Policy & regulation

Electric vehicles

Chart: US EV sales are off to a solid start this year

Nearly 300,000 new electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. through March, up 11% from the start of last year. But the road ahead is bumpy and hard to predict.

By Dan McCarthy . 18 April 2025
Utilities

Ohio grid disparities leave some areas with older, outage-prone equipment

Advocates want state utility regulators to take up the issue of grid investment disparities in FirstEnergy’s pending rate case.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 17 April 2025
Heat pumps

Massachusetts heat pump owners could pay less for electricity next winter

The state’s high electricity prices are a barrier to heat pump adoption, so regulators are working with utilities to reduce rates in winter when demand is lower.

By Sarah Shemkus . 16 April 2025
Fossil fuels

Why coal won’t solve the looming grid-reliability crisis

New solar, wind, and batteries could be a huge help to grid reliability. Instead, Trump is propping up a false solution: old, unprofitable coal plants.

By Jeff St. John . 14 April 2025
Policy & regulation

Climate action is up to states. Trump wants to stop them.

In a new round of executive orders, the President takes aim at cap-and-invest programs and other ambitious state climate policies.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 11 April 2025
Carbon capture

Ohio bills aim to sideline local critics of carbon capture projects

Some landowners could be forced to let companies inject CO2 beneath their properties, and the state would get exclusive say over project permitting.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 11 April 2025
Clean energy

Maryland’s sweeping new energy legislation is a mixed bag for climate

Lawmakers took steps to limit investment in gas infrastructure and bolster solar and storage — but they also passed a bill to expedite new fossil-gas power plants.

By Akielly Hu . 10 April 2025
Fossil fuels

Trump looks to radically reshape power plant oversight — and boost coal

Trump's raft of pro-coal executive orders includes a plan to give DOE unprecedented authority to force any power plant to stay open, no matter the cost.

By Jeff St. John . 9 April 2025
Heat pumps

SoCal regulators weigh weakened rules for emissions-free appliances

Though the new proposal would still help clean up the region’s smog-filled air, it stops short short of mandating heat pumps and banning appliances that emit NOx.

By Alison F. Takemura . 8 April 2025
Policy & regulation

Trump’s tariffs undermine his energy and manufacturing goals

Solar and wind power might not suffer as much as batteries and EVs. But Trump’s tariff regime will still harm the nascent U.S. cleantech industry, experts say.

By Jeff St. John . 7 April 2025