Energy Energy

Energy

The coal power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, owned by Rocky Mountain Power, is scheduled to be decommissioned next year. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption

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Kirk Siegler/NPR

Why a town on the front line of America's energy transition isn't letting go of coal

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The National Ignition Facility used lasers to generate net energy from a pellet of fusion fuel in 2022. But the experiment is still a long way from truly producing more electricity than it requires. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hide caption

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Are we on the brink of a nuclear fusion breakthrough?

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The first operating South Fork Wind farm turbine stands east of Montauk Point, N.Y., on Dec. 7, 2023. South Fork Wind, America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, is officially open. Julia Nikhinson/AP hide caption

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Julia Nikhinson/AP
Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

You asked, we answered: Your questions about electric vehicles

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Technician Konnor Therriault inside of a Vestas wind turbine in Bingham, Maine. Darian Woods/NPR hide caption

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Darian Woods/NPR

Wind boom, wind bust (Two Windicators)

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Flares burn off methane and other hydrocarbons at an oil and gas facility in Lenorah, Texas in 2021. New research shows drillers emit about three times as much climate-warming methane as official estimates. David Goldman/AP hide caption

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David Goldman/AP

Oil and gas companies emit more climate-warming methane than EPA reports

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Texas investigators say the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest in state history, appears to be caused by a downed utility power pole. When it comes to increased risks of starting wildfires, Michael Wara professor at Stanford University says some utilities "are walking into a catastrophe." Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

A man looks out over the Colorado River near Page, Arizona on Nov. 2, 2022. The seven states that manage the river are divided about how to account for the impacts of climate change in new plans about sharing its water. Alex Hager/KUNC hide caption

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Alex Hager/KUNC

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing

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A flare burns off methane and other hydrocarbons as oil pumpjacks operate in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas. Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas is the main driver of global warming. David Goldman/AP hide caption

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David Goldman/AP

This photograph shared by the Indian Navy on the X platform shows a firefighting team from Indian Navy vessel INS Kolkata responding to a fire on Liberian-flagged Merchant ship MSC Sky II caused due to a suspected drone/missile attack in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday. Indian Navy on X via AP hide caption

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Indian Navy on X via AP

Danny Luckman and Aidan Czerniak of Simply Installs Heating & Air Conditioning cut out and remove natural gas lines from a tattoo and piercing shop. To meet climate change goals, Ithaca, New York wants to switch from gas to electric in the city's 6000 buildings. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

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Jeff Brady/NPR

Getting off fossil fuels is hard, but this city is doing it — building by building

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Damon Tillman says coal will not surge back in Keyser to the way it once was. Haiyun Jiang for NPR hide caption

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Haiyun Jiang for NPR

This is what happens when a wind farm comes to a coal town

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FILE - A mechanized shovel loads a haul truck that can carry up to 250 tons of coal at the Spring Creek coal mine, April 4, 2013, near Decker, Mont. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, a U.S. appeals court struck down a judge's 2022 order that imposed a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File) Matthew Brown/AP hide caption

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Matthew Brown/AP

A wind turbine is seen near Pinnacle Wind Farm in Keyser, West Virginia. This onetime coal town is emblematic of a nation-wide attempt to shift to renewable energy. Haiyun Jiang/NPR hide caption

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Haiyun Jiang/NPR

Wind Power Is Taking Over A West Virginia Coal Town. Will The Residents Embrace It?

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A boat sails down the Calcasieu Ship Channel past Cameron LNG, one of three liquified natural gas export plants in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Halle Parker/WWNO/ Southwings hide caption

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Halle Parker/WWNO/ Southwings

A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. Oil and natural gas companies would have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration. Matthew Brown/AP hide caption

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Matthew Brown/AP

The James H. Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant in Adamsville, Alabama is a coal-fired facility. In 2023 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions declined 1.9% because less of the country's electricity came from plants like this one. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. cut climate pollution in 2023, but not fast enough to limit global warming

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Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan ecology and natural resources minister, attends a plenary session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit on Dec. 11, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Babayev has been named to lead the United Nations' annual climate talks later this year, prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the state oil company in a major oil-producing nation. Rafiq Maqbool/AP hide caption

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Rafiq Maqbool/AP