Grid Electrification Money Splits Three Ways: Zhejiang Batteries, Nevada Trucks, US Cables

Zhejiang has opened its provincial spot market to independent grid-side storage, pv magazine reported on 26 September. The notice came jointly from the Zhejiang office of China's National Energy Administration, the provincial development and reform commission and the provincial energy bureau. The rules were published on 23 September.

The project list is specific: 40 storage projects totalling 2.54 GW/5.1 GWh. Of those, 28 projects totalling 2.13 GW/4.27 GWh are already in commercial operation and centrally dispatched, so they can bid into both the energy market and the frequency-regulation ancillary services market. Another six operating projects, totalling 0.11 GW/0.22 GWh, can enter the energy market only. Independent grid-side storage runs on a self-scheduled basis and decides each day whether to sell energy or provide frequency regulation. Projects still inside retail electricity contracts may terminate them through the trading platform before entering. The regulator said projects not registered as storage will, in principle, not be dispatched in normal grid operation. Full price-and-quantity bidding is planned from 1 January 2027.

The move follows China's 2025 decision to scrap its energy storage mandate for renewable energy plants and the capacity price floor for grid-scale storage set in February, pv magazine reported.

Washington puts $1.9bn into cables and sensors

On the other side of the world, the money comes from taxpayers rather than markets. On Thursday, the US Department of Energy named 31 projects across 26 states under its $1.9 billion SPARK grant programme, Canary Media reported on 24 September. Participating utilities pledged $3.35 billion in matching funds, bringing the total to $5.25 billion. The recipients include American Electric Power, CenterPoint Energy, Duke Energy, Eversource Energy, Rocky Mountain Power and PPL Electric Utilities, plus four public power utilities and rural electric cooperatives in Arizona, New Mexico and North Carolina. Most of the money goes to two things. The first is advanced conductors, lighter and stronger cables that carry more power along existing corridors. The second is dynamic line rating, which measures how much a line can carry from hour to hour.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a Thursday statement that the grants will "get more out of the infrastructure we already have, move more electricity across the grid, and help deliver affordable, reliable, and secure power that will fuel American prosperity for decades to come."

The programme repurposes money obligated under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Canary Media described it as a rare point of alignment between the Trump and Biden administrations on energy policy, even as Trump appointees have blocked other Biden-era grants. Two projects dominate the list. A $1.2 billion project led by the Colorado Energy Office and an $832 million project by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services each received a $250 million grant. Both are meant to expand capacity to share power between the Eastern and Western US grids. Julia Selker, executive director of the Working for Advanced Transmission Technologies Coalition, told Canary Media the grants will produce "phenomenal" experience and that having taxpayers split the cost with ratepayers is "a great deal."

Electric trucks expose the charging gap

Grid investment is also the binding constraint on road freight. On Thursday, Tesla launched high-volume production of the Semi at its Sparks, Nevada factory, Ars Technica reported on 26 September. The long-range version is estimated at 500 miles per charge and the standard version at 325 miles. Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, confirmed the figures at the event. Electric semis need megawatt chargers, and Tesla's website showed two such public chargers operating in the Los Angeles area. Dan Priestley, who leads the Semi programme, said the company plans to open 30 by the end of the year. Ars Technica also noted that the Trump administration and congressional Republicans cut billions in federal EV support last year and are working to lower fuel economy standards for truck engines.

Demand may be arriving anyway. An alliance of shippers including Microsoft and PepsiCo placed an order for 2,500 Tesla Semis, to be delivered from this year through the next 18 months, according to Ars Technica. If those trucks reach customers, they would nearly double the number of heavy-duty electric trucks on US roads today. The group chose Tesla after "assessing price, performance, production capability, and service support," Meena Bibra of the nonprofit Smart Freight Centre told WIRED. Europe is further along in putting electric trucks to work, though the fleet is still small. Electrek reported on 26 September that JUNA, a joint venture between German logistics firm sennder and Sweden's Scania, deployed its 110th battery-electric truck. Since its first deployments two years ago, the Scania fleet has travelled more than 3.9 million emissions-free kilometres, with routes across Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. JUNA plans as many as 40 more trucks before the end of the year. Scania's R45 carries a 624 kWh battery pack and a 450 kW powertrain, hauling up to 40 tonnes for as much as 350 km per charge.

Buses as grid assets, and money for startups

In New York City, First Student and utility Con Edison have completed the first phase of a $9 million electric school bus pilot. Canary Media reported on 23 September that 10 battery-powered buses are operating out of a depot in East New York, with 40 more to be delivered between now and June. The depot was built above ground because the primary jet-fuel line for John F. Kennedy International Airport runs beneath the site, which ruled out trenching. First Student estimates the approach saved nearly 20% in project costs and cut the timeline by a month. The company is considering a 500 kW rooftop solar system and a 2 MW battery at the site. CEO John Kenning said the goal is up to 10 MW of vehicle-to-grid and facility-to-grid capability over the next couple of years.

Con Ed forecasts that electric buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles will add over 100 MW of electricity demand by 2030. Vicki Kuo, the utility's senior vice president of customer energy solutions, said the flexibility in "these new tools, whether it's a vehicle or storage or solar" will help make the grid more resilient. Nationwide, more than 8,500 electric school buses were operating as of June 2026, up 66% from a year earlier, according to the World Resources Institute. Private capital is moving into the same theme in Europe, at a much smaller scale. Tech.eu reported on 25 September that Fortum, the Nordic energy company, has joined Norrsken Evolve as a limited partner, investing through its innovation and venturing arm. The commitment follows the final close of Norrsken Evolve's oversubscribed 62 million euro fund this summer. The pre-seed fund has backed more than 80 companies, 75% of which have raised follow-on investment. Fortum supplies reliable energy to more than two million customers, and Norrsken is running an Electro Union campaign calling on the EU to commit to 50% electrification of final energy consumption by 2040.

One more signal sits in the Philippines. CleanTechnica reported on 27 September that the 14th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit, scheduled for 22 October, will centre on ASEAN coordination rather than domestic policy. The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines is pushing for common technical ground on Type 2 AC interfaces, CCS2 DC fast plugs and standardised battery swapping for light two-wheelers. The article points to a unified market of more than 680 million people. That is a standards story today, but it is the kind of regional harmonisation that decides where charging hardware gets built, and which grids have to carry it.