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Oil prices dip but still face plenty of upward pressure

Aug 5, 2024
Recession fears blunt demand, lowering prices. But conflict in the Middle East and OPEC+ production cuts could push them up again.
Considering the global economy and geopolitics, the price of oil has remained remarkably stable, says Hugh Daigle at the University of Texas at Austin.
Getty Images/shotbydave

A voyage down the Houston Ship Channel

Jul 5, 2024
While you may be hard pressed to find the Houston Ship Channel on anybody’s bucket list, this 110-year-old dredging work is critical to U.S. oil and gas exports and has a free guided boat tour that’s been around since 1958.
Captain Greg Penton steers the Sam Houston tour boat through the Houston Ship Channel during a summer tour.
Elizabeth Trovall/Marketplace

Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum's next steps on energy could make waves in the U.S.

Jul 4, 2024
Whether Sheinbaum follows her predecessor’s lead or strikes a new path could have significant implications for the U.S., particularly for Texas.
Mexico's president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on June 24.
Lennin Domínguez/ObturadorMX/Getty Images

Offshore wind industry hammered by inflation, interest rates

Jun 17, 2024
Economics has frustrated efforts to expand the turbine fleet and meet clean energy goals. But the industry is adjusting.
Michael Brown, a wind energy executive, says construction plans are becoming more flexible after the disruptions of the last few years. Above, a crane loads turbine blades onto a barge at a Massachusetts port.
Daniel Ackerman/Marketplace

Texans brace for high electric bills as temperatures rise

May 21, 2024
In Houston, the energy capital of the world, low prices are not a given. Experts would like to see more capacity and more conservation.
To manage her electricity bills, Robin Wright said she uses air conditioning sparingly. Many Texans are trying to adapt to summertime heat spikes.
Elizabeth Trovall/Marketplace

New federal rule aims to create more long-distance power lines

May 14, 2024
We'll need the lines to connect solar and wind power to new data centers, electric cars, heat pumps and so on.
As energy demand surges, FERC's new rule will help update the nation’s aging power grid.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why does my electric company need to advertise?

May 3, 2024
Sometimes it's for public service announcements, sometimes it's for public relations after a scandal. Either way, some states are cracking down.
Utilities advertise to sell products, make public service announcements, and improve their image.
George Rose/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How is the White House shaping clean energy supply and demand?

Mar 25, 2024
In its new "Economic Report of the President," the White House dedicated a chapter to accelerating the clean energy transition.
The White House calls the energy transition to net-zero emissions a “structural change.” Above, President Joe Biden speaks at Brayton Point Power Station in Massachusetts in 2022.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Takeaways from one of the world's biggest energy summits

CERAWeek in Houston has shown that despite agreements to transition away fossil fuels, oil and gas are still deeply entrenched.
"The mood is very sour this year amongst the oilmen," says the Economist's Vijay Vaitheeswaran of CERAWeek.
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

New fees and new tech may curb methane emissions

Mar 18, 2024
More accurate means of measurement could help curtail the greenhouse gas, a potent contributor to climate change.
In the next few years, there will be wider deployment of technology to detect and reduce methane emissions, according to Arvind Ravikumar of the University of Texas at Austin.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images