The Duck Curve#procurement
Germany's first StromVKG tender goes to 11 gas plants with no hydrogen date
Germany's Bundesnetzagentur on November 3, 2026 awarded 15-year capacity contracts for about 5,160 MW of reduced capacity to 11 bids, all for gas-fired plants and 10 of them RWE's and LEAG's, at an average €155,296 per reduced MW a year. The StromVKG requires the plants to be convertible to 100% hydrogen and climate-neutral from 2045, but sets no date for burning hydrogen.
PJM refiles its backstop procurement for March 2027 with lower collateral
PJM Interconnection filed an amended Reliability Backstop Procurement at FERC on October 29, 2026, in docket ER27-330-000, rewriting the cost allocation, load-serving-entity collateral and exit rules that FERC's September 29 order sent to a paper hearing. PJM now plans to open the procurement on March 1, 2027, post results on May 10, and asks FERC for an order by January 29, 2027.
Brazil sets its first battery capacity auctions for December 2 and 4
Brazil's electricity regulator ANEEL approved on October 27, 2026 the notices for two battery capacity auctions on December 2 (domestic content) and December 4 (open), each buying 15-year contracts for new storage starting August 1, 2028. Planning agency EPE registered 6,091 projects totaling 296,807 MW.
Michigan regulators approve 360 MW of DTE solar at $76 to $96 per MWh
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved DTE Electric's 125 MW Blazing Star solar purchase agreement and its own 50 MW Keystone and 185 MW Peatville projects on October 15, 2026. DTE puts their expected levelized costs at $96, $83 and $76 per MWh; together they fill 360 MW of a solicitation for at least 1,350 MW.
FERC accepts PJM backstop procurement but suspends it to February 2027
FERC on September 29, 2026 accepted PJM's one-time Reliability Backstop Procurement for filing in docket ER26-3380-000 but suspended it for five months, to February 28, 2027, subject to refund, set a paper hearing on cost allocation, transmission-owner exit rules and load-serving-entity collateral, and opened a section 206 proceeding. It found the core design, from eligibility rules to the $555/MW-day average price cap, just and reasonable and encouraged a new section 205 filing. PJM says the procurement will not begin on September 30 as planned.
LA Metro board approves 220 electric buses from ENC, gates 1,600 options
LA Metro's board on September 24, 2026 authorized a $337,698,727.58 base contract with ElDorado National (California), Inc. for 220 forty-foot battery electric buses and raised the project's life-of-project budget to $434,355,185; deliveries begin in spring 2028, per the board report. A Bass amendment makes any purchase of the up to 1,600 option buses subject to board approval, in increments not to exceed 300, and lets the board decline or rebid options. Metro's July 2026 update counted 140 zero-emission buses, 6.46% of its fleet; Streetsblog LA puts the post-purchase share at over 20 percent.
