#energy-policy

#energy-policy

Coalie officially debuted on January 22, when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted him (it?) on his X account. In the post, which has now been viewed more than 37,000 times, Burgum shared an obviously AI-generated illustration of himself kneeling next to a grinning, bug-eyed piece of coal that's decked out in a yellow coal miner's helmet, vest, and boots. The caption, in part, read "Mine, Baby, Mine!"

"Families cannot support big winter energy bills right now, so we called for more relief," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said in a statement. "With energy costs rising nationwide, we're going to keep calling for strong action in Massachusetts." "That's why we're going to keep working every day to bring more energy into our state, oppose rate hikes and get charges off bills."

"We won't get anything unless I use excessive strength and force, when we would be unstoppable. I won't use force," he said.

Despite the Trump administration's opposition to renewables, solar power will likely remain part of datacenter energy supply mix due to its low cost. This is according to financial analyst Jefferies, which says in a research note - shared with The Register - that clean energy companies are going "on the offense" and adapting to the changing times in which they find themselves.

He finds that headline figures have fallen dramatically not because net zero has become cheaper, but because public bodies have changed methodologies and relied on increasingly unrealistic assumptions. The CCC now claims that achieving net zero between 2025 and 2050 will cost just £108 billion - down from earlier estimates of over £1 trillion. Turver shows this is done by moving the goalposts from measuring gross costs to comparing against a notional baseline scenario.

There's a reason why there's no profit motive in government,

The share of renewables in German power production almost stagnated in 2025, data showed Monday, as concerns grow about a shift away from green policies under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The figure had increased strongly in previous years as Europe's biggest economy aims to reach a goal of green power accounting for 80 percent of its energy mix by 2030.

You may be surprised to learn electricity only accounts for 21 percent of the world's energy consumption. Fossil fuels and the rest all play their part to make the world go around, but their role is likely to diminish no matter what happens. The International Energy Agency believes electricity's share of global energy consumption is going to in the next decade alone.

We no longer need as much centralized power generation, yet it is still the planning model used by PG&E and the other investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Instead, the IOUs should be leading the effort to grow local electricity generation through solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. Microgrids should be the main method of distribution, and costly transmission lines should be minimized.

Rachel Reeves announced in her budget that she would cut 150 a year from the average energy bill, partly financed by axing the 1.3bn energy company obligation (ECO) scheme that helped fund upgrades for homes owned or rented by households earning under 31,000. This scheme is due to be end in March. The government plans to launch a warm homes plan to provide funding for heat pumps, insulation and other home upgrades but this has been beset by delays.

Under the order, the Department of Energy will build a platform with AI capabilities for scientists and engineers to use in their work. It would also create a portfolio of scientific and engineering challenges around energy and national security for Genesis Mission participants to pursue. Other departments and agencies will be able to tackle their own challenges - such as around drug discovery - through the executive order.

She will argue that eight in ten firms believe the legislation, in its current form, will make hiring harder, acting as a brake on economic growth. "Lasting reform takes partnership, not a closed door," she will say. "When eight in ten firms say this bill will make it harder to hire, they are brakes on growth. The government must change course and ask business and unions to forge consensus through compromise."

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

"My office will audit the state's role in these price hikes," he said. "New Yorkers pay more while utilities and their shareholders pocket tax credits, abatements, bonuses, and side deals - and for years no one in state government has followed the money. I will expose those deals and put real pressure on regulators and Albany to stop letting the system work for utilities while everyone else keeps getting squeezed."