December 2025 through February 2026 was the 2nd warmest winter on record for the Contiguous U.S. according to Prism climate data. The widespread record to near record warmth in the west easily outweighed the cool temps in the east. 🔥🔥🔥

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Afunny thing happened on the way to President Donald Trump’s mission to obliterate renewable energy. Solar and wind energy use is surging, especially globally, but even in the United States.

Solar and wind electricity generation grew so much last year that they met 109% of new electricity demand worldwide, pushing these renewable sources past coal for the first time as a global energy supplier, according to an analysis by Ember Energy Research.* More than 600 gigawatts of solar electricity were added last year, led by China and also including India, Brazil, Vietnam, the European Union, Kenya, and Mozambique. African experts say much of the continent is leaning heavily into solar and wind as it electrifies new regions and industries, bypassing fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, investment in new clean energy, including storage, grid upgrades, efficiency measures, and electric vehicles, soared as of 2024 year-end to $2.2 trillion – double the investment in new fossil fuels projects of $1.1 trillion – according to the International Energy Agency. Globally, the future for renewable energy looks bright.

On a sunny, early summer morning, Matthew Milner waited in his driveway in the Berkeley hills. It was his solar install day, and he was excited. He greeted the installers and walked them around to the back of his house. But instead of pointing to his roof, he pointed to his wooden backyard fence. That is where these solar panels would go, tilted, with their bottom edge on the ground, and top leaning against the fence’s wooden planks.

The installation wrapped up in two hours, demanded minimal paperwork, and damaged Milner’s wallet only marginally, as far as solar installations go. By noon, he plugged in an electrical cord that snaked from the panels into an outlet on the outside of his house. Immediately, solar power coursed toward his electrical panel and then flowed back through his home.

With that, he was offsetting his home’s energy use.

Milner is one of the solar-curious, who are testing the waters by purchasing a small, portable, plug-in display.

Despite Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on renewable energy, there’s a quiet revolution happening on US grids.

The US added a record-breaking amount of energy storage in 2025, according to a new solar industry report published Monday. The growth of battery storage across the US is a rare success story for clean energy during the renewables-hostile second Trump administration—and also a sign of how utilities may be thinking about reorienting electric grids as demand goes up across the country.

The new report, issued by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), follows another dataset released last week by Bloomberg New Energy Finance showing a similar boom in battery growth.

On Feb. 1, California’s batteries bridged the solar gap with seamless precision. After discharging through the night until sunrise, they spent the daylight hours charging, then pivoted back to exporting power well past midnight – effectively sustaining the state on solar energy for a full 24-hour cycle.

When turbulent weather with whipping winds and heavy snow is in the forecast, meteorologists sometimes warn that a storm could “bomb out” or become a bomb cyclone. But what exactly does this mean?

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, certain storms undergo bombogenesis, which happens when a storm’s central pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. These storms are sometimes called bomb cyclones. Storm intensity is measured by central pressure, so the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.

The recent boom in renewables and storage in Texas means its grid is much better prepared for bad weather than it was when Winter Storm Uri hit five years…

The EPA revoked the finding that greenhouses gases threaten public health and welfare, then weakened vehicle emissions standards.

MADISON, Wis. — Earlier this month, Madison, Wis., was host to the city's 14th annual Frozen Assets Festival. "When our lakes are frozen, they are truly our greatest asset," says James Tye, executive director and founder of Clean Lakes Alliance, the nonprofit that hosts the festival.

This time of year, frozen lakes are a part of life here. The city was built on an isthmus — a thin strip of land between two bodies of water. Lake Mendota and Lake Monona border the city's historic downtown on either side, with the strip of land running about a mile wide at its thinnest. The lakes are visible from many places in town. In wintertime, ice fishing, skating, ice sailing and snowshoeing are all common sights.

28 February 2026 – CAPE COD, MA –After nearly a week of snow, cold, and power loss Cape Cod recovery is underway. This storm may be remembered as The Blizzard of February 23 and we find out how a behind-the-scenes structure helped us weather the storm.

