With new draft rules, Vermont’s clean heat standard faces murky future

Vermont passed its Affordable Heat Act in 2023, marking the official start of the state’s transition from heating homes with fossil fuels to using cleaner alternatives instead — a shift that will be crucial to meeting state climate goals. Last week, Vermont reached a milestone in … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Coal-to-solar developer BrightNight lands $440M investment

Renewable energy developer BrightNight just closed a $440 million strategic investment from banking giant Goldman Sachs. The equity investment will help Florida-based BrightNight build out its pipeline of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects, which together represent 3 … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Solar farms don't hurt nearby property values, new research finds

A newly published study examining property values near dozens of large Midwest solar farms has found no significant negative impact — and even a slight positive effect — from the projects, according to the data. Loyola University researcher Gilbert Michaud has attended scores of … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

A Massachusetts town uses batteries to help its grid — and its schools

Some batteries serve to bolster utility power grids. Other batteries provide backup power to buildings in case the grid goes down. And sometimes, with effort and coordination, batteries can do both jobs at once. That’s what’s happening in Wakefield, Massachusetts, a town of about … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Mass. regulator orders National Grid to set lower winter rate for heat pumps

This story was first published by Energy News Network . Environmental advocates are hailing a decision by Massachusetts regulators that will give more than 1.3 million households access to lower winter electricity prices if they use a heat pump in their home. Public utilities reg … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Chart: More and more rooftop solar buyers are adding home batteries

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format. Canary thanks Clean Energy Counsel for its support of the column. Batteries are all the rage — especially among homeowners who are going solar. The percentage of peopl … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Huge New Jersey offshore wind project approved for construction

Federal regulators gave a huge, contentious offshore wind project the green light to start construction off the coast of New Jersey. Owned by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind , a 50-50 venture by Shell and EDF Renewables , the project received approval of air permits from the Enviro … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

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. | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Why won’t PJM let batteries and clean power bolster a stressed-out grid?

PJM, the largest electric grid operator in the U.S., has a major problem — old, dirty power plants are closing down faster than new clean energy resources can replace them. This mounting grid crisis is already driving up electricity costs for the 65 million people living in PJM’s … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Michigan bets on EVs to revive its economy — and hopes jobs will follow

DETROIT — In 1913, Henry Ford unveiled the moving assembly line at his Highland Park plant, reducing the time it took to make a Model T from 12 hours to 93 minutes and igniting a revolution in modern manufacturing. He later perfected the intricate choreography of worker and machi … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Meta, Holcim, and other investors ink deals to clean up concrete

The United States makes some 90 million metric tons of cement every year to bind together the nation’s concrete buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure. In the process, U.S. cement plants generate huge amounts of planet-warming emissions — equivalent to those from 16 million … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

The $20B US ‘green bank’ program just funded its first project

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund , the national green bank program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, has gotten off to a slow start — but the money has started to flow. In April, a handful of nonprofit consortiums were selected to administer the $20 billion program . These … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

The hottest trend in nuclear power: Reopening shuttered plants

The U.S. has never restarted a decommissioned nuclear reactor, but today Holtec International closed a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to do just that: The money will help finance the reopening of the 805-megawatt Palisades Nuclear Gene … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes school solar bill

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that aimed to make rooftop solar systems more affordable for school districts . The decision drew immediate rebukes from groups that say it will harm schools by preventing them from using solar to curb their rising utility bills and … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Getting a heat pump took some effort. Here’s what I learned.

Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and lives to clean electric power. Canary thanks EnergySage for its support of the column. The home inspection report painted a pretty blea … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Getting a heat pump took some effort. Here’s what I learned.

Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and lives to clean electric power. Canary thanks EnergySage for its support of the column. The home inspection report painted a pretty blea … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

How Germany outfitted half a million balconies with solar panels

This story was first published by Grist . Matthias Weyland loves having people ask about his balcony. A pair of solar panels hang from the railing, casting a sheen of dark blue against the red brick of his apartment building. They’re connected to a microinverter plugged into a wa … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Chart: Solar power keeps beating expectations

Solar is becoming predictable in its unpredictability — time and time again, experts have underestimated how much the clean energy source will grow globally. This year is no different. The price of panels has continued to plummet and their efficiency keeps rising, while deadlines … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Why Hyundai’s EV plans are going just fine despite market turbulence

The U.S. electric car market is clearly growing. Sales are rising, market penetration is increasing, and we're getting closer to the dream of emissions-free motoring. But the road is not without its potholes and speed bumps: Several major automakers, such as Ford and Volvo, have … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

The big unsettled policy question about clean hydrogen: How to use it.

U.S. clean hydrogen policy appears to be stuck in neutral — and not everyone is convinced that’s a bad thing. Last October, seven “clean hydrogen hub” projects were awarded a collective $7 billion in potential funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These massive infra … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Colorado launches first-of-a-kind landfill methane monitoring program

Landfills are the third-largest source of methane, a super-pollutant greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. While the EPA places caps on methane and other emissions from landfills, experts say that monitoring and enforcement is lar … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Big steel buyers make a request for 1M tons of green steel

Curbing carbon emissions from vehicles and buildings involves more than just ditching fossil-fuel-burning engines and boilers. It also requires cleaning up key materials such as the carbon-intensive steel used in auto body parts and construction beams. The world’s biggest users a … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Washington state’s landmark climate law faces Election Day test

Three years ago, Washington state legislators passed a landmark climate law that positioned the Evergreen State among the nation’s frontrunners in climate action. Now that status is at risk, thanks to an upcoming ballot initiative this November. The 2021 Climate Commitment Act in … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Canary Media and ENN team up to supercharge clean energy coverage

We’re used to reporting the news, not making it, but today we’ve got an announcement of our own to share: Canary Media and the Energy News Network are merging, with the goal of bringing you more of the engaging, accessible, expert journalism on the clean energy transition that yo … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Two years in, US clean energy manufacturing boom is still going strong

A sodium battery plant in North Carolina, a solar panel manufacturing facility in New Mexico, and a factory building electric sports cars in Virginia are among the $2.4 billion worth of new U.S. clean energy manufacturing projects announced in August. These investments are just t … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

California’s backlogged grid is holding up its electric truck dreams

Across California, the companies that are trying to build charging stations for electric trucks are being told that it will take years — or even up to a decade — for them to get the electricity they need. That’s because utilities are failing to build out the grid fast enough to m … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Two years in, US clean energy manufacturing boom is still going strong

A sodium battery plant in North Carolina, a solar panel manufacturing facility in New Mexico, and a factory building electric sports cars in Virginia are among the $2.4 billion worth of new U.S. clean energy manufacturing projects announced in August. These investments are just t … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Watch: Climate Night Live on Monday, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET

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@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Chart: Which states have the most electric school buses?

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format. Canary thanks Clean Energy Counsel for its support of the column. It’s back-to-school season in the U.S., and more students than ever are headed to class on electric, … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

California’s new rules will boost heat pumps in commercial buildings

California just took a big step to reduce carbon pollution from its buildings — though the state didn’t go as far as advocates wanted. Last week, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a fresh set of building energy efficiency standards , the rules the state wields to red … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Under the sea: Running Tide’s ill-fated adventure in ocean carbon removal

For the “OK, Bye” climate conference in Reykjavík, Iceland, in May 2023, participants flew in from Silicon Valley, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin. The event’s theme was the ocean, so the stage, decorated to look like a ship, was slung with crates, ropes, and red buoys, and the ba … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Big green steel project in Ohio is on again after CEO waffles

If the United States is entering its “green steel” era, then the last few days suggest the transition away from the sector’s coal-fueled furnaces is off to a bumpy start. Steelmaking is one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries. Earlier this year, the Biden administrati … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Air Company raises $69M to convert CO2 into jet fuel

Investors are betting big on Air Company’s efforts to cut carbon emissions from planes. The New York–based startup announced today that it raised $69 million in a Series B funding round led by Avfuel, an aviation fuel supplier, along with Lowercarbon Capital, IQT, Alaska Airlines … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

