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Rural America & The Clean Energy Transition at Climate Week NYC

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September 22, 2026

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Clean energy

An Idaho county banned renewables. It’s having second thoughts.

Solar developments led county officials to ban renewables in 2024. Now, the Republican commissioner who instigated the moratorium is leading the charge to undo it.

By Julia Tilton

Batteries

xAI has quietly built a massive battery at its Memphis data center hub

By Julian Spector

Fossil fuels

Court rules that Trump can’t force a Michigan coal plant to keep running

By Jeff St. John

Batteries

The battery era is here — and China is supplying it

By Dan McCarthy

Clean energy

Gavin Newsom’s complicated legacy on climate and clean energy

Newsom’s 8-year term as California’s governor is drawing to an end. Here’s how he helped — and hindered — the state’s energy transition.

By Jeff St. John

California Governor Gavin Newsom wearing suit and tie, looking to left, with blurry green and red dots in foreground

Heat pumps

California moves to cut red tape for heat pumps, solar, and more

By Alison F. Takemura
Balcony solar

Balcony solar is this year’s clean energy superstar in the US

By Kathryn Krawczyk
Solar

Coal-to-solar project lands a rare clean-energy win in Ohio

By Kathiann M. Kowalski

Editor's picks

1 Wind energy benefits North Dakota. So why has the state soured on it?

Turbines generate tax revenue and sizable payments for farmers, but development has slowed as the political winds have shifted.
2 Meet the super PAC working to crush clean energy’s political foes
3 Boston explores sea- and river-source heat pumps for big buildings
4 World’s oldest cheddar-maker slashes energy bills with novel heat pumps
5 The US clean energy boom will continue to 2030. Then things get hazy.

Fossil fuels

Trump’s DOE keeps forcing coal plants to stay open. Here’s the latest.

We’re tracking the seven fossil-fuel plants the Trump admin has required to operate past their retirement dates — and which facilities could be hit next.

By Ysabelle Kempe
Hydropower

Mass. utilities and Hydro-Quebec sue each other over missing hydropower

A new power line failed to deliver promised hydroelectricity for 12 days this winter. Utilities want compensation — but Hydro-Québec says it’s the one who’s owed.

By Sarah Shemkus
Batteries

Trump emergency order casts uncertainty over grid battery growth

A sweeping yet vaguely worded national emergency declaration targeting Chinese grid tech could put gigawatts of grid battery projects on uncertain legal ground.

By Jeff St. John
Geothermal

Dig Energy completes first project with novel geothermal drilling tech

The firm just wrapped work on a heating and cooling system for a Boston office. It says its rig makes drilling cheaper, quieter, and less water-intensive.

By Sarah Shemkus
Fossil fuels

Virginia kept its climate law. Dominion sees a loophole.

To power data centers, the state's largest utility is proposing a massive 3-gigawatt gas plant that tests the limits of the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

By Elizabeth Ouzts
Data centers

Questionable data center forecasts are driving up Ohio power bills

Critics question sky-high electricity demand predictions for Ohio, which rely on ambitious data center plans and put upward pressure on utility bills.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski
Nuclear

Shuttered nuclear plant in Iowa gets $1.9B federal loan to restart

NextEra Energy is one of three U.S. energy companies to win backing from the Department of Energy to revive shut-down nuclear plants to meet soaring power demand.

By Maria Gallucci

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Solar

A Virginia school district pioneers solar and battery microgrids

Roanoke City Public Schools is building the state’s first solar-plus-storage systems to keep emergency shelters going during extreme weather and cut down on costs.

By Elizabeth Ouzts
Solar

Solar is now bigger than coal in China — and yet still way behind

China has more solar capacity online than coal capacity. It’s a remarkable milestone, but the fossil fuel still generates far more electricity than solar does.

By Dan McCarthy
Solar

Solar-plus-storage is having a global growth spurt

Investors spent a record amount in the first half of 2026 on projects that combine renewable energy — mostly solar — with batteries.

By Ysabelle Kempe
Nuclear

New York’s big new bet on nuclear energy

Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, diluted New York’s climate law this year amid struggles to build large-scale renewables. Now, she’s looking to nuclear power.

By Alexander C. Kaufman
Green steel

Hyundai breaks ground on Louisiana steel mill. Is it green enough?

The plant will cut CO₂ emissions compared to traditional coal furnaces. But Hyundai's use of gas and resulting pollution show the messiness of cleaning up steel.

By Maria Gallucci
Transmission

This novel power line could link 3 grids across 3 time zones

North Plains Connector has earned backing from the Energy Department and utilities, and could deliver huge cost and reliability benefits — if states give it the OK.

By Jeff St. John
Solar

Where does balcony solar stand in your state?

Dozens of states are considering legislation to allow residents to use DIY plug-in solar. Follow the efforts here.

By Sarah Shemkus
Politics

Clean energy super PAC looks to take down a Democratic governor

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is the first Democrat targeted by the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, which has notched wins against clean energy foes in GOP primaries.

By Sarah Shemkus

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Chart of the week

More in this column

America’s big but uncertain gas boom

Data centers are driving plans to build tons of dirty gas plants. Experts say it’s nearly impossible to distinguish pie-in-the-sky proposals from realistic ones.

By Dan McCarthy

Solar and storage still dominate US power plant construction

Home battery installations climb despite loss of federal incentives

California was mostly solar-powered in May — a global first

Solar is having its best summer yet in Europe

Batteries

The US built more grid batteries last quarter than ever before

The outlook for storage construction keeps getting brighter as everyone from the Trump White House to clean energy advocates to AI giants clamors for more.

By Julian Spector
Geothermal

Fervo and Google sign world’s largest deal for next-gen geothermal power

The geothermal startup will supply 400 MW from its Cape Station project to a Google data center in Utah. An initial phase of the project will come online this fall.

By Maria Gallucci
Virtual power plants

California declines to fund its biggest virtual power plant

The Demand Side Grid Support program was given no money for next year, though supporters blocked an effort that could have disbanded the VPP altogether.

By Jeff St. John
Offshore wind

Trump’s $4B in offshore wind buyouts spur legal blowback from states

Interior is using tax dollars to pay firms to ditch offshore wind leases and invest in fossil fuels instead. California just became the eighth state to sue to stop it.

By Maria Gallucci
Solar

Can the Obama Presidential Center help Chicago embrace community solar?

As an anchor tenant for several off-site arrays in development, the center will help spur investment and educate residents on the benefits of shared solar.

By Kari Lydersen
Climate crisis

Gary power outage underscores stakes of Solar for All cancellation

Some city residents went two weeks without power following storms. The federal program, ended by Trump, would have enabled many to access solar and batteries.

By Kari Lydersen
Solar

Virginia to cut rooftop solar costs with nation-first bulk-buy program

Teaming up to buy solar can get residents deep discounts. Virginia is the first to try a statewide campaign as utility bills rise and data centers stress the grid.

By Elizabeth Ouzts
Clean energy

So, where exactly does the US energy transition stand?

Analysts are trying to measure the damage President Trump has done to the energy transition so far — and determine where federal climate policy should go from here.

By Dan McCarthy, Kathryn Krawczyk
Nuclear

How much of a threat do heat waves pose to nuclear plants?

Hot water and low river levels have hampered nuclear power in Europe this summer, forcing a reckoning over plant preparedness.

By Alexander C. Kaufman

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