The Trump administration is undoing fuel-saving efforts even as war in Iran, data centers and heat waves are pushing up gasoline and electricity costs.
A dishwasher at a General Electric plant in Louisville, Ky. The Energy Department has moved to repeal 17 standards for dishwashers, washing machines, kitchen appliances and more.
The federal government wants to help utilities buy large components for up to 10 large nuclear reactors. It’s unclear which, if any, companies might participate.
The Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia is the only one with AP1000 reactors in the U.S. They generate enough electricity to power 1 million homes, but they took 15 years to build and cost $35 billion, double the initial estimates.
It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.
The freeze affects 41 wind projects in Texas, which produces more wind power than any other state in the U.S., as well as projects in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.
A talk on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill hosted by Democrats, from left, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, in March.
Of the roughly $700 million in total funding, $425 million would be used to upgrade and extend the life of 13 coal plants that otherwise might have closed in the coming years.
Companies say it’s a better way to dispose of the Cold War-era material — and fix a shortage of nuclear fuel. But the plan has also faced criticism from nonproliferation experts.
While global warming is still a threat, the decision to back away from a worst-case outlook raises questions about whether some risks have been overstated.
The dream of clean hydrogen has tantalized energy experts for years, but producing it has been tough. Many start-ups think the answer could lie beneath our feet.
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