Canary Media | Covering the clean energy transition

Construction workers on orange cherry pickers amid scaffolding near a data center wall being built

Data centers

Data centers are officially shaping election season

Data center opponents are winning primaries, and governors are instituting moratoriums — but will the action last beyond Election Day?

By Kathryn Krawczyk

Virtual power plants

Federal ruling hands virtual power plants a win in PJM

By Jeff St. John

Electrical wires are seen going from a pole to people's homes, shot from below, with a blue sky

Solar

Solar on storage units? Here’s how Illinois is making it happen.

By Kari Lydersen

Utilities

3 ways to fix California’s utility spending problem — if lawmakers act

By Jeff St. John

Electric vehicles

Your gas car works fine. Consider an EV anyway.

Swapping your gas car for an electric vehicle is a climate win in almost all cases, says a new study, which even “tipped the scales” against EVs.

By Tik Root, Grist

Light blue VW van parked at a white dealership with a US flag flying

Energy storage

Home battery installations climb despite loss of federal incentives

By Dan McCarthy
Heat pumps

World’s oldest cheddar-maker slashes energy bills with novel heat pumps

By Alison F. Takemura
Wind

Huge new turbines could let biggest UK wind farm do more with less

By Julian Spector

Regional spotlight:

Northeast

Clean energy news from the Northeastern U.S.

Massachusetts embraces backyard homes as housing and climate solution

The state needs more housing, fast. ADUs offer a path forward — and their compact, sometimes all-electric designs offer lower energy bills and carbon emissions.

By Sarah Shemkus

‘It’ll take more’: CFS nets another $1B to chase nuclear fusion dream

Inside of a fusion reactor facility with white walls and multicolored equipment

Solar-powered EV carshare pilot launches in Massachusetts

Red hatchback Zipcar parked and plugged in under a solar canopy held up with a curved white "arm"

Startup offers low-cost home batteries to Massachusetts residents

Three Tesla batteries hanging on a wood wall

Massachusetts bill would end a costly gas pipeline repair program

Hard-hatted worker below concrete ground next to yellow ladderw

Fossil fuels

Trump’s DOE keeps forcing coal plants to stay open. Here’s the latest.

We’re tracking the seven fossil-fuel plants the Trump admin has required to operate past their retirement dates — and which facilities could be hit next.

By Ysabelle Kempe
Wind

The Pentagon's wind farm blockade is over — for now

A federal judge issued yet another blow to Trump’s war on wind, ruling that the Defense Department must resume its review of onshore wind permit applications.

By Dan McCarthy
Offshore wind

Why Trump’s claim that offshore wind is a security risk is ‘ludicrous’

Offshore wind farms not only pose no threat — they provide national security benefits, in addition boosting the grid and economy, according to military experts.

By Sarah Shemkus
Nuclear

Nuclear startup Oklo splits its first atoms in test reactor

It’s a demonstration of the tech Oklo will use for its medical isotope business — not power plants — but marks a milestone nonetheless for the buzzy firm.

By Alexander C. Kaufman

Chart of the week

California was mostly solar-powered in May — a global first

No major economy had previously received over half its electricity from solar across an entire month. Thank the mild, sunny spring weather, and batteries.

By Dan McCarthy

Solar is having its best summer yet in Europe

Nuclear energy could be in for a big decade

Trump’s clean energy attacks are costing the US jobs

Data centers use more power in the US than in any other country

Politics

Trump is blocking billions of dollars of grants that would fix the grid

The Department of Energy has canceled or stalled funding for thousands of projects that would improve the country’s stressed grid — and not just in blue states.

By Jeff St. John
Green steel

Ohio steel giant aims to use Biden climate funds for polluting project

Cleveland-Cliffs got $500M for a big green-steel push. Under Trump, the firm is “rescoping” to work that perpetuates coal use and will boost local pollution.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski
Sponsored

The Missing Link to VPP Success? Customer Knowledge.

A new Franklin Energy report reveals how widespread customer confusion about home energy technologies could limit virtual power plant adoption — and what utilities can do to close the knowledge gap.
Data centers

PJM’s big new data center plan: Make the states figure it out

Grid operator PJM wants states and utilities to hold data centers responsible for buying their own power — or risk being cut off from grid service.

