Advanced Energy Perspectives

The Maryland General Assembly’s 2025 regular session adjourned sine die at the stroke of midnight Tuesday, April 8th, closing out what many dubbed “The Energy Session.”

Advanced Energy United’s Maryland policy team was on the ground, making the case that advanced energy technologies are the fastest, most cost-effective path to meet the state’s energy needs. The result? A session that brought some incremental progress but also served as a missed opportunity to implement real solutions that would give ratepayers much needed relief and address existing grid challenges. Here are some of the highlights from the 2025 session, starting with where we saw positive movement: 

Last May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920, a landmark order requiring all transmission providers to engage in multi-value long-term regional transmission planning. The order grants states significant opportunities to engage in this process. In December, the Commission issued Order No. 1920-A, responding to issues raised on rehearing (where parties can argue that the Commission should have ruled differently on specific issues in the final order). Order No. 1920-A expanded the role of states in the planning process. Since then, all the multi-state RTO/ISO regions have requested extensions, giving states and transmission providers additional time to craft compliance plans. States can use this extra time to work together to identify priorities and reach alignment on key questions raised by the order.

Below, we outline the key decisions and actions states can take to influence compliance and to engage in implementation once the planning process begins.

The 2025 New Mexico legislative session ended with both meaningful progress and frustrating setbacks for clean energy advocates. Advanced Energy United and our partners helped move forward legislation that will upgrade the state’s transmission system and support long-term affordability. But other transformative measures—including a bill to promote proactive distribution system planning and expanded electrification—fell short. 

This year’s session was defined by an intense focus on public safety and behavioral health, sparked by recent violent incidents and political pressure on lawmakers to respond decisively. As a result, other policy areas—including energy—faced heightened hurdles in gaining traction. Despite early movement of public safety legislation, much of the session was consumed by debate over this topic, leading to fewer opportunities for forward-looking clean energy measures to advance.

The clean energy landscape in the United States changes frequently, and Advanced Energy United is always evaluating opportunities for new projects that will benefit consumers financially, help businesses succeed, and give states tools to bolster their electricity grids and meet rising demand. After evaluating the potential for advanced energy projects and working with our members, United recently expanded our presence in Wisconsin. The Badger State finds itself at an inflection point, and policymakers must choose how they want to harness the economic promise of the clean energy transition.

In Nevada, the need to significantly expand power generation, transmission capacity, and regional resource sharing is urgent as the state’s energy grid struggles to keep up with rapid economic and industrial growth. Northern Nevada’s energy grid, for example, could quadruple in size as the data-storage industry continues to grow and expand in the Reno-Sparks area and beyond. Strengthening and expanding transmission lines will be especially critical to ensure that the growing demand for energy can be met as new advanced energy resources come online.

In response to this need, nearly four years ago, Senate Bill 448 created a Regional Transmission Coordination Task Force to help shape Nevada’s energy future. The Task Force is responsible for studying issues and policies related to transmission development and regional electricity markets, both of which are key solutions to deal with load growth.