Why California Is Reconsidering Its Decision to Shun Nuclear Power

9 September 2026 at 17:39

The state is considering extending the life of its last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, and allowing construction of new reactors to help meet its clean energy goals.

Established nuclear plants like Diablo Canyon in California tend to produce relatively affordable power.

Why California Is Reconsidering Its Decision to Shun Nuclear Power

NYT - Technology

By: Ivan Penn and Adam Perez

9 September 2026 at 17:39

The state is considering extending the life of its last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, and allowing construction of new reactors to help meet its clean energy goals.

Jackdaw gasfield set to be approved by ministers this month, sources say

The Guardian - Energy

By: Kiran Stacey Policy editor

4 September 2026 at 08:55

Energy secretary could recommend new North Sea drilling next week, as ministers also consider approval for Rosebank oilfield

Ministers are poised to approve a controversial new gasfield in the North Sea this month, according to government sources, and are considering approving a major oilfield later this year.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, will give her recommendation to approve the Jackdaw field off the coast of Aberdeen as soon as next week, according to people close to the decision, and the formal approval could follow a week after.

Britain is OK with public ownership, but only by foreign powers. Why?

The Guardian - Energy

By: Maya Goodfellow

2 September 2026 at 08:00

Arthur Downing, author of Power and the People: A History of British Energy, says all-encompassing rapid transition will need a mutualised system

Have you ever wondered why it is that most houses in the UK are reliant on gas boilers? Not what’s stopping more people from replacing them with heat pumps, but instead why and how the gas boiler became so ubiquitous in the first place?

Arthur Downing, the author of the new book Power and the People: A History of British Energy, can tell you exactly why. “We only have boilers in our houses because of a state-owned enterprise that went into everybody’s home and installed natural gas-suitable appliances at no direct cost,” he says. The nationalised gas industry of the 1940s to the 1980s, which oversaw this huge project, was for three decades one of the “most dynamic, innovative, efficient industries in Britain”, Downing says. Yet few of us would use these terms to describe it as such now.

A Data Center Backlash

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: David Gelles

1 September 2026 at 19:09

Today we visit Pennsylvania, where there’s a high-stakes clash over A.I. jobs and the environment.

‘Breakthrough’ as Turkmenistan starts fixing ‘mindboggling’ methane mega-leaks

The Guardian - Energy

By: Damian Carrington Environment editor

31 August 2026 at 08:00

Secretive state begins repairs on ageing facilities after being revealed as worst country for leaks of potent greenhouse gas

Turkmenistan has started plugging the mega-leaks of methane that spew from its ageing oil and gas facilities, the latest UN data shows, in a move hailed as a breakthrough.

Methane, also called natural or fossil gas, is a potent greenhouse gas. It traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide and causes 25% of global heating today. Stopping leaks can be quick and cheap and, because methane breaks down in the atmosphere far quicker than CO2, this has a rapid impact, with some experts calling it the climate “emergency brake”.

No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions

The Guardian - Energy

By: Tom McIlroy Political editor

28 August 2026 at 05:17

Energy minister says states can apply to use coal and gas supply to power datacentres but must prove it is cheaper than renewables

Chris Bowen insists federal Labor’s new national laws on datacentre power supply will not include carve-outs for Queensland and the Northern Territory, with states that are eager to use coal and gas required to make their case to the national regulator.

The energy minister told Guardian Australia on Friday the only concession agreed at Wednesday’s meeting of national cabinet was that existing coal and gas supply could be used on the condition it could be shown to be cheaper than renewables.

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