Discover key renewable energy trends for 2026 as solar reaches a milestone plateau while grid modernization becomes critical for the energy transition.

Learn how renewable energy developers can build community support for battery storage projects before opposition takes hold. Research-backed strategies for effective BESS community engagement.

At the recent Infocast Mountain West Renewables conference, Joey Marquart, Senior Vice President at Silverline, had the pleasure of moderating a panel on a topic that’s top of mind for many professionals in the energy sector right now: managing load growth as data centers expand across the Mountain West.

Positive public support for clean energy doesn’t materialize by magic — it takes careful education, trusted messengers, and storytelling that demonstrates why the clean energy transition benefits everyone.

Clean energy permitting reform remains stalled in Congress. Developers face delays in grid interconnection, restrictive local siting laws, organized opposition, and project-stalling litigation.

If you think renewable energy has already passed its peak, think again. Today’s clean energy industry is at a crossroads: policy uncertainty on one side, explosive demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers on the other. Together, they create enormous opportunities.

It was clear from the start that this regional clean energy conference is very different from the “big show” (RE+ national in Las Vegas in September). The Mid-Atlantic gathering is more intimate, community-driven, and focused on local challenges, such as grid interconnection, resource adequacy, and energy equity.

At it’s core, the story of the clean energy transition is simple. It is the shift of the global economy from fossil fuels to instead run on carbon-free energy. It is a narrative with immense stakes. In this three-part series we will take a look Texas and the role it’s playing in the transition and possibly raising the stakes for those to follow.

Green hydrogen has emerged as a promising contender in the race to decarbonize our energy systems – including energy storage, heavy industry and hard to abate sectors, maritime shipping, and aviation. Now, it can be produced with zero greenhouse gas emissions.