SYSO Webinar PJM State of the Market for Renewables and Storage

PJM State of the Market: Key Takeaways from SYSO’s Webinar

On September 25, 2025, SYSO Technologies hosted its latest webinar on the state of the PJM market for renewables and storage. The session, led by SYSO’s PJM experts Doug Matheson (Senior Director of Energy Markets) and Dan Curran (Chief Strategy Officer), brought clarity to one of the most significant capacity auctions in PJM history and provided forward-looking insights for developers and asset owners.

Historic BRA Results for 2026/27

SYSO’s panelists began by breaking down the results of PJM’s Base Residual Auction (BRA) for the 2026/27 delivery year. The auction cleared at $329.17/MW-day (UCAP), the highest in PJM’s history and at the FERC-approved price cap. Without the cap, prices would have reached $388/MW-day. This outcome reflects tightening supply and demand conditions, record load growth driven by data centers and electrification, and shrinking reserve margins across the region.

Outlook for 2027/28 and Beyond

Looking ahead, SYSO highlighted expectations for the 2027/28 BRA and beyond. While high prices are likely to persist, systemic challenges, including PJM’s interconnection backlog and sluggish new resource development, pose risks of capacity shortfalls later in the decade. Panelists noted that PJM has already signaled concerns about meeting reserve margins by the 2029/30 delivery year if new resources fail to materialize.

Key Policy and Regulatory Shifts

The webinar provided a detailed review of recent regulatory changes and their implications for storage and renewable developers. Key updates include:

  • Mandatory Capacity Participation: All solar, wind, and storage resources with Capacity Interconnection Rights (CIRs) must now submit capacity offers.

  • CPQR (Capacity Performance Quantified Risk): New mechanism allowing resources to price in operational risk.

  • Accreditation Reform: Updates to Effective Load Carrying Capability (ELCC) to better reflect resource reliability contributions.

  • Cap & Collar on Prices: A temporary measure to moderate volatility while longer-term reforms progress.

These changes will alter bidding strategies and capacity economics for storage and renewable resources across PJM.

State-Level Storage Opportunities

Beyond the PJM-wide auction, SYSO spotlighted the launch of New Jersey’s Garden State Energy Storage Program (GSESP), a landmark procurement effort aimed at deploying 2 GW of energy storage by 2030. This program offers fixed long-term incentives and complements wholesale revenues, making it a major opportunity for developers. Maryland is also advancing its own storage program, signaling further regional support for grid-scale storage.

SYSO’s Guidance for Developers

Throughout the session, SYSO emphasized the importance of strategic alignment with PJM’s evolving market structure. Developers must carefully time interconnection milestones, structure bids to reflect CPQR and ELCC requirements, and optimize operational readiness to capture long-term revenue. SYSO supports clients with end-to-end services including market registration, bidding strategies, real-time operations, and compliance monitoring.

Watch the full webinar replay above to hear SYSO’s detailed insights and learn how your projects can succeed in PJM’s evolving market landscape.