Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives advanced President Donald Trump‘s massive tax-cut and spending bill toward a final yes-or-no vote early on Thursday morning, appearing to overcome internal party divisions over its cost. During a marathon overnight session, lawmakers cleared a final procedural hurdle needed to begin debate on the bill in a 219-213 vote at around 3:30 a.m. ET (0730...
The Carrot Is Mightier Than the Stick
If we want to lead the world in reducing emissions while securing economic growth and energy security, we must replace the stick with the carrot. Overregulation, top-down mandates, and punitive taxes may win headlines, but they rarely produce scalable, lasting results.
Charting Out the New Grand Bargain for Permitting Reform
Reconciliation has sucked the air out of the room over the last several months, and with good reason. But while most of the energy policy world has been fighting over tax credits, negotiations over several other infrastructure packages have gotten underway. The most important of these is the surface transportation reauthorization bill, or the “highway...
Solar and wind excise tax dropped from Senate GOP megabill
Senate Republicans on Tuesday abandoned their effort to impose new taxes on solar and wind energy. Text released by the Senate Rules Committee no longer includes a new tax on solar and wind projects if some of their components come from China. The excise tax had been a last-minute addition to the bill and was made public over...
The New Plan for National Parks: Increase Prices for International Visitors
The Department of the Interior has a new plan to help fund the U.S. National Parks: raise the price for foreign visitors. The department recently published a document outlining its 2026 budget plans, and included in the brief is a plan to levy a surcharge on visitors coming from outside of the United States. According to the...
Copyright, AI Training, and Innovation
The rapid evolution and adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked numerous debates, ranging from the impact on employment to broader concerns about societal implications. One of the most contentious aspects is the intersection of AI and copyright law, with 39 copyright lawsuits underway against AI companies. The U.S. Copyright Office recently weighed in with a report focused...
Senate Megabill Stuns the Clean Energy Industry With New Tax on Wind and Solar
Senate Republicans stunned the power industry over the weekend with a proposed new tax on wind and solar projects, part of a broader push to unravel incentives for renewable energy. Energy tax credits that were expanded during the Biden administration are wrapped up in a fierce congressional fight over President Trump’s signature tax and spending bill. Most of the...
Good Energy Policy is Crucial for AI
If you want evidence of artificial intelligence’s lifesaving potential, log out of ChatGPT and, instead, check out what’s happening in Virginia Tech’s Civil and Environmental Engineering program. Researchers there are building a model that uses deep learning to predict where flooding from hurricanes will occur.
Taking Action to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Whatever you think the costs of wildfires are – to your community, your country, or the planet- it is very likely an underestimate.
How Will an International Visitor Surcharge Benefit Our National Parks?
Approximately 14.6 million travelers from other countries visit America’s national parks annually. Now, the U.S. Department of the Interior is proposing a surcharge so that these visitors pay a little extra for park entrance fees.









