US awards $28M for cutting-edge tech to clean up iron and steel

A new infusion of federal funding will support some of the most cutting-edge efforts to decarbonize the dirty steel industry. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy selected 13 projects in nine states to receive a total of $28 million through its Advanced Research Projects Ag … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

US awards $28M for cutting-edge tech to clean up iron and steel

A new infusion of federal funding will support some of the most cutting-edge efforts to decarbonize the dirty steel industry. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy selected 13 projects in nine states to receive a total of $28 million through its Advanced Research Projects Ag … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

This new tool makes it easier to crunch the costs of energy upgrades

A new free tool for contractors and other energy professionals aims to pin down the economic and climate benefits of electrifying homes and commutes — a calculation typically hard to come by. While figuring out the upfront costs of upgrades such as heat pumps is routine for energ … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

The Biden admin has a plan to get more mileage out of the power grid

How can the U.S. plug more solar and wind power into the grid and meet fast-growing electricity demand when it doesn’t have enough power lines to handle all those tasks? A good start would be to adopt technologies that help get more mileage out of existing power grids, according … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

This boat runs on 100% renewables. Can it help clean up bigger ships?

NEW YORK CITY — Climbing aboard the Energy Observer requires actually climbing on and over an array of cutting-edge clean energy solutions. The French research vessel recently arrived at a small Manhattan marina on the Hudson River. For the past seven years, Energy Observer has t … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Is the country’s e-scooter experiment working? The results are mixed

This story was first published by Grist . When the sharing economy took off in the 2010s and upended entire industries, the firmest proponents of the model heralded it as an economic revolution that would help slash emissions. Of all the ideas that emerged and dissolved over the … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

California’s rooftop solar policies threaten progress on climate

When California undercut its own rooftop solar market one year ago, it surrendered a crucial tool for achieving its ambitious climate goals. For the last two decades, California set the national standard for clean energy policy. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, jumps … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Better heat pumps for commercial buildings are coming soon

The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a program to turbocharge the manufacture and deployment of next-generation heat pumps for commercial buildings. Heat pumps aren’t just for homes. They can help decarbonize big-box stores, schools, grocery shops, offices, hospitals and ho … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

California derailed its booming rooftop solar buildout. Can it be fixed?

California state Senator Josh Becker is worried that the Golden State is undermining a pillar of its clean energy transition: distributed solar power. Though California has more large-scale solar and battery projects than just about any other state, smaller-scale energy — primari … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Nexamp nabs $520M to build community solar across the US

Nexamp , a community solar developer and project owner, has secured a whopping $520 million to install solar arrays around the nation in one of the largest capital raises to date for this growing sector. Community solar gives renters, small businesses and organizations the chance … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Chart: Which US states generate the most solar and wind energy?

Renewable energy is surging remarkably in the U.S., with solar and wind power installations springing up across the country. A new report from Climate Central tracks the meteoric growth of these clean energy sources over the past decade, painting a clear picture of which states a … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

More demand, more gas: Inside the Southeast’s dirty power push

Utilities across the U.S. Southeast are claiming that a massive buildout of data centers and factories will force them to construct gigawatts of new fossil gas-fired power plants over the coming decade — a fleet large enough and dirty enough to potentially put U.S. climate goals … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

From the UN to AES, how Madelka McCalla found her calling

Canary Media’s Charging Up column chronicles gender diversity and notable career moves in the climatetech sector. Got a person or event you’d like to see us cover or a hot job tip? Let us know! Madelka McCalla: A resilient leader with a toolbox full of tools Madelka McCalla is ch … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

A big update from our newsroom

Dear readers, It’s Canary Media’s birthday — we’re now 3 years old! But wait, that’s not the big news. This is: After three years under the umbrella of RMI, Canary Media is now in the process of spinning out to become a wholly independent organization. Can you make a gift today t … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

How the essential, dirty steel industry is going green

PHILADELPHIA — Steel is an essential building block of modern society, used in bridges and buildings, transmission towers, wind turbines, electric cars and so much more. It’s also made using extremely dirty processes. Traditional steelmaking contributes up to 9 percent of global … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Texas got more electricity from solar than coal last month

The Texas clean energy juggernaut hit a new milestone as the state’s solar production outpaced coal-fired generation over an entire month for the first time. For years, coal and fossil gas ruled the competitive ERCOT market, which supplies power to almost all of Texas. A decade a … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

