Energy on dan.heskett

BYD expands EV shipping fleet as wars upend freight costs and key trade routes

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:36:00 -0400

“Renting a car carrier with capacity of about 6,500 cars now costs $95,000 a day, up from $50,000 in February”

Microsoft abandons UK AI supercomputer as grid struggles to keep up

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:57:00 -0400

“Getting them connected to the grid, and keeping the neighbors happy, is proving rather more difficult.”

Amazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors at former Indiana coal plant

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:55:00 -0400

“The most recent nuclear power plants built in the U.S. suffered from egregious budget overruns and slipped timelines.”

Germany transforms former coal mines into Europe's largest lake landscape

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:58:00 -0400

“This is a process that will take two generations.”

World's first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 months

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:38:00 -0400

“From groundbreaking to commercial operations, the first block at Cape Station took 23 months to complete.”

Awkward: Saudi Arabia's new EV brand takes on the U.S. rival it already controls

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:27:00 -0400

“Combined, their full-capacity targets are roughly 10 times what the domestic market can plausibly absorb near-term.”

Soaring U.S. diesel prices slam local communities as fuel costs surge

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 11:15:00 -0400

“One Georgia food bank said it will spend an extra $100,000 this year on diesel, money that otherwise would have gone to feed families.”

South Africa joins the global resistance against American data centers

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:55:00 -0400

“A massive data center is trying to jump the queue and take our land, water and energy.”

The Return of Sail Power: Cargo Ships Are Turning Back to the Wind

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:51:00 -0400

“Wind, by comparison, is free.”

Higher-enriched uranium for datacenters has DoE all aglow

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 23:40:00 -0400

“Nusano expects each unit will produce 5.9 metric tons (MT) of HALEU per year, with the first unit scheduled to be operational in 2031”

Diesel prices are nearing $6 a gallon for the first time ever

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:43:00 -0400

“There’s just not enough diesel right now in Russia to export any volume of it, and that’s unfortunately a big problem for a global economy that sees almost every piece of heavy machinery needing diesel.”

Google commits over $15B to AI infrastructure in Finland

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:55:00 -0400

“Google’s deal will begin with it receiving a smaller amount of electric capacity, before it expands to allow for the purchase of up to 50% of the plant’s capacity from 2030-49.”

Global stocks slide as Brent crude surpasses $100 a barrel

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:35:00 -0400

“The benchmark crude contract rose to $100.19 on Wednesday, its highest level since July 24, when a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran was in place, and its price was on the downswing.”

DOE Approves $1.9 Billion Loan to NextEra for Google's Revived Nuclear Plant

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 07:43:00 -0400

“The facility’s owner, NextEra Energy, has received a $1.9 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance the refurbishment.”

Think your EV holds its value? China has some bad news for you

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:25:00 -0400

“Exporting the car is the easy part. Building the ecosystem that supports its second and third owner is much harder.”

Oil Surges Toward $100 as US-Iran Attacks Escalate

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:10:00 -0400

“The latest rally followed a weekend escalation in which the U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships.”

Fervo and Google sign world's largest deal for next-gen geothermal power

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:00:00 -0400

“Even though right now we don’t have clarity yet on how this will service a data center … we know that it will be a foundational building block”

Green Party wants to slam the brakes on UK datacenter construction until water and energy use are sorted

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 15:05:00 -0400

“A pause on building new datacenters would simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on overseas computing for the processing of sensitive health and defense data.”

UK wants datacenters to pay a fee for grid connection requests

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:35:52 -0400

“The electricity demand connections queue has more than tripled in size in less than a year, and consumers should not bear the risks created by speculative projects taking up space in the system”

Why Is Everyone Trying to Build a Solid-State Battery?

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:36:15 -0400

“If, however, the liquid electrolyte were replaced with some sort of solid material, these dendrites might stop being a problem.”

Indian EV makers beat Tesla and BYD on energy efficiency

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:50:00 -0400

“Indian manufacturers are beating Tesla and BYD at building energy-efficient electric cars.”

Canadian Lab Extracts 90% of Nuclear Waste Danger in 24 Hours

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 09:15:00 -0400

“Moltex projects that a single 300 MW SSR-W could run for its full 60-year life on recycled fuel from about 260,000 used CANDU bundles.”

Meta Will Build Its First Canadian Data Center in Alberta

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:00:00 -0400

“This is the first of its kind, the first of its size, the first of its scale, but it won’t be the last.”

Google's Exponential Path to Climate-Wrecking Digital Bloat

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:45:00 -0400

“The company’s total electricity consumption jumped from 31 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 to 43 TWh in 2025. This is very easily the biggest increase in their electricity consumption ever.”

