Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy

Senior Editor .

Dan McCarthy is a senior editor at Canary Media. He was previously senior editor at Morning Brew, where he ran tech coverage and edited stories on a range of topics, including climatetech. Dan grew up in New Jersey, graduated from the University of Delaware, and now lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife and two cats.

The Latest from Dan McCarthy

Land use

The challenges and opportunities of clean energy in rural America

Agricultural communities don’t always welcome clean energy developments. But projects can provide significant economic opportunities.

By Dan McCarthy, Wendy Becktold, Sarah Shemkus . 25 September 2026
Offshore wind

Major US offshore wind farm installs its last turbine

Despite Trump’s attacks, Revolution Wind is nearing completion off the coast of Rhode Island. The 704-MW project is set to be fully operational this year.

By Dan McCarthy . 18 September 2026
Fossil fuels

The Iran war pushed countries toward clean energy — and coal

Surging oil and gas prices are boosting coal demand. But the conflict has also spurred cleantech adoption — and fossil-fuel emissions may still drop as a result.

By Dan McCarthy . 18 September 2026
Batteries

The battery era is here — and China is supplying it

Batteries are taking the energy sector by storm, whether to power vehicles or boost the grid. Most are made, and deployed, in China.

By Dan McCarthy . 11 September 2026
Solar

Solar is now bigger than coal in China — and yet still way behind

China has more solar capacity online than coal capacity. It’s a remarkable milestone, but the fossil fuel still generates far more electricity than solar does.

By Dan McCarthy . 4 September 2026
Clean energy

So, where exactly does the US energy transition stand?

Analysts are trying to measure the damage President Trump has done to the energy transition so far — and determine where federal climate policy should go from here.

By Dan McCarthy, Kathryn Krawczyk . 28 August 2026
Fossil fuels

America's big but uncertain gas boom

Data centers are driving plans to build tons of dirty gas plants. Experts say it’s nearly impossible to distinguish pie-in-the-sky proposals from realistic ones.

By Dan McCarthy . 28 August 2026
Solar

Tesla ditches solar roof — and embraces regular solar panels

The product that was supposed to redefine both roofing and home solar never moved beyond expensive niche status. Does the new plan reflect lessons learned?

By Dan McCarthy, Julian Spector . 24 August 2026
Clean energy

Solar and storage still dominate US power plant construction

Despite Trump’s attacks on renewables, it’s the same old story so far this year: The U.S. is building lots of solar and storage and a little bit of everything else.

By Dan McCarthy . 21 August 2026
Energy storage

Home battery installations climb despite loss of federal incentives

While solar and EV sales cratered after the Republican Congress eliminated federal tax credits, batteries bucked the trend. Here’s why.

By Dan McCarthy . 14 August 2026