SYSO 2025 Year in Review: A Transformational Year for U.S. Energy Markets

2025 marked one of the most consequential periods for renewable energy, storage, and wholesale power markets in recent memory. Across every major ISO/RTO, new rules, price signals, and regulatory mandates reshaped how assets are built, operated, and monetized. From PJM’s sweeping capacity market reforms, to ERCOT’s real-time co-optimization overhaul, to the explosive growth of storage opportunities in markets like MISO, asset owners faced both challenges and substantial upside. For SYSO and its clients, 2025 was a year defined by rapid adaptation, strategic engagement, and operational evolution. In the article below, we’ve highlighted the most impactful developments of the year and how SYSO supported our clients through these shifting market conditions. We look forward to connecting with you in 2026.

New York’s VDER and DLM programs continued to evolve in 2025, offering high-value potential but requiring sophisticated operational strategies. VDER rewards frequent cycling and grid support across several value components, while DLM incentivizes load reduction during peak stress events, two objectives that often conflict. SYSO’s clients navigated this complexity using co-optimization tools that allocate capacity intelligently between the two programs and predict peak events with higher precision. Read the full article below:

FERC’s approval of PJM’s capacity market cap ($325/MW-day) and collar ($175/MW-day) introduced more predictable price boundaries for upcoming BRAs. For solar and storage owners, these mechanisms reduce tail-risk exposure while still providing meaningful upside. The announcement arrived amid tightening supply conditions, driven heavily by data center growth and thermal retirements. SYSO guided clients through updated revenue modeling scenarios and bid strategies that reflect these guardrails. This development became a defining storyline as PJM approached its highest-stakes auction in a decade. Read the full article below:

In 2025, NERC formally expanded reliability oversight for inverter-based resources (IBRs), affecting thousands of solar and storage assets previously considered too small to regulate. The reforms require many new assets to register, comply with disturbance reporting, and meet enhanced data and telemetry standards. This change marked a turning point in how renewable resources are viewed, not as “supplemental” generation, but as critical contributors to grid stability. SYSO helped developers and asset owners understand their new obligations, prepare compliance documentation, and upgrade telemetry systems. Read the full article below:

In one of the most significant rulings of the year, FERC officially eliminated the exemption that previously shielded renewables and storage from PJM’s capacity market obligations. Starting with the 2026/27 delivery year, every asset with CIRs must participate in the BRA and adhere to performance requirements. This ruling materially impacts project economics, financing assumptions, O&M strategies, and developer timelines. SYSO supported clients by identifying applicable assets, updating revenue projections, and preparing offer strategies to reflect new policies. Read the full article below:

MISO’s Summer 2025 Planning Resource Auction shattered expectations with a clearing price of $666.50/MW-day, the highest in its history. This outcome reflected the region’s new Reliability-Based Demand Curve (RBDC) and tightening reserve margins. For storage and hybrid developers, the results validated the growing value of flexible resources in the Midwest. SYSO worked with clients to assess financial upside, revisit siting decisions, and align development strategies with an increasingly capacity-constrained MISO landscape. Read the full article below:

SYSO empowered Birch Creek to overcome complex regulatory, technical, and scheduling hurdles across six utility-scale solar projects totaling 350 MW in MISO. By engaging early with EPCs, Ameren, and MISO, SYSO accelerated telemetry installation, modeled and registered each site correctly, and navigated ambiguous interconnection requirements—ensuring every project was positioned for timely market entry. SYSO’s proactive management unlocked revenue on day one, reduced project lead times, mitigated construction delay impacts, and enabled Birch Creek to secure advantageous tax equity positioning. Investor confidence strengthened as SYSO seamlessly transitioned into full operational support, including scheduling, real-time dispatch, settlements, and capacity market preparation. Read the full article below:

ERCOT’s Real-Time Co-Optimization Plus Batteries (RTC+B) was one of the most transformational market updates of 2025. By co-optimizing energy and ancillary services in real time, the program enables more efficient dispatch while amplifying both opportunity and operational risk for storage. RTC+B has made high-fidelity telemetry, rapid automation, and advanced operational strategies non-negotiable for BESS owners. SYSO helped clients prepare through upgraded telemetry, automated bidding, and 24/7 operational readiness. Read the full article below:

As grid-connected battery storage and renewable generation assets scale across North America, the operational and cybersecurity requirements governing those systems have tightened. SYSO’s Network Operations Center (NOC) now holds an official NERC CIP-Low Impact designation, signaling the company’s commitment to secure, compliant operations for ISO/RTO-connected assets. Achieving this status reflects the increasing importance of rigorous security protocols, continuous monitoring, and 24/7 human oversight. CIP-Low Impact compliance strengthens operational reliability, supports ISO/RTO compliance, and enhances investor confidence for renewable and storage developers working with SYSO’s managed services. Read the full article below:

Wind generation reached new highs in 2025, but so did the challenges around congestion, curtailment, and real-time compliance. SYSO launched its Wind Operations offering to support asset owners dealing with these increasingly complex market conditions. With new telemetry, forecasting, and operational oversight capabilities, SYSO helps wind assets maximize availability and performance in ISO/RTO markets. Read the full article below:

Reliable, secure communication between generation assets and PJM’s control centers is a critical compliance requirement for market participation. PJMNet’s private network using ICCP is the backbone of that connection. Many asset owners underestimate the complexity, time, and risk involved in building their own ICCP infrastructure, which includes network configuration, data mapping, redundancy compliance, and ongoing maintenance. SYSO simplifies this process by onboarding assets onto its existing, fully validated PJMNet ICCP infrastructure, drastically reducing deployment timelines, operational risk, and technical overhead. SYSO enables generation owners to meet telemetry requirements and participate confidently in PJM markets without the burden of maintaining their own communications architecture. Read the full article below:

PJM’s 2027-28 Base Residual Auction cleared at a record-high $333.44 per MW-day, hitting the temporary price cap and highlighting a tight supply-demand balance in the region’s capacity market. Despite these elevated prices, the auction failed to secure enough committed resources to meet PJM’s reliability requirement. For renewable and storage developers, the results signal a durable opportunity for flexible resources like BESS that can capture significant value by participating in capacity markets. SYSO helps clients navigate these dynamics with deep market expertise, 24/7 operational support, and advanced analytics. Read the full article below: