Energy Tech

A Federal Program Looks to Connect Smart Buildings with Smart Policy

COMMENTARY | Buildings drive a third of the nation’s emissions. Smart buildings can change that with the right policies and programs in place.

  • By Bentham Paulos and Elizabeth Stuart

How a New Subsidy for ‘Green Hydrogen’ Could Set Off a Carbon Bomb

Using electricity to make hydrogen could drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Or it could underwrite a process that actually increases emissions.

  • By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist

EV Charging Station Map Highlights Disparities

Today’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure is concentrated along the coasts and in major cities.

  • By Shourjya Mookerjee

Can My Electric Car Power My House?

Bidirectional charging is the next big stage for electric vehicles. But storing power in your car and sending it back to your house involves more than flipping a switch.

  • By Seth Blumsack, The Conversation

There’s a Push to Get More Electric School Buses on the Streets—Moms Are Driving It

They just got a boost from Vice President Kamala Harris, after she announced the EPA would distribute $17 million to convert diesel school buses to electric and low emission buses.

  • By Jessica Kutz  , The 19th

Who's Responsible if a Tesla on Autopilot Kills Someone?

Courts may decide, says a professor of civil litigation.

  • By Emily Rosenthal , Futurity

A Parched West Remains Divided on Desalinating Seawater

Environmentalists criticize the technology as economically and ecologically harmful.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

Driverless Cars Won’t Be Good for the Environment if They Lead To More Auto Use

COMMENTARY | Studies show that when people can ride in a car without operating it, they increase their car use. That could increase traffic and pollution, unless government puts a price on car travel.

  • By Giovanni Circella and Scott Hardman , The Conversation

Food Delivery Robots Gaining Popularity

The emerging technology poses regulatory questions for state and local governments.

  • By Andre Claudio

A Billionaire Wants to Build an Inclusive Utopian City. Government Leaders Are Skeptical.

Former Walmart executive Marc Lore envisions the world’s first 'woke city’ somewhere in the U.S., costing upward of $400 billion and with an application to live there.

  • By Andre Claudio

White House Effort to Focus on Advancing Cybersecurity Talent

Commitments are also expected from the public and private sectors for improving the security of foundational technology.

  • By Mariam Baksh

US Approves its First Big Offshore Wind Farm, Near Martha’s Vineyard – it’s a Breakthrough for the Industry

COMMENTARY | Building a U.S. offshore wind industry will require more than just fast-tracking permits.

  • By Erin Baker and Matthew Lackner, The Conversation
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The Time Has Come for Electric Utilities to Make Some Major Changes

COMMENTARY | Bold leadership will be required for the industry to adapt to new technology and pricing models, while also keeping pace with current demands.

  • By Val Jensen

A Pennsylvania County Goes Hydro With its Government Buildings

Allegheny County will power its facilities with hydroelectric power under a 35-year agreement with a planned plant on a nearby river.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

USDA Makes New Move in Broad Effort to Bring Innovative Tech to America’s Farmers

The agriculture-focused agency wants public input on potentially disruptive ideas that could be ready to be implemented.

  • By Brandi Vincent

Rising Sun: Solar Energy Growing Across the Country

COMMENTARY | Solar energy is taking off across the country, including in places that aren't obvious homes for alternative energy, as state and local governments see its benefits.

  • By Anya Schoolman and Larry Ward

When Residents Support Solar—Just ‘Not in My Backyard’

While the American public broadly favors expanding renewable energy, that support doesn’t always extend to the photovoltaic panels next door.

  • By Linda Poon, CityLab

When Street Lights Do More Than Illuminate a City

New York cities plan to deploy smart technology, from optic scanners to weather sensors, when they retrofit street lights to make them more energy efficient.

  • By Andrea Noble

How Forgotten Ports Have a Big Role to Play in the Future of Offshore Wind

Along the East Coast, states and companies are joining to make big investments in port upgrades, as the region eyes a decade of job growth tied to renewable energy.

  • By Gregor Macdonald

Solar Power More Than Doubled in Many Cities, Report Finds

Los Angeles topped the list of cities leading in solar power installation.

  • By Laura Maggi

California Warms to Solar Homes; Other States May Give a Cold Shoulder

As of 2020, all new homes in California will need to be connected to solar power, such as having panels preinstalled.

  • By Rebecca Beitsch