On Sept. 3, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office announced the creation of a Geothermal Center of Excellence on the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) campus in Golden, Colorado. The center, led by NLR and supported by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, will coordinate research across ten national labs—including Argonne, Brookhaven, Idaho, Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia—to tackle high‑impact technical barriers in geothermal energy. An industry advisory board [...]

On August 27, the nation’s first grid‑connected, pre‑permitted open‑ocean wave‑energy test facility, PacWave South, opened on Oregon’s coast. The ribbon‑cutting, hosted by Oregon State University, was attended by leaders from the U.S. Department of Energy, Congress, and the Oregon Legislature. PacWave South, managed by OSU and funded in part by DOE’s Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office, can host up to 20 wave‑energy converters, each linked to a 5‑MW subsea cable, and is licensed for 25 years under FERC. The [...]

Khosla‑backed Mazama Energy announced a $135 million financing round led by Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital, with participation from ConocoPhillips, Shell Ventures and several new backers. The capital will fund horizontal drilling of super‑hot‑rock geothermal wells that can reach 15,000 feet and tap 750 °F (400 °C) reservoirs, creating supercritical water that delivers up to ten times the power of conventional geothermal. Mazama expects each well to generate roughly 15 megawatts, and its first Oregon project, now projected to produce 10 gigawatts of [...]

Energy and industry leaders warned that the United States risks losing the artificial‑intelligence race if it cannot expand its power supply. At a Daily Caller Live event, Christopher Johnson of the American Energy Leadership Institute and Mark Bednar of Monument Advocacy argued that without a massive build‑out of reliable, clean electricity and domestic data‑center capacity, AI workloads will shift to China, where coal‑fired plants are proliferating. China is constructing 94.5 GW of new coal capacity in 2024, accounting for [...]

A new framework argues farm electrification should prioritize the specific work tasks—such as dairy cooling, irrigation, greenhouse heating, and grain drying—rather than focusing solely on replacing diesel tractors. The approach, detailed in a TFIE Strategy Briefing, evaluates when to electrify equipment, when to upgrade machinery, and when existing diesel assets remain sensible. Case studies from Ireland and India illustrate that stationary loads like heating and pumping often offer clearer, cost‑effective electric alternatives than mobile power units. [...]

The International Hydropower Association released the Delhi Declaration, outlining five policy priorities to unlock India’s estimated 288 GW of pumped‑hydro energy storage (PHES) potential. It urges faster project clearances, stronger revenue mechanisms, and tighter coordination between central and state bodies to meet the 100 GW PHES target by 2035‑36. The declaration calls for parallel approval processes, single‑window clearances, dedicated development zones, and market reforms that compensate PHES for ancillary services. It aligns with the Central Electricity Authority’s roadmap and [...]

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) announced their merger, effective early October, after board approvals. CCSA’s team, resources, and policy work will be integrated into SEIA, creating the sole national trade association covering all solar and storage segments—utility‑scale, commercial, residential, and community. The combined entity will strengthen advocacy at state and federal levels, leveraging SEIA’s long‑standing influence and CCSA’s recent growth in community solar. The merger aims to unify [...]