Jump to articles specifically related to solar, offshore wind, land-based wind, hydro, geothermal, storage, transmission, or mining.
Renewables In General
» US proposal would permit eagle deaths as renewables expand
The Biden administration is proposing a new permitting program for wind energy turbines, power lines and other projects that kill bald and golden eagles
By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press, in The Berkshire Eagle
September 29, 2022
» Inside Clean Energy: Yes, We Can Electrify Almost Everything. Here’s What That Looks Like.
National lab wraps up groundbreaking project on electrifying the economy.
By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News
June 3, 2021
» Where Wind and Solar Power Need to Grow for America to Meet Its Goals
By Veronica Penney, New York Times
May 28, 2021
» Podcast: Can the planet support a clean energy transition?
By Mike Gaworecki, Mongabay
September 30, 2020
» The Limits of Clean Energy
If the world isn’t careful, renewable energy could become as destructive as fossil fuels.
By Jason Hickel, Pocket
April 18, 2020
Solar Power
» That empty space next to highways? Put solar panels on it.
Roadside solar fields across the country could power up to 12 million electric vehicles.
By Emily Jones, Grist
December 7, 2022
» France to require all large parking lots to be covered by solar panels
The move could generate enough energy to power over 8 million homes.
By Alex Lawson, Grist
November 14, 2022
» Solar panels and crops can coexist, but more study needed on how and where
With mixed and sometimes puzzling results, researchers need more time and resources to figure out how to maximize agrivoltaics’ potential.
By Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network
October 17, 2022
» Research seeks ways to grow solar and crops together in the skeptical Corn Belt
By Sarah Bowman/Indianapolis Star, Brittney J. Miller/The Gazette and Joshua Rosenberg/The Lens, in Energy News Network
September 14, 2022
» Maine farmer pairs solar panels with wild blueberries. Will it bear fruit?
The University of Maine is studying how mounting solar panels in wild blueberry patches will affect income and production. The plants rebounded well from construction but so far show signs of producing fewer berries.
By Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network
September 1, 2022
» Is a solar energy project a farm? That’s the question, as Lenox faces a legal challenge from a major developer
By Clarence Fanto, Berkshire Eagle
July 5, 2022
» In Virginia, abandoned coal mines are transformed into solar farms
Six old mining sites owned by the Nature Conservancy will be some of the first utility-scale solar farms in the region — and the nonprofit group hopes the model can be replicated nationwide
By Zoeann Murphy, Washington Post
March 3, 2022
» In Parched California, a Project Aims to Save Water and Produce Renewable Energy
Plan calls for building solar canopies over canals, and may be the first project of its kind in the United States
By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News
February 24, 2022
» First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
By Roger Bales, The Conversation
February 22, 2022
» Kenya to use solar panels to boost crops by ‘harvesting the sun twice’
Successful trials found growing crops beneath panels – known as agrivoltaics – reduced water loss and resulted in larger plants
By Geoffrey Kamadi, The Guardian
February 22, 2022
» MassDOT finds an unusual place to hang solar panels: highway sound barriers
New panels along Route 128 will generate enough power for up to 120 homes
By Jon Chesto, Boston Globe
January 25, 2022
» Study: Connecticut could conserve land by installing solar above parking lots
A study published in the current issue of Solar Energy shows that Connecticut could generate more than a third of the state’s annual electricity consumption with solar canopies built over large, existing parking lots.
By Lisa Prevost, Energy News Network
November 15, 2021
» When it comes to solar farms, sheep are great groundskeepers
USDA funds project to build new group in support of solar grazing.
By Doug Johnson, ARS Technica
October 24, 2021
» Ponds, reservoirs could host floating solar in space-constrained Massachusetts
Developers intend to install the floating solar panels atop storage ponds, water treatments plants, and other human-made bodies of water — a first in a state mired in debate over how best to site projects.
By Sarah Shemkus, Energy News Network
September 7, 2021
» Gate of Heaven Solar Farm Denial Fails in Deadlocked Vote
By Michael Gold, The Examiner
August 17, 2021
» Wilson Street solar project ordered to pause after tribal officials claim disregard for Indigenous artifacts
By Mary Ellen Gambon, Hopkinton Independent
July 7, 2021
» A farmer’s fight for solar reveals a U.S. land problem
By Benjamin Storrow, E&E News
April 19, 2021
» Why Covering Canals With Solar Panels Is a Power Move
Covering waterways would, in a sense, make solar panels water-cooled, boosting their efficiency.
By Matt Simon, Science
March 19, 2021
» Conservation group plots solar potential for retired Appalachian coal mine land
The Nature Conservancy is seeking a partner to help develop solar on up to 13,000 acres of cleared minelands.
By Elizabeth McGowan, Energy News Network
May 18, 2020
» As Massachusetts solar installs plummet, stalled interconnections, land use questions are key hurdles
Last year, solar installments slowed and jobs disappeared in Massachusetts. Now, developers are trying to overcome regulatory barriers and local opposition to land development.