The first all-electric tugboat in the US is about to launch

With their roaring diesel engines, tugboats push, pull and guide much larger vessels into port and out to sea. They are small but mighty — and incredibly dirty , spewing huge amounts of toxic exhaust and planet-warming emissions every year. Now, however, the humble harbor craft i … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Solar and wind power have surged wildly in the US over the last decade

This story was first published by Grist . When you live far from the sprawling fields befitting utility-scale solar and wind farms, it’s easy to feel like clean energy isn’t coming online fast enough. But renewables have grown at a staggering rate since 2014 and now account for 2 … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

The hydrogen companies pushing for strict subsidy rules

This story was first published by Energy News Network . The term “clean energy” often brings to mind gleaming solar panels, spinning wind turbines or water surging through a hydroelectric dam. Few people would imagine dark salt caverns a mile underground, but these geologic forma … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Selling used EVs is tricky business. These companies are making it work

Electric vehicles are making serious inroads in new car sales. Nearly 1.2 million new EVs were sold in the U.S. last year, breaking yet another record. But most Americans don’t buy new cars; they buy used ones — and as it stands, the market for used EVs is in a weird place. On th … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Chart: Tesla’s EV charging lead isn’t going anywhere

Tesla had a disappointing quarter with its first EV sales decline in almost four years, but while inventory and pricing trends are not currently in Tesla’s favor, it does appear to have at least one sustainable advantage: its fast-charging network. Competitors may be starting to … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

EPA’s new $20B ‘green bank’ will benefit disadvantaged communities most

How can $20 billion in federal funding unleash hundreds of billions of dollars in private-sector financing for clean energy, transportation and housing — and expand access to all of those things for disadvantaged communities across the country? Jessie Buendia, vice president of s … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Will a heat pump save you money? It depends

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. Heat pumps are undisputed winners for the climate . But what about for your wallet? Well, it depends. Tha … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

This California city is trading an old gas plant for a giant grid battery

MENIFEE, California — For a decade, twin smokestacks loomed against the bright blue skies of Menifee, in Southern California’s Inland Empire. But the old gas combustion plant came down, and on the flat industrial site it left behind an army of batteries is now being assembled. Wh … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

US Steel plant in Indiana to host a $150M carbon capture experiment

Martin Keighley, CEO of CarbonFree , thinks his carbon capture company offers a "unique proposition" compared to its competitors: It can actually make money, today. On Wednesday, the San Antonio, Texas-based company announced its first large-scale effort to prove that proposition … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

US landfills emit way more methane than previously thought

This story was first published by Grist . A landfill is a place of perpetual motion, where mountains of garbage rise in days and crews race to contain the influx of ever more trash. Amid the commotion, an invisible gas often escapes unnoticed, warming the planet and harming our h … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Burying plant waste removes CO2 from the air. But can it scale?

In Arkansas, millions of acres of spindly pines and hardwood trees are logged every year to make plywood, planks and paper, a process that generates plenty of bark, sawdust and other woody waste. Still more land across the state is carpeted by low and grassy rice crops, which lea … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

California’s new rules allow solar and batteries to help out the grid

For years, utilities have grappled with how to handle the ever-growing number of solar and battery systems trying to connect to the lower-voltage grids that deliver power to customers. That’s especially true for midsize projects like, say, a solar array that might adorn the roof … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

New DOE-backed projects tackle factory emissions with heat pumps and more

Last week the Biden administration awarded a whopping $6 billion to efforts to decarbonize heavy industrial sectors. About $500 million of that windfall will be allocated to projects tackling the most common source of industrial carbon emissions — generating the heat needed to ma … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

These startups help busy contractors get electrification rebates faster

Rebates are a cornerstone of the bid to electrify the roughly 115 million U.S. homes that still need to ditch fossil-fuel equipment to meet climate targets. Utilities already offer more than an estimated $2 billion in residential efficiency and electrification rebates across Nort … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

California regulator takes income-based electric bills off the table

The controversial plan to require California’s three biggest utilities to start charging their customers based on how much money they make has been shelved by state regulators — at least for now. Instead, the California Public Utilities Commission is proposing a less radical — if … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Chart: Which states support community-led clean energy the most?