One way to help the grid? Smarter air conditioning for big buildings

Air conditioning is a lifesaver on hot days. It also strains the power grid, especially in big cities. Utilities and building owners alike can save money and forestall blackouts by nudging up the thermostat when a heat wave strikes, but dialing back AC use at such moments can put … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Major Ohio cities aim to cut building emissions with voluntary program

This story was originally published by Energy News Network . A federal grant will help four of Ohio’s largest cities collaborate on new voluntary building performance standards and a resource hub to help commercial building owners save energy and cut emissions. Cincinnati, Clevel … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Exowatt aims to repurpose old tech to deal with new AI power demand

FULLERTON, California — If the artificial intelligence oligarchs at Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft meet their data center expansion goals, the U.S. grid will soon strain to meet the industry’s prodigious electricity demand. That’s what has driven Miami, Florida–based Exowa … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Nippon Steel's troubled merger with U.S. Steel has climate problems too

This story was first published by Grist . U.S. Steel, once the world’s largest company of any kind, can take substantial credit for the growth of American industrial power in the 20th century. But in recent decades, it’s been shuttering mills and shedding workers. Now, the iconic … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Switching California from gas to electricity, one neighborhood at a time

Over the next few years, residents of select California neighborhoods may start getting phone calls and mailers from gas utilities and community organizers offering an unexpected proposition: Would you like to ditch gas and switch to all-electric appliances instead? That’s the fu … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Are solar water heaters worth it? Here’s what to consider.

Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and lives to clean electric power. Canary thanks EnergySage for its support of the column. Every so often in sunny Colorado, I pass by a ho … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Virginia’s bold plan to turn old coal mines into clean data centers

This story was originally published by Energy News Network . Will Payne and Will Clear are all too aware of the skeptics. But those doubters only fuel the duo’s vision for Southwest Virginia. The former Virginia state energy office bureaucrats turned private-sector consultants ha … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Chart: Texas plans to build the most clean energy of any state

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format. Canary thanks Clean Energy Counsel for its support of the column. Texas has become an all-around clean energy juggernaut, thanks to its lax permitting regime, fast gri … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Cans to car parts: Inside the complex, crucial world of aluminum recycling

On a muggy summer day in an industrial stretch of Brooklyn, New York, Josefa Marín stood in a sea of empty aluminum cans, methodically sorting the tall green Heinekens from blue-and-silver Red Bulls and bright red Coca-Colas. She put the different brands into separate garbage bag … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

How $7.3B will help rural co-ops build clean power—and close coal plants

Rural electric cooperatives, which bring electricity to the most sparsely populated parts of the country, are getting their biggest federal investment since the New Deal — and this time around, the money is going to help fight climate change. Last week, the Biden administration a … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Cans to car parts: Inside the complex, crucial world of aluminum recycling

This article is part of a two-part reporting project on decarbonizing aluminum production. Read our story on Kentucky's green smelter dreams here . On a muggy summer day in an industrial stretch of Brooklyn, New York, Josefa Marín stood in a sea of empty aluminum cans, methodical … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Massachusetts cities embrace voluntary green building codes

This story was first published by Energy News Network . A year and a half since Massachusetts introduced an optional new building code aimed at lowering fossil fuel use, climate activists are heartened by how quickly cities and towns are adopting the new guidelines. The new code, … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

Here’s a blueprint for building virtual power plants in every state

Rooftop solar, backup batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats and appliances are all crucial to the energy transition in their own right. But if utilities are able to combine these distributed energy technologies together to form so-called virtual power plants , the r … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

A new green aluminum plant could bring jobs — and clean energy — to Kentucky

ASHLAND, Kentucky — When John Holbrook first started working as a pipefitter in the early 1990s, jobs were easy to come by in his corner of northeastern Kentucky. A giant iron and steel mill routinely needed maintenance and repair work, as did the coal “coking” ovens next to it. … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago

California could cut utility bills with distributed energy. Why isn’t it?

California policymakers are searching for ways to rein in the cost of expanding the state’s power grid, which is necessary to combat climate change. Experts warn they’re missing an opportunity that’s right in front of them — taking advantage of the growing number of clean energy … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 1 year ago