James Danly
US Deputy Secretary of Energy since 2025; former FERC Commissioner with direct expertise in the grid interconnection proceedings he now oversees.
Last refreshed: 6 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Does Danly's FERC dissent record signal how DOE will react to the June ruling?
Timeline for James Danly
Issued statement commending FERC's commitment to act by end of June 2026
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: FERC commits to June 2026 grid-load order- Who is James Danly and what is his role in energy policy?
- James Danly is the US Deputy Secretary of Energy, confirmed in 2025. He previously served as a FERC Commissioner from 2019 to 2023 and as FERC General Counsel, giving him direct regulatory experience in the grid interconnection rules he is now influencing from the DOE.Source: DOE
- What did James Danly say about FERC's data centre grid rulemaking?
- Danly issued a statement commending FERC's April 2026 announcement that it would act by end of June on Docket RM26-4-000, aligning DOE publicly with FERC's approach to large-load interconnection standardisation.Source: DOE statement
- Who is James Danly and what is his role in US energy policy?
- Danly is US Deputy Secretary of Energy since June 2025. A former FERC Commissioner (2019-2023) and FERC General Counsel, he is the senior DOE official most directly involved in the RM26-4-000 large-load interconnection rulemaking that will govern data-centre grid connections.Source: DOE / FERC records
- What did James Danly say about the FERC grid rulemaking for data centres?
- In April 2026, Danly issued a formal statement commending FERC's commitment to act on Docket RM26-4-000 by end of June 2026, signalling DOE alignment with FERC's approach despite the agency moving past the DOE's preferred 30 April deadline.Source: DOE statement / data-centres update 2
- What are the contested legal questions in the FERC RM26-4-000 rulemaking?
- Per Mayer Brown's legal analysis: whether hyperscalers can bypass standard interconnection studies; how behind-the-meter generation is treated for grid-exit cost allocation; and who pays for transmission upgrades that large loads trigger. Danly's FERC-era dissents touched on these same questions.Source: Mayer Brown / data-centres update 2
Background
James Danly was confirmed as US Deputy Secretary of Energy in June 2025. He issued a formal statement in April 2026 commending FERC's announcement that it would act by end of June on Docket RM26-4-000, the large-load interconnection rulemaking that will determine how data centres above 20 MW connect to the US interstate transmission grid. The statement signalled DOE alignment with FERC's approach, despite FERC having moved roughly two months past the DOE's preferred 30 April deadline.
Danly previously served as a FERC Commissioner from 2019 to 2023 — nominated by President Trump in his first term — and as FERC General Counsel before that. His FERC tenure included dissents on grid interconnection policy and strong views on the proper scope of FERC authority over behind-the-meter generation. His experience as a former regulator gives him direct institutional knowledge of the proceedings he is now shaping from the executive side: he understands the contested legal questions around bypass of interconnection studies and cost-allocation for transmission upgrades from both sides of the regulator-executive divide.
Danly's prior FERC role makes him arguably the most technically informed official in the DOE's engagement with RM26-4-000. His dissents on interconnection policy at FERC suggest he may favour approaches that limit cost-shifting from large loads to existing ratepayers — a position that will matter for how DOE engages with whatever FERC issues in June 2026.
