"Maine used to host a nuclear power plant that generated 119 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity — enough for the entire state’s energy needs. The Maine Yankee Atomic Power plant in Wiscasset provided good jobs and massive tax revenue for the town, with the plant contributing 91% of the town’s tax base in 1996. Plant employees who lived locally did not have to pay for their utilities, a great perk for many Wiscasset residents. After several referendums against the plant and maintenance that became too expensive to fix, Maine Yankee was closed in 1996. Today, almost 20 percent of Wiscasset residents live below the poverty line."

"Stopping biofouling buildup isn’t just good for the climate: Many scientists have sounded the alarm on ecological threats posed by invasive species that hitchhike on ships. In recent years, Australia and New Zealand tightened scrutiny of ships arriving in their waters, including requiring regular removal of biofouling. California, home to some of America’s biggest ports by cargo tonnage, also requires biofouling management."

Deep geothermal is safe and secure, making it the solution for clean baseload power. Legislative support, exemplified by recent rare bipartisan legislation for geothermal energy and investment, is a strong barometer for the future of this limitless green energy that has the operations and technological prowess to deliver. Watch for 2024 to be the year geothermal moves past promise and into a leading role for global power.

"Data centers and AI computing have triggered a historic increase in near-term electricity demand, catching utilities and grid planners by surprise across the country. Some utilities are looking to increase their investment in gas turbines to keep pace with demand, but that approach locks in new carbon emissions for years, if not decades. Google’s Arizona strategy models a different path: bringing dispatchable clean energy online in the places where it’s building the data centers."

"Market revenue for recycling robots is forecast to reach more than $10 billion by 2030, as materials recovery facilities (MRFs) struggle with understaffing and the sheer volume of unique materials — nearly 300 million tons in 2018 for the U.S. alone — that they are expected to process."

"To date, the US has restricted domestic nuclear fuel recycling due to proliferation concerns, but that could be changing. The Biden administration is more open to ending the moratorium on recycling in light of the potential benefits of recycling fuel, according to an analysis by Physics Today."

"DOE is the only plausible candidate to fill this role in the United States. It routinely takes significant technical risks in order to create opportunities for private investment. It did so when nuclear power was commercialized in the 1950s, it aided solar and wind from the 1970s on, and it is trying to do so now for carbon capture, hydrogen, and even nuclear fusion. Geothermal energy is a more-than-credible addition to this list."

"The Fusion Industry Association reports that at least 25 companies 'think the first fusion plant will deliver electricity to the grid before 2035.' It notes: 'Companies are increasingly confident of meeting their ambitious goals. That will require focus on mid-term milestones, embracing risk and parallel pathways, new partnerships, and (crucially) more resources.' So far, at least one company, Type One Energy Group, has announced a potential site for its stellarator fusion prototype at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, Tennessee, a shuttered coal plant."