Longer, more frequent outages afflict the U.S. power grid as states fail to prepare for climate change
State officials are reluctant to ask ratepayers to foot the bill for investments experts say are needed to fortify the grid against increasingly severe weather.
By Douglas MacMillan and Will EnglundOctober 24, 2021U.S. begins detaining solar panel imports over concerns about forced labor in China
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has started detaining imported solar panels made with Chinese materials over concerns about forced-labor practices in China.
By Jeanne WhalenAugust 27, 2021Running on empty
The threats — real and imagined — driving a run on gas across the Southeast. And why Peloton decided to recall 125,000 treadmills.
By Maggie Penman and Alexis Diao and Ted Muldoon and Reena Flores and Jordan-Marie Smith and Linah Mohammad and Rennie Svirnovskiy and Ariel Plotnick and Savannah Robinson and Emma TalkoffMay 13, 2021Ransomware attack leads to shutdown of major U.S. pipeline system
Colonial’s 5,500 miles of pipelines carry fuel from refineries on the Gulf Coast to customers in the southern and eastern United States. The company says it shut down its pipelines temporarily after a cyber attack.
By Ellen Nakashima and Yeganeh Torbati and Will EnglundMay 8, 2021Thomas F. Farrell II, former CEO of Virginia-based Dominion Energy, dies at 66
He led Virginia’s largest utility company from 2007 to 2020 and was a powerful force in business and politics.
By News Services and Staff ReportsApril 3, 2021Ten years ago, 241 Texas power plants couldn’t take the cold. Dozens of them failed again this year.
More than 30 Texas power plants failed during a 2011 winter freeze and again in 2021, despite warnings about the need to winterize their equipment.
By Neena Satija and Aaron GreggMarch 6, 2021Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi minister and symbol of ‘the new age of oil,’ dies at 90
He led the kingdom through the 1973 oil crisis and the nationalization of its state energy company.
By Jon GambrellFebruary 23, 2021The lone grid state
Understanding the freezing weather sweeping across the United States — and why Texas’s independent power grid was doomed to fail in its wake. Plus, NASA tries to land a car on Mars.
By Maggie Penman and Alexis Diao and Ted Muldoon and Reena Flores and Jordan-Marie Smith and Linah Mohammad and Rennie SvirnovskiyFebruary 17, 2021Biden wants to create millions of clean-energy jobs. China and Europe are way ahead of him.
China dominates battery production today, with 93 "gigafactories" that manufacture lithium-ion battery cells, vs. only four in the United States.
By Jeanne WhalenFebruary 11, 2021Biden rejoins Paris climate accord, works to overturn Trump’s climate policies
President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign a slew of executive orders Wednesday afternoon aimed at unwinding President Trump’s environmental legacy, from restoring boundaries to national monuments to rejoining the Paris climate accord to reviving the government's role in protecting the air, water and endangered species.
By Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson and Brady DennisJanuary 20, 2021Federal court scraps Trump administration’s power plant rule
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated a Trump administration rule on carbon dioxide emissions, effectively restoring President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, which limited those pollutants from power plants.
By Steven MufsonJanuary 19, 2021President-elect Biden to end Keystone XL pipeline in fight on climate change
Biden is expected to soon reverse the efforts of the Trump administration and end a project proposed more than a decade ago.
By Steven Mufson and Juliet EilperinJanuary 18, 2021French oil giant Total quits American Petroleum Institute
French oil giant Total quits American Petroleum Institute over differences on subsidies for electric vehicles and carbon pricing.
By Steven MufsonJanuary 15, 2021United Airlines aims to suck carbon dioxide from the friendly skies
When it comes to cutting greenhouse gases that are driving up global temperatures and threatening the planet, there are few ways to reduce the pollution caused by air travel.
By Steven MufsonJanuary 12, 2021Biden wants to make the climate fight central to his presidency. What do big oil and gas firms think about that?
President-elect Biden is set on making climate change a central part of his agenda. How do big oil and gas companies feel about that?
By Steven Mufson and Dino GrandoniDecember 22, 2020U.S. greenhouse gas emissions set to drop to lowest level in three decades
U.S. carbon emissions are set to drop to the lowest level in three decades. A BloombergNEF study says an economic rebound next year won’t completely offset this year’s 9 percent decline, but that quick action is needed to get the United States back on track for its Paris climate accord commitments.
By Steven MufsonNovember 19, 2020The U.S. will leave the Paris climate accord on Nov. 4. But voters will decide for how long.
President Trump's plan to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement takes effect Nov. 4, one day after the national election. If Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins the White House, he has promised to rejoin the accord.
By Steven Mufson and Brady DennisOctober 30, 2020The number of global methane hot spots has soared this year despite the economic slowdown
Global methane emissions rose 32 percent this year, a study found, and the European Union said it would aim to reduce methane releases in the oil and gas industry. Methane accounts for a quarter of global warming emissions from human activities.
By Steven MufsonOctober 14, 2020Montana judge ousts Trump’s temporary Bureau of Land Management director, casting doubt on range of decisions
A Montana judge ruled Friday that William Perry Pendley, the effective director of the Bureau of Land Management, had failed to get Senate approval and had stayed beyond the limit allowed under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. As a result, his actions while at BLM for more than a year might be invalid, throwing into doubt a wide range of decisions.
By Steven MufsonSeptember 26, 2020White House withdraws nomination of William Pendley to head the Bureau of Land Management
The Trump administration withdraws nomination of William Perry Pendley to head the Bureau of Land Management amid pressure on Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Col.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) who are running for reelection and who have been under pressure not to vote for Pendley.
By Steven MufsonAugust 15, 2020