By Catherine Morehouse, Utility Dive
February 27, 2020
» Richmond Council Limits Commerical Solar Sprawl
By TIM FAULKNER, ecoRI News
October 21, 2019
» Solar panels could be cash crop for farmers
By Jay Greene, Craine’s Detroit Business
August 25, 2019
» One Weird Trick Prevents Bird Deaths At Solar Towers
By Susan Kraemer, Clean Technica
April 16, 2015
Offshore Wind Power
» Offshore Wind Farms Could Be Boon for Marine Biodiversity
By The Energy Mix
July 24, 2022
» New study probes impact of blackened wind turbine blades
By Joshua S Hill, Renew Economy
February 7, 2022
» ‘They aren’t used to losing’: wealthy New York enclave battles over offshore windfarm
Wainscott, a hamlet in the Hamptons, offers a new obstacle in Biden’s renewable energy plans as ‘Nimbys’ fight back with petitions, lobbyists and lawsuits
By Oliver Milman, The Guardian
March 17, 2021
» Danish research shows “almost no birds” die in collisions with wind turbines
By Joshua S Hill, Renew Economy
October 23, 2020
» Analysis: Is It Possible to Have Wind Power While Keeping Birds Safe?
By Gustave Axelson, All About Birds – Cornell
March 31, 2020
» Edgartown, Vineyard Wind Settle Cable Dispute
Noah Asimow, Vineyard Gazette
October 1, 2019
» The Hamptons Love Green Energy. But That Wind Farm?
The transmission line would go through an area where homeowners include the billionaire Ronald Lauder and Marci Klein, daughter of Calvin Klein.
By Debra West, New York Times
September 14, 2019
» Offshore wind delays highlight increasing challenge to Massachusetts’ climate goals
By Benjamin Storrow, Climatewire in E&E News
September 10, 2019
Land-Based Wind Power
» New study probes impact of blackened wind turbine blades
By Joshua S Hill, Renew Economy
February 7, 2022
» Wind turbine swoosh “more annoying” at night, new study finds
By Sophie Vorrath, Renew Economy
August 20, 2021
» Wind turbine night noise
Study finds ‘swoosh’ sound a possible concern
By Flinders University, Science Daily
August 18, 2021
EGLE denies permit for wind turbine project
By Garrett Neese, The Daily Mining Gazette
August 3, 2021
Dogs Sniff Out Answers to Bat and Bird Fatalities Near Wind Turbines
Aided by canines, researchers found larger models do not necessarily pose a greater threat to wildlife
By David Kindy, smithsonianmag.com
July 29, 2021
Hydro Power
» Tigers, jaguars under threat from tropical hydropower projects: Study
By Carolyn Cowan, Mongabay
December 9, 2021
» As Vermont nears 75% renewable power, advocates question if it’s clean enough
Most of the power being used to satisfy the state’s renewable electricity standard comes from Hydro-Québec as local wind and solar development lag.
By David Thill, Energy News Network
February 15, 2021
» Environmentalists and Dam Operators, at War for Years, Start Making Peace
Facing a climate crisis, environmental groups and industry agree to work together to bolster hydropower while reducing harm from dams.
By Brad Plumer, New York Times
October 13, 2020
» New York and New England Need More Clean Energy. Is Hydropower From Canada the Best Way to Get it?
Two massive projects, requiring hundreds of miles of transmissions lines, have left Indigenous communities in Canada, and some U.S. activists, up in arms.
By Ilana Cohen, InsideClimate News
October 4, 2020
» US demand for clean energy destroying Canada’s environment, indigenous peoples say
Push is inadvertently causing long-term environmental damage to the traditional hunting grounds on Inuit public lands
By Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, The Guardian
June 22, 2020
» The hidden costs of New England’s demand for Canadian hydropower
By VTD Editor, Vermont Digger
December 1, 2019
» Effort to Trade Gas for Hydropower in Northeast Meets Resistance
Some residents are concerned about environmental impacts from proposed transmission lines
By Benjamin Storrow, Scientific American – E&E News
May 22, 2019
Geothermal Energy
» Clean energy goes up against tribal rights and biodiversity in Nevada
A geothermal power plant is the latest battlefield for Biden’s green vision.
By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist
January 7, 2022
» In hot water: New Mexico battles the dark side of renewable energy
Lauren Villagran for Searchlight New Mexico, in The Guardian
March 26, 2019
Energy Storage
» Board rejects permit for lithium battery storage
By Ed Baker, The Patriot Ledger
November 23, 2021
Transmission
» As offshore wind plans grow, so does the need for transmission
By Miriam Wasser, WBUR
October 18, 2022
» Inflation Reduction Act could raise prices on clean energy, warns Bank of America
Without additional transmission capacity, the law could incentivize inefficient development of renewables and result in higher price volatility.
By Robert Walton, Utility Dive
September 12, 2022
» Maine court finds part of referendum blocking transmission line to Massachusetts unconstitutional
Now, it’s up to a lower court judge to decide whether the project can go ahead.
By Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe
August 30, 2022
» Environmental board upholds permit for hydropower corridor
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s citizen board has rejected the latest effort to delay or kill a $1 billion power line
By David Sharp, Associated Press, in The Berkshire Eagle
July 21, 2022
» An Energy Transition Needs Lots of Power Lines. This 1970s Minnesota Farmers’ Uprising Tried to Block One. What Can it Teach Us?
