Energy
Billions in US funding boosts lithium mining, stressing water supplies
The energy transition is driving demand for batteries; funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal programs is helping to fill it.
The secret to decarbonizing buildings might be right beneath your feet
It's already happening in Massachusetts.
Governors seek more say over grid planning process
As states scramble to find reliable sources of electric power amid ever-growing demand for energy, four Democratic governors are seeking more say in their regional electric grid operator's future planning.
How AI can help and hurt the environment
Artificial intelligence could put a greater strain on electricity, water and other resources already under pressure from data centers. But the technology also presents opportunities to address environmental challenges.
Teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract
From California to Massachusetts, teachers unions have started to get loud about climate justice demands. In Chicago, the teachers union wants their new contract to address the rising cost of climate change on students and the community.
Feds invest $60M to boost local climate resilience, workforce development
The Climate-Ready Workforce initiative looks to place individuals in good-paying jobs that help advance coastal communities’ climate resilience.
Nursing homes are left in the dark as more utilities cut power to prevent wildfires
As preemptive power cuts become more widespread, nursing homes are being forced to evaluate their preparedness.
Support for rooftop solar outpaces other energy infrastructure
A new survey assessed support of local government officials in Michigan for solar, wind and nuclear energy infrastructure and power transmission.
Communities push to take over investor-owned utilities and make them public nonprofits
Advocates say public power can deliver cheaper rates and a faster, more equitable transition to clean energy. Still, the measures face long odds.
New federal rule will overhaul transmission planning as electric grid strains
The sprawling rule requires transmission operators to plan along a 20-year horizon and work with states to develop data-driven projections of needs.
Featured eBooks
States rethink data centers as ‘electricity hogs’ strain the grid
Worries are rising over what data centers mean for demand, renewable energy goals.
Powering down: To prevent wildfires, states try turning off the grid
COMMENTARY | The trend started in California, but now more states are opting to shut off power to parts of the grid in extreme conditions.
‘Valuable and largely overlooked:’ Interest in virtual power plants grows
Virtual power plant programs can be a cost-effective way to support a strained electric grid at a time when huge projected electric demand increases loom.
California’s new rules allow solar and batteries to help out the grid
Utilities tend to treat solar and batteries as threats to their power grids. California’s policy will now tap their flexible power to benefit the grid instead.
Shapiro pitches carbon cap-and-invest plan to capitalize on Pennsylvania’s energy exports
The program could make could make the state a national clean energy leader, but critics claim it’s the same tax on electricity as the state’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Big Oil faces a flood of climate lawsuits—and they’re moving closer to trial
A quarter of Americans now live in cities and states taking companies to court over lying to the public.
8 states move to ban utilities from using customer money for lobbying
Utilities have come under fire for lobbying to stall climate policies and keep fossil fuel plants running.
9 states band together to phase out fossil fuel heating in homes
The signatories say the agreement’s focus on building emissions will signal to manufacturers that there will be a robust market for heat pumps in the coming years.
Five years later, New Hampshire’s community power law is reshaping the electricity market
The statewide community power coalition will become the state’s second-largest electrical supplier this spring after it adds another 29 communities to the program.
Chicago could be first major Midwestern city to ban gas in new construction
Buildings are Chicago’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but efforts to decarbonize them are facing union opposition.
