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Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.
A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool
Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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Renewables and Storage Hold Their Own in the Texas Heat Dome

Expert BlogTexasJohn Moore

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.

Solar Helps Keep the ACs Humming in Texas

Expert BlogTexasJohn Moore

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.

Major Barrier to Demand Response Needs to End

Expert BlogUnited StatesJohn Moore

If federal regulators do the right thing, electricity customers across the Midwest may soon be able to earn money while boosting grid reliability and clean energy. 

Unlocking Distributed Energy’s Power With Intraday Markets

Expert BlogUnited StatesJohn Moore

An intraday electricity market is a promising new market design that would tap into the valuable benefits of DERs, including electric vehicles, smart appliances, rooftop solar panels and even fully electric buildings.

Texas Needs a Smarter, More Resilient Electric Grid

Expert BlogTexasJohn Moore

Freezing cold temperatures put the Texas electric grid into distress this week, with likely dozens of deaths and other human suffering, more than 4 million losing power, and more than 40% of the state’s gas, coal, and nuclear fleet offline…

(Past) Time to Jump-Start Grid Planning

Expert BlogUnited StatesJohn Moore
The rapid growth in wind and solar power means we need to upgrade and expand the nation’s power grid. The grid’s current design grew from local power needs centered around fossil and nuclear plants located relatively close to towns and…

FERC Must Preserve States’ Right to Affordable Clean Energy

Expert BlogAda Statler, John Moore
NRDC and a coalition of clean energy and consumer advocates just joined stakeholders in the country’s largest electricity market, PJM, in submitting comments in a proceeding that will determine the future of state-supported clean energy across the 13-state region.

Reliability Experts to FERC: Focus on “No Regrets” Actions

Expert BlogJohn Moore, Gillian Giannetti
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held its annual conference on electric system reliability this week. Unsurprisingly, the topic of resilience was featured throughout and the message from most energy experts was clear: power grids should focus on implementing “no…

Grid Resilience Efforts Should Focus on Customer Benefits

Expert BlogJohn Moore, Gillian Giannetti
A new report by three prominent energy experts correctly says that the focus of "resilience" should be on electricity customer needs. Those customer needs lie primarily on the distribution system—not the high-power grid.

Electric Grid Resilience and FERC: What Happens Next?

Expert BlogJohn Moore
On March 9, the nation’s regional grid operators are poised to tell their regulator—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—what they are doing about grid “resilience” and what, if anything, FERC should do about it.

FERC Rejects Perry’s Coal/Nuke Bailout, Finding It Illegal

Expert BlogMiles Farmer, John Moore
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry’s transparent attempt to needlessly funnel billions of electricity customer dollars to the owners of old and expensive coal and nuclear plants. In a major…