PJM grid operator orders emergency steps to avoid large-scale outages

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 03:40:00 -0400

“PJM is running generators at full capacity and reducing electricity demand to avoid outages.”

Realta Fusion Generates Electricity Directly From a Fusion Reaction, an Apparent First

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 03:30:00 -0400

“We can take power from a plasma.”

Belgium stops decommissioning nuclear power plants

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0400

“Belgium reverses its 2003 nuclear phaseout and will keep all seven reactors operating past 2035.”

Solar and batteries can power the world

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:00:00 -0400

“Combined solar PV and battery costs have fallen below the levelized cost of fossil generation in every major grid region.”

Britain today generating 90%+ of electricity from renewables

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:30:00 -0400

“Wind, solar, and hydro combined to produce more than 90 percent of UK grid power across a 24-hour period for the first time.”

Honda is killing its EVs

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:30:00 -0400

“Honda is canceling its 2027 EV platform and pulling back to hybrids only.”

Ireland shuts last coal plant, becomes 15th coal-free country in Europe

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:00:00 -0400

“Moneypoint, Ireland’s last operating coal plant, has shut down for good.”

First Solar Car Rolls Off Validation Assembly Line At Aptera

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 14:00:00 -0500

“These first vehicles will be used to complete the key tests and optimization required to sell our first vehicles to customers.”

The AI boom is causing shortages everywhere else

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 16:30:00 -0500

“Power, water, copper, concrete, and high-end memory are all in short supply because of AI infrastructure buildout.”

Walmart Begins Building Out Nationwide EV Charging Network Across America

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:28:32 -0500

“With a store or club located within 10 miles of approximately 90% of Americans, we are uniquely positioned to deliver a convenient charging option.”

US electricity demand surged in 2025 – solar handled 61% of it

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 16:30:00 -0500

“Of the new electricity demand the US grid added in 2025, 61 percent was met by new solar capacity.”

Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:30:00 -0500

“Ford has discontinued the F-150 Lightning despite outselling the Cybertruck for two consecutive quarters.”

Energy Department Closes $1 Billion Loan to Restart Pennsylvania Nuclear Plant

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:00:00 -0500

“The Energy Department announced it closed a $1 billion loan to accelerate the restart of a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant that will deliver 850 megawatts of electricity.”

Solar and Wind Now Growing Fast Enough to Meet All New Electricity Demand

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0500

“For the first time across a sustained period, renewables generated more electricity than coal globally.”

Palisades Becomes First US Nuclear Plant to Return from Decommissioning

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0500

“The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan has officially returned to operational status after being in decommissioning for three years.”

New Catalyst Converts CO2 to Fuel at Record Efficiency

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0500

“When compared to noble metal catalysts such as platinum, the new catalyst demonstrated a 2.2-fold higher formation rate and a 1.8-fold higher yield.”

French Highway Wirelessly Charges EVs Faster Than Tesla Superchargers

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 11:00:00 -0400

“A system that allows continuous charging on the move could eliminate lengthy refueling stops altogether.”

US Datacenters Turn to Coal as Climate Goals Go Up in Smoke

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

“Coal generation increased nearly 20 percent year-to-date.”

US Warns Hidden Radios May Be Embedded In Solar-Powered Highway Infrastructure

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0400

“Undocumented cellular radios found in foreign-manufactured power inverters and battery management systems.”

Solar Power Has Begun to Transform the World's Energy System

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

“Solar power and HVDC cable technology now allows moving energy across continents, oceans, and time zones.”

America's Clean Hydrogen Dreams Are Fading

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0400

“Three-quarters of proposals will not meet this deadline,” according to Wood Mackenzie, regarding the shortened qualification window for Biden-era tax credits.

Hyundai To Help Build Nuclear-Powered Datacenter In Texas

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0400

“This agreement is significant in that it allows us to participate from the early stages of this project and contribute to the creation of the world’s largest integrated energy and artificial intelligence campus.”

Researchers Map Where Solar Energy Delivers the Biggest Climate Payoff

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:30:00 -0400

“In California, a 15% increase in solar power at noon was associated with a reduction of 147.18 metric tons of CO2 in the first hour.”

Nickel Workers Powered the EV Battery Boom. Now, Layoffs Have Hit.

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0400

“As people now rely on wages from nickel, layoffs will cause poverty.”

Datacenter Growth Estimates Likely Exaggerated

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:00:00 -0400

“Fulfilling all US datacenter forecasts through 2030 would require 90 percent of all the growth in the global AI chip supply.”

Dangerous Mines: Zimbabwe's Lithium Mining Boom

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 18:00:00 -0400

“Local people are the losers.”