Energy

A Government Program Hopes to Find Critical Minerals Right Beneath our Feet

Federal scientists are using recon flights and field research to track down metals that are key to the energy transition.

  • By Maddie Stone, Grist

State & Local Roundup: Offshore Wind Push Expands to the Gulf of Mexico

Plus: The mayors of Chicago and New Orleans could lose their jobs; an “innovative” housing plan is defunded; Boston struggles to recruit transit chief; “right to repair” bills proliferate; and more news you can use from around the country.

  • By Daniel C. Vock, Molly Bolan and Elizabeth Daigneau

The States Gaining the Most Clean Energy Jobs

A new analysis finds companies have announced more than 100,000 positions in fields like solar and wind power and battery-making since Democrats pushed through a massive climate law.

  • By Bill Lucia

Minnesota to Require 100% Carbon-free Electricity by 2040

Utilities can use a mix of solar, wind, hydropower, nuclear, hydrogen power, and biomass—energy obtained from burning wood and trash—to meet the 2040 goal.

  • By Zoya Teirstein, Grist

Wind Farms Deliver Economic Jolt to Rural Middle America

Wind farms boosted seven of 10 counties with the nation’s largest economic output gains.

  • By Tim Henderson

To Get Off Fossil Fuels, America Is Going to Need a Lot More Electricians

A shortage of skilled labor could derail efforts to "electrify everything."

  • By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist

'Green Banks,' Poised for Billions in Climate Funds, Draw States' Attention

These banks provide financing for projects from efficient appliances to solar panels.

  • By Alex Brown, Stateline

3 Tips to Improve Your Local Utility Service

COMMENTARY | Utility companies often suffer from poor customer service ratings. Here’s a way to fix that.

  • By Jo-Ann Fussell

EVs, Building Emissions Among Biden’s Sustainable Energy Priorities

Public and private sector leaders discussed the first steps to overhauling the nation’s infrastructure in pursuit of a sustainable future.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

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

How Do Floating Wind Turbines Work?

COMMENTARY | With five companies winning the first U.S. leases to build wind farms off California’s coast, let’s take a look.

  • By Matthew Lackner, The Conversation

The States Leading on Energy Efficiency Policy

A newly released ranking looks at the states doing the most–and the least–when it comes to cutting emissions, and how they’re incorporating equity into their programs.

  • By Molly Bolan
Featured eBooks
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Energy Department Sets Aside $550 Million for State and Local Clean Energy Efforts

The money is available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

  • By Frank Konkel

The West’s Biggest Source of Renewable Energy Depends on Water. Will it Survive the Drought?

Glen Canyon and the Hoover Dam are “not the whole story.”

  • By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist

Why a Power Line Project Can Take 14 Years to Permit

Amid a push to greatly expand the nation’s clean energy infrastructure, key grid upgrades require approvals that can take years to complete. Can regulators strike the right balance between speed and environmental protection?

  • By Kery Murakami

A Cost-Effective Way to Convert Buildings from Gas to Electric

COMMENTARY | Strategically decommissioning, or “pruning,” portions of the gas system could offer a cost-effective and coordinated approach to convert whole neighborhoods from gas to electric.

  • By Bentham Paulos and Nick Chaset

Curbside Composting Program Billed as Nation's Biggest Gets Underway

New York City launched the collection program for waste like food scraps and yard debris in Queens. The city's sanitation department is relying on a range of tactics to get buy-in from residents.

  • By Daniela Altimari

California’s 2030 Ban on Gas Heaters Opens a New Front in the War on Fossil Fuels

The first-of-its-kind plan will purge gas from existing buildings, not just new construction.

  • By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist

Why the Permitting Reform Debate Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

Even if Sen. Joe Manchin succeeds in getting his proposed overhaul of environmental regulations for infrastructure attached to a critical spending bill, Republicans plan to push for further changes, including restoring Trump-era policies.

  • By Kery Murakami

These Red States Don’t Want Climate Targets—But They Do Want Green Jobs

How Georgia and other Republican-led states are trying to benefit from the clean manufacturing boom.

  • By Emily Jones, Grist

State Lawmaker Discusses New $125M Program That Will Help Pay for Home Repairs

Pennsylvania State Sen. Nikil Saval's Whole-Home Repairs Program was included in this year’s state budget.

  • By Justin Sweitzer