West

Electrification

Many homes already have the power to electrify, study finds

A California power provider shows homes can ditch fossil-fueled appliances without pricey electrical service upgrades after all.

By Alison F. Takemura . 30 March 2026
Solar

‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California

A sweeping plan to build 21 gigawatts of solar plus batteries on 136,000 acres could be a lifeline for Central Valley farmers facing devastating water shortages.

By Jeff St. John . 24 March 2026
Fossil fuels

Trump’s pro-coal crusade hits a snag in Washington state

The DOE just ordered the TransAlta coal plant to keep running. But it has been offline since December, and a new state law would make it too costly to turn back on.

By Jeff St. John . 17 March 2026
Solar

The fight over California’s community solar plan is heating up

Regulators are long overdue on their mandate to create a community solar-storage program. And critics say the plan that is in the works is “fatally flawed.”

By Jeff St. John . 17 March 2026
Heat pumps

Did fake comments sink SoCal clean heat rules? Advocates want answers.

Last year, Southern California regulators rejected rules that would have phased down gas heaters after an industry-tied campaign generated 20,000+ critical comments.

By Alison F. Takemura . 16 March 2026
Solar

A chapter of California’s rooftop solar battle closes

A court upheld the state’s latest net-metering policy, which drastically cut payments for solar power sent to the grid and is predicted to discourage rooftop installations.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 13 March 2026
Batteries

Which states have the most grid batteries?

California and Texas continue to lead the way on utility-scale storage, but the sector is growing rapidly in Arizona thanks to the state’s abundant solar.

By Dan McCarthy . 13 March 2026
Utilities

As Californians electrify, can this tech combo prevent grid overload?

Utility PG&E is piloting two devices that strategically throttle power use so that new EVs and heat pumps don’t mean costly home and grid upgrades.

By Jeff St. John . 10 March 2026
Geothermal

An oil company quietly dug a surprisingly deep geothermal well

Oxy drilled four miles down in Colorado, and did so quickly — a promising development for the geothermal industry.

By Sam Brasch . 5 March 2026
Heat pumps

Oregon pushes new homes to install heat pumps over ACs

In a state where energy costs have risen sharply, new rules will boost adoption of the clean heating and cooling appliances.

By Alison F. Takemura . 5 March 2026