Load growth strategy, risks, and upside

Demand from data centers continues to soar. But at least for the energy developer NextEra Energy, Inc. , the load growth has been a boon not for fossil fuels, but for renewables. On the company’s earnings call, CEO John Ketchum said that renewables are proving both quicker to develop and cheaper than gas.?

Still, load growth is front and center for utilities, as our coverage this week reflected. We have something for everyone, from an interview with Xcel Energy 's VP of corporate development about how hyperscalers may be the “secret sauce” for de-risking emerging technologies, to an analysis of Cloverleaf Infrastructure 's recent raise and how the company's energy-first approach is resonating with investors.

Then there's new research from Rhodium Group that outlines multiple paths U.S. emissions could take over the course of the next decade, showing, among other things, that the combination of state and federal policies that exist today will bring U.S. emissions down by between 32% and 43% by 2030, compared to 2005 numbers. In a week mired in political change, one takeaway of the report is the emissions stakes of November's presidential election.

In other political news, it looks like we might get bipartisan permitting reform after all, with Senators Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) releasing the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 this week after nearly two years of negotiations.

Elsewhere on the site:

• Co-founder of investment and advisory firm Tailwind Katie MacDonald spoke about the "relentless optimism" of investing in adaptation solutions.
• Tesla 's latest earnings report didn't have many wins, but its storage business appears to be booming.
• And speaking of a tough EV market, Shayle Kann interviewed Gene Berdichevsky , co-founder and CEO of anode material manufacturer Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc. , on Catalyst this week about the industry's "awkward teenage years."

And elsewhere across the industry:

• Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) plan to introduce legislation that, if successful, would effectively undo last month's historic Chevron overturning.
• bp 's latest outlook report claims that oil demand will reach a global peak next year.
• With President Biden out of the race, everyone's talking about VP Kamala Harris's record on climate — and the records of her own shortlist of VP contenders.

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