California lawmakers are once again contending with how to curb the state’s high energy costs as they hurtle toward the end of this year’s legislative session on Aug. 31. So what’s on the table for utility rate reform in the final stretch? Enter Senate Bill 905 , a complicated package of proposals that are likely to…

In Wisconsin, utility Alliant Energy has called off a project meant to reduce power outages in disadvantaged and tribal communities, after the Trump administration terminated a federal grant that would have supported it. In California, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which has deployed and upgraded…

PJM Interconnection, the biggest grid operator in the U.S., has finally settled on a plan to prevent data centers from causing other customers’ utility bills to soar further in its 13-state territory. That plan relies heavily on states themselves, and the utilities they regulate, to force data centers to secure…

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency acted improperly in terminating billions of dollars of “green bank” financing last year, setting up a potential showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court over one of the Trump administration's earliest attacks on a key Biden-era climate program.…

Citing national security concerns, the Trump administration has banned the import and domestic use of new power inverters made outside the United States. The move could throw sand in the gears of gigawatts’ worth of planned solar, wind, and battery installations — projects that make up the vast majority of new…

The Trump administration seems to be doing all it can to give the coal industry everything it wants. Those efforts may not succeed, but they could keep the dying industry on life support, and soak U.S. citizens with the financial and environmental costs of doing so — unless legal challenges compel it to change…

California is making a bet: Once you’ve driven an EV, you won’t want to go back to a gas-powered car. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation creating the MyFirstEV program. It’s the state’s first big attempt to make up for the loss of federal EV tax credits, and it’s exclusively targeting the…

Solar, wind, and batteries are the cheapest, fastest ways to add much-needed electricity to America’s grid. And across the country, more state legislatures are passing laws to streamline renewable development than are enacting policies to prevent clean energy from being built. That’s the good news from the Siting…

With the conclusion of its latest capacity auction, PJM Interconnection has once again shown that its process for securing new energy is unable to keep up with the wave of electricity demand from data centers. But PJM, the grid operator for the country’s biggest energy market, is poised to adopt a new process that…

Electric cargo trucks have been getting more cost-competitive for years. But the fuel price spike triggered by the Iran war has made it clear just how much cheaper it can be to move freight with trucks that run on electricity instead of gasoline or diesel. New data from electric-vehicle manufacturer Workhorse ,…

Should California spend nearly $200 million helping public schools install healthier and more efficient heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and plumbing systems? Or should it send the money back to the state’s biggest utilities so their customers can pay roughly a dollar less on their monthly bills over the…

The leading U.S. providers of rooftop solar, home batteries, and grid-responsive smart thermostats have combined forces to create what could be the country’s biggest virtual power plant — or, more precisely, a lot of VPPs in data center hot spots. On Wednesday, Sunrun, Tesla, and Renew Home announced an agreement to…

Natasha Keefer is not a fan of heights. But on June 5, Keefer, who heads the Energy Solutions team for the Americas for Prologis, one of the world’s largest logistics companies, braved the ladder up to the roof of a 147,500-square-foot warehouse in Oakland, California, to take a look at the latest solar project her…

Homeowners in Massachusetts and Connecticut can now get a steep discount on a Tesla Powerwall — but only if they agree to let the backup battery help out the grid, too. Under a new virtual power plant (VPP) program announced this week, the U.S. market leader in residential energy storage is offering certain…

Wind and solar developers in the U.S. have just a few more weeks to secure lucrative federal tax incentives. After that crucial deadline, the hard part begins. Last summer, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, creating a drop-dead date of July 4, 2026, for solar and wind developers…

A major grid-tech company is asking the Trump administration to fund a project it says could significantly boost the nation’s ability to move power around — without building a single new transmission tower or line. Open Access Technology International (OATI) is a Minneapolis-based firm whose software is used by…

At first glance, Frances Bell’s home in Oakland, California, doesn't look like a postcard from the EV-powered future. But if a new program takes off, it could be a harbinger of what’s possible for homes across the state and the country. Sure, there’s a shiny new Kia EV9 in the driveway and a black charging cord that…

Utilities have spent nearly $6 billion to install roughly 12 million smart meters at homes and businesses across PJM Interconnection, the biggest U.S. energy market. These devices are meant to help their customers use energy more efficiently and save money. But within much of PJM’s 13-state territory, these devices…

The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved major changes to the state’s cap-and-invest program , including a controversial plan to allow polluting industries to earn free emissions allowances if they invest in decarbonizing their facilities — a move critics say could undermine California’s decarbonization…

It’s set to be an abnormally hot summer this year — but the U.S. grid appears to be in decent shape to handle the heat. The credit goes to a boatload of new solar and storage and a handful of new gas plants. That’s the upshot of the new summer reliability assessment from the North American Electric Reliability…