Megan Geuss /

Recent stories by Megan Geuss

1. Trinitite: The radioactive rock buried in New Mexico before the Atari games

   From the archives: A short story about a strange glass.

   Megan Geuss – May 29, 2021 12:35 pm UTC

2. Renewable electricity beat out coal for the first time in April

   Seasonal shifts helped, but long-term changes underlie the record.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 28, 2019 3:00 pm UTC

3. Report: Tesla working on battery-cell R&D to loosen ties with Panasonic

   On batteries and solar cells, Tesla-Panasonic partnership has been a little fraught.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 26, 2019 11:20 pm UTC

4. A 10-year-old natural gas plant in California gets the coal plant treatment

   Two GE turbines can't start quickly enough, so they can't play well with renewables.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 26, 2019 7:30 pm UTC

5. German regulator says it discovered new illegal software on Daimler diesels

   Daimler is being forced to recall 42,000 vehicles in Europe.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 24, 2019 4:18 pm UTC

6. At House hearing, witnesses for Trump admin defend fuel economy rollback

   Appointees assert that higher fuel economy standards would cause more deaths.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 20, 2019 11:42 pm UTC

7. Trump administration finalizes replacement for Obama’s Clean Power Plan

   Rule regulates emissions at the power-plant level versus at the state level.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 19, 2019 10:10 pm UTC

8. Federal bill would allow clean energy companies to structure like oil companies

   In the meantime, IEA says value of subsidies for fossil fuels has increased.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 17, 2019 9:56 pm UTC

9. After June fires, energy group says hydrogen is future’s fuel

   Causes of explosions in California and Norway are still under investigation.

   Megan Geuss – Jun 16, 2019 5:00 pm UTC

10. Group to fund and operate first hydrogen fuel ferry fleet in the US

    Investment group is also exploring refueling infrastructure.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 12, 2019 10:01 pm UTC

11. At Tesla shareholder meeting, Musk assures “there is not a demand problem”

    CEO addresses investors as many become more bearish on the business.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 12, 2019 12:33 am UTC

12. As summer heats up, Calif. utility starts cutting power to prevent wildfires

    New "public safety power shutoffs" will be more common due to climate change.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 10, 2019 10:31 pm UTC

13. 17 automakers tell Trump that fuel economy rollback needs to include California

    Automakers lobbied for this rollback, now asking for another round of negotiations.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 7, 2019 8:08 pm UTC

14. Creative thinking: Researchers propose solar methanol island using ocean CO₂

    Desalination, electrolysis, CO₂ capture, methanol synthesis: all running on solar panels.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 6, 2019 5:40 pm UTC

15. Tesla sold greenhouse gas credits to Fiat and… GM?

    As federal regulations get stricter, auto companies seek to buy credits.

    Megan Geuss – Jun 3, 2019 8:41 pm UTC

16. Power systems company to build world’s first 1 GW energy storage project in Utah

    The project would combine renewable hydrogen and compressed air caverns.

    Megan Geuss – May 31, 2019 8:15 pm UTC

17. Ohio lawmakers pass bill to cut renewable requirement, help nuclear and coal

    Critics say the bill unnecessarily bails out nuclear, coal owner FirstEnergy Solutions.

    Megan Geuss – May 31, 2019 3:26 pm UTC

18. China’s saber-rattling on rare-earths trade has US officials looking for options

    Coal runoff could be a solution; Pentagon wants funding for rare-earths independence.

    Megan Geuss – May 30, 2019 11:58 pm UTC

19. US Department of Energy is now referring to fossil fuels as “freedom gas”

    The Department of Energy is on its path to "energy dominance" with bizarre re-branding.

    Megan Geuss – May 29, 2019 6:50 pm UTC

20. IEA: Nuke retirements could lead to 4 billion metric tons of extra CO2 emissions

    New builds are unlikely to pick up the slack, but plant lifetime extensions could.

    Megan Geuss – May 28, 2019 9:51 pm UTC

21. Washington Governor signs bill to allow composting human bodies

    Recompose is spearheading a greener green burial.

    Megan Geuss – May 26, 2019 5:30 pm UTC

22. Australian rare-earth ore processor wants to build a plant in the US

    Rare-earth minerals are mostly processed in China, but a new project could change that.

    Megan Geuss – May 26, 2019 2:00 pm UTC

23. The Boring Company appears to have its first paying customer

    One dissenting vote from the board based on the company's lack of experience.

    Megan Geuss – May 23, 2019 2:48 pm UTC

24. A year after Hawaii’s Kīlauea eruptions, a nearby geothermal plant eyes restart

    Operator hopes to send power back to the grid before the year is out.

    Megan Geuss – May 21, 2019 9:14 pm UTC

25. Massive 2015 natural gas leak caused by microbial corrosion, report says

    Report says gas company failed to inspect its wells despite 60 similar leaks.

    Megan Geuss – May 20, 2019 10:03 pm UTC

26. Making industrial chemicals “green” requires a lot of renewable electricity

    The amount of renewable energy needed to clean up the chemical industry is dramatic.

    Megan Geuss – May 20, 2019 4:32 pm UTC

27. Utility equipment sparked massive California wildfire, investigators say

    PG&E makes its way through bankruptcy, now utility is responsible for 85 deaths.

    Megan Geuss – May 16, 2019 7:45 pm UTC

28. Fourth-largest coal producer in the US files for bankruptcy

    The company staved off bankruptcy for years but continued to face lean markets.

    Megan Geuss – May 14, 2019 5:15 pm UTC

29. Japanese railway company starts testing 249mph bullet train speeds

    Alfa-X slated for service in 2030, leaving room for another high-speed rail to catch up.

    Megan Geuss – May 10, 2019 9:00 pm UTC

30. The last reactor at Three Mile Island is shutting down

    Plant owner Exelon said the reactor would shut down by September 30.

    Megan Geuss – May 9, 2019 8:25 pm UTC

31. UK goes a whole week without using coal-fired electricity

    The cradle of the Industrial Revolution is turning a corner away from pollution.

    Megan Geuss – May 8, 2019 4:48 pm UTC

32. Porsche, Fiat face multimillion-dollar payouts in separate diesel scandals

    Porsche played a small role in diesel scandals, but it benefitted from the cheating.

    Megan Geuss – May 7, 2019 11:40 pm UTC

33. HBO’s new Chernobyl mini-series shows how good science is undermined by secrecy

    Insidious Soviet-era leadership is the villain in this dark five-episode drama.

    Megan Geuss – May 6, 2019 4:30 pm UTC

34. After Nevada’s outrage over plutonium shipment, Energy Dept offers olive branch

    The move out of Nevada will begin in 2021 and last until 2026.

    Megan Geuss – May 3, 2019 9:58 pm UTC

35. Department of Justice opens investigation into failed carbon-capture plant

    The project received hundreds of millions in grants and may now be scrapped.

    Megan Geuss – May 2, 2019 10:36 pm UTC

36. Report: Tesla to slash solar panel prices to stymie market-share loss [correction]

    Soft costs are a major part of solar installation, and Tesla hopes to cut them down.

    Megan Geuss – Apr 30, 2019 4:11 pm UTC