As the country moves toward a massive build-out of transmission lines, a decades-old rebellion offers a way through potential opposition.
By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News
January 3, 2022
» Irreconcilable conflict? Lessons from the Central Maine Power transmission corridor debacle
By Rebecca Schultz, Utility Dive | Opinion
November 30, 2021
» CMP agrees to stop corridor work, for now
By Kevin Miller, Maine Public Radio
November 19, 2021
» Maine voters tell Mass. to stick its transmission line
Backers of project say referendum was unconstitutional
By Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine
November 2, 2021
» Mesmerised brown crabs ‘attracted to’ undersea cables
Research in Scotland shows animals freeze near the electromagnetic field with implications for metabolism and migration
By PA Media, in The Guardian
October 10, 2021
» Avangrid, NextEra duke it out over a 145-mile transmission line in the Maine woods
Why have power companies spent nearly $100 million to sway voters on a ballot initiative in this sparsely populated state? Follow the money.
By Ethan Howland, Utility Dive
October 26, 2021
» New England will need more clean power even if the CMP corridor is built
By Jessica Piper, Bangor Daily News
October 13, 2021
» Controversial $1B Canada-US transmission line gets nod from Maine PUC staff
By Iulia Gheorghiu, Utility Dive
April 2, 2019
Mining
» The electric vehicle boom could bring lithium mines back to North Carolina
Not all locals are happy about it.
By Blanca Begert, Grist
August 31, 2022
» Powering Electric Cars: the Race to Mine Lithium in America’s Backyard
The experience of one mining company in rural North Carolina suggests the road ahead will be hard to navigate.
By Aime Williams, The Financial Times, in Inside Climate News
May 31, 2022
» New geothermal plants could solve America’s lithium supply crunch
By Bryant Jones & Michael McKibben, GreenBiz
April 14, 2022
» U.S. seeks new lithium sources as demand for clean energy grows
By Patrick Whittle, Associated Press, on PBS Newshour
March 28, 2022
» As the US Rushes After the Minerals for the Energy Transition, a 150-Year-Old Law Allows Mining Companies Free Reign on Public Lands
The Mining Law of 1872 lets miners pay no royalties for the precious minerals they dig from federal land and requires no restraints on their activities.
By Jim Robbins, Inside Climate News
March 13, 2022
» Where Is There More Lithium to Power Cars and Phones? Beneath a California Lake.
The U.S. race to secure a material known as ‘white gold’ turns to the Salton Sea, where energy companies hope to extract lithium from a geothermal reservoir
By Alistair MacDonald and Jim Carlton, Wall Street Journal
February 8, 2022
» In a battle between this endangered flower and a lithium mine, who should win?
The decision about whether to allow a mine supplying the materials to build batteries on the habitat of a rare flower exposes questions about how we manage the tradeoffs between preserving nature now versus protecting the climate in the future.
By Adele Peters, Fast Company
January 25, 2022
» 2021 was the year clean energy finally faced its mining problem
A clean energy revolution will hinge on getting mining right
By Justine Calma, The Verge
December 29, 2021
» Race to the Future: What to Know About the Frantic Quest for Cobalt
A New York Times investigation examines the global demand for raw materials as the clean energy revolution takes off. This is what we found.
By Eric Lipton, Dionne Searcey and Michael Forsythe
November 20, 2021
» A Power Struggle Over Cobalt Rattles the Clean Energy Revolution
The quest for Congo’s cobalt, which is vital for electric vehicles and the worldwide push against climate change, is caught in an international cycle of exploitation, greed and gamesmanship.
By Dionne Searcey, Michael Forsythe and Eric Lipton, New York Times
November 20, 2021
» Drilling for ‘white gold’ is happening right now at the Salton Sea
By Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times
November 15, 2021
» Plans To Dig the Biggest Lithium Mine in the US Face Mounting Opposition
Resistance to Lithium America’s plans to dig an element critical to the energy transition at Nevada’s Thacker Pass shows that “clean” energy could face the same challenges as fossil fuels.
By Cayte Bosler, Inside Climate News
November 7, 2021
» The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles
A race is on to produce lithium in the United States, but competing projects are taking very different approaches to extracting the vital raw material. Some might not be very green.
By Ivan Penn and Eric Lipton, New York Times
May 6, 2021
» The Battle of Thacker Pass
Electric cars require a lot of lithium. A showdown in Nevada shows that getting it won’t be easy.
By Maddie Stone, Grist
March 12, 2021
» Will the Race for Electric Vehicles Endanger the Earth’s Most Sensitive Ecosystem?
Materials needed to make the batteries for electric cars and other clean technology is driving interest in deep-seabed mining, and scientists fear the cost to the ocean will be steep.
By Tara Lohan, The Revelator
March 10, 2021
» The curse of ‘white oil’: electric vehicles’ dirty secret
The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale.
By Oliver Balch, The Guardian
December 8, 2020
» Could Deep Sea Mining Fuel The Electric Vehicle Boom?
By MINING.com
August 3, 2020
No Fracked Gas in Mass 