Current conditions: Bushfires are burning out of control in Australia • The death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique has risen to 94 • It is 25 degrees Fahrenheit in Cleveland, Ohio, which is home to the iconic house from the film “A Christmas Story.” THE TOP FIVE 1. A quick C … | Continue reading
It is the darkest week of the year. For the lucky folks in Miami, the day still lasts a little over 10 hours; in Anchorage, it lasts less than six. In Utqiagvik, Alaska — the economic center of the North Slope’s oil operations — there is no day at all; the sun last set on Nov. 16 … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Bosnia’s capital of Sarajevo is blanketed in a layer of toxic smog • Temperatures in Perth, in Western Australia, could hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend • It is cloudy in Washington, D.C., where lawmakers are scrambling to prevent a government shutdown. … | Continue reading
Climate change is the greatest story of our time — but our time doesn’t seem to invent many great stories about climate change. Maybe it’s due to the enormity and urgency of the subject matter: Climate is “important,” and therefore conscripted to the humorless realms of journalis … | Continue reading
Permitting reform is dead in the 118th Congress. It died earlier this week, although you could be forgiven for missing it. On Tuesday, bipartisan talks among lawmakers fell apart over a bid to rewrite parts of the National Environmental Policy Act. The changes — pushed for by Rep … | Continue reading
Heatmap Pro is an insights platform providing actionable intelligence to renewable energy developers, helping them stay informed about community sentiments and regulatory trends. We are seeking a strategic and entrepreneurial VP of Sales to lead our efforts in scaling the busines … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Temperatures across western states are between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above seasonal averages • A temple in Thailand collapsed after unrelenting heavy rain • It’s hot and humid on the remote Caribbean island of Sombrero, where a lizard that was facing ex … | Continue reading
This year has reshaped the political landscape of climate action in ways few could have predicted. From the European Parliament to the US presidency, elections have upended the alliances and leadership structures that have traditionally driven climate progress. A world that as re … | Continue reading
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates at its third straight meeting — but don’t expect as many cuts next year. The Fed indicated that it expects only two quarter-point reductions in 2025, down from the four it had forecast in September, when it began its rate-cutting cycle. The … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Very windy conditions in the UK have sent wind power generation soaring but electricity prices plummeting • Strong storms are expected to bring heavy rain and possibly tornadoes to Nashville, Tennessee • It’s cloudy in Tokyo, where Nissan shares were up on the … | Continue reading
A Great Global Calamity Five years ago this month, the novel coronavirus that would eventually become known as Covid-19 began to spread in Wuhan, China, kicking off a sequence of events that quite literally changed the world as we know it, the global climate not excepted. The mos … | Continue reading
Jennifer Granholm has long been one of the most interesting figures in the Democratic Party. A former federal prosecutor, she was the governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011, leading the state during the Great Recession and subsequent auto bailout. Since 2021, she has been the 16t … | Continue reading
Robinson Meyer: Secretary Granholm, welcome to Shift Key. Jennifer Granholm: Thank you. Glad to be on. Meyer: So let’s start here. Can you just start by setting the scene for us for what the Department of Energy has done over the past few years, and what it has become? Because as … | Continue reading
The Department of Energy on Tuesday published the results of its nearly year-long analysis of the “public interest” impacts of U.S. exports of liquified natural gas. This represents the culmination of a contentious period that began in January, when the Biden administration annou … | Continue reading
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the buzziest and most well-funded company in the increasingly buzzy and well-funded fusion sector, announced today that it will build a commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia — a first for both the company and the world. CFS wi … | Continue reading
The Department of Energy on Tuesday published the results of its long-awaited analysis of the economic and environmental implications of expanding U.S. exports of liquified natural gas. The study was the culmination of a year-long process after President Biden paused approvals of … | Continue reading
Here’s something to chew on over the holiday break: The top of a car is wasted space. Sure, you can put a sunroof there to let in a little light and breeze or install a roof rack to take your surfboard to the beach. But for the most part, the roof is just a field of metal to keep … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A 7.3-magnitude earthquake caused major damage on the Pacific island of Vanuatu • Oil from damaged tankers is washing up on Russian beaches after a storm in the Black Sea • Hot, dry, and windy weather returns to parched Southern California. THE TOP FIVE 1. Wha … | Continue reading
The transition to clean energy is largely a shift from molecules to electrons — gasoline in the tank is out, electricity stored in a battery cell is in. It follows, then, that as the transition progresses, the balance of power in the energy industry will shift from oil and gas pr … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A rare tornado caused damage in Northern California over the weekend • Severe flooding continues in southern Thailand • It is chilly and cloudy in Washington, D.C., where lawmakers have reportedly decided not to include permitting reform in the year-end spendi … | Continue reading
Donald Trump hasn’t taken office yet, but the quarter of a billion dollars Elon Musk invested in Trump’s victory is already paying off in ways large and small. On Friday, Reuters reported that the Trump transition team is looking to scrap a National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis … | Continue reading
Every state would like to think itself singular but, truly, there is no place like Utah. The Beehive State has long fascinated outsiders; today, that attention is largely trained on Netflix exposés about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ballerina farmers, and Crum … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Another atmospheric river is taking aim at southern Oregon and northern California • Temperatures in southeastern Australia could reach 113 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend for the first time in four years • Nearly 50 inches of snow have been recorded in Erie, … | Continue reading
So … is the permitting reform bill any good or not? Earlier this year, Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and John Barrasso of Wyoming proposed a bill that would change federal environmental rules so as to spur a buildout of new energy infrastructure around the country. Their … | Continue reading
