Clean energy manufacturing

Batteries

Peak Energy’s new battery is cooler than lithium-ion systems

The startup’s first sodium-based grid-battery project has a novel design that cuts costs by virtually eliminating the need for temperature controls.

By Julian Spector . 21 August 2025

Aerial shot of people standing next to an assembly line — Peak Energy’s first grid-battery installation, assembled in California and shipped to Colorado, tests a new battery chemistry’s ability to operate safely with just passive cooling controls. (Peak Energy)

Clean energy manufacturing

Chart: The clean-energy manufacturing boom is going bust

Since Trump took office, nearly $28 billion worth of investment in U.S. cleantech factories has been paused, canceled, or otherwise delayed.

By Dan McCarthy . 1 August 2025
Clean energy manufacturing

US solar manufacturers face steeper hill despite some wins in budget law

Manufacturing incentives survived in the GOP budget law, but solar factories will have to navigate subdued demand and detailed new anti-China rules.

By Julian Spector . 17 July 2025
Clean energy

Anti-China rules make GOP megabill even worse for clean energy

Tax credits for battery, geothermal, nuclear, and manufacturing projects survived — but restrictions on Chinese materials could make them near-impossible to use.

By Jeff St. John . 8 July 2025
Clean energy

Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ law tethers the US to the past

The law takes a sledgehammer to key pieces of American industrial policy, threatening the development of clean energy — a vital 21st century technology.

By Dan McCarthy . 7 July 2025
Solar

The solar house is on fire, but Dean Solon is rushing back in

The self-made solar billionaire is forging on with a new U.S. manufacturing business, despite tariff uncertainty and the loss of tax credits.

By Julian Spector . 7 July 2025
Energy storage

LG opens massive Michigan factory to make LFP batteries for the grid

The $1.4 billion investment onshores production of a popular battery chemistry that had been almost exclusively made in China, amid tariff and tax policy uncertainty.

By Julian Spector . 25 June 2025
Clean energy manufacturing

Just how many jobs and GDP dollars do US clean energy factories create?

A new report aims to quantify how much domestic solar, wind, and battery production uplifts local economies. Its authors hope Republicans in Congress will take note.

By Julian Spector . 20 May 2025
Clean energy

Chart: Republicans take aim at clean energy boom benefiting GOP most

The Inflation Reduction Act unleashed a rush of investment in Republican-represented districts. Now, the GOP is proposing to effectively repeal the law.

By Dan McCarthy . 16 May 2025
Clean energy

GOP budget plan contains a massive poison pill for clean energy

“Totally unworkable” rules could kill manufacturing and clean energy investment by restricting tax credits for any project remotely tied to China, experts warn.

By Jeff St. John . 15 May 2025
Energy storage

Amid tariff uncertainty, US grid battery industry faces an uphill climb

Domestic battery manufacturing and deployments have been growing fast — but Trump’s tariff wars and looming budget cuts threaten to derail progress.

By Jeff St. John . 13 May 2025