Early during my time on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I quickly realized continuing along the same path for buying capability was not sustainable and would threaten our national security. As the Defense Subcommittee Chairman, I put dollars where they could immediately impact the most change, disrupt the DoD from within, and grow the defense...
Low-Energy Fridays: How Long Should Energy Subsidies Last?
The passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” means that subsidies for wind and solar power are slated for repeal after 2027. Unsurprisingly, this has sparked a litany of analyses explaining just how catastrophic the end of these subsidies will be for the United States and the world. While there’s good reason to doubt those claims, they shouldn’t...
A look inside a lab making the advanced fuel to power growing US nuclear energy ambitions
Near signs that warn of radioactive risk at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a half-dozen workers from the nuclear power company X-energy are making what appear to be gray billiard balls. Inside, they’re packed with thousands of tiny black spheres that each contain a speck of uranium enriched beyond what today’s power plants use. The United...
China’s record-breaking heat pushes power demand to new high
Days of record-breaking heat across large swathes of China pushed power demand to an all-time high in excess of 1.5 billion kilowatts on Wednesday, energy officials said, with temperatures forecast to feel like 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas on Thursday. An arc of sweltering heat stretching from the densely populated city...
AI and Tech Aid as 2025 Wildfires Surge Ahead
Wildfire activity across the U.S. has pushed the nation to Preparedness Level 4, with 37,878 fires already recorded as of July 15—nearly double last year’s count by the same date. Over 1 million acres are actively burning, and suppression resources are being stretched as weather, drought, and dry fuels create ideal conditions for ignition and...
Removing aging dams could help strengthen communities facing extreme weather: Report
Eliminating obsolete or unsafe dams could help bolster community safety amid climate-induced weather extremes, watershed experts are recommending. Storms and floods have intensified in both frequency and severity, since the construction of the dams — many of which are now in a state of disrepair, according to a new white paper, published by Utah State University. “Removing...
Google Signs Deal with Brookfield for 3 GW of Hydropower Capacity
Technology giant Google announced the company will buy as much as 3 GW of hydropower generation capacity from Brookfield Renewable Partners, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. The companies on July 15 said the deal is a “hydro framework agreement” that will support Google’s goal of having data centers and other operations run continuously on carbon-free...
EU’s ‘green’ fuel mandate costly and not helping environment, IATA says
The International Air Transport Association on Wednesday stepped up criticism of the European Union’s sustainable aviation fuel mandate as a costly initiative that is not helping the environment as regional supplies there remain low. “The idea that you’re buying sustainable fuel and then transporting it to use in Europe isn’t the right way to do...
Trump Energy secretary: AI race is next Manhattan Project
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tuesday compared the race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI) to an American atomic bomb program during World War II. “The AI race is the second Manhattan project,” Wright said in a Tuesday poston the social platform X. During the World War II, the U.S. government’s Manhattan Project eventually succeeded in the creation of atomic weapons...
Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in U.S., interim CEO tells Trump
Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in the U.S. with construction to begin by 2030, interim CEO Dan Sumner told President Donald Trump at a roundtable in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Westinghouse’s big AP1000 reactor generates enough electricity to power more than 750,000 homes, according to the company. Building 10 of these reactors would drive $75 billion of...









