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EIA Estimates Record U.S. Electric Generating Capacity Additions in 2026, with Solar in the Lead

LCG, February 20, 2026--The EIA today issued an "in-brief analysis" that estimates U.S. power plant developers and operators plan to complete a record installation of 86 GW of new, utility-scale electric generating capacity that is connected to the U.S. power grid in 2026. Last year, 53 GW of new capacity was added to the grid, which was the largest capacity installation in a single year since 2002. Thus the estimate of 86 GW of new capacity in 2026 is a whopping 33 GW greater than the year prior. It should be noted that over 20 GW of the 86 GW of new capacity this year is estimated to be completed in December.

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Enhanced Geothermal Systems May Drive Significant Growth in Geothermal Power Generation

LCG, February 19, 2026--The EIA released an "in-brief analysis" today regarding the expected completion of the first, large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in June 2026, and the significant growth potential for year-round, 24x7, carbon-free, renewable EGS power generation in the United States.

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Industry News

CA ISO to Implement Damage Control as Electricity Price Caps Expire

LCG, October 29, 2002-The California Independent System Operator (ISO), responsible for transmission reliability in the state, is preparing to apply its new market design when the electricity price cap expires tomorrow.

California's wholesale electricity price cap, currently set at $91.87 per megawatt-hour, was instituted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June of 2001 to curb spikes in electricity prices. FERC has neglected to extend the price caps beyond October 30, and the California ISO took this into account when creating its new market design proposal.

The ISO will use a three-test bid evaluation system in order to determine whether or not an offered wholesale price is reasonable. Prices determined to be unreasonably high will be lowered to a rate determined by an "independent third party." Also, California generators will be forced, under FERC's rules, to offer all available capacity to the market if it is needed. Out-of-state suppliers will also be forced to provide available capacity to other control areas in the west as needed.

Bid evaluation will be conducted by the Automatic Mitigation Procedure (AMP), which will determine whether or not a bid is consistent with recent bid history by computer. AMP is only used if the predicted Market Clearing Price is greater than $91.87. If the bid is significantly greater than the projected, unit-specific price and the bid will increase the Market Clearing Price by more than 200 percent or $50, the bid fails and will be lowered to the unit-specific reference price. More detail on the market rules can be found from the ISO's website: www.caiso.com.

Current wholesale electricity prices are well below last summer's and have remained around $30 to $40 per megawatt-hour.

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