For some reason, people keep moving to Phoenix. The population of Maricopa County, which includes the city and its suburbs, was over 4.4 million in the 2020 Census, double what it had been 30 years before. This is despite the fact that you run the risk of bursting into flames sim … | Continue reading
Current conditions: More than 100 people are dead in the Philippines following flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Trami • A low-pressure area in the southwest Caribbean could develop into Hurricane Patty as the storm season enters its final month • New York City’s r … | Continue reading
Last year, New York City went shopping for 10,000 induction stoves so it could ditch gas in its public housing. Now it's ready to make a purchase. The New York Power Authority and NYC Housing Authority have selected Copper, a Berkeley, California-based startup that was formerly k … | Continue reading
In 2022, the Arizona Republic published a sentence many Democrats had dreamed of reading for decades: “Arizona,” the paper announced, “is a blue state.” At the time, it felt true. In 2020, Joe Biden won the Grand Canyon State — only the second time a Democrat had done so since Ar … | Continue reading
In 2022, the Arizona Republic published a sentence many Democrats had dreamed of reading for decades: “Arizona,” the paper announced, “is a blue state.” At the time, it felt true. In 2020, Joe Biden won the Grand Canyon State — only the second time a Democrat had done so since Ar … | Continue reading
Tesla got to thump its chest this week. In a Wednesday earnings call with investors, CEO Elon Musk and company shared better-than-expected sales and financial numbers for the third quarter of 2024. That good news caused the electric vehicle-maker’s stock to rebound following what … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Tropical Storm Dana touched down in India with 70 mile-per-hour winds, causing 600,000 people to be evacuated • Parts of the Northwestern U.S. and Canada’s British Columbia may see snow this weekend • Dallas is on track for its second-hottest October on record … | Continue reading
For as long as I’ve been an energy reporter, I’ve been asked a scoffing question by moderates and conservatives: If Democrats really cared about climate change, shouldn’t they embrace nuclear power? It’s a fair question. Nuclear energy, after all, can produce vast amounts of elec … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Tropical Storm Trami brought widespread flooding to the Philippines, killing at least 24 people • The Southwestern U.S. is experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures as high as 25 degrees Fahrenheit above normal • The three NASA astronauts stuck at the Interna … | Continue reading
When Zara Bode, a musician from Brooklyn, New York, first walked into the old seven-bedroom Victorian in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, it just felt right. Her husband, also a traveling musician, had grown up nearby. “You walk in this house and you’re like, oh, there’s a good vib … | Continue reading
On November 5, voters in a handful of states will cast their ballots not just for their next president and state and local lawmakers, but also for the members of an obscure body with outsized influence on the country’s energy mix. It’s called a public utilities commission. Every … | Continue reading
An hour northwest of San Antonio, Texas, the small town of Bandera is home to fewer than 1,000 people. Complete with old-timey heritage buildings from the Old West, the town markets itself as a ranching tourism destination and the “cowboy capital of the world.” And some residents … | Continue reading
1. Madison County, Ohio – All eyes are now on the Ohio Supreme Court, after opponents of the nation’s largest agri-voltaics project – Savion’s Oak Run solar farm – yesterday formally appealed a key approval from the state Power Siting Board. We’ve previously explored how the figh … | Continue reading
1. Offshore wind completion – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management finished its environmental review for more offshore wind off the coast of New York and New Jersey – an area relevant to the recently-submitted Community Offshore Wind joint venture between RWE and National Grid. … | Continue reading
With the election approaching, I wanted to talk to the smartest person I could find to explain how the election could affect the Inflation Reduction Act and ultimately renewable energy development. So I hit up Jason Clark, who was until recently chief strategy officer for America … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Cyclone Dana, currently over the Bay of Bengal, is set to touch down in eastern India tomorrow • Parts of Texas will see record-breaking or near record-breaking temperatures today and tomorrow • The state of Connecticut is under a red flag warning, with dry co … | Continue reading
Over the past two months, the country’s biggest tech companies have announced a flurry of deals with advanced and conventional nuclear companies. At the same time, Democratic candidates running for federal office — including Kamala Harris and a handful of Senate candidates — have … | Continue reading
If you look at the polls, the presidential election — now exactly two weeks away — is very close. If you listen to the prognosticators, Trump has a slight edge. And if you look at the markets, whether prediction markets or Wall Street, Trump’s chances are looking pretty good, wit … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Tropical Storm Trami is taking aim at the Philippines • Heavy downpours triggered severe flooding in South Africa’s Eastern Cape • The southern Alaskan mainland is bracing for a major storm system that is expected to bring high winds and flooding. THE TOP FIVE … | Continue reading
Arbor Energy might have the flashiest origin story in cleantech. After the company’s CEO, Brad Hartwig, left SpaceX in 2018, he attempted to craft the ideal resume for a future astronaut, his dream career. He joined the California Air National Guard, worked as a test pilot at the … | Continue reading
If you are one of the more than 2 billion people on Earth who have inhaled wildfire smoke, then you know firsthand that it is nasty stuff. It makes your eyes sting and your throat sore and raw; breathe in smoke for long enough, and you might get a headache or start to wheeze. May … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Record rainfall triggered flooding in Roswell, New Mexico, that killed at least two people • Storm Ashley unleashed 80 mph winds across parts of the U.K. • A wildfire that broke out near Oakland, California, on Friday is now 85% contained. THE TOP FIVE 1. Hurr … | Continue reading
When Hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through the Southeast, small-government conservatives demanded fast and effective government service, in the form of relief operations organized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Yet even as the agency was scrambling to meet the n … | Continue reading