By Jeff St. John
Batteries

Base Power raises $1B to get big batteries into more homes

The startup, newly valued at $13 billion, is now manufacturing batteries in Texas. It offers an affordable way for homeowners to get backup power and it helps the grid too.

By Julian Spector
Climatetech finance

Court rules against Trump EPA’s freeze of $20B in ‘green bank’ funds

A federal appeals court finds the EPA acted improperly in terminating grants to boost clean energy projects. The Trump administration may appeal to the Supreme Court.

By Jeff St. John
Nuclear

Microreactor startup Valar Atomics raises $1B

Valar, which has been called “the Trump administration’s favorite nuclear startup,” faces a steep path to realizing its vision — even with a giant funding round.

By Alexander C. Kaufman
Data centers

Data centers take center stage in Wisconsin governor’s race

As the AI buildout spikes energy demand, Democrats and one Republican offer solutions ranging from ramping up clean energy to instituting ratepayer protections.

By Kari Lydersen
Geothermal

How to bring a geothermal well back from the dead

Startup Zanskar has created one of the most productive geothermal wells in the U.S. by squeezing more life out of a power plant that had been in decline for years.

By Molly Taft

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Rural America & The Clean Energy Transition at Climate Week NYC

Canary Live Bay Area

Beyond Compliance: Turning Building Performance Standards into a Long-Term Facility Strategy

Behind the Meter: A Research-Backed Guide to Electrification and Customer Participation

Northeast Freight Corridor Charging Plan

Data centers are officially shaping election season

Federal ruling hands virtual power plants a win in PJM

Solar on storage units? Here’s how Illinois is making it happen.

3 ways to fix California’s utility spending problem — if lawmakers act

Your gas car works fine. Consider an EV anyway.

Home battery installations climb despite loss of federal incentives

World’s oldest cheddar-maker slashes energy bills with novel heat pumps

Huge new turbines could let biggest UK wind farm do more with less

Editor's picks

1 Here’s how offshore wind helped New England beat record heat

2 The US clean energy boom will continue to 2030. Then things get hazy.

3 Hawaiʻi committed to 100% clean energy. Now it’s flirting with natural gas.

4 Trump’s ​‘big, beautiful’ law was supposed to kill clean energy. It didn’t.

5 Installing a heat pump might increase the value of your home

US aluminum is poised for a comeback — if it overcomes these hurdles

In Puerto Rico, Trump admin backs big battery project but snubs solar

Why Illinois has struggled to turn old coal sites into solar farms

Trump’s war on offshore wind is robbing a generation of workers

In North Carolina, rooftop solar is alive and well despite headwinds

Trump launched big new solar tariffs. Here's what it means.

Can Ford’s affordable new electric truck hit the sweet spot?

Regional spotlight:

Massachusetts embraces backyard homes as housing and climate solution

‘It’ll take more’: CFS nets another $1B to chase nuclear fusion dream

Solar-powered EV carshare pilot launches in Massachusetts

Startup offers low-cost home batteries to Massachusetts residents

Massachusetts bill would end a costly gas pipeline repair program

Trump’s DOE keeps forcing coal plants to stay open. Here’s the latest.

The Pentagon's wind farm blockade is over — for now

Why Trump’s claim that offshore wind is a security risk is ‘ludicrous’

Nuclear startup Oklo splits its first atoms in test reactor

Chart of the week

California was mostly solar-powered in May — a global first

Solar is having its best summer yet in Europe

Nuclear energy could be in for a big decade

Trump’s clean energy attacks are costing the US jobs

Data centers use more power in the US than in any other country

Trump is blocking billions of dollars of grants that would fix the grid

Ohio steel giant aims to use Biden climate funds for polluting project

The Missing Link to VPP Success? Customer Knowledge.

PJM’s big new data center plan: Make the states figure it out

Base Power raises $1B to get big batteries into more homes

Court rules against Trump EPA’s freeze of $20B in ‘green bank’ funds

Microreactor startup Valar Atomics raises $1B

Data centers take center stage in Wisconsin governor’s race

How to bring a geothermal well back from the dead

4 Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ law was supposed to kill clean energy. It didn’t.