When DOE Says “No,” States Say “Go”

Hidden grid capacity, SMR demand, real RFPs

Author

Swarnav Pujari
October 21, 2025

Hi there,

Federal money continues to be wobbly, but the market isn’t. DOE’s cancellations underscore a shift: don’t anchor your roadmap to DC.

Meanwhile, states and utilities are still buying and building—North Carolina is funding a microgrid “Beehive,” New York is paying to electrify transit, Utah is clarifying geothermal rights, and PGE just unlocked 80+ MW for data centers using AI planning tools. Canada’s Saskatchewan is betting big on nuclear (with SMR supply chain openings), while China–Iceland cooperation hints at more global geothermal partnerships.

🔦 Signals Worth Monitoring

🔨Headline: DOE cancels over $700M in clean energy manufacturing awards

What Happened: The DOE cancelled at least five grants for battery and EV‑related manufacturing projects, including awards to Ascend Elements, American Battery Technology Co., Anovion, ICL Specialty Products, and LuxWall. DOE said the projects missed milestones and were no longer economically viable. The cancellations were part of a broader review of more than $7.56 billion in previously awarded projects.

Why Founders Should Care: Weekly reminder to not depend on the federal government for funding.

🔨Headline: North Carolina funds microgrid “Beehive” network for disaster resilience

What Happened: The nonprofit Footprint Project won a $5 million grant from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to build up to 24 stationary microgrids (the “Hive”) across six counties and two mobile microgrid hubs (“Bees”). The grant, financed by the federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, will deploy solar plus storage units at emergency shelters, fire stations and community sites. Portable trailers can be dispatched to disaster zones or community events and may feed power back to the grid when not in use.

Why Founders Should Care: Combining permanent community microgrids with portable units creates service revenue (rentals for events or emergencies) while bolstering grid resilience. Explore if your offerings can fit this model.

🔨Headline: Saskatchewan unveils energy security strategy centred on nuclear

What Happened: Saskatchewan’s provincial government released the Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan. The plan commits to using Saskatchewan’s uranium resources for a secure nuclear future, extends the life of some coal plants and emphasises investments in transmission for reliability and export. SaskPower has chosen GE‑Hitachi’s 300‑MW BWRX‑300 as its first SMR but is also considering larger reactors and advanced SMRs to meet industrial and regional demand.

Why Founders Should Care: This provincial strategy signals long term demand for nuclear supply chains and workforce development in Western Canada. Companies developing SMR technology, uranium mining, or grid services can position themselves to serve these new projects.

🔨Headline: Flex control pilot aims to prove heat pump load shifting

What Happened: UK utility OVO Energy launched a Heat Pump Flex Trial with startup Havenwise that will run from October 2025 through March 2026. Participants will set comfort preferences in an app, and Havenwise’s software will shift heat pump operation to greener, off peak times while ensuring home comfort.

Why Founders Should Care: For founders, the trial offers insights on user experience design, data driven load management, and business models for aggregating residential heat pumps as a DER.

🔨Headline: Utah moves to clarify geothermal rights and speed development

What Happened: A Utah legislative committee advanced a bill clarifying that landowners own the heat under their property but must obtain water rights for geothermal fluids. The bill would shorten confidentiality periods for proprietary data from five years to one year to improve transparency.

Why Founders Should Care: Startups exploring geothermal resources or reservoir monitoring should note this supportive legal framework.

🔨Headline: PGE uses AI driven flexibility to speed data center interconnections in Oregon

What Happened: PGE deployed GridCARE’s AI planning tool to model customer loads, on‑site generators, and batteries, uncovering more than 80 MW of unused capacity on its distribution grid. The utility previously thought it could energize about 400 MW of new load annually, but the AI tool freed up enough capacity to connect multiple new data centers and more than 800 MW of data center projects are now under development around Hillsboro.

Why Founders Should Care: PGE’s experience shows how digital twins and AI can reveal hidden distribution grid capacity, avoiding costly new generation or transmission projects and accelerating large load interconnections.

🔨Headline: New York awards nearly $80M to help transit agencies adopt zero emission buses

What Happened: Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York’s Zero Emission Transit Transition (ZETT) Program will award nearly $80 million to seven non‑MTA transit authorities. The funds support purchasing battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses and building charging or hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

Why Founders Should Care: Founders in electric mobility and hydrogen may find contract opportunities and can use New York’s program as a model for other states.

🔨Headline: Vestas suspends giant offshore wind turbine factory in Poland amid weak demand

What Happened: Offshore Wind Biz reported that Vestas halted plans to build a blade factory in Poland for its 15 MW V236 turbine because European offshore wind demand is lower than expected. The facility would have created over 1,000 jobs; its suspension reflects the impact of macroeconomic headwinds on wind sector supply chains.

Why Founders Should Care: The pause signals caution in committing capital to large manufacturing plants without firm orders.

🔨Headline: China and Iceland pledge deeper cooperation on geothermal and green energy

What Happened: During President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson’s visit to China, the two countries issued a joint statement to expand government and industry cooperation on geothermal and other green energy technologies.

Why Founders Should Care: Startups with expertise in geothermal exploration, drilling, or heat pump integration could find cross border partnership opportunities.

🔨Headline: Federal–state collaborative to address energy infrastructure permitting

What Happened: FERC and state public utility commissions will hold a Federal and State Current Issues Collaborative meeting on Nov 12, 2025 to discuss permitting of electric transmission, renewable projects, and other infrastructure across jurisdictions.

Why Founders Should Care: Startups involved in transmission planning, microgrids, or DERs should watch for policy shifts that reduce permitting risk. I am cautiously optimistic about what could come from this meeting.

📌 RFP Bulletin

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

California Energy Commission – CHOIR (GFO‑25‑302)

PacifiCorp – 2025 Oregon Small Scale Renewable RFP

Washington State – Solar & Storage Feasibility Study RFP

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