A blizzard of historic proportions blizzard rolled onto Cape Cod Sunday night, pummeled Barnstable County with hurricane force winds throughout the day on Monday, dumped 17 to 20 inches of wet heavy snow, and knocked out power for more than 155,00. People will no doubt be referring  to this as The February 23rd blizzard for the next 20 years.

What role did the MACC play?

Over at the Barnstable Multi Agency Coordination Center (MACC), a little known but well rehearsed process kicked into play. The regional emergency planning committee turns 15 sometimes turfy towns into a unified response during emergencies.

Resource sharing, regional shelters, and perhaps, most importantly, coordinated communication helps Cape Cod punch above its weight during moments like the Blizzard of February 23rd.

As primary silver grades decline and solar demand surges, the industry must transition from viewing retired panels as waste to treating them as high-grade mineral reserves essential for the energy transition.

Silver has become one of the most important materials in the clean energy transition. It’s essential for solar photovoltaics, and solar is no longer a minor consumer of silver. It’s becoming one of the largest drivers of demand — at the same time that ore grades are declining and supply is getting harder to expand quickly.

In other words, even as solar gets cheaper and more efficient, its material foundation is tightening.  

This is not just an academic concern.

Former FirstEnergy execs Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling face state criminal charges connected to HB 6 bailout maneuvers, for which Ohioans are still paying the price. 

Tampa-based Mosaic, one of the world’s largest phosphate mining companies, will be allowed to continue its mining operation in Manatee County for another 14 years.

On Wednesday, county commissioners voted 5-2 to approve the extension, with Commissioners Bob McCann and Carol Ann Felts opposed. With the extension, Mosaic can continue mining through 2044 and will need to complete land reclamation by the end of 2055.

The Mosaic Company operates the Four Corners Mine in northeast Manatee, which is the largest phosphate mine in Florida at around 13,000 acres. The mine extends throughout three adjacent counties: Hillsborough, Polk and Hardee.

The company has mined in the area since the 1970s and was previously granted extensions and additional mining tracts. In the extension approved on Wednesday, the Four Corners Mine boundary was also expanded to include the East Duette Tract — an additional 1,162 acres.

Phosphate, a key ingredient in plant fertilizer, is central to Mosaic’s business. The Four Corners Mine, one of the largest phosphate mines in the country, employs about 440 people and generates about 8 million tons per year, the company says.

Public opinions were split on the extension.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles are often touted as a bridge to battery-electric vehicles, promising to slash emissions by operating as EVs for short trips while relying on fossil fuels for longer ones.

They only deliver on that promise if they’re regularly charged. Real-world data drawn from the vehicles’ onboard computers shows that’s often not the case.

Using that data, the Fraunhofer Institute could determine how much of that energy came from charging when plugged in. It found that less than a third of 1 million PHEVs in Germany plugged in either occasionally or not at all.

(HYANNIS) – A major Nor’easter was forecast to bring a significant winter storm to Cape Cod and the Islands late Sunday night into much of the day on Monday, bringing heavy, wet snow, high winds and coastal flooding.

The National Weather Service posted a Blizzard Warning for all of Cape Cod and much of eastern Massachusetts though late Monday and Gov. Maura Healey declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts.

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the concept of wireless electricity transmission has captured the imagination of scientists, engineers and the general public alike.

But is this futuristic-sounding technology merely science fiction, or could it become a practical reality in the near future? This article delves deep into the fascinating world of wireless power transfer, examining its history, current applications, potential future uses, and the challenges that must be overcome to make it viable on a large scale.

Malaysia rolled out glow-in-the-dark road lines that lit up rural highways without electricity, and drivers loved them.

Within weeks, expansion plans multiplied. Selangor’s state government announced it was considering 15 further locations. Johor identified 31 roads for its own pilot programme. The public reaction was broadly enthusiastic, particularly from drivers who noted the markings remained visible during heavy rain and fog, conditions that render standard retroreflective paint nearly useless.

Twelve months later, Deputy Works Minister Ahmad Maslan stood in the Dewan Rakyat and announced the government would not proceed. The glowing lanes, it turned out, carried a price that no road safety argument could justify at scale.

(HYANNIS) – Cape Cod and the Islands are bracing for another possible winter blast late Sunday night into Monday, with the possibly of a Nor’easter just off the coast of Massachusetts. The National…