Newsroom

Abandoned Coal Mines Could Become Giant Underground Energy Storage Facilities

The U.S. has more than 500,000 abandoned coal mines on federal record, concentrated in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory think many of them could have a second life as energy storage facilities.

Aug 17, 2026

Why U.S. Refineries Can Handle Shale Oil Despite The Persistent Myth

You may have heard the myth that U.S. refineries cannot process the light, sweet crude produced by the American shale boom. The claim confuses technical capability with economic reality.

Jul 27, 2026

AI Is Turning Energy Into the Hottest Business in America

Fast growth in artificial intelligence data center construction is changing energy from a routine business expense into a strategic asset.

Jun 01, 2026

About Bad Bunny And Puerto Rico’s Electric Grid

During the Super Bowl LX halftime show, Bad Bunny included a segment dramatizing Puerto Rico’s struggle to generate and transmit electrical power.

Feb 12, 2026

China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ Breaks Nuclear Fusion Limit Thought to Be Impossible

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have made a fusion energy breakthrough with its experimental “artificial Sun” nuclear reactor, achieving a plasma density previously thought impossible.

Jan 12, 2026

Space-Based US Solar Firm Breaks World Record for Beaming Wireless Electricity

A US company named Star Catcher announced it has wirelessly beamed 1.1 kilowatts of electricity from space to NASA Kennedy Space Center. The previous record was 800 watts. The nascent technology could one day provide solar energy to Earth and make space-based solar power possible.

Nov 25, 2025

Rising Demand Means We Need More Natural Gas Storage

AI data centers are boosting electricity demand, which is creating a need to rapidly expand America’s generation and transmission network. One aspect of that infrastructure buildout that shouldn’t be overlooked: natural gas storage. Speaking at the LDC NatGas to Power Forum, NRG Energy’s Robert Gaudette said that over the next five years, the U.S. needs to add new natural gas storage equivalent to the storage capacity built over the past 150 years.

Nov 20, 2025

Data Centers Drive Major Upward Shift in Electricity Demand Forecasts

A new report from Grid Strategies says U.S. electricity demand is accelerating far beyond prior expectations, with five-year peak-load forecasts climbing six-fold as data centers dominate new load. The report warns that utilities, planners, and transmission builders are struggling to keep pace with the scale and speed of this shift.

Nov 17, 2025

Understanding Decarbonization — A New Classroom Series from Roger Pielke Jr.

In his The Honest Broker Substack, Roger Pielke Jr. launches a new “classroom series” to demystify climate policy and explain what decarbonization really means.

Oct 17, 2025

Permian Basin methane emissions drop over 50% as new tech takes hold

The Permian Basin’s oil and gas industry has slashed methane emissions intensity by more than 50% between 2022 and 2024, according to a new S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis.

Jul 24, 2025