When there is less sun and less wind, solar and wind power output will drop. The same is true of hydropower. If there is less rain and snow and the water behind dams falls, hydropower output will be lower. In February 2021 in Texas, a major storm reduced wind power output, prompting the state to rely on natural gas and coal, yet many consumers still lost power. In 2024, a major hailstorm outside of Houston dismantled a large solar panel facility. And studies show  that output from solar,...

Chevron plans to reach a final investment decision  later this year on a power plant that would use natural gas to supply Microsoft’s 2.7-gigawatt Project Kilby AI data center in Reeves County, Texas, under a 20-year agreement. The final investment decision will be made after the project receives all its permits, expected later this year. The Project Kilby data center would start receiving power in late 2028, and a fuller build-out would continue into the 2030s. Most of the electricity...

California has become one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Whether it be the cost of housing, exorbitantly high income taxes, or especially the cost of energy, high costs have pushed many people and businesses to leave for more affordable states such as Nevada, Texas, or Florida.

Of the many famously high and onerous taxes that plague California, few come close to the celebrity of California’s fuel taxes, which are set to increase on Wednesday by an...

The Department of the Interior proposed major changes to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules regarding onshore oil and gas leasing and waste prevention to promote energy dominance and encourage domestic energy production. It is proposing to loosen two major Biden-era regulations: one on methane releases and the other on plugging non-operating wells. Producing more domestic energy provides jobs and enhances security while making products more affordable.

In 2024, the Biden...

President Donald Trump recently accused major oil companies of “gouging” consumers by failing to lower gas prices at the pump quickly enough despite sharply falling crude oil prices. In a late-night Truth Social post, he instructed the Justice Department to immediately investigate. We have heard this clarion call before from numerous politicians, though admittedly it usually comes from the Democratic side of the aisle. Let’s set the record straight on this – again.

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Approximately three years after construction began, the largest wind facility in the United States, the SunZia Wind Project, is scheduled to begin commercial operations this month, June. The wind facility, located in New Mexico, has a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts, comprising 916 wind turbines, and a total cost of $11 billion . SunZia’s capacity is more than three times that of the next two largest wind facilities, Alta Wind in Southern California (1,098...

The United States has become the world’s largest oil exporter  after sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine reduced its exports, and the conflict with Iran shut in some Saudi Arabian oil production, thereby reducing its exports. These wars are reshaping global energy trade. At one time, the United States was the world’s largest oil importer and had been dependent on Middle Eastern oil for decades. In 1973, the United States suffered an oil embargo imposed by some OPEC...

Over half of Americans are strongly opposed to a data center being built near their home, and over half also blame rising electricity prices on their construction and use. The Institute for Energy Research has shown that the relationship between data centers and electricity price increases is statistically insignificant, but a campaign  first detailed in The Guardian in December of 2025, along with related media hype, has Americans on edge about data center buildouts and their...

Virginia is scheduled to formally reenter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on July 1, after newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a budget bill  including a provision mandating the state rejoin the program. Virginia’s previous governor, Governor Glenn Youngkin, withdrew the state’s participation in 2023 when he was governor. Following the commonwealth’s return to the program, Dominion Energy filed a request with the State Corporation Commission to...

The Trump administration is considering creating a Strategic Petroleum Reserve in California to enhance national security and address the state’s energy isolation, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The proposed reserve would initially store 370,000 barrels of oil , with a potential expansion to 30 million barrels, and would support military installations and refineries in the state. The action would undermine Governor Gavin Newsom’s goal to continue reducing the state’s...