Energy

Energy Follow Follow Anthropic says it’ll try to keep its data centers from raising electricity costs Justine Calma Feb 11 How an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center project Justine Calma Feb 11 Microsoft wants to rewire data centers to save space Justine Calma Feb 10 J External Link Justine Calma Feb 3 Link Trump plans to stockpile critical minerals. The President announced a new $12 billion public-private partnership called Project Vault, meant to establish a strategic reserve of critical minerals. It’s expected to safeguard stores of rare earths and other materials used in batteries, smart phones, cars, planes , and more. Trump Project Vault stockpile will include any minerals listed as ‘critical’ by Interior Department [ CNBC ] J External Link Justine Calma Feb 2 Link Offshore wind projects are back on again. The Trump administration ordered five major offshore wind projects to pause construction in December , suddenly citing national security risks even though developers had previously secured approvals to start building. After the companies filed suit , federal courts have now allowed all five projects to start construction again. US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed [ the Guardian ] J External Link Justine Calma Jan 30 Link So much for nuclear safety rules. The Trump administration is quietly weakening regulations meant to protect groundwater and limit radiation exposure to workers at new nuclear reactors, NPR reports . Trump has worked to speed up the deployment of new nuclear reactor designs to power AI data centers . The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules [ NPR ] It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers Justine Calma Jan 29 A Quote Andrew J. Hawkins Jan 28 Link Redwood Materials nabs $425 million for battery recycling and energy storage. The company, which was led by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel , says it just closed its series E funding, including participation from Google and other investors. The money will be put toward building out Redwood Materials’ energy storage platform as well as its EV battery recycling and critical minerals business. And in a blog post, the company gestures at the current debate over AI data centers and electricity demand, saying: As electricity demand surges—driven by AI, data centers, manufacturing and electrification—energy storage is no longer optional; it is essential infrastructure. The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers Justine Calma Jan 27 Trump is steamrolling global calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining Justine Calma Jan 21 J Justine Calma Jan 20 Link These landers will scour the deep sea for signs of ‘dark oxygen.’ Scientists announced a new expedition to study the potential origin of ‘dark oxygen’ rising from the abyss, a recent discovery that’s been contested by some other researchers and mining companies seeking to exploit new sources of battery minerals along the seafloor. New deep-sea landers were designed to withstand 1,200 times the pressure on earth’s surface. Photo courtesy of the Nippon Foundation funding the new research initiative. Trump and Mid-Atlantic governors want tech companies to pay for new power plants Justine Calma Jan 16 Microsoft scrambles to quell fury around its new AI data centers Justine Calma Jan 13 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 12 Link Data center projects are dropping like flies. At least 25 were canceled last year in the US, according to an analysis by Heatmap Pro . It’s a significant increase from 2024 as local opposition to energy and water-intensive data centers grows across the nation. Scoop: Local Opposition to Data Centers Is Surging. So Are Canceled Projects. [ Heatmap News ] Anker goes big with new whole home backup system Thomas Ricker Jan 12 Meta expands nuclear power ambitions to include Bill Gates’ startup Jess Weatherbed Jan 9 America’s new era of energy imperialism is about more than oil Trump wants Venezuela’s oil, Greenland’s minerals, and above all — control. Justine Calma Jan 8 Bluetti now charges power stations at up to 1200W in your car Thomas Ricker Jan 7 J External Link Justine Calma Jan 5 Link The US is after oil in Venezuela, but it won’t be so easy to grab. Since his administration attacked Caracas and arrested President Nicolás Maduro, Trump’s been clear that he wants US companies to “ go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken [oil] infrastructure ” in Venezuela. That’s easier said than done with massive logistical challenges and political instability still weighing on the oil industry in the region. Trump Wants Venezuela’s Oil. Getting It Might Not Be So Simple [ WIRED ] T Thomas Ricker Jan 5 Link Anker teases whole home battery backup. These are the boxes that’ll make up its new Solix E10 , aka “the world’s first smart hybrid whole home backup solution.” What that means, exactly, won’t be known until the launch event on January 12th. I’m seeing stackable battery expansion and an inverter as you’d expect, an inlet box and smart panel to tap directly into your home’s circuitry, and what looks like a gas-powered generator like EcoFlow sells . If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Previous Next 1 / 2 From left to right: the gas-powered generator, an inverter stacked onto an expansion battery, and the smart panel. image: Anker Trump’s war on offshore wind faces another lawsuit Justine Calma Dec 26, 2025 Next-generation nuclear reactors could get a boost from the National Defense Authorization Act Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Don’t expect Trump Media’s nuclear fusion power plant to generate electricity soon The energy demands of AI are driving investment in futuristic fusion reactors from Big Tech and now Trump Media. Is it viable? Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Communities are rising up against data centers — and winning Justine Calma Dec 19, 2025 Trump Media is merging with a nuclear fusion company Dominic Preston Dec 18, 2025 Democratic lawmakers are investigating data centers’ impact on electricity costs Justine Calma Dec 17, 2025 AI’s water and electricity use soars in 2025 Justine Calma Dec 17, 2025 The ‘mad rush’ to install solar panels before tax credits run out The solar industry is pivoting to survive Donald Trump’s attacks on clean energy. Justine Calma Dec 16, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Dec 10, 2025 Link The US is hiding more information about climate change. The Trump administration has taken down content about the human causes of global warming — greenhouse gases from fossil fuels — from the Environmental Protection Agency website, part of a larger purge of science-backed information on federal websites . “It’s clearly a deliberate effort to misinform,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain tells the Washington Pos t . The EPA is wiping mention of human-caused climate change from its website [ Washington Post ] The scramble to launch data centers into space is heating up Justine Calma Dec 10, 2025 Data center construction moratorium is gaining steam Justine Calma Dec 9, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Dec 8, 2025 Link AI reasoning models are even more energy intensive. They used 30 times more electricity on average than other models according to research by the AI Energy Score project that included responses to 1,000 written prompts. “We should be smarter about the way that we use AI ... Choosing the right model for the right task is important,” Hugging Face research scientist Sasha Luccioni tells Bloomberg . The Rise of AI Reasoning Models Comes With a Big Energy Tradeoff [ Bloomberg ] Trump embraces gas guzzlers and air pollution by weakening fuel economy standards Justine Calma Dec 3, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Dec 2, 2025 Link Bill Gates’ nuclear energy company gets initial stamp of approval for construction. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed its safety evaluation for the Kemmerer Power Station in Wyoming and determined that “ there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the construction permit ” for the plant. The NRC says it could take up to another 18 months to make a licensing decision on the advanced reactor. Bill Gates’ TerraPower gets NRC green light for safety in construction of its first nuclear plant [ GeekWire ] J External Link Justine Calma Dec 1, 2025 Link Satya Nadella acknowledged that data centers are “putting a lot of pressure” on power grids. The tech industry “needs to earn the social permission to consume energy” for AI data centers he says in an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. Nadella also called for faster permitting for new power infrastructure and “innovation” in energy efficiency and generation. Microsoft’s Nadella: AI needs ‘social permission’ to consume so much energy [ Politico ] J External Link Justine Calma Dec 1, 2025 Link The largest power grid system in the US is considering rolling blackouts because of energy-hungry data centers. Now, the independent market monitor for the northeast’s PJM Interconnection is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to only allow large data centers to connect to the grid if there’s enough capacity available to serve them reliably. PJM is struggling to finalize a plan to cope with surging data center growth . No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor [ Utility Dive ] J External Link Justine Calma Nov 25, 2025 Link Trump’s ‘Genesis Mission’ is supposed to solve AI’s issues with more AI. The goal is to speed scientific breakthroughs on key priorities including meeting soaring energy demand that’s raising electricity costs for Americans. Trump Signs ‘Genesis Mission’ Order to Boost Innovation With AI [ Bloomberg ] UN climate negotiations burned up and then fizzled out Justine Calma Nov 24, 2025 J External Link Justine Calma Nov 21, 2025 Link A global roadmap for ditching fossil fuels hangs in the balance. Negotiators are deadlocked in a tumultuous close to United Nations climate talks . A proposed roadmap for transitioning away from coal, oil, and gas has become a flashpoint . “We’re facing the reality of a no-deal scenario” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said earlier today . 'A lot of fighting': Fossil fuel row breaks out at UN climate summit [ BBC ] J External Link Justine Calma Nov 21, 2025 Link Meta’s becoming an electricity broker. The company plants to start trading power, a move that could support the buildout of new power plants as grids try to keep up with rising electricity demand from data centers and generative AI, Bloomberg reports. Meta Looks to Power Trading to Support Its AI Energy Needs [ Bloomberg ] Most Popular Most Popular Apple’s doing something on March 4th Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI The Pocket Taco is the best way to turn your phone into a Game Boy Anker’s USB-C cable that lets you charge two gadgets at once is 20 percent off Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad