Articles

Politics

How Trump’s offshore wind halt is derailing his party’s energy agenda

Construction on every U.S. offshore wind farm is on pause — and so are Congress’ once-promising negotiations on energy-permitting reform.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 9 January 2026
Fossil fuels

EPA plans to give 11 coal plants a free pass on toxic ash disposal

Under the proposal, the facilities would be able to flout federal coal-ash rules until 2031. The polluting plants would likely shut down without the lifeline.

By Kari Lydersen . 9 January 2026
Clean energy

Chart: How the US electricity mix changed last year

Solar and coal were up, and gas, surprisingly, was down. Here are the numbers behind a wild year for the U.S. power sector.

By Dan McCarthy . 9 January 2026
Fossil fuels

Trump admin’s must-run orders put broken-down coal plants in a bind

Utilities are already paying to keep aging coal plants open under DOE emergency orders. New demands to revive nonfunctioning units add costs and legal complications.

By Jeff St. John . 9 January 2026
Long-duration energy storage

A novel long-duration storage project is coming to the California desert

Hydrostor’s 4-gigawatt-hour project received state approval last month. Construction could start this year — so long as the startup can nail down more customers.

By Julian Spector . 8 January 2026
Offshore wind

Offshore wind had a terrible 2025. What can be learned?

A new study highlights hard-won wisdom for the industry, and a year of Trump 2.0 offers more lessons still for how a renewables sector could make a comeback.

By Clare Fieseler . 8 January 2026
Utilities

Ohio utility corruption defendants to SCOTUS: Bribes are free speech

If the court rules in favor of a former lawmaker and a lobbyist convicted in Ohio’s HB 6 scandal, it would have huge implications for the utility sector and beyond.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 8 January 2026
Data centers

PJM needs flexible data centers. Here’s a blueprint.

The nation's biggest power market has to find a way to prevent data centers from driving up electricity costs. A new report has a solution.

By Jeff St. John . 7 January 2026
Just transition

'Win by time’: How Poland is preparing for the death of coal

In the country’s coal region — one of the EU’s biggest — advocates and union leaders are working to ensure the energy transition doesn’t leave miners behind.

By Alexander C. Kaufman . 7 January 2026
Carbon-free buildings

7 numbers that explain why the future of buildings is all-electric

Key indicators, from the cost of fossil gas to the number of heat pumps sold, signal building decarbonization will march onward in the U.S. despite challenges.

By Alison F. Takemura . 7 January 2026