The energy generation landscape in the Mid-Atlantic region is undergoing a significant shift in 2026, driven not by sweeping deregulation or uniform acceleration, but by targeted procedural and permitting reforms. States like Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are taking the lead, enacting changes to address reliability concerns, transmission constraints, and large load growth, while mitigating frequent project obstructions by local governments.
Centralization of review is a cross-cutting theme, with states consolidating permitting authority at commissions and central agencies. “Centralizing permitting review at the state level is an effective tool,” says Thomas Prevas, a partner with Saul Ewing. This shift absorbs environmental, land-use, and community-impact analyses into state proceedings, reducing local government delays. New Jersey, for instance, has created centralized permitting review websites for smaller projects, streamlining the process.
However, procedural compression and litigation risks persist. Policy-makers often demand less review time and fewer pages, which can increase litigation risks. “Effective proposals for permitting reform legislation for large-scale generation requires removing laws and policies baked into the review process,” Prevas notes. Yet, such reforms remain politically sensitive and slow to develop.
Data centers present another challenge, with their “campus” model demanding significant power—equivalent to a coal-fired power plant. The retirement of coal plants in the last decade exacerbates generation and transmission issues, particularly in Western Maryland and Northern Virginia. Pennsylvania is leading efforts to attract data centers and support co-location of data center and energy generation assets, while Maryland recently overrode a governor veto to study the issue. The co-location of generation assets with data centers, using a behind-the-meter approach, is an emerging issue that requires federal and state laws and regulations to catch up.
Utility-scale battery storage is also a key issue, with the potential to boost effective energy capacity. However, it falls into a legal and regulatory gap under most states’ permitting regimes and local zoning codes. Maryland and New Jersey have created energy storage procurement programs, centralizing permitting at the state public utility board, but the role of state versus local review remains unclear.
A notable development is the growing interest of policy-makers in having regulated electric utilities pursue direct ownership or sponsorship of generation assets. This trend, driven by longer permitting times, load growth, and higher energy bills, implicates new permitting and policy considerations. “This creates legal and regulatory complications in most Mid-Atlantic states,” Prevas says, highlighting tensions between merchant developers and utilities, and confusion over the roles of state public service commissions versus FERC and federal RTOs.
These developments are likely to shape the energy sector’s trajectory, influencing investment decisions, project timelines, and market dynamics. As states and federal agencies grapple with these challenges, the Mid-Atlantic region could emerge as a test bed for innovative solutions to energy generation and permitting issues.