Fwd: What’s killing onshore wind power?

[Loretta Lohman]

 

The latest news and investigations from Inside Climate News | 

View this email in your browser 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 the southwestern Iowa city of Shenandoah 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.  More of our coverage of the biggest story on the planet: Leaders insisted China-backed coal deals would fix Pakistan’s energy crisis. But the power plants have threatened residents’ health and left the nation in a debt trap. What Trump doesn’t understand about Greenland: Its true power is a climate-driven fish boom that makes the nation impossible to buy. A town’s opposition to proposed power lines alongside a state park sparks discussion about the cost of Texas’ growth. The ‘Biggest Tragedy’ of Trump’s Gutting of the National Park Service BY BLAINE HARDEN   Charles F. Sams III, former director of the park service, says cutting nearly a quarter of the agency’s staff decimated institutional knowledge in a way that can’t easily be righted, and threatens to break the emotional bonds Americans have with public lands. Scientists Push for More Ambitious Climate Targets BY BOB BERWYN Researchers say a line has been crossed. For systems like coral reefs and ice sheets, the climate is already past safe. ‘Relief from the Nightmare’: Alabama Judge Halts Operations at a Quarry Residents Say Is Ruining Their Community BY DENNIS PILLION The quarry will have to meet several conditions to reopen, including moving a rock crushing area that is blanketing surrounding properties with dust. A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response BY KILEY BENSE, BOB BERWYN, KEERTI GOPAL, LEE HEDGEPETH, LISA SORG Climate change is making disasters more intense and unpredictable. FEMA is less prepared than it was a year ago. One-Third of Pacific Island Fish Contaminated With Microplastics BY JOHNNY STURGEON Ahead of February’s Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, new data reveals the contamination rate of Fijian fish far exceeds worldwide averages. As an Oil Rig Topples in the Alaskan Arctic and Ignites a Fire, Exploration There Continues BY NICHOLAS KUSNETZ A rig fell over onto the tundra as it was on its way to drill in ConocoPhillips’ winter exploration program. Opponents of the plan warned it was rushed and lacked adequate environmental protections. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is Yet Again Under Threat, This Time From Congress BY WYATT MYSKOW A Government Accountability Office opinion found that the resource management plan for the Utah monument must undergo congressional review, which could lead to a new policy that is far friendlier to development of the protected area. Trump’s Choice to Be Alabama’s Next Senator Finds an Odd Political Target: the Modern Gas Can BY LEE HEDGEPETH U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a Republican, has filed legislation to “make the gas can great again.” The reality is more complicated. Despite Limited Interest in Drilling on Federal Land, Forest Service ‘Streamlines’ Oil and Gas Leasing Rules BY JAKE BOLSTER The changes prompted the ire of environmental groups that say it is the latest in a year’s worth of attacks on public lands protections by President Trump’s administration.  Are Incentives for Fuel Made from Livestock Manure Leaving Small Farmers Behind? BY BLANCA BEGERT A petition urging the removal of grants and loans for manure digesters from the Rural Energy for America Program highlights concerns that biogas incentives favor factory farms at the expense of smaller livestock operations. Data Centers in PJM Grid Can Rely Solely on Generators During the Cold, DOE Rules BY CHARLES PAULLIN Regional grid operators said the federal order is a fail safe. Environmentalists in Virginia worry about increased pollution regulators and residents may not be fully aware of. New Lawsuit Claims ‘Catastrophic Impacts’ From Permian Basin Injection Wells BY MARTHA PSKOWSKI The lawsuit from a Texas landowner alleges that injection wells and improperly plugged oil wells polluted the soil and groundwater. Amid National Call to Make Polluters Pay, Illinois Lawmakers Are Prepping a Climate Change Superfund Bill BY KEERTI GOPAL As climate costs rise and the U.S. backslides on action, pressure mounts on states to fill the gaps. Maine Again Looks North for Onshore Wind, but Full Grid Integration Will Have to Wait BY NATHANIEL EISEN President Trump’s antipathy for wind power is only one obstacle the proposal must overcome.  In Arizona, Utilities and State Regulators Double Down on Fossil Fuels and Higher Costs Despite Residents’ Opposition BY WYATT MYSKOW The state’s utilities commission is proposing to rescind energy-efficiency and renewables standards as Arizona’s biggest utilities propose rate hikes.  Disaster Survivors Want Kristi Noem Out of FEMA  BY ARCELIA MARTIN A group of people affected by disasters across the country is calling on Congress to restore federal emergency management as an independent agency, rather than an arm of Homeland Security. Trump’s Pick to Lead the Federal Reserve Could Steer Bank Away From Climate Change BY NICHOLAS KUSNETZ  Kevin Warsh has criticized central banks’ forays into climate change. Some activists and Democrats say the Fed hasn’t done enough. 📈 Trending Developer Calls GW Ranch in Pecos County, Texas, the ‘Largest Power Project’ in U.S. BY DYLAN BADDOUR It’s among a handful of similarly colossal ventures that have made Texas the global epicenter of a gas power buildout. 👀 Looking for More Climate News?  🟢 Visit our website for the latest.  🟡 Sign up for more newsletters, including our twice-weekly Today's Climate and Thursday's Inside Clean Energy. ⚫️ Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Bluesky. 🔴 Have a tip or story idea? Contact us. Copyright © 2026 Inside Climate News, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on our website: insideclimatenews.org Update Email Preferences  |  ICN Newsletter Sign Up  |  Unsubscribe Our mailing address: Inside Climate News 26 Court Street Suite #1617 Brooklyn, NY 11242

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