The plan may incorporate a variety of generating options, such as gas-powered plants, in order to alleviate an anticipated reliability crisis.

The proposal by PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for the District of Columbia and parts of 13 states in the mid-Atlantic, South, and Midwest, to give priority to massive nuclear and gas projects over renewable energy projects that have been waiting years to connect to the region's electric grid, has angered the clean energy sector.

In order to address an upcoming reliability crisis that the grid operator anticipates toward the end of the decade as older, dirtier plants retire and demand soars due to data centers and rapid electrification, PJM has proposed the Reliability Resource Initiative (RRI), which would accelerate the construction of new electricity generation projects in its service area. Up to 50 projects are anticipated to be approved under the plan in order to make up the difference.

According to PJM, state-level clean energy regulations like shutting down coal-fired power plants are partly responsible for the need for additional dispatchable generating sources, such as natural gas-fired power plants, to preserve grid resilience.

However, the clean energy sector claims that the RRI proposal unfairly gives these projects priority over clean, renewable resources. Leaders in the industry think that sustainable energy projects may help alleviate the dependability issue that PJM expects if they were permitted to progress at the same rate. By raising the carbon intensity of PJM's generating mix, new non-renewable facilities might potentially jeopardize state-level clean energy targets, according to industry associations.