clean energy

COMMENTARY
(Getty Images)

New clean energy incentives are an opportunity South Dakotans can’t afford to miss

BY: - February 2, 2023

South Dakota households could save thousands of dollars on energy costs and tax payments, thanks to new programs from last year’s federal climate law. The first of those incentives — tax credits on residential clean energy, energy efficiency upgrades and electric vehicles — launched last month. With programs from the climate law that passed last […]

A rendering of Dominion Energy's offshore wind installation vessel, which is expected to be completed this year. (Dominion Energy)

Offshore wind will need major investments in transmission, supply chain, reports say

BY: - January 26, 2023

Achieving the aggressive offshore wind power goals of the federal government and individual states will require billions of dollars in spending on transmission infrastructure, “unprecedented” cooperation between grid operators and federal and state agencies, and would be aided by major buildout of a domestic supply chain, per a pair of reports released this week.  Coastal […]

To create fusion ignition, the National Ignition Facility’s laser energy is converted into X-rays inside the hohlraum, which then compress a fuel capsule until it implodes, creating a high temperature, high pressure plasma. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

Scientists announce a fusion breakthrough with big implications for clean energy 

BY: - December 13, 2022

Scientists at a U.S. national laboratory announced Tuesday that they achieved fusion ignition, a breakthrough decades in the making that could have major implications for clean energy.  Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco said that on Dec. 5, for the first time anywhere in the world, they managed to produce more […]

Utility companies are spending billions building out transmission and distribution lines around the country, leading some to call for an independent monitor to protect customers.

As utilities spend billions on transmission, support builds for independent monitoring

BY: - November 21, 2022

An aging electric grid, fossil fuel power plant retirements and a massive renewable electricity buildout are all contributing to a boom in transmission and distribution wire projects by electric utilities across the country. In 2020, investor-owned electric utilities spent $25 billion on transmission, up from $23.7 billion in 2019, figures that the Edison Electric Institute, which […]

A photo taken near the proposed pumped storage project along the Missouri River

Concerns raised over an energy storage project along the Missouri River

BY: - November 3, 2022

Backers of a multibillion-dollar proposal in rural south-central South Dakota say they have a way to capture and store renewable energy for later use. The clean energy pitch has drawn criticism and concern from nearby landowners, however, who worry that the project could damage the environment and impact recreational opportunities in south-central South Dakota. Project […]