Energy
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Truckers easing up on the gas pedal as high diesel prices pinch budgets, analysis finds
Commercial truck drivers drove 4% slower in April compared with the start of the year, and their hauls were 2% shorter, the analysis found.
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Facing rising power demand and geopolitical risks, Japan turns back to nuclear energy
The boom in artificial intelligence and the need to reduce emissions, as well as the need to rely less on energy imports in the wake of the war in Iran, have been a big driver of the reverse in policy.
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Trump announces $700 million investment to support coal plants and build export terminal
The funding will support 13 existing coal plants, the construction of two new coal plants, and an coal export terminal in California.
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New $16B natural gas generation hub being built in East Texas, data center to follow
The Texas Power Generation Hub will be jointly owned by Japan and the U.S. federal government as result of a trade agreement reached between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
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Democrats try rhetoric to sell voters on a bill that would bring back Biden-era climate policies
Among other things, the Energy Bills Relief Act would promote the development of wind and solar farms on public lands, bring back Biden's LNG policies, and reinstate renewable energy subsidies that were ousted with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. More than half of House Democrats have signed on in support of the bill, despite polling that shows a decline in popularity of "green" energy.
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Louisiana unveils nuclear framework, announces $45M grant
Tied to the announcement is a $45 million federal funding renewal for the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana, or FUEL, a research-and-commercialization effort led by Louisiana State University.
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EPA fast-tracks New Hampshire’s request to opt out of emissions law
Normally, the EPA has up to 18 months to decide on state petitions under the Clean Air Act, but after receiving New Hampshire's petitions in December, the agency said it "plans to move much faster" on its review.
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Trump admin to pay $1B to French firm to end offshore US wind farms, switch to oil, gas production
TotalEnergies will shift $928 million in "expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent" offshore wind investment to LNG infrastructure and oil and gas production.
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GOP lawmakers call for gas tax suspension as prices climb
The average price per gallon in Illinois on Friday was $4.12, nearly 20 cents higher than the national average. At 48 cents a gallon, Illinois has one of the highest gas tax in the country, trailing only California’s 70-cents a gallon.
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Successful oil and gas lease sale in Alaska a win for Trump administration and Alaska Natives
While the Biden administration promised to listen to indigenous voices, it brushed those aside when they conflicted with Biden's climate policies. A successful lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska this week signals big changes for Alaska's Iñupiat tribe on the North Slope.
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More than a third of American voters in poll don't trust U.S. power grid
Across partisan lines, Republican respondents had a greater overall level of trust in the U.S. power grid. About 66% of Republicans said they at least “somewhat trust” the U.S. power grid whereas only 45% of Democrats said the same.
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California co-leads states suing EPA over greenhouse gases
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who's a frequent critic of the president and is widely expected to run for president in 2028, joined Bonta for the “Trump Is Making Deadly Pollution Great Again” press conference.
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California bill to suspend gas tax fails despite rising prices
State Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach and author of Senate Bill 1035, told journalists Wednesday afternoon outside the same Sacramento committee room that California prices are only going to rise at the pump.