It’s the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these must-read articles from around the web:
Bill Gates-backed rectangular turbine pilot could upend wind power (electrek) Airloom Energy just broke ground on a rectangular wind turbine pilot site near Rock River, Wyoming, and it has the potential to change how wind power gets built in the US. Backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Airloom is developing a new kind of wind turbine that promises to be cheaper, faster to install, and more efficient than today’s towering three-blade giants. The Wyoming site will host the company’s first utility-scale turbine as part of a plan to prove the tech works in the real world.
American energy policy whiplash risks ceding hydrogen leadership to China — Brigham A. McCown (The Journal-Courier) The American energy industry stands at a strategic inflection point. A confluence of rising electricity demand driven by AI data centers, electric vehicles, domestic manufacturing and intensifying global competition is reshaping the United States’ approach to its energy future. Yet, despite these emerging opportunities, U.S. energy policy remains mired in regulatory uncertainty and political volatility, particularly regarding the future of natural gas and its role in producing clean hydrogen. These dynamics threaten to undermine the nation’s competitive edge.
At a novel Austin-area neighborhood, geothermal energy keeps utility bills low (The Texas Tribune) Whisper Valley is a peek into what the future could look like. The sweeping community in the Austin suburb of Manor is filled with modern homes, small manicured lawns, quiet streets and rooftops outfitted with solar panels. Hidden beneath it is a network of pipes and man-made reservoirs that heat and cool hundreds of households via geothermal technology — a source that currently provides less than 1% of the U.S. electrical demand.
How carbon capture works and the debate about whether it’s a future climate solution (Associated Press) Power plants and industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, are hopeful that Congress will keep tax credits for capturing the gas and storing it deep underground. The process, called carbon capture and sequestration, is seen by many as an important way to reduce pollution during a transition to renewable energy. But it faces criticism from some conservatives, who say it is expensive and unnecessary, and from environmentalists, who say it has consistently failed to capture as much pollution as promised and is simply a way for producers of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal to continue their use.
What’s plaguing America’s power grid? (NPR) The United States’ power grid is a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits. That network is facing increased demand: In 2023, the United States used 4 trillion kilowatthours of electrify — 14 times as much as was used in 1950. It also faces weather-related stress from extreme weather that’s becoming more common with climate change. So, we wanted to know: What will it take to modernize this aging infrastructure that’s become so essential to our daily lives? We interrogate that question today with the help of Anjan Bose, an electrical engineer at Washington State University.