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Could California’s major utilities control their rapidly rising electricity rates by using their power grids more efficiently? State lawmakers want to find out. A set of bills introduced this year would order Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric to measure and improve how…

Battery startup EnerVenue is planning an iconoclastic comeback. After failed plans to build a U.S. factory for its NASA-inspired tech, the firm announced $300 million in fresh funding to execute a manufacturing strategy that flies in the face of broader trends in the American battery market. EnerVenue seeks to…

Policies to transition buildings off polluting fossil gas are holding up in federal courts across the U.S. That’s a big win for local governments looking to spur electrification, given that these types of regulations suffered a major setback just a few years ago. In 2023, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck…

A bill advancing through California’s legislature would create pathways for virtual power plants to compete with fossil-fueled peaker plants — a move that could help the state curb its fast-rising utility rates. Virtual power plants are aggregations of small-scale batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and…

A handful of Democratic-led states are targeting energy-efficiency programs in an attempt to provide relief on soaring utility bills. It’s surprising, given the broad support energy-efficiency programs have among Democrats — and the fact that these incentives produce energy savings that benefit both the climate and…

As data centers drive electricity demand to new heights and consumers struggle with rising energy costs, cheap, clean power remains out of reach in much of Virginia: Nearly two-thirds of counties outright ban or severely restrict large solar farms. But that’s about to change. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a…

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the cases of the only two people who have served prison time related to the largest utility corruption scandal in Ohio’s history. Ohio’s House Bill 6 saga arose out of efforts by the utility FirstEnergy to obtain more than $1 billion in subsidies for its former nuclear…

President Donald Trump has dealt blow after blow to the Rural Energy for America Program, which has helped farmers save on their energy bills by going solar for nearly two decades. Now, REAP’s proponents see a chance to undo some of the damage. Last year, within a matter of months, the Trump administration froze…

A group fighting to uphold an Ohio county’s ban on renewable energy has significant financial ties to individuals and organizations that promote fossil fuels, as a campaign finance report filed this week reveals. Last summer, Richland County became one of the more than three dozen Ohio counties that bar…

This analysis and news roundup come from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday. Last year was a huge one for renewable energy around the globe — but nothing showed up quite like solar power. This week, energy think tank Ember released its review of where the world’s electricity came…

See more from Canary Media’s ​“Chart of the Week” column . Nuclear energy is experiencing a global resurgence. In the U.S. and Europe, a long-wary public has started to warm once again to the sector. Taiwan, which shuttered its last nuclear power plant last May, is looking to restart at least one facility in the…

A narrow complaint to a federal energy commission could have wide implications for the solar industry and the electric grid — both in North Carolina, where it originated, as well as nationwide. At issue is a unique planning scheme that’s been years in the making. Duke Energy, the state’s predominant utility, is…

A second French energy firm is pursuing a refund on its U.S. offshore wind leases — and analysts say the trend could spread further, despite major legal questions about the Trump administration’s approach. Engie , which had been planning three U.S. projects, is in talks with the administration about forfeiting the…

In January, Lerned Zint’s gas water heater croaked. It would have been an inconvenience for anyone. For Zint, a Spanish-speaking mother who runs Corazones Daycare out of her San Francisco home, it was an emergency. Zint takes care of about 10 children, 6 months to 4 years old. Their sticky fingers and stinky messes…

Ohio is a notoriously difficult state for building renewable energy. Many counties ban wind and solar outright, but even in those that don’t, state regulators often rely on local opposition to deny permits for developers. Fossil fuel companies, on the other hand, do not face these hurdles. This discrepancy is…

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News , a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter. Maryland lawmakers’ new solution for rising utility bills reduces a surcharge funding an effective energy-efficiency program, offers…

Chaz Weatherford has a busy schedule. On a typical workday, the solar inspection technician for major U.S. rooftop solar company Freedom Forever drives to eight or nine homes across southern Arizona, checking to make sure their newly installed solar systems are safely configured and ready to turn on. Sometimes it’s…

Twenty-one years ago, the University of Minnesota, Morris, became the first U.S. public university to draw power from an on-site, industrial-scale wind turbine. It added a second one in 2011. Today, the pair — affectionately known as Bert and Ernie — produce more power each year than the semirural campus consumes. …

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to lift its blockade on new U.S. wind and solar projects. On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston sided with nine clean energy organizations that sued to stop the federal government’s “arbitrary and capricious” efforts to hinder wind and…

Offshore wind development has all but screeched to a halt in the United States amid the Trump administration’s unrelenting attacks. But in the rest of the world, it’s another story. Wealthy and developing economies alike are embracing the energy source as they look to build out supplies of domestic and renewable…