Landfill gas is finding new life as renewable natural gas (RNG), a lower-emission fuel that can be used to power homes, businesses and vehicles — and it's already being produced in significant volumes across the country.
GM Energy plans to offer a leasing program for its home energy management system to make it easier for EV owners to power their house with their car.
Why it matters: Having a reliable source of backup power when the grid is down sounds appealing — but it requires thousands of dollars in extra hardware to enable that two-way flow of energy from the car to the home.
Why it matters: The technology may be ready — but the economics aren't. High costs are still preventing these new mobility platforms from reaching the scale needed to become durable, profitable businesses.
RICHMOND, Virginia — How the state deals with its uniquely large proliferation of data centers plays a significant role in its economy going forward, according to three environmental professionals at a Feb. 12 Axios Live event.
Why it matters: Virginia, particularly the northern part of the state, has become known as the world's "data center capital," with estimates that the area processes up to 70% of global digital traffic.
Axios' Chuck McCutcheon and Sabrina Moreno spoke with Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Josephus Allmond; Glenn Davis, principal at Davis Energy & Infrastructure Strategy Group; and Virginia Mercury energy columnist Ivy Main.
Zoom in: Making it too easy for data centers to set up shop in Virginia could increase residential electricity bills and negatively affect lower-income communities. Making it too difficult potentially eliminates jobs and the tax revenue the centers could contribute to local communities.
By the numbers: Virginia has "localities where 40% of their property taxes come from data centers," said Davis, the former Virginia director of energy.
"Imagine a locality in southwest Virginia or central Virginia, where … one data center would change quality of life overnight — new schools, new roads, what it would do."
Yes, but: "We want to make sure that these data centers come here and that they're benefiting the grid and that they're benefiting the local communities, not harming them," Allmond told McCutcheon.
Friction point: Virginia Gov.Abigail Spanberger has moved to reinstate the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). However, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright contends tax credits for it andother clean energy programs should end, in favor of traditional energy sources to support technological growth like data centers.
What's next: "Gov. Spanberger's got a Democratic majority for two years," Main told McCutcheon, "so it is reasonable for her to look at the first year as, 'Let's do the things that are achievable without great pain and see how far we can get.'"
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View from the Top conversation, Shell Energy Solutions' David Black told Axios Live moderator Eugene Scott that Virginia faces a clear dilemma.
"You have this massive opportunity of growth, and that growth can bring tax dollars. It can bring jobs." However, he added, "if you don't get this right, you will crowd out investment."
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for new talks on moving away from fossil fuels that would bring energy producers to the table.
Why it matters: It's fresh evidence officials hope to adapt the UN climate process to move far beyond pledges and find new avenues to spur on-the-ground steps.
Environmental and health groups filed suit Tuesday against EPA over the "endangerment finding" repeal and withdrawal of any CO2 standards for vehicles.
Why it matters: The litigation — which analysts expect to reach the Supreme Court — will help decide how much future presidents can crack down on emissions.
An obscure, two-year-old company has emerged as a quiet power broker — literally — in the AI boom.
Why it matters: Houston-based Cloverleaf Infrastructure is lining up massive deals securing land and city-scale electricity to fuel data centers — the single biggest bottleneck in AI expansion.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been holding secret talks with the grandson and caretaker of Cuba's aging de facto dictator, Raul Castro, as the U.S. puts unprecedented pressure on Havana's regime, three sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: The talks between Rubio and Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro are bypassing official Cuban government channels. They show that the Trump administration sees the 94-year-old revolutionary as the communist island's true decision-maker.
