wind energy

Service technicians work to install the foundation for a transmission tower at the CenterPoint Energy power plant on June 10, 2022, in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Speedier permitting of energy projects gains bipartisan backing on U.S. Senate panel

BY: - May 11, 2023

Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voiced their support Thursday for reforming the federal process for approving energy projects, saying it should be prioritized to secure domestic energy supply and boost renewable energy. There is bipartisan interest in revising the permitting process and members of both parties have […]

Wind turbines in a Wisconsin field. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Here’s where renewable power is increasing (and where it’s not)

BY: - March 29, 2023

Despite supply-chain problems amid the lingering effects of the pandemic, 2022 saw major increases in solar and wind power in the United States, though that growth varied by state, according to a report released last month by a nonprofit focused on climate change. Nationally, electricity generated from solar and wind grew 16% from 2021, with […]

A whale surfaces on July 8, 2018, just east of Montauk, New York in the Block Island Sound. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Wind and whales: ‘No evidence’ links projects to deaths

BY: - February 28, 2023

The U.S. offshore wind power industry is in its infancy, with just a handful of turbines installed along the Atlantic coast. But they’re already being blamed for the deaths of whales that have washed up on beaches in New Jersey, New York, Virginia and elsewhere.  A Fox News story on Feb. 13 made strenuous attempts […]

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 […]

COMMENTARY
(Xuanyu Han/Getty Images)

The energy gap nobody wants to tussle with

BY: - January 4, 2023

Many Western states have declared they will achieve all-renewable electrical goals in just two decades. Call me naïve, but haven’t energy experts predicted that wind, sun and other alternative energy sources aren’t up to the job?  Alice Jackson, former CEO of Xcel Energy’s Colorado operation, was blunt at a renewable energy conference in February 2020: […]

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 […]

Nick Nemec stands in front of a wind turbine on his land near Highmore. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Wind energy is now South Dakota’s No. 1 producer of electricity, but not every day

BY: - November 2, 2022

Wind has surpassed hydroelectric power as the largest generator of electricity in South Dakota. Last year, over 52% of the electricity generated in the state came from wind turbines. That’s because of a large number of new, better turbines built in recent years. The state was home to 526 turbines before 2019. Another 511 were […]