • 🎯 Focus Areas: A six‑month accelerator for social enterprises focused on climate resilience, renewable energy and women’s economic empowerment. Participants receive one‑on‑one mentorship, executive coaching and access to a network of impact investors.

  • 🗺️ Region: Global

  • 🔗 RFP Link: https://millercenterglobal.org/accelerator/#:~:text=Join%20the%20Accelerator

  • 🗒️ Our Notes: The program is free (no equity taken) and is particularly valuable for founders aiming to scale renewable‑energy enterprises in emerging markets. Emphasis is placed on climate‑resilient business models and gender equity.

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