1 Can energy-rich Pennsylvania chart a path toward decarbonization?
The pivotal swing state has run on coal, oil, and gas, but it's seeking a new era of economic growth from low-carbon industry and cleantech manufacturing.
Distributed energy resources
Hurricane Helene underscores need for more solar-battery microgrids
Distributed solar and batteries are helping North Carolina communities that were cut off from grid power by flooding. Should utilities build them into resilience plans?
Transmission
Biden admin awards $2B in new grid resilience grants
The third round of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants target the hurricane-ravaged Southeast U.S. as well as nationwide projects to bolster the grid.
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Policy & regulation
Chart: The policy push to electrify lawn equipment, visualized
Dozens of states and municipalities across the U.S. have passed laws that aim to shift residents away from polluting, gas-powered lawn equipment.By Carrie Klein
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Air travel
DOE makes $3B commitment to two sustainable aviation fuel projects
Alternative jet fuels are seen as key to curbing emissions from today’s airplanes. The Loan Programs Office is backing SAF plants to boost U.S. supplies. -
Hydrogen
Koloma raises $50M more in quest to find natural hydrogen underground
Geologic hydrogen could be a “skeleton key” for decarbonization, Koloma says. The startup has raised over $350M to try and make it work.
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Research and white papers
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White Paper
The Electrification Challenge
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Carbon removal
A new demo plant will repurpose mining waste and also capture CO2
Travertine’s demo facility in Rochester, NY, will upcycle captured CO2 and discarded gypsum into sulfuric acid for use in a nearby metals company’s operations. -
Hydrogen
One year in, US clean hydrogen hubs face questions — and have few answers
There’s little detail available on the $7B federal program to jump-start U.S. clean hydrogen, leaving environmental advocates concerned the projects may be off track. -
Solar
Puerto Rico closes $861M DOE loan guarantee for huge solar, battery project
The island has ambitious climate goals and a ton of rooftop solar, but has so far built few large-scale clean energy projects. Project Marahu could change that.By Akielly Hu
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Solar
This farmer was skeptical about solar — until he began grazing sheep
Illinois farmer Trent Gerlach had misgivings about solar panels taking up cropland, but he saw a chance to try agrivoltaics, a practice catching on around the US.
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Videos
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Clean energy manufacturing
Can energy-rich Pennsylvania chart a path toward decarbonization?
The pivotal swing state has run on coal, oil, and gas, but it's seeking a new era of economic growth from low-carbon industry and cleantech manufacturing. -
Nuclear
Google signs deal to use small nuclear reactors to power data centers
The tech giant is in search of a lot of 24/7 carbon-free electricity. It’s betting that a fleet of advanced reactors from Kairos can provide some of it — eventually.By Eric Wesoff
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Clean energy
Global emissions may begin declining in 2024, thanks to EVs, clean energy
New research predicts global CO2 emissions will begin to decline this year and halve by 2050. That’s not fast enough to meet climate goals.By Carrie Klein
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Policy & regulation
California could lock in disastrous dairy methane rules, advocates warn
CARB could finally regulate methane emissions from the state’s huge dairy farms and eliminate the special treatment dairy biogas gets via its clean fuel program. Or not.
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Nuclear
To meet US nuclear goals, big reactors need to get built today, DOE says
A new DOE report suggests that the path to a U.S. nuclear renaissance runs not through SMRs or fusion but the repeated construction of familiar large-scale reactors.By Eric Wesoff
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Clean energy
Chart: World could triple renewable energy by decade's end
At COP28, more than 100 countries pledged to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. That goal could still be within reach.By Dan McCarthy
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Hydrogen
Green hydrogen headwinds hit production hub, steel project in Mississippi
In a sign of challenges facing green hydrogen, Hy Stor Energy abruptly canceled an electrolyzer deal for its hub, which is set to supply SSAB’s green steel site. -
Long-duration energy storage
Form Energy raises $405M for its 100-hour iron-air batteries
The long-duration energy storage startup has raised a total of $1.2 billion. Form is expanding its West Virginia factory and working on its first deployments now.
