Clean energy
Why It’s Time to Officially Get Over Your EV Range Anxiety
Electric vehicle batteries keep getting larger, and the typical driving range between charges keeps growing. The shift is partly a response to “range anxiety”—the fear of being stranded because EV batteries don’t have enough power to get to the next charging station—an idea so familiar in discussions of electric vehicles that it was spoofed in […]
Read MoreWhat Is Permitting Reform? Here’s a Primer on the Drive to Fast Track Energy Projects—Both Clean and Fossil Fuel
The construction of a new interstate power line near Phoenix has become the latest symbol in the debate over federal permitting reform. At a groundbreaking ceremony last month for the Ten West Link transmission line, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the project for what it means for the fight against climate change. “To create our […]
Read MoreWhat Lego—Yes, Lego—Can Teach Us About Avoiding Energy Project Boondoggles
In the late 1980s, Denmark’s government announced plans for a massive bridge and tunnel project, the largest infrastructure plan in the history of a country that had little experience building tunnels. Bent Flyvbjerg watched the announcement on the news with his father, who had worked in bridge and tunnel construction. “Bad idea,” his father said. […]
Read MoreMinnesota Is Poised to Pass an Ambitious 100 Percent Clean Energy Bill. Now About Those Incinerators…
A bill that would require Minnesota’s utilities to generate 100 percent clean energy by 2040 passed in the House last week and is expected to be signed into law in the coming weeks. The legislation garnered wide support from environmental advocacy groups, who succeeded in pushing some provisions in favor of communities disproportionately burdened by […]
Read MoreNew Wind and Solar Are Cheaper Than the Costs to Operate All But One Coal-Fired Power Plant in the United States
A coal-fired plant near Gillette, Wyoming stands alone in the nation on one measure of economic viability—a positive distinction for that plant, but a damning one for coal-fired electricity in general. Dry Fork Station, with generating capacity of 405 megawatts, is the only coal plant in the country that costs less to operate than it […]
Read MoreWhen Will We Hit Peak Fossil Fuels? Maybe We Already Have
The global energy transition has reached a pivot point in which fossil fuels have likely peaked in their use for producing electricity and are about to enter a period of decline. This is the idea at the heart of a new report from RMI, a nonprofit that does research and advocacy about the transition. The […]
Read MoreTexas Project Will Use Wind to Make Fuel Out of Water
Oil made Texas an energy giant, but even this petroleum powerhouse is working hard to secure a footing beyond fossil fuels. It already generates more wind energy than any other U.S. state, and soon the mighty air that lashes its high plains will power a novel new process: the production of vehicle fuel from water. […]
Read MoreThe EPA Is Helping School Districts Purchase Clean-Energy School Buses, But Some Districts Have Been Blocked From Participating
WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program has hit a speed bump. Part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year, the program will provide $5 billion over the next five years to help school districts switch to clean energy school buses. However, some districts are blocked from participating due to the EPA’s requirement […]
Read MoreFour Big Things to Expect in Clean Energy in 2023
In 2023, the country’s first super-size offshore wind farms will come online, or at least get close to it. U.S. sales of electric vehicles will continue to accelerate, likely hitting 1 million units per year for the first time. And, state lawmakers in Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota are poised to pass climate and clean […]
Read MoreIn the End, Solar Power Opponents Prevail in Williamsport, Ohio
This story is the sixth part of a series about the conflict over solar power in rural Midwestern communities, reported in partnership with ABC News. WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio—Local opponents have succeeded in killing plans for a solar array in rural Ohio that now becomes one of the largest renewable energy projects in the country canceled because […]
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