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DOE’s Grant Terminations and the Role of the Government in Energy R&D
Washington’s latest energy-policy controversy centers on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) recent decision to cancel billions of dollars in grants, including subsidies for clean energy and greenhouse-gas-reduction projects. As companies appeal and policymakers debate the validity of these cancellations, it is worth considering the proper role of government in promoting energy innovation.
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California passes law to phase out gillnet fishing in state waters to protect underwater wildlife
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law aimed at protecting marine life by gradually phasing out the use of set gillnets, a type of commercial fishing gear linked to widespread ocean harm. Assembly Bill 1056 addresses the long-standing environmental threat posed by these nets while providing a pathway for fishermen to transition away from their...
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Planned Trump staffing cuts loom over National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife, Land Management
Cuts to the federal agencies that manage national parks, science and public lands are expected to result in firings across the West, Southeast and Great Lakes, among other places, Trump administration plans reveal. In a court filing this week, the Interior Department said it plans to fire some 2,050 employees, including 272 at the National...
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A Step Forward to Healthier Forests
After passing the House in January with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) had been at a standstill for the past nine months– until yesterday.
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Why Are Electricity Rates Rising?
But 2025 is different. Utilities sought $29 billion in rate hikes so far this year—nearly double the 2024 pace—and average prices rose at about twice the rate of inflation in the first half of the year. Inflation accounts for a big part of the story, but not all of it.
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Shutdown Day 20: Hassett predicts impasse over this week
White House officials speculated Monday the 20-day federal shutdown could end this week with over 700,000 U.S. government workers currently furloughed. U.S. President Donald Trump‘s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, predicted the government shutdown was “likely to end sometime this week” as it enteredits third week. Hassett added the administration could impose “stronger measures” if Democrats don’t...
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Energy Department Closes Loan Guarantee to Strengthen U.S. Grid Reliability
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today announced the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) closed a loan guarantee to strengthen grid reliability and ensure lower electricity costs across the midwestern region of the United States. In accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order, Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid,...
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The Left’s Energy Amnesia
Energy price politics is not a new game in Washington. Typically, politicians blame the opposing side for higher gas prices. These days, higher prices are at the meter as electricity rates have more than doubled the inflation rate over the past year.
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Trump is reviving large sales of coal from public lands. Will anyone want it?
U.S. officials in the coming days are set to hold the government’s biggest coal sales in more than a decade, offering 600 million tons from publicly owned reserves next to strip mines in Montana and Wyoming. The sales are a signature piece of President Donald Trump’s ambitions for companies to dig more coal from federal lands and burn it for...