Fossil fuels

Policy & regulation

Forcing dirty power plants to stay open would cost Americans billions

The Trump admin's scheme to keep old fossil-fuel plants running could saddle utility customers with nearly $6 billion a year in unnecessary costs, a report finds.

By Jeff St. John . 14 August 2025
Fossil fuels

In Appalachia, fracking is not the job creator the industry claims

Oil and gas production isn’t translating to more jobs for residents of heavily fracked communities, new research shows.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 14 August 2025
Fossil fuels

Massachusetts residents no longer have to subsidize new gas hookups

A new ruling says anyone who wants a new gas line will have to pay for it. Until now, utilities have spread out the costs of new hookups among all their customers.

By Sarah Shemkus . 14 August 2025
Fossil fuels

Ohio finally ends subsidies for two scandal-linked coal plants

Under the state’s infamous HB6 law, customers had to pay over half a billion dollars to keep the two 1950s-era plants running. A new law ends the subsidies this month.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 7 August 2025
Fossil fuels

Trump’s EPA delays rules requiring toxic coal ash cleanup

The agency’s move to extend compliance deadlines for “legacy” coal ash dumps is the latest in a string of Trump admin attacks on environmental regulations.

By Kari Lydersen . 22 July 2025
Carbon capture

In Ohio, oil and gas industry is steering new carbon capture bill

Newly obtained public records show that the industry has worked hard to ensure the legislation prioritizes their interests over climate change concerns.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 22 July 2025
Utilities

Virginia regulators rebuke Dominion’s long-term plan, but OK it anyway

The state's utility commission called the 15-year forecast flawed but "legally sufficient," ordering major changes for the next one due in 2026.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 18 July 2025
Utilities

Will the AI boom be powered by big, slow energy projects?

This week’s AI summit deepened a trend of datacenter developers hitching their hopes to old-school energy sources, from gas power plants to hydropower.

By Julian Spector, Dan McCarthy . 18 July 2025
Fossil fuels

Trump’s push to keep coal plants running could cost consumers billions

The DOE’s emergency stay-open orders for aging fossil-fuel plants are forcing unexpected costs onto utility customers. Additional orders would deepen the harm.

By Jeff St. John . 16 July 2025
Fossil fuels

Critics fear Trump will use flawed DOE report to push pro-coal agenda

Grid experts say DOE’s new forecast of major blackout risks by 2030 misuses data to justify the Trump administration’s push to force dirty plants to stay open.

By Jeff St. John . 14 July 2025