"The overwhelming majority of green energy subsidies reward politically powerful constituencies and businesses whose primary purpose is not to build better energy mousetraps but to build only ones that qualify for the largest subsidies."
Articles from Around the Web
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Clean energy’s next trillion-dollar business
"Incumbents are rushing to develop the technology for the grid, and several startups are betting big on it, too. Natron, an American firm backed by Chevron, an oil giant, is investing $1.4bn to build a sodium-ion battery factory in North Carolina, which is scheduled to open in 2027. Landon Mossburg, the chief executive of Peak Energy, another sodium-ion startup, says he wants his firm to be 'the CATL of America.'"
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An Oil Giant Is Spending $100 Million to Preserve U.S. Forests
"TotalEnergies said it would use credits to offset Scope 1 emissions, which come directly from its operations, and Scope 2 emissions from its energy purchases. Those are the types of emissions that the Securities and Exchange Commission said it will require companies to disclose starting in fiscal year 2026."
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This water treatment startup is already a unicorn, and has $225 million in VC funding
"Gradiant’s technology mimics how nature creates rain. Wastewater is heated and pumped into a humidifier and mixed with ambient air. As the two interact, they are heated into vapor, leaving the contaminants behind. Using a proprietary technology, the vapor is transferred to a column with cool clean water. When the two mix, the air cools and drops fresh water, like rain falls from a cloud. The process, according to Gradiant, cuts traditional costs in half."
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Swiss Plan to Allow Construction of New Nuclear Plants
Bloomberg’s Alessandro Speciale and Levin Stamm report that Switzerland is planning to lift its ban on nuclear power. “The Swiss ban on nuclear plants was originally introduced in 2018, following safety worries that had been triggered by an accident at the Fukushima nuclear facility in Japan in 2011. But such concerns have recently been overshadowed...
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BWXT Secures Contract to Advance Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot Plant
"The contract announced by BWXT on Monday will mark the start of a 'deployment phase,' essentially kicking off an exploration of options for the centrifuge pilot plant’s deployment. The engineering study aims 'to inform the acquisition approach for a pilot plant that will demonstrate the DUE centrifuge performance, reliability, and life-cycle costs for the NNSA. Fluor will be the engineering, procurement, and construction service provider for the activity,' BWXT said."
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Robots Are Starting (Good) Fires in California
"Prescribed or controlled burns — fighting fire with fire — have long been used by indigenous groups to manage wildfire risk. Clearing excess vegetation reduces a forest’s fuel load, making it less likely a blaze will break out or spread quickly. But it’s a manpower-intensive process. BurnBot’s June burn covered an area the size of an American football field using a five-member crew; Chiverton says the same job sans robot would have needed 10 people."
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The End of Chevron Deference Could Be Good for Free Trade
"The Supreme Court’s decision thus comes at a critical moment. The justices have empowered Congress to prevent or roll back trade decisions that are too ambiguous or illegal. Trade expert Alan Wolff has argued that Mr. Trump may not have authority to impose 10% across-the-board tariffs. Arguably, the post-Chevron environment permits legal challenges to some existing trade restrictions—say, on steel and aluminum tariffs or on restrictions of electric vehicles and components from allies with market economies. Rules covering restrictions on exports and imports of high-technology equipment and software could also be challenged, according to a Morgan Lewis analysis. Affected parties in both private and public sectors could file complaints."
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To Make America Great, We Need Federal Permitting Reform
"With a modern permitting system in the United States, we can continue to be a dominant energy producer and capitalize on our carbon efficiency: energy produced in the U.S. is cleaner than nearly every other country in the world. We can reduce our reliance on countries like China for the critical minerals we need to create clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels. We can modernize our energy infrastructure to strengthen our electric grid and integrate emerging technologies, like clean hydrogen. We can displace dirty energy sources by exporting American-made energy to our allies around the world."
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Should access to drinking water be at the top of the global agenda?
Emma Pitts writes in Deseret News about global access to clean water. “‘I think it’s too important for either of those to be allowed to own it. This is an issue that affects people of all politics and no politics, people who don’t even know what politics is,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a basic...
