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Solar panel arrays may help sustain grasslands during drought: Study
The placement of solar panels in Colorado’s grasslands could help decrease water stress and increase plant growth by about 20 percent during dry years, a new study has found. In these semi-arid areas, where grasslands often don’t get as much water as they need, the partial shading offered by solar systems can help plants get...
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Experts warn of China deals, urge Paraguay to defend sovereignty
Regional officials, diplomats and analysts warned of China’s growing influence in Latin America and urged Paraguay to safeguard its democratic sovereignty as it considers potential economic agreements with Beijing. Since 2020, China has become South America’s top trading partner, actively promoting investment and cooperation agreements that expand its influence in the region. This comes as...
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US ethanol output eases off record pace as summer travels heat up
Record volumes of U.S. ethanol have been churned out since late last year, largely due to an uptick in exports and steady domestic demand. But output has slipped from those record levels over the last couple of weeks, coinciding with the ramp-up of the summer driving season. Luckily, large stockpiles of the corn-based fuel additive...
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Revolutionary farming technique may have solved one of agriculture’s toughest challenges: ‘A historic step towards the future’
A pioneering farming experiment in drought-stricken Chile may have just cracked one of agriculture’s biggest challenges: growing rice with less water. In a first-of-its-kind trial, researchers at Chile’s Austral University and local farmers have successfully cultivated rice using a technique called “Jaspe” straining, without flooding the fields. The Jaspe strain consists of “spacing the seedlings further apart in...
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Trump-Era Fast-Track Approves Utah Uranium Mine in Just 14 Days
A uranium mine in southern Utah is the first project to be approved under President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration streamlining the development of energy infrastructure. Owned and operated by the Canadian company Anfield Energy, the Velvet-Wood uranium project received a green light on Friday under the federal government’s new, 14-day environmental review process for energy...
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NuScale Wins US Approval for Small Nuclear Reactor Design
NuScale Power Corp., the only company with US approval for a small nuclear reactor, has now won regulatory support for a second design that may go into service by the end of the decade. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission formally authorized the company’s 77-megawatt reactor design, according to a statementThursday. NuScale won similar approval in 2020 for a...
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EU to Propose New Climate Goal With Greater Flexibility in July
The European Union is set to offer greater flexibility in July over achieving its emissions-reduction target for the next decade, as the bloc seeks to bolster flagging support for its ambitious climate plans. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, told member states it’s considering publishing a measure to set an interim climate goal for...
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Supreme Court Curbs Scope of Environmental Reviews
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that a federal agency had done enough to consider the environmental impact of a proposed 88-mile railway in Utah. The ruling limits the scope of environmental reviews required by federal law in all sorts of settings. The proposed railway would connect oil fields in the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah...
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Twenty‑Five Years of Lessons on Electricity Competition in the United States
Why the Electricity Competition Debate Just Flipped—Again In 1998 California’s Power Exchange wholesale power market went live, symbolizing the then-new impetus for efficiency through electricity markets. The promise then was disarmingly simple: generation prices that reflected actual costs, customer choice, and an information revolution that would make your toaster as smart as your telephone. California, Pennsylvania, New...