Last week, the Department of the Interior finalized its 2025 Critical Minerals List, adding 10 new entries for a total of 60. What’s a critical mineral? There is a school…
Last week, the Department of Energy announced it would invest $625 million in coal production and coal-fired generation activities. The same day, the Department of the Interior announced it would…
For data center developers, Minnesota piles on the red tape Data centers, the factories of the computing age and enablers of artificial intelligence (AI), are dominating panic-stricken headlines about growing…
American AI needs affordable, reliable energy, not wishful thinking The U.S. Energy Information Administration warned last month that U.S. commercial electricity consumption will reach record highs in the next two…
The Department of the Interior released its 2025 draft critical minerals list last month, which expands the list from 50 minerals to 54. The U.S. Geological Survey’s critical minerals list…
Yesterday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission gave Xcel Energy approval to run the Prairie Island nuclear plant through the early 2050s. It’s the right move, but state law currently prohibits…
A green transition would demand more land, more materials, and more sacrifice than anyone would like to admit. In the television show “Landman,” a character played by Billy Bob Thornton…
The EPA announced today that it would rescind a 2009 rule that the EPA uses to justify regulating greenhouse gas emissions. If finalized, all greenhouse gas emissions regulations for motor…
The Department of Energy released a report last week warning that “the Nation’s power grid is not prepared to meet the energy demand of AI.” The 73-page report concludes that…
The U.S. Energy Information Administration warned last month that U.S. commercial electricity consumption will reach record highs in the next two years, rising by 3% in 2025 and 5% in 2026. Without…
Prioritizing reliability and affordability over arbitrary climate mandates. In March 2025, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright addressed CERAWeek, an annual energy conference: Wind and solar, the darlings of the…
Yesterday, American Experiment released a new report, “Shattered Green Dreams: The Environmental Costs of Wind and Solar,” and it is already getting traction. Josh Antonini at the Mackinac Center for…
Last week, Talon Metals announced it has secured a former coal mine site in western North Dakota for processing nickel from its proposed project. It’s a victory for North Dakota’s…
Last week, the White House issued four executive orders designed to revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry. With Minnesota’s 1994 moratorium on new nuclear power plants, the state will be left…
This month, China’s Ministry of Commerce blocked seven rare earth elements from imports to the U.S. The vulnerability of rare earths — and in general, critical minerals — to supply…
The Department of Energy has identified 16 potential sites owned or managed by the DOE for rapid data center construction alongside in-place energy infrastructure. However, it is important that the accompanying energy…
The Trump Department of Energy just last week withdrew four standards on electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, and external power supplies. Congress is also working to disapprove of many burdensome…
Thank oil and gas for concrete, fertilizers, and plastics. The New York Post’s Dec. 9, 2024 article contained exclusive polling taken in November of that year showing that most Americans…
HF 2002, which would lift Minnesota’s nuclear moratorium, cleared the House energy committee last week. The bill’s next stop is the House floor. Current state law prohibits the Minnesota Public…
On Wednesday, March 12, Public Safety Policy Fellow David Zimmer testified in the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee in support of HF 16. You can see a write-up of the hearing…
Last month, the owner of the Palisades nuclear plant signed an agreement to build two small modular nuclear reactors by 2030. If this is successful, these would be the first…
On Wednesday, electric vehicle maker Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it plans to “wind down operations.” The company is also seeking approval to hold an auction…
The U.S. Energy Department, under the leadership of Secretary Chris Wright, announced its priorities last week in a Secretarial order. The order reads, in part: 1. Advance Energy Addition, Not…
The Energy News Network reported last week on the state-funded Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority. The Energy News Network reports: The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority, established by state legislators…