News
Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff
2+ hour, 2+ min ago (1282+ words) Some day in the next 12 months'maybe in late August, maybe not until next spring' Lake Mead will drop below the critical threshold of 1, 035 feet above sea level. That is the water-level elevation at which hydropower generating capacity at Hoover Dam,…...
Feds Will Soon Impose New Framework on Colorado River if States Can't Agree How to Manage It
6+ day, 20+ hour ago (1009+ words) BOULDER, Colo. The federal government will impose a 10-year operating framework for managing water use in the Colorado River Basin by the end of this summer if the seven states that rely on the river cannot come to an agreement…...
In Alabama Primary Elections, Incumbent Utility Regulators Feel the Squeeze of High Energy Prices
1+ week, 2+ day ago (631+ words) MONTGOMERY, Ala. For some incumbents, politics have turned sour in sweet home Alabama. In the May 26 primary election for two seats on the Public Service Commission, the state's utility regulator, voters rejected one incumbent and sent another to a runoff....
Colorado River Faces "Devastating Consequences" If Another Dry Winter Lands, Experts Warn
1+ week, 3+ day ago (563+ words) Another warm, arid winter could leave Colorado River reservoirs nearly dry." "Both scenarios demonstrate the need to adopt significant additional measures to permanently decrease consumptive uses across the entire Basin," the authors wrote. But the new report finds the supply-and-demand…...
How Utility Companies and States Shaped America's Clean Energy Transition
2+ week, 1+ day ago (639+ words) Not long ago, the rise of U. S. renewable energy was largely tied to state policies that required or encouraged utilities to meet benchmarks for obtaining wind and solar power. The first of these "renewable portfolio standard," or RPS, laws was likely…...
California Will Soon Have More Than 300 Data Centers. Where Will They Get Their Water?
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (1776+ words) IMPERIAL, Calif. The new data center proposed for a quiet city about 115 miles east of San Diego came across people's radars in different ways. For patrons of the deli on West Aten Road, it was the white "Not In My…...
Texas Data Center Developers Play Offense on Water, Claiming Huge Cuts in Usage
2+ mon, 1+ day ago (1684+ words) Our nonprofit newsroom investigates the biggest threats to our planet, holds decision-makers accountable, and pushes back on climate disinformation so facts stay front and center. As Texas confronts decades of water mismanagement and growing demands for electricity from data centers,…...
This Year's US Wildfires Have Already Set Records That Could Foreshadow a Smoky, Fiery Summer
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (520+ words) Our nonprofit newsroom investigates the biggest threats to our planet, holds decision-makers accountable, and pushes back on climate disinformation so facts stay front and center. As the Western United States limps away from one of the warmest and driest winters…...
Colorado River Negotiations Resume With Focus on Stopgap Measures
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (497+ words) Critical negotiations about the future of the Colorado River took a two-week hiatus last month after the seven states in the basin missed a key Valentine's Day deadline for striking a deal, New Mexico's water negotiator said Thursday. Estevan L'pez…...
Arizona Comes to Agreement With Major Dairy Farm to Cut Groundwater Pumping That Is Draining Wells
5+ mon, 3+ day ago (972+ words) PEARCE, Ariz. Nearly two years ago, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes held a town hall in this desert community, which is widely regarded as the epicenter of the state's groundwater crisis." She heard countless stories from residents about how their…...