Energy | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2026-04-06T19:18:51+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/energy/index.xml https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Thomas Ricker <![CDATA[Bluetti’s Sora 500 solar panel is incredibly powerful for its size]]> https://www.theverge.com/899289/the-improved-battery-powered-starlink-mini-is-here 2026-03-26T04:43:13-04:00 2026-03-28T03:00:00-04:00 Carrying the Bluetti Sora 500 panel by its handle with the wheel of a van and mountain range in the distance.
Those 12 panels generate over 500W and fold down very small.

We don't review many solar panels at The Verge, but the tech inside Bluetti's incredibly portable Sora 500 panel makes it worth a deeper look. The new N-Type panels made by Bluetti and others give you more bang for the buck, pound, and square inch. That's a big deal for vanlifers like me who depend upon these beefy portable solar panels to extend off-grid stays.

In real-world testing, I saw Bluetti's 500W panel deliver 509W to my van's power station, allowing me to generate over 800W when combined with the three sad 140W monocrystalline solar panels I have installed on top of my van. That kind of stationary output is fantastic. I typically …

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]]> Verge Staff Justine Calma <![CDATA[The latest in data centers, AI, and energy ]]> https://www.theverge.com/?post_type=vm_stream&p=902546 2026-04-06T15:18:51-04:00 2026-03-27T14:35:53-04:00 Photo collage of a server room with data visualizations.

Massive new data centers are the physical foundation for tech companies’ hopes and dreams for AI. But the rush to expand warehouses full of energy-hungry servers has also kicked up fights across the world over their impact on power grids, utility bills, nearby communities, and the environment. 

From audacious plans to launch data centers into space to the latest legal battles over pollution, The Verge has the biggest news and reporting surrounding data centers.

]]> Jess Weatherbed <![CDATA[‘Work from home,’ encourages the world’s energy watchdog]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=897874 2026-03-20T09:54:04-04:00 2026-03-20T08:14:38-04:00 Art depicts pollution coming out of smokestacks.

Many organizations have called employees back to offices following covid-related lockdowns, but the Iran war and ensuing energy crisis may quickly see workers returning to work from home.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) - an energy watchdog established to help safeguard global power supplies following the 1970s oil crisis - is pushing for governments, businesses, and households to adopt recommendations that aim to curb energy demands amid supply disruptions triggered by the conflict. The list of 10 suggested actions identified in the IEA's report includes encouraging people to work from home and/or drive slower to reduce fuel usage, a …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=892661 2026-03-10T18:25:06-04:00 2026-03-10T18:25:06-04:00 A ship seen in front of a skyline.
A commercial ship is viewed anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Strait of Hormuz, Dubai, on March 2nd, 2026. Increased maritime traffic led to a buildup of vessels waiting near Dubai, highlighting the strategic importance of the strait, which handles 20 percent of global energy trade. | Photo: Getty Images

Soon after the Trump administration launched its war on Iran, I called up Reed Blakemore, director of research and programs at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, to talk about the consequences. While oil and gas prices were already on the rise, there was still more hope then that the impact of the conflict might be short-lived. At the end of our conversation, Blakemore said plainly: "Let's have a call again [next week] … We'll have a much clearer picture of what the conflict is going to look like and what the story really is going to be for energy moving forward."

Energy infrastructure has become a key leverage point in the unfold …

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]]> Jess Weatherbed <![CDATA[Bill Gates’ nuclear company is the first to get approval to build next-gen reactor]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=889768 2026-03-05T05:16:58-05:00 2026-03-05T05:16:58-05:00 Bill Gates during the groundbreaking ceremony for the TerraPower nuclear plant in Wyoming.
Non-plant related construction broke ground at the Wyoming facility in June 2024. | Image: TerraPower

Bill Gates-founded nuclear energy startup TerraPower has been granted approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a next-generation reactor in Wyoming. This is the first commercial-scale, advanced nuclear power plant to ever receive the federal permit, according to the press release, and will be the first commercial reactor constructed in the US in almost a decade.

Construction at the Wyoming plant is expected to be completed by 2030. TerraPower is one of several companies racing to build smaller, more efficient reactors to augment electrical grids under strain from AI data centers. In a 2024 interview with The Verge, Bill Gate …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[Seven tech giants signed Trump’s pledge to keep electricity costs from spiking around data centers ]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=889578 2026-03-04T19:17:37-05:00 2026-03-04T19:17:37-05:00 Trump, federal officials, and tech leaders sit around a table.
Trump summoned tech leaders to the White House on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 to sign pledges committing their companies to foot the electricity bill for energy-hungry data centers.  | Photo: Getty Images

Leaders from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, Amazon, and xAI met with President Donald Trump today to sign a "rate payer protection pledge." It's one way they're responding to growing bipartisan concerns about electricity rates rising as tech companies and the Trump administration rush to build out a new generation of AI data centers.

"[Tech companies] need some PR help because people think that if a data center goes in, their electricity prices are going to go up," Trump said during the event. "Some centers were rejected by communities for that and now I think it's going to be the opposite."

Trump signed a proclamation formally …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=888526 2026-03-03T18:00:54-05:00 2026-03-03T16:41:25-05:00
President Donald Trump arrives at the White House as joint US-Israeli military strikes on Iran continue. Washington, DC, on March 1st, 2026. | Photo: Getty Images

Fuel prices surged after the Trump administration launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, immediately raising questions about whether the war would increase energy costs for Americans, put more pressure on power grids, and push companies to pump out more oil and gas in the US. If conflict drags on, that could potentially play into Donald Trump's plans to "drill, baby, drill" - but that doesn't necessarily protect Americans from higher energy prices.

Keep in mind that it's still too early to tell what kind of war the US may have sparked. The spike in global oil prices could be short-lived. But prolonged conflict and disruptions to oil an …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[Trump claims tech companies will sign deals next week to pay for their own power supply]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=884191 2026-02-26T05:51:59-05:00 2026-02-25T15:37:25-05:00 An image of Trump

President Donald Trump tried to quell Americans' concerns about rising electricity costs during his State of the Union speech - and now we're learning that the deals he promised could land next week. Trump claimed that he's negotiated a "rate payer protection pledge" with major tech companies, which would see them build out or pay for new electricity generation for their data centers. Leaders from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle and OpenAI are expected to attend a March 4th event to sign the pledge, Fox News reported today.

There are very few details at this point on what the pledge entails, nor how companies would be held ac …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=882288 2026-02-26T10:48:11-05:00 2026-02-20T15:18:34-05:00 A photo of emissions rising from coal plant along a lake shore.
Kingston Fossil Plant, a 1.4-gigawatt coal-fired power plant located in Roane County, just outside Kingston, Tennessee on the shore of Watts Bar Lake. | Photo: Getty Images

The Trump administration just tossed out Biden-era restrictions on mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. It's repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) just as electricity demand in the US ticks up with the buildout of new AI data centers.

Those standards are particularly impactful when it comes to pollution from coal plants responsible for around half of mercury emissions in the US. Mercury is a neurotoxