Energy
The national average for gas prices has surpassed $4.50 per gallon, up roughly 45% from a year ago. If Congress passes a bill that allows for year-round higher ethanol content in gasoline (“E15”) without protecting small refineries, Americans’ pain at the pump will only get worse.
Energy
In a rare Level 3 alert, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warns that hyperscale data centers are introducing volatile, hard-to-predict load swings—where gigawatts can drop off the grid in seconds—that utilities aren’t equipped to manage, creating a new reliability risk as electricity demand surges. This comes on the heels of recent Senate and House hearings on the state of the bulk power system and how to meet growing electricity demand while protecting ratepayers.
Energy
Critical minerals have become a marquee issue in Washington over the past several years, driven by growing concern that the United States and its allies depend too heavily on China for materials that are indispensable to both the civilian economy and the defense industry.
Energy
Solar power is now among the cheapest forms of electricity on Earth. Yet the industry still behaves as if it can’t survive without government support. Since President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last July 4, the solar industry has sounded alarms.
Energy
Transmission is one of the most inefficiently regulated forms of infrastructure in the United States. Regulatory flaws reward inefficient projects, underdevelop efficient projects, and underutilize existing infrastructure. This has caused escalating transmission costs to consumers, while the gap between transmission need and infrastructure capacity widens.
Infrastructure
The United States is the most energy-rich nation on earth. We have motivated capital, human ingenuity, a wide range of resources, and innovative technologies. With unprecedented energy demand needed in the next few years, the United States needs more power generation, more pipelines, and transmission lines.
Energy
Last November, President Donald Trump launched the Genesis Mission through an executive order (EO) that outlines 26 National Science and Technology Challenges, ranging from autonomous scientific labs to fusion energy to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven grid operations. Embedded in that order is a directive to use prize competitions to get there. This is a smart policy because prizes are a growing but still underutilized tool at the Department of Energy (DOE). Now the DOE needs to run with it.
Infrastructure
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was enacted in 1966 to protect America’s cultural heritage at a time when rapid development was destroying historic sites. Its core process, Section 106, requires federal agencies to consider how projects they fund, permit, or carry out affect historic and cultural resources. Though well-intentioned, nearly six decades later, Section 106 has become a source of uncertainty, delay, and rising costs for energy, transmission, and conservation projects.
Conservation
With respect to addressing America’s wildfire crisis, the CAA can ironically penalize states for conducting prescribed burns, which are among the most effective tools for preventing catastrophic wildfires and the harmful air pollution they produce.
Energy
The conversation at CERAWeek shifts each year. In 2026, the focus was on surging demand, disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, infrastructure bottlenecks, and a more pragmatic energy posture. The conference showed an industry and policymakers increasingly focused not on abstract narratives about the future of energy, but on the harder questions of security, buildout, reliability, affordability, and competitiveness.
