Laila Kearney

Xcel Energy says its infrastructure likely caused a wildfire that has burned more than a million acres in the Texas Panhandle as lawsuits against the electric utility mount. reuters.com/world/us/xcel-…

Xcel Energy says its infrastructure likely started a wildfire that has burned more than a million acres in the Texas Panhandle as lawsuits against the electric utility mount. reuters.com/world/us/xcel-…

I’m back and with this story about the Department of Energy’s statistical arm canceling its emergency survey about bitcoin mining power demand. We had the details yesterday, which the EIA just confirmed in a court filing: reuters.com/legal/crypto-m…

Story with @nicholagroom. This will be the last one from me for a bit, while I take some time to bond with my newborn. reuters.com/business/energ…

California's hydropower picture may be brightening, but much of the rest of the U.S. West has a different, bleaker, outlook. reuters.com/business/energ…

One air pollution monitoring expert said Rodeo Renewed -- as it relates to the health, environment and climate effects of large-scale renewable diesel projects -- would be closely watched. It was unclear if it would be "a model or a cautionary tale."

Other murky areas of the new project include the fate of idled crude oil units that Phillips 66 is retaining permits for. The company confirmed to me that it is leaving open the door to running slurry oil, a heavy crude oil byproduct, in one of those units.

I spent months reporting this story to determine whether Phillips 66's plan to transform the oldest West Coast oil refinery into one of the world’s biggest biofuels plants would cut pollution or otherwise improve life in struggling Rodeo, California. reuters.com/business/susta…

A Phillips 66 plan to halt crude-oil processing and build a biofuel plant in California raises questions about the marketing of renewable diesel as a green fuel, independent environmental experts told @Reuters trib.al/et03KNF by @lailakearney

Phillips 66's conversion of an oil refinery into a renewable diesel plant in California could be 'a model or a cautionary tale,' said Gwen Ottinger, a Drexel University associate professor who studied air-pollution monitoring in Rodeo trib.al/Z4tHPtz by @lailakearney

A massive renewable diesel plant project in California has fanned concerns over the environmental risks associated with such plants. With @lailakearney

A Minnesota power plant operator has asked for a 20-year extension on its license to run its nuclear reactor. Nuclear is a part of plans by many U.S. states looking to get to net-zero carbon emissions in the coming years (MN's goal is 2040). reuters.com/business/energ…

Despite a drop in instillations last year, the U.S. solar outlook is pretty strong due, in part, to a rise in utility-scale projects, new federal subsidies (IRA) and onshoring panel production, says the country's top solar industry group and WoodMac. reuters.com/business/energ…

NextEra's CEO says building offshore wind is essentially throwing money into the sea. Via @davidj_french reuters.com/business/energ…

NextEra's Florida Power & Light recently got a new CEO whose background and personality sharply contrasts with that of the departing chief. Analysts of the company say that's probably by design. reuters.com/business/energ…