Energy Central

AAAS: "," by Warren Cornwall. Administration claims decades-old “roadless rule” prevents efforts to improve forest health. "It’s infuriating that the potential for reducing fire risk is even used as a justification for putting more roads into our national forests," says Jennifer Balch, a UC Boulder fire scientist. Balch’s work has shown that humans start 84% of all wildfires nationwide, + that roads are a major way people bring in matches, fireworks, + other spark-producing tools.

By Kennedy Maize President Trump, reaching back to his first go-round, has issued another possible ban on foreign-made equipment crucial to the bulk power system, to be administered by the Department of Energy. A likely outcome is to push up the costs of electric power, passed on to consumers. Late last month (Aug.

High West Energy Cooperative (HWE) is a member-owned electric cooperative serving parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado, spanning approximately 3,500 miles of line and over 10,000 member meters, with an average of about 2.6 members per mile. The service territory is vast, covering approximately 4,200 square miles. The co-op’s mission is centered on three core priorities: providing reliable service, treating its members fairly, and keeping costs as reasonable as possible.

Energy: The Big Picture and the Details Our Brazilian culture prioritizes details. When it comes to energy, companies and institutions often prefer to listen to potential solution providers focus on an endless list of details. Of course, many of those details are important. But what has always caught my attention—and still does—is the prevailing "rejection" attitude toward the big picture.

Tue, Sep 8 As buildings transition toward cleaner, more resilient energy systems, it's time to rethink how lighting is powered. Because LED lighting inherently operates on direct current (DC), pairing it with solar photovoltaic (PV) generation and battery energy storage creates a highly efficient electrical architecture that minimizes energy losses and maximizes the value of on-site renewable energy.

Community opposition to data centers has hit both turf and surf. In Eastport, Maine, residents are pushing back against a proposed underwater project—they’re floating a permanent ban on large-scale data centers. This would halt the facility before it could even get its sea legs. 🌊

Tue, Sep 8 The problem: MISO has roughly 220 GW of generation sitting in its queue, and has yet to finish evaluating projects stretching back to 2020. And the grid operator keeps accepting new proposals, despite stakeholder criticism. The solution?

Tue, Sep 8 The details: Employment at utilities is predicted to rise 9.8% (or nearly 59K new jobs) from 2025-2035, according to a news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Tue, Sep 8 NEWS: Massachusetts is investing over $4M in its offshore wind buildout. The funding: That state money is headed to workforce training and marine research that will bolster MA’s offshore wind industry. The persistence: The state is intent on keeping up momentum despite federal headwinds—in July, MA Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a multi-state coalition to sue the Trump Administration over cancelled offshore wind leases.

Tue, Sep 8 The background: Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center closed in 2020 after operating for nearly five decades (due to pricey storm damage). Now, it’s the third nuclear plant to get federal funding to come back to life. If all goes as planned, Duane Arnold could bring 615 MW to the grid—enough to power around 500K homes. Not so fast: The process likely won’t be speedy. Holtec has worked for over two years to reopen Palisades (which could become the country’s first revived nuclear plant).