From Mandates to Megawatts

As 2025 winds down, energy leaders are facing a new kind of challenge: not whether to transition to clean energy, but how to scale it fast enough and smart enough to meet surging demand. The conversation has moved beyond renewables alone. It’s now about building a resilient, diversified power generation strategy that can support everything from data centers to decarbonization, while also strengthening critical minerals supply and delivering reliable megawatts to the grid.

At RE+ International in Las Vegas, NM this fall, our team noted five key trends shaping solar, wind, and storage development.  Around the same time, similar themes emerged during the team’s attendance at the Electrical Transformation Canada conference in Toronto. In Brisbane, Australia at the 2025 Advanced Materials and Battery Day Conference, speakers noted a unique opportunity for the Australian battery and materials industry to value-add to our critical minerals supply chain to facilitate the transition to diversified and cleaner energy in the North American market. 

As we look ahead to the broader energy landscape of 2026, it’s clear that the energy mix is evolving – and so is our approach. Leveraging the close geopolitical relationships between the US, Canada, and Australia can enable all three countries to build resilience and prosper through a continually evolving energy landscape. 

Below, we explore what’s changed, what’s emerging, and how we’re adapting to support clients navigating the next phase of the energy transition. 

The Energy Mandate Is Holding, but the Mix Is Expanding 

While there have been some political headwinds for renewable energy development this year, including the end of federal subsidies for solar and wind projects in the US, most of the states and jurisdictions are continuing to include renewable power as part of their energy security mix. A “Call for Power”, inviting proposals for new clean energy development projects, is present in most Canadian provinces. In Australia, renewable power demand has continued, but there has been a recognition that the power supply must be diversified with other energy sources, including gas power generation, waste-to-energy plants, and biogas digestion. 

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are also gaining ground — not just as add-ons to solar and wind, but as standalone assets. While some US-based federal tax incentives are sunsetting, BESS is increasingly supported both in the US and Canadian markets, and we’re seeing more projects prioritize storage-first strategies. This shift reflects a deeper truth. The grid needs flexibility and resiliency, not just generation. In Australia, grid-scale BESS are also encouraged under existing policy, and Australia has recognized the value of pumped hydro as an alternative energy storage option. 

Data Centers Are Reshaping the Power Conversation 

One of the most urgent themes heading into 2026 is the explosive growth of data centers. These facilities are no longer niche — they’re central to global infrastructure. And they’re driving a new wave of energy demand that’s straining outdated, legacy systems. See our recent article on Data Centers and Policy Shifts. 

The upcoming Thomson Reuters Energy Conference agenda reflects this shift. Sessions on hyperscale load growth, grid modernization, and AI-driven forecasting point to a future where utilities, developers, and tech companies must collaborate in new ways. Power planning is no longer a 10-year exercise — it’s a real-time challenge. 

Resilience Is the New Baseline 

From copper supply constraints to interconnection delays to tariffs, infrastructure bottlenecks are real. But so is innovation. Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMs), and microgrids are gaining traction as tools to balance demand and enhance reliability. 

Meanwhile, traditional fuels are being reimagined. In the US, LNG is projected to triple exports by 2030. Nuclear is entering a “golden age” with new interest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactors, as demonstrated by the inclusion of a new nuclear project on the Government of Canada’s major projects list. SMRs are a new generation of nuclear reactors designed to be smaller, safer, and more flexible than traditional nuclear power plants, with a power output of around 300 megawatts.   

Finally, carbon capture is evolving from a compliance tool to an investment strategy. The energy mix is no longer binary. It’s a portfolio.

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We’re excited to continue this work with our clients and partners in the year ahead. If you’d like to explore how we can support your energy strategy, we’d love to connect.