Key developments
PJM reopens interconnection queue after four-year freeze
PJM Interconnection, which serves 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., reopened its generation interconnection queue for the first time in four years. Its first reformed cycle drew 811 projects totaling 220 gigawatts after an April 27 resubmission deadline; the queue was closed in 2022 after a backlog topped 300 GW, much of it renewables and storage. Maryland advocates say the delay already damaged the state's 2035 clean electricity and 2045 net-zero targets, while PJM says the cluster-based process is meant to filter speculative projects.
Why it matters
The queue will shape how quickly large volumes of new power capacity, especially clean energy, can actually connect to the grid.
Sources & driving stories
INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS · Aman Azhar
Inside Climate News coverageNature study urges New Orleans retreat planning
A new study in Nature says coastal Louisiana communities, including New Orleans, should begin planning managed retreat now as sea-level rise, subsidence, and stronger storms intensify flood risk. Researchers say levees, floodwalls, and drainage have improved, but defenses may not keep pace with worsening conditions in the coming decades. The paper argues that gradually shifting people, infrastructure, and development away from the most exposed areas could reduce costs and avoid a chaotic disaster-driven exodus.
Why it matters
It moves the climate adaptation debate in a major U.S. city from protection alone toward planned retreat.
Sources & driving stories
WEATHER · Jennifer Gray
Weather coverageCaspian Sea retreat deepens as models warn 21-meter drop
Scientists told DW that the Caspian Sea has been retreating rapidly since the 1990s and could drop by as much as 21 meters by 2100. The decline is being driven by reduced Volga River inflows from dams, irrigation, and water management, along with higher evaporation, lower precipitation, and reduced runoff as temperatures rise. Ports are already needing dredging, fishing communities are under pressure, and wetlands and seal habitat are being lost across Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.
Why it matters
A major inland sea may be moving toward a large, potentially hard-to-reverse ecological and economic contraction.
Sources & driving stories
DEUTSCHE WELLE
Deutsche Welle coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Bird migration shifts earlier northward
Radar and conservation reporting show climate-driven timing changes are already affecting Florida nesting, feeding, and range suitability.
WORTH NOTING
Cities rehearse deadly heat
Paris and other cities are moving from heat planning to live simulations that test hospitals, transit, and utilities under extreme conditions.
WORTH NOTING
Clean-energy manufacturing losses continue
EDF's Q1 2026 report says federal rollbacks are still depressing U.S. clean-energy factory investment and employment.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will PJM's new queue speed clean power?
The reopening is important, but transmission, permitting, and turbine shortages could still delay projects into the early 2030s.
OPEN QUESTION
Can the Caspian states coordinate adaptation?
The sea spans five countries, and the article says collaborative frameworks are only beginning even as retreat accelerates.