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As electricity demand soars, wind energy development grinds to a halt in Iowa

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  SHENANDOAH, Iowa—First viewed from a pickup truck driving south on U.S. 59, the wind turbines seem small and delicate. The newly constructed wind farm is a matter of pride for Gregg Connell, the man behind the wheel of the truck. He is a former two-term mayor of this southwestern Iowa city and an official with the local chamber of commerce. The turbines are “beautiful,” Connell said, looking out the driver’s side window. “You’re capturing energy, you’re helping the environment.” But  the sight of a new wind farm is increasingly rare, even in Iowa,  a state that trails only Texas in electricity production from wind. Wind energy development has all but ground to a halt in the face of community opposition , a phaseout of federal tax credits and the Trump administration’s actions to slow the approval of federal permits. Some of the administration’s most notable moves on wind power have been attacks on offshore development, including a stop-work order in December that halted...
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Hochul plans for New York to build ‘nuclear backbone’

  Jan 26, 2026   ALEX GAULT Watertown Daily Times   ALBANY — New York is on track for a power surge, and it’s likely to be atomic.   Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul is putting serious effort into bringing the next generation of nuclear power technology into New York, directing the state power authority to build up 1 gigawatt of power with a public-private partnership, and this year announced another major project, the Nuclear Reliability Backbone initiative.   As outlined in her State of the State agenda earlier this month, Hochul wants the state Department of Public Service, which regulates utilities, to craft a new process for considering, reviewing and implementing up to 4 gigawatts of new nuclear power capacity, on top of the 1 gigawatt already in the works. Combined with the existing nuclear plants in Oswego and Wayne counties, the goal is to achieve 8.4 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity across the state — enough to power millions of homes. At peak consumption t...
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Electricity bills are out of control because of Andrew Cuomo and ‘green’ madness

    Jan. 24, 2026 Physics and reality are taking their revenge. And New Yorkers are paying the price. On Thursday,  the Public Service Commission approved Con Ed’s request  for a rate hike that will result in an additional $615 per year in gas and electricity costs for the average New York City resident by 2028. While bureaucrats are insisting that “law, not politics” is driving the cost increases, the truth is that over the past few years, New York’s Democratic politicians have made a series of disastrous energy decisions. Indeed, despite numerous warnings about the staggering costs that would result from closing the Indian Point nuclear power plant and attempting to force New York’s grid to run solely on weather-dependent sources of generation, they pushed forward with climate policies that are now showing up on consumers’ monthly bills. High utility costs are already mugging New Yorkers. Last month, the Institute for Energy Research and Always On Energy Research r...
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U.S. Wind Industry Faces Political Crosswinds, Blowback From Rural Communities

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  The U.S. wind industry is rapidly moving into a world where new projects cannot count on the longstanding federal tax credits that fueled three decades of growth.    Wind development is increasingly driven by state policy, corporate demand for quicker hookups and cost competitiveness rather than guaranteed federal support.   That transition is playing out now in Wyoming, where communities are weighing the economic promises of wind development against concerns about landscape, wildlife and property values.   A Jan. 8 special meeting of the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners in Douglas drew dozens of residents opposed to the Pronghorn H2 wind project, a 267-turbine development partially on state trust lands along the northern Laramie Range.    During hours of testimony, nobody spoke up in favor of the Pronghorn project.   Secretary of State Chuck Gray, the lone board member to vote against the Pronghorn lease when it was approved in April, t...
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