News & Commentary

No fossil fuels, no problem? Texas investments in wind and solar pay off, generating record-breaking renewable power to meet all-time high electricity demand during nearly 10-day heat dome—despite fossil fuel plant failures.

It wasn’t easy, but the U.S. power grid defied record-breaking heatwaves and doomsday warnings to survive the summer without major service interruptions.

In a month that has seen Texas sizzle under record-breaking heat, solar, and wind power have been key to helping keeping the lights on—and air conditioners humming.

Blaming any one power source is a mistake. We can’t make any one source of power foolproof, but we can make a grid that’s nimble, resilient, and reliable.

The Southeast Side of Chicago—like many communities of color around the country—has been put on the frontline of the effects of a worsening climate crisis.

Latinos Progresando is one of the first community organizations to go all-electric in the Chicago Area. With a small amount of funds to cover the energy assessment, upgrades not only reduced energy costs, but allowed the building to fully electrify…

Illinois has passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (SB2408) into law, redefining the possible and positioning the state as a national leader on equitable climate action.

NRDC has seen a steady decline in total water usage institution-wide and has taken steps to advance water stewardship.

Electric grids across the Midwest, South, and in Texas failed a key resilience test during last month’s winter storm, and one key conclusion is clear: The grids connected via transmission lines fared significantly better than those isolated and on their…

The deadly winter storms and power outages in Texas last month are just the latest example of why the United States needs a National Disaster Safety Board.

Although both California and Texas recently faced traumatic weather events, the consequences for electric system reliability were dramatically different. 

Texas was just a glimpse of what’s to come. With increasing wildfires, drought, flooding, and sea-level rise, we must make sure our water systems can continue to operate during such events.

The extreme cold snap and the disaster it brought to the state is a reminder of the importance of good governance in a modern society—and the danger we court when we pursue policies untethered to the public interest.