Clean Power Delivers During July 2026 Heatwaves in the US
As extreme temperatures drove electricity demand to seasonal highs, wholesale power prices surged, and regional power systems relied heavily on expensive gas and coal peaking plants to maintain reliability. The grid was pushed to its limits in some areas, and nearly 400,000 households across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast experienced power outages during some of the hottest hours of the year. Across the areas most affected by the heatwave, wind and solar generation increased during the highest-demand hours compared to the days before and after the event, providing electricity when it was needed most. Markets with higher levels of clean energy experienced substantially lower wholesale electricity prices, while regions with relatively little clean generation experienced the highest prices despite having tens of gigawatts of clean energy waiting to connect to the grid.
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