Energy Market Update

LevelTen Energy’s snapshot on U.S. and EU Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) pricing is below. For more information on LevelTen please visit www.leveltenenergy.com.

Recent elections prove energy affordability, concerns about rapid data center growth are at the forefront of voter concerns

1. Recent elections saw Democratic candidates winning several key seats across races such as the NJ and VA gubernatorial races and the PA supreme court elections. High energy costs, driven by grid mismanagement by ISOs and increasing data center demand, were a central issue in many campaigns.
2. Voters overwhelmingly turned out in support of candidates who supported renewables as a solution to the energy accessibility and affordability issue and wanted to hold data centers accountable for their impact on energy efficiency and community health.
3. New Jersey Gov-elect Mikie Sherrill (D) won support for her promises to declare a state of emergency on her first day in office and freeze utility bills for a year, as well as break ground on new solar, offshore wind, and battery storage projects to swiftly build out cheaper and cleaner generation within the state. Her competitor, Jack Ciattarelli (R), instead criticized federal subsidies for wind and solar, describing them as costly and unreliable.

DOE Rebrands Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program as Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) Program

1. Similarly to the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program, the Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) Program allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to guarantee loans up to $250 billion through September 2028. However, the EDF allows financing for projects covering the entire energy and critical minerals value chain, as opposed to the EIR that focused on renewables and upgrading existing infrastructure.
2. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that legacy applications that align with the current focus of energy security and reliability would still be considered. The DOE is still accepting comments from stakeholders through the end of the year.

Ramp-up in Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement Affects Qcells Imports

1. Qcells, a major solar module manufacturer, is reducing pay and hours for 1,000 workers and laying off 300 workers at its two Georgia plants due to slowed business from increased Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) detainments of imported module components.
2. In September 2025, UFLPA detainments on electronic components hit their highest level since October 2024 and are expected to keep rising. These detainments are creating delays in solar module manufacturing and could have potential downstream effects on renewable developers sourcing domestic supply.
3. UFLPA presumes that goods from Xinjiang, China, including polysilicon used in solar components, are made with forced labor. U.S. Customs can detain these goods and release or deny them based on findings. As detainments increase, developers will factor this risk, alongside Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) and other compliance issues, into their module sourcing strategies.

Ruling on Jan 20th memo

On December 8th, a federal judge ruled President Trump’s January 20th memo halting wind energy project permits was unlawful. Since January, no federal wind permits have been issued, and the government has impeded previously approved projects, even those under construction. The federal court cannot force the administration to issue permits but can only prevent agencies from enforcing the memo. The ruling however, cannot force the administration to issue permits, it can the enforcement of the memo. 

On December 9, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) posted initial proposed regulations for two state climate laws, including SB 261 (the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act) and SB 253 (the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act), covering definitions, fees, and reporting deadlines.

SB 261 would require companies with $500 M+ in annual revenue doing business in California to disclose climate-related financial risk reports; SB 253 requires large companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions.

Final regulatory details are expected in future rulemaking.  However, enforcement of SB 261’s January 1, 2026 reporting deadline is currently on hold due to a preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, granted in a lawsuit brought by business groups challenging aspects of SB 261 and SB 253, including on First Amendment grounds.

The injunction pauses enforcement of SB 261 while the appeal proceeds; oral arguments are scheduled for January 9, 2026, and enforcement could resume or change depending on the court’s eventual ruling. 

In response, CARB issued an Enforcement Advisory stating it will not enforce SB 261’s deadline while litigation is pending and opened a public docket for voluntary submissions of SB 261 reports. 

Key point: SB 261 is not invalidated but its current enforcement is paused pending appellate review.

The Council and the European Parliament have “strike[n] a deal to simplify sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements and boost EU competitiveness.” Under the agreement, the scope of CSRD — which requires companies to report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters — will be narrowed, reducing the number of companies covered.  

The simplification also affects the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD / CS3D), trimming down or removing some of the requirements for many companies (especially smaller ones) and easing the obligations.  

What’s changing under the simplification deal
The number of companies covered by CSRD will shrink drastically — only a subset of companies will now be subject to full sustainability-reporting obligations. Some reports say around 90% of companies formerly covered will now be outside scope.

For due diligence (CSDDD / CS3D), obligations will be scaled back — the “trickle-down effect” of imposing duties on smaller companies and across full supply chains will largely be removed. The simplification aims to reduce regulatory burden on firms.

The legislation will become more narrowly targeted — the directives will focus on fewer, larger companies, rather than applying broadly across many firms.  

Broader Context: Why this matters
The original directives (CSRD & CSDDD) represented a major shift by the EU toward mandatory corporate transparency and accountability on ESG, environmental, and human-rights issues.   The simplification deal shows a pivot — balancing those goals against concerns about administrative burden, competitiveness, and regulatory overreach. The result: far fewer companies will be subject to the rigorous reporting and due-diligence regime originally planned.
Here’s a summary of the recent deal on Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and related due-diligence rules — by and largely quoting officials and press-releases from Council of the European Union (and co-legislators) — along with what it means.

New! GHG Protocol extended its public-comment period, originally set to end on December 19^th it now runs through January 31, 2026

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) has launched a 60-day public consultation period. This open consultation invites stakeholders to review and provide feedback on proposed updates to the Scope 2 Guidance (2015) and on consequential accounting methods for estimating avoided emissions from electricity-sector actions. The revisions aim to improve the accuracy, transparency, and relevance of greenhouse gas reporting, reflecting changes in the energy landscape and evolving user needs.

The Scope 2 Guidance updates introduce enhancements such as hourly matching and deliverability requirements for market-based reporting, measures to accommodate organizations of varying sizes, and a phased implementation timeline. Stakeholders’ input will help shape these improvements to ensure they remain science-based, practical, and credible. For consequential accounting, feedback will inform the development of standards for reporting system-wide impacts from clean energy procurement and investments outside operational boundaries.

Participants can access consultation materials and submit their responses via online survey forms, available on the public consultations landing page. After the initial consultation, further review and a second consultation are planned, with final standards expected in 2027. Stakeholder engagement during this period is crucial for strengthening the guidance and maintaining the integrity of corporate greenhouse gas inventories.

For questions on these items and more please reach out to SustainabilityTeam@Constellation.com and your inquiry will be directed to an inhouse expert.