My biggest takeaway of this year? Bad information is breaking the energy transition – and the fake news is only getting more powerful. Across the country, we’re seeing solar, wind, and battery storage projects grind to a halt thanks to activism powered by fears of health and safe … | Continue reading
Alright, friends. It’s time for a special edition of The Fight’s Hotspots, where we walk you through what we believe were the five most important project conflicts of the year. We decided this list based on the notoriety of the fight within the renewables sector as well as whethe … | Continue reading
Today’s special Q&A is with an old source of mine, Devin Hartman, energy and environment policy director for the conservative D.C. think tank R Street. When I used to cover Congress, Devin was one of the few climate-minded conservatives willing to offer a candid, principled take … | Continue reading
I outsmarted myself the other day. The line at the Tesla Supercharger was only two or three cars deep, but none of the plugged-in vehicles looked to be in any hurry to leave. Across the lot were another company’s high-speed chargers that were newly outfitted with the NACS plug — … | Continue reading
Current conditions: The wind chill could reach -20 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago today • Red flag warnings have finally expired in Malibu • Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for Western and Central New York due to “near whiteout conditions” from a lake effec … | Continue reading
Climate tech investors have a lot to take stock of at the end of 2024. The macroeconomic environment is shaky and investment in the space is down, but there’s plenty of cash reserves lying in wait. Artificial intelligence and its attendant data center power demand may or may not … | Continue reading
Climate tech investors have a lot to take stock at the end of 2024. The macroeconomic environment is shaky and investment in the space is down, but there’s plenty of cash reserves lying in wait. Artificial intelligence and its attendant data center power demand may or may not be … | Continue reading
The United States is rapidly dividing into two camps: those that are trying to move away from using natural gas in buildings to fight climate change, and those passing “fuel choice” laws that protect consumers’ rights to keep burning it. On election day, Washington State flipped … | Continue reading
The energy giant ExxonMobil is planning a huge investment in natural gas-fired power plants that will power data centers directly, a.k.a. behind the meter, meaning they won’t have to connect to the electric grid. That will allow the fossil fuel giant to avoid making the expensive … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A bomb cyclone and atmospheric river are expected to bring “a firehose” of moisture and damaging winds to the eastern U.S. today • A former rugby star died in flooding from Storm Darragh in England • There is now a 55% chance of La Niña developing between now … | Continue reading
The Chinese electric automaker BYD is entering a new stage in its history. Last month, it sold more than half a million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. BYD has already shipped more cars this year than Ford and Honda, and it is fast coming for Volkswagen, GM, and Toyota’s c … | Continue reading
When you think of companies whose valuations are soaring due to artificial intelligence, the ones that come to mind first are probably the chip designer Nvidia, whose shares are up 180% this year, or Elon Musk’s xAI, which its investors recently valued at $50 billion. But aside f … | Continue reading
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday rocked the energy world when he promised “fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals” for “Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of Am … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A severe heat wave warning is in place for large parts of Australia’s Queensland state, where “unsettling” thunderstorms are expected • A bitter Arctic blast is heading for the Upper Midwest • An explosive wildfire is raging in Malibu, California, where at lea … | Continue reading
As soon as Donald Trump was declared the winner of November’s presidential election, climate advocates vowed to continue making progress at the state and local level. But some local projects may still depend too much on federal policy to move forward. The president-elect’s influe … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Tens of thousands of people are without power in the UK after Storm Darragh • A volcanic eruption of Mount Kanlaon in the Philippines triggered emergency evacuations • Red Flag fire warnings are in effect across Southern California as Santa Ana winds encounter … | Continue reading
The world has been very hot lately. Like, really hot. Much hotter than you might expect from climate change alone. In 2023, the global average temperature was nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above its pre-industrial level. It is nearly certain to exceed tha … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Flood waters turned streets into rivers in Tripoli, Libya • The UK’s Met Office issued a rare “red weather warning” ahead of Storm Darragh, which could bring 90 mph winds • Americans on the West Coast are breathing a sigh of relief after a tsunami warning was … | Continue reading
It would be easy to feel down about the state of electric vehicles with an avowed EV foe set to reenter the White House. Yes, the election’s fallout will no doubt reshape the car market in the years to come. But in the short term, there’s good news in the form of the new slate of … | Continue reading
Over the course of a presidential term, a mature ironwood tree will add only about four inches to its height. Unless you happen to see one during the 10 or 12 days in May that pale pink flowers cover its branches, it’s not a shrub you’re likely to call one of the Sonoran Desert’s … | Continue reading
Of the over $13 billion in loans and loan guarantees that the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office has made under Biden, nearly a third of that funding has been doled out in the month since the presidential election. And of the $41 billion in conditional commitments — agreeme … | Continue reading
Today we’re talking with Tim Brightbill, a trade attorney at Wiley Rein LLP and lead counsel for a coalition of U.S. solar cell and module manufacturers – the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. Last week, his client won a massive victory – fresh tariffs on … | Continue reading
Sourcing requirements – As we explain in our Q&A today, there’s momentum building in Washington, D.C., to attach new sourcing requirements to an IRA credit for advanced manufacturing known as 45X. 45X is supposed to supercharge production of battery and solar components, as well … | Continue reading
Queens County, New York – TotalEnergies’ first Attentive Energy offshore wind project might be the canary in the Trumpy renewables coal mine. The New York wind project in the bight has been indefinitely paused, according to TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyenne, meaning we have our … | Continue reading