Twenty years ago, you could still get away with calling Redmond, Washington, an equestrian town. White fences parceled off ranches and hobby farms where horses grazed under dripping evergreen trees; you could buy live chicks, alfalfa, and Stetson hats in stores downtown. It wasn’ … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Fire weather in California has prompted intentional power cuts for more than 5,000 PG&E customers • Large parts of central and northern Italy are flooded after heavy rains • The eastern U.S. will see “tranquil and near seasonable” weather this weekend. THE TOP … | Continue reading
Imagine you’re a corporate sustainability exec and your company is planning to build a new data center. You’ve managed to convince the higher-ups to pay extra to use low-carbon building materials, lest the project blow up your brand’s emissions goals. But when you meet with the g … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Parts of southwest France are flooded after heavy rains • Sydney’s Bondi Beach is closed because lumps of toxic tar are washing ashore • A winter storm warning is in effect for parts of Montana. THE TOP FIVE 1. Report: Large chunk of World Bank climate funds u … | Continue reading
The Supreme Court allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with its rule restricting climate pollution from power plants on Wednesday, meaning that one of the Biden administration’s key climate policies can stay in place. For now. The high court’s decision will … | Continue reading
In 2021, top elected officials in New York state promised that Plug Power, a nascent company in the growing hydrogen industry, would build a large hydrogen fuel production facility in the Buffalo-Rochester area. It was supposed to make the state an industry leader. Today, the pro … | Continue reading
1. San Diego County, California – The battery backlash just got stronger after the city of Escondido, California, indefinitely banned permits to the entire sector in reaction to a battery fire last month. Last week, the city council enacted a 45-day moratorium on permits to const … | Continue reading
IRA on the mind – The renewable energy ecosystem is starting to really sound alarm bells about the November election and the risks of what they’re calling a “clean energy plan repeal” – e.g. scrapping IRA credits and carbon pollution rules. Yesterday, the nonprofit E2 released a … | Continue reading
This week’s conversation is with Ray Long, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy, or ACORE. A representative of one of Washington’s most influential climate tech policy trade groups, Long is also a seasoned veteran of the energy sector across fossil and ca … | Continue reading
First it was Microsoft and Constellation restarting Three Mile Island, then it was Google announcing it would buy power from small modular reactors built by Kairos. Now today, Amazon has said it’s investing in X-energy, the small modular reactor and fuel company, and supporting a … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Snow is falling in the mountains of North Carolina, where many are still without power • Severe weather warnings are in effect for nearly half of Australia • A coral bleaching alert has been issued for the eastern Caribbean, where the coral face a risk of “nea … | Continue reading
What’s next for the Biden administration — and for climate policy in the United States? Should Democrats negotiate with Republicans over permitting reform, even if it means making concessions to fossil fuel interests? And how should the country’s trade policy handle the problem o … | Continue reading
Early this morning, the International Energy Agency released its annual World Energy Outlook. And while the Paris-based agency says the world should certainly be concerned about rising electricity demand overall, it also conveys (not quite in so many words) that perhaps we should … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Severe flooding in Sri Lanka has closed schools and forced thousands from their homes • The U.K. could be warmer than Spain this week • It will be 95 degrees Fahrenheit today in Phoenix, which just marked 20 consecutive days of record heat. THE TOP FIVE 1. Acc … | Continue reading
American electricity consumption is growing for the first time in generations. And though low-carbon technologies such as solar and wind have scaled impressively over the past decade, many observers are concerned that all this new demand will provide “a lifeline for more fossil f … | Continue reading
This year’s Economics Nobel is not a climate prize — that happened in 2018, when Yale economist William Nordhaus won the prize for his work on modeling the effects of climate change and economic growth together, providing the intellectual basis for carbon taxation and more genera … | Continue reading
Starting this month, the tens of millions of Americans who browse the real-estate listings website Zillow will encounter a new type of information. In addition to disclosing a home’s square footage, school district, and walkability score, Zillow will begin to tell users about its … | Continue reading
Oil giants Exxon and Chevron are among a group of energy companies that could receive up to $1.2 billion in federal funding to make so-called “clean” hydrogen in Texas. Their proposal to produce the clean-burning fuel using natural gas and carbon capture, in addition to other met … | Continue reading
Millions of Americans first met Washington, D.C., resident Taylor Krause when she appeared on Netflix’s dating show “Love Is Blind.” The series frames getting engaged as a type of matching problem, where contestants talk to each other, fall in love, and get engaged before they me … | Continue reading
Current conditions: The U.K. government is warning people to prepare for flooding this winter • Hurricane forecasters are keeping a watchful eye on another storm lurking in the Atlantic • The Orionid meteor shower will peak this week, but a bright moon is likely to reduce visibil … | Continue reading
As the southeastern U.S. recovers from hurricanes Helene and Milton, the destruction the storms have left behind serves to underline the obvious: The need for technologies that support climate change adaptation and resilience is both real and urgent. And while nearly all the mone … | Continue reading
Current conditions: England just had its one of its worst crop harvests ever due to extreme rainfall last winter • Nevada and Arizona could see record-breaking heat today, while freeze warnings are in effect in four northeastern states • The death toll from Hurricane Milton has c … | Continue reading
After the storm, we rebuild. That’s the mantra repeated by residents, businesses and elected officials after any big storm. Hurricane Milton may have avoided the worst case scenario of a direct hit on the Tampa Bay area, but communities south of Tampa experienced heavy flooding j … | Continue reading
In the coming days and weeks, as Floridians and others in storm-ravaged communities clean up from Hurricane Milton, trucks will carry all manner of storm-related detritus — chunks of buildings, fences, furniture, even cars — to the same place all their other waste goes: the local … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Large parts of Pennsylvania are under a frost advisory today and tomorrow • The remnants of Hurricane Kirk killed at least one person in France • A severe solar storm is expected to hit Earth today. THE TOP FIVE 1. Hurricane Milton moves toward Atlantic after … | Continue reading