Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Energy

The Mariana Islands.
AM Briefing

Saipan’s ‘Total Darkness’

On Trump’s dubious offshore wind deal, fast tracks, and missed deadlines

Energy

Scoop: How Trump Is Paying Off TotalEnergies

New documents add to doubt over President Trump’s deal to buy back the multinational energy company’s U.S. offshore wind leases.

AM Briefing

Trump’s Blockade in Force

On a rare earth jumpstart, Constellation’s warning, and V.C. Summer

Blue
AM Briefing

NOAA Money

On California geothermal, Vineyard Wind, and Congolese metals

Red
Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz.

What the U.S. Naval Blockade Reveals About the Iran War’s Next Phase

Big questions about naval strategy and the oil economy with Cornell University’s Nicolas Mulder.

Blue
Donald Trump.

Trump’s Blockade

On Hungary’s political earthquake, mining in Argentina, and the Sam Altman attack

Red
Climate Tech

America’s Transformer Crisis Has Supercharged a Wave of New Startups

The unsung hero of the energy transition needs a little help.

A transformer.
<p>Heatmap Illustration/Ayr Energy, Getty Images</p>

Transformers are the unsung heroes of the energy transition. These bulky devices come in a range of forms, from canisters mounted on distribution lines to garage-sized industrial units at substations and metal boxes on concrete pads outside apartment buildings. But regardless of form, they all serve a single essential purpose: adjusting voltage — either up, which is more efficient for long-distance transmission, or down for safe delivery to end users.

“If you’re getting an EV charging station, you need this equipment. If you’re building a large industrial facility that uses electricity to run the process, you need this equipment. Solar, battery storage plants, and wind energy projects need these. Data centers need these,” Anirudh Reddy, CEO of the power grid equipment startup Ayr Energy, told me. “It’s omnipresent.”

Keep reading...Show less
AM Briefing

$17 Billion

On rare earths, groundwater, and Antarctic krill

Solar panels.
<p>Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images</p>

Current conditions: Hawaii is bracing for flooding from its third kona storm this year after the other two dumped a combined six feet of rain on some parts of Maui’s mountains • A major landslide on Italy’s Adriatic coast has severed the A14 highway • Heavy rain in Azerbaijan deluged the capital city of Baku.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Liberal champions of clean energy win control of Arizona’s biggest utility

Arizona’s biggest public utility, the Salt River Project, just held an election for the seats on its board — and liberal champions of clean energy swept. A slate of candidates campaigning under the name Clean Energy Team will now hold an eight-to-six majority at the utility that serves power and water to millions of customers. The race drew national attention, and proved, according to The New York Times, “surprisingly contentious.” On one side were the Sierra Club and Hollywood climate activist Jane Fonda. On the other were local business leaders and Turning Point USA, the conservative group Charlie Kirk founded. While two candidates from the latter slate won seats, proponents of renewable energy will dominate policymaking at the utility for the first time. “We can show that the utility can be successful and profitable and still support renewable energy,” Randy Miller, a former board member who backed the clean energy slate and now serves on an advisory council for the board, told Politico. “It’s no longer a question about whether it’s possible.”

Keep reading...Show less