Robert Bryce

A cook preparing food over a gas flame in Tokyo, March 4, 2023. Photo by author. Electricity prices across the US are, pardon the pun, rising at shocking rates. According to the Energy Information Administration, residential electricity prices in June were 5% higher than they were in June 2025. The average price of electricity in American homes is now about 18.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. In 2016, that same amount of juice cost US residential consumers 12.5 cents.

Cutaway image of Westinghouse’s eVinci reactor, which was selected by the Army last week to be part of the Janus Program. Credit: Westinghouse Nuclear. There’s nothing new under the sun. And that includes the US Army’s foray into the nuclear power business. Last week, the Army announced it will support the development and deployment of five small reactors at five of its bases. This is not new. Six decades ago, the Army was on the leading edge of nuclear power development.

Last week, I spoke at length with Robert McNally, the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington, DC-based energy consulting firm. McNally served in the White House under George W. Bush as senior director for international energy on the National Security Council. He’s also the author of the 2017 book, Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices. I met McNally a few months ago when we were both presenting at a conference at Southern Methodist University.

Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. Credit: . Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to my son, Jacob, about the situation in Germany. After hearing his observations about what he’s seeing in Berlin, I encouraged him to write this essay. By Jacob Bryce Berlin has a reputation as one of Europe’s “cool” cities. And it’s true, the vibe in Berlin — its nightlife, restaurants, and cultural scene — is amazing. But Berlin isn’t Germany.

A sign in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) celebrating the 50th anniversary of Reunification Day. On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops seized Saigon. Five decades later, Vietnam has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

I do my best to avoid listening to President Trump. The man talks way too much. As US Sen.

Country music singer Tanya Tucker testified before a Texas Senate committee on Wednesday to express her opposition to the state’s proposed 765-kV lines. She ended her testimony by singing part of her song, “Texas (When I Die).” Credit: Texas Senate. The billionaires, bureaucrats, and academics make it sound easy.

On June 11, 2024, citizens in South Bend, Indiana, gathered to protest a project that aimed to cover more than 2,300 acres of farmland with solar panels. The project has not been built, and it continues to face fierce opposition. Credit: Joseph Dits/South Bend Tribune For decades, pundits and politicos have been telling us that solar energy is right on the cusp of global dominance.

The Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Michigan, was shut down in 2022. Holtec is now refurbishing the 800-megawatt plant. When it begins producing power, Palisades will be the first-ever restart of a shuttered nuclear plant in the US. Credit: Holtec. Holtec Nuclear Corporation is the antithesis of Hadron Energy. As I reported here last month,Hadron Energy, a startup that aims to build a 10-megawatt light-water reactor, went public on May 26 via a SPAC merger.

On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order banning the construction of large data centers for one year. It’s the first statewide ban in the US, and yet another example of the growing backlash against Big Tech and data centers. Hochul’s ban is the 179th rejection or restriction of data centers in the US in 2026. For comparison, there were 49 rejections in 2025 and just 9 in 2024.