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format. Local policies can either help or hinder community-led clean energy solutions — but according to a new report, most states are doing more hindering than helping. This … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 7 months ago

Michigan nuclear plant aims to be first ever to reopen in US

Holtec, a manufacturer of nuclear reactor equipment, has an unprecedented plan to restart the shuttered Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Thanks to a conditional loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, that plan is now $1.52 billion closer to … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Geothermal cuts emissions and costs at these Minnesota public schools

This story was first published by Energy News Network . Geothermal heating and cooling is emerging as a go-to technology for Minnesota school district St. Paul Public Schools as it seeks to renovate aging facilities in line with the district’s climate action plan. Minnesota’s sec … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

As Europe shifts to clean energy, does it still need so much US LNG?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 fundamentally changed the energy landscape in Europe, as Germany, France and their neighbors scrambled to ditch Russian fossil fuels. The effort showed how quickly a modern economy can change its energy sources when it really tries. L … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Video: How the US fell in love with fossil gas — and LNG

A decade ago, the U.S. barely sent any of its natural gas overseas — but as of last year, it became the largest exporter of the leak-prone, planet-warming gas in the world. How did we get here? To really answer that question, we’ve got to go back in time, to an era when coal was … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

The 'clean cement' projects getting $1.5B in Biden admin funds

Cement-making accounts for roughly 8 percent of global human-caused carbon emissions — an enormous climate footprint that will take nothing short of a full transformation to curb. This week, the U.S. cement industry got a big jolt of federal funding to help it along that path. On … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

This Kentucky coal mine could transform into pumped-hydro grid storage

The vision of converting coal country into a clean energy powerhouse looms large in the American energy transition. Politicians love to tout the possibility, and climate advocates see it as crucial for a just transition that avoids leaving populations behind as coal power fades a … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

US pledges up to $1B for two pioneering 'green steel' projects

The Biden administration’s latest initiative to clean up heavy industries could usher in a new era for one of the dirtiest sectors of all: iron and steel. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $6 billion for commercial-scale projects that aim to demonstrate tec … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Homes need to electrify. New building codes will make that harder

Building codes are an often-overlooked tool in fighting climate change. But last week, a little-known nonprofit group that sets building codes used across most of the U.S. decided to make them a lot less helpful in that fight — largely to serve the interests of the fossil gas ind … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Biden admin invests $6B to cut carbon from steel, cement — and snacks

U.S. factories making industrial essentials like steel, aluminum, cement, chemicals — and even household staples like ice cream and mac and cheese — are about to get a whole lot cleaner. On Monday, the Biden administration awarded $6 billion for demonstration projects that aim to … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Geothermal is the hottest thing in clean energy. Here’s why

Earth’s interior contains an inexhaustible supply of heat, its many layers continuously warmed by the furnace-like core of our planet. For millennia, humans have tapped into this abundance for cooking food and keeping warm. More recently, over the last century, countries have har … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Celina Mikolajczak was working on batteries before they were even a thing

Canary Media’s Charging Up column chronicles gender diversity and notable career moves in the climatetech sector. Got a person or event you’d like to see us cover or a hot job tip? Let us know! Celina Mikolajczak: Battery industry veteran and expert Celina Mikolajczak is chief ba … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Chart: Methane emissions are a problem. Where do they come from?

Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format. Combating climate change is so often synonymous with reducing carbon dioxide emissions that you might forget all about the other gas that’s baking the planet: methane, … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

Ohio greenlights massive solar, storage and agrivoltaics project

The Ohio Power Siting Board has given the go-ahead to what will be one of the largest solar farms in the United States, despite the opposition of local governments and citizens. The gigantic $1 billion endeavor, the largest solar project in the state by far, will spread over 6,00 … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

How to electrify trucking in the US, one step at a time

The U.S. doesn’t need massive truck charging depots on every major highway to meet federal climate goals. It just needs enough on the right highways — the ones where electric trucks are poised to take off the earliest — at the right time. That’s why the Biden administration has l … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

The evolution of utility-scale solar inverters in the US

An interactive data visualization brought to you by Sungrow. | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago

A Boston grocery store is bringing community solar to a low-income area

This story was first published by Energy News Network . A group of energy-equity advocates in Boston is launching a community solar cooperative they say could be a scalable model for both reducing carbon emissions and building wealth in disadvantaged communities. The Boston Commu … | Continue reading


@canarymedia.com | 8 months ago