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The clean hydrogen paradox
The world needs to complement clean electricity with some other low-carbon energy. Can hydrogen fill the gap? Canary Media kicks off a special series.
By Dan McCarthy
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Fossil fuels
Booming power demand is slowing climate progress for US utilities
Sierra Club analysis finds that U.S. utilities are planning a huge expansion of fossil-gas plants — a shift that’s incompatible with climate goals. -
Solar
New Hampshire’s low-income community solar program finally moves forward
The state energy department is reviewing seven proposals for community solar arrays that will allocate a portion of their bill credits to low-income households. -
Solar
Coal-to-solar developer BrightNight lands $440M investment
The funding from Goldman Sachs will help BrightNight to advance its 31-GW pipeline of renewables projects, including the Starfire solar farm in Kentucky. -
Policy & regulation
With new draft rules, Vermont’s clean heat standard faces murky future
Last year, Vermont became one of the first states to pass a clean heat law. Now, its regulators and lawmakers are trying to figure out how to implement the policy.By Carrie Klein
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Getting a heat pump took some effort. Here’s what I learned.
Millions of Americans will have to switch out their boilers and furnaces for heat pumps in the years to come. These are my main takeaways from getting one.
By Dan McCarthy
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Batteries
A Massachusetts town uses batteries to help its grid — and its schools
Batteries can serve double-duty, shoring up the grid and providing backup to buildings when the power goes out. This project shows how. -
Solar
Solar farms don't hurt nearby property values, new research finds
In fact, utility-scale solar projects can modestly boost property values, according to data from the Midwest. -
Energy storage
Chart: More and more rooftop solar buyers are adding home batteries
The uptick in home battery installations is yet another sign that the era of battery storage has arrived in the U.S.By Dan McCarthy
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Heat pumps
Mass. regulator orders National Grid to set lower winter rate for heat pumps
The decision instructs the state’s second-largest utility to develop a more affordable wintertime electricity rate for customers who have a heat pump.
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Chart: The policy push to electrify lawn equipment, visualized
Dozens of states and municipalities across the U.S. have passed laws that aim to shift residents away from polluting, gas-powered lawn equipment.
By Carrie Klein
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Wind
Huge New Jersey offshore wind project approved for construction
The 2.8 gigawatt Atlantic Shores project aims to start construction next year and connect to the grid by 2029. It’ll have to beat legal challenges to get there. -
Transmission
Why won’t PJM let batteries and clean power bolster a stressed-out grid?
The country’s biggest grid operator is preventing developers from adding batteries to existing projects that have extra grid space, in defiance of a federal mandate. -
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Turbocharging New York City’s Green Economy
The New York City Economic Development Corporation is cementing the city’s role as a climate leader, including a new $100M innovation hub in Brooklyn. -
Clean industry
Meta, Holcim, and other investors ink deals to clean up concrete
Tech firms and building materials giants are pouring money into startups that aim to decarbonize cement — a tricky but crucial task. -
Clean energy manufacturing
Michigan bets on EVs to revive its economy — and hopes jobs will follow
The swing state's Democratic leaders want to channel historic manufacturing prowess toward clean energy. Success will hinge on the November election. -
Policy & regulation
The $20B US ‘green bank’ program just funded its first project
An Inflation Reduction Act program meant to expand climate investment in underserved markets has its first target — a $31 million commercial solar effort in Arkansas. -
Nuclear
The hottest trend in nuclear power: Reopening shuttered plants
The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan just closed a $1.5B federal loan to reopen, the latest in a push to restart retired nuclear plants amid rising power demand.By Eric Wesoff
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Solar
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes school solar bill
SB 1374 would have let public schools follow the more lucrative rooftop solar rules for single-family homes. Without it, schools can’t afford solar, advocates say. -
Electrification
Getting a heat pump took some effort. Here’s what I learned.
Millions of Americans will have to switch out their boilers and furnaces for heat pumps in the years to come. These are my main takeaways from getting one.By Dan McCarthy
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Solar
Chart: Solar power keeps beating expectations
Energy forecasters have long underestimated the speed at which solar power is growing around the world. The trend continues.By Carrie Klein
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