Clean energy manufacturing

Clean energy manufacturing

US factories are struggling to get cleaner heat. These ideas may help.

Many manufacturers burn fossil fuels to make snacks, materials, and chemicals. High electricity costs are complicating their efforts to switch to cleaner technologies.

By Maria Gallucci . 27 July 2026
Green steel

Could a new iron ore mine turn Minnesota into a green steel powerhouse?

Mesabi Metallics is opening a mine and processing plant on the Iron Range, spurring job opportunities and a chance to join the global transition to low-carbon steel.

By Brian Martucci . 23 July 2026
Solar

Balcony solar is sweeping the US, but who's actually selling it?

As consumer interest surges and state legislators get on board, a few businesses have jumped into the domestic market.

By Julian Spector . 21 July 2026
Corporate procurement

Google buys power from record-busting solar-battery site in Arkansas

Developer Cypress Creek has broken ground on the project, which will eventually deliver 2.5 gigawatts of solar production and 2.9 gigawatt-hours of battery storage.

By Julian Spector . 15 July 2026
Batteries

A pioneering grid-battery factory is headed for this California city

Sodium-ion batteries promise cheaper, more durable energy storage. Peak Energy seeks to kick-start the next-gen battery market by building the first big U.S. plant.

By Julian Spector . 10 July 2026
Electrification

Southern California clean-heat rule survives key legal challenge

A U.S. appeals court upheld the first-in-the-nation measure, which will slash smog-forming emissions from certain gas-fueled boilers and heaters in the region.

By Maria Gallucci . 8 July 2026
Electric vehicles

Electric trucks look a lot more appealing when gas prices are sky-high

A head-to-head matchup of electric and gasoline cargo trucks shows how rising fuel costs make EVs much cheaper to run. Now, can manufacturers lower up-front costs?

By Jeff St. John . 2 July 2026
Solar

New Qcells plant doubles current US capacity to make solar cells

The company’s Cartersville, Georgia, factory is the largest of its kind in the nation — and it just started producing the key solar panel component.

By Julian Spector . 9 June 2026
Energy storage

The hidden innovation behind Antora’s massive new heat battery

The startup is turning on a 200-battery project in South Dakota — and pioneering an electric utility rate that could help boost thermal energy storage more widely.

By Maria Gallucci . 27 May 2026
Green steel

US Steel to build $2B lower-carbon iron plant in Arkansas

The new "direct reduced iron" facility at Big River Steel is part of parent company Nippon Steel’s larger $11 billion investment in U.S. operations.

By Maria Gallucci . 30 April 2026