The US Department of Energy announces record $26.5 billion loan to Georgia/Alabama Power
In January, President Trump's Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it was canceling or "de-obligating" $83 billion of a total $104 billion in loan commitments made for wind and solar projects - leaving approximately $19 billion in federal loans for all renewable energy projects nationwide.
In contrast, this week the same DOE announced it would loan $26.5 billion to Georgia Power and Alabama Power, both subsidiaries of the Southern Company.
Georgia Power customers have seen their rates increase by over 40 percent during the past two years. One reason for this increase often cited is the $36 billion price tag for two recently completed nuclear reactors that opened their Vogtle power plant.
These increases came despite a 2024 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) analysis that found that Georgia Power was the most profitable utility in the nation, earning over $92 in net operating income per customer per month.
Senators propose to bring back 5 percent safe harbor
In August 2025, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released new guidelines related to safe harboring solar projects for the investment tax credit (ITC). Safe harboring allows companies to demonstrate a good-faith effort at starting a solar project to secure the applicable tax credits in place that year.
Utility-scale solar projects could once use the "5 percent safe harbor" rule that only required the project developer to spend at least 5 percent of the project costs before a certain date. In August of last year, the federal government changed this policy to a "physical work test." Projects larger than 1.5 MW must have all racks installed on a site by July 4, 2026, in order to apply for the ITC.
Projects smaller than 1.5 MW can still use the 5 percent safe harbor rule. All projects then have four years to be placed in service under the modified incentive program.
This was an abrupt rule change, stated U.S. Democrat Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Chuck Schumer (New York) and Ron Wyden (Oregon). The trio introduced a resolution under the Congressional Review Act this month to overturn the IRS's physical work test rule, as it "makes it harder for wind and solar energy companies to claim vital tax credits." The filing has yet to make it through the Senate's committee process.
Heat Pumps continue to outsell gas furnaces
Heat pump sales across the United States continue to dominate the industry, despite recent federal policy shifts. Heat pumps have outsold gas furnaces consistently since 2021, and in 2025, manufacturers shipped 12 percent more heat pumps than gas furnaces
Over the past 20 years, annual heat pump sales have increased by 70 percent whereas gas furnace sales have decreased by 7 percent.
Electric water heaters continue to make up the majority of both residential and commercial water heater shipments, maintaining a market share of 54 percent. Electric water heaters had their second best sales month ever in December 2025 after setting the record in March.
Increased sales of heat pumps and electric hot water heaters are expected to significantly raise electricity grid demand, with estimates suggesting that full electrification of home heating could increase peak electricity demand by 70 percent.
Commerce decides on 100 percent+ tariffs
The Department of Commerce has released its preliminary countervailing duty amounts in an investigation on solar cell imports from India, Indonesia and Laos.
Panels from India will face a 125.87 percent tariff rate, Indonesia will face tariffs of 104.38 percent and Laos received an 80.67 percent tariff rate.
Coutervailing duties are placed on imports to cancel out subsidies given to producers in and by the exporting country.
A group of US panel manufacturers filed a complaint with the Department of Commerce alleging that solar panel manufacturers had relocated their operations to India, Indonesia and Laos to avoid tariffs placed on imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It had been found earlier that Chinese manufacturers had relocated their operations to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to avoid tariffs placed on panels manufactured in China.
In 2025, it is estimated that roughly 50 percent of the solar modules installed in the U.S. were imported, the vast majority of these from Southeast Asia.
Trump promised to cut energy prices in half in his first year
On the campaign trail in 2024, President Donald Trump made a bold pledge: He claimed that if elected, he would cut Americans' energy bills in half in his first year in office.
On Oct 10th, 2024 he told the Detroit Economic Club that quote "Within one year you're going to have electric bills and energy bills and your gasoline for your cars is going to be five-o, 50 percent cheaper than it is right now,"
So how well has he performed on this very specific campaign promise?
One year later the price of gasoline at the pump is indeed down about 10 percent over a year ago, However his promise to increase domestic oil production seems not to be fairing as well. The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S., has dropped by more than 6 percent year-over-year.
The wholesale price of natural gas in the US has risen approximately 26 percent during the past year, leading to increased residential heating costs - rising on average more than 50 percent during 2025.
Nationwide electricity prices (on average) increased by about 11 percent in 2025. However price increases in this sector appear to be accelerating. Utilities have requested more than $31 billion in rate increases so far this year, more than double the $15 billion requested last year.
