solar energy

As large solar projects become more common across the Mountain West, questions remain about their environmental footprint, especially in fragile desert ecosystems. New research from Nevada suggests that with careful planning, renewable energy development and rare native plants may be able to coexist.

Project Jade could eventually use the same amount of electricity as produced by 10 nuclear power plants, boosting Wyoming’s energy industry while challenging efforts to limit emissions and stressing water supplies.

Lower electricity bills could help two Cokeville cattlemen compete and pass their businesses on to their kids, they say, but lawmakers won’t let ranch-scale solar projects feed power to the grid.

A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association warns that more than 500 planned solar projects nationwide could be delayed or canceled as the Trump administration pivots back toward fossil fuels.

A proposal to build one of the largest solar projects in the U.S. has been abruptly halted by the Trump administration — a move critics say undermines the nation’s renewable energy transition.

Energize Wind River now has access to a roughly $2 million construction grant that was put on hold by the Trump administration earlier this year.

A new scientific analysis shows the U.S. is generating more electricity from wind and solar than ever before, and several states in the Mountain West are helping lead the charge. However, the future growth of wind and solar is uncertain.

With a $2 million construction grant currently on hold, Energize Wind River is searching for other funding sources to make solar a reality for some Eastern Shoshone homes.

Coal has played a significant role in the United Kingdom – and British identity – since the Industrial Revolution. Coal first generated electricity in the country in the 1880s. It was the country’s largest bulk export until 1939. Even the word “smog” was coined in London for the hazy skyline coal power created. But now, the U.K. is the world’s first major economy to quit coal power, beating a climate-focused deadline the government set back in 2015.

A new report shows the nation’s solar workforce grew 6% to nearly 280,000 jobs last year, which is a record high. And a lot of that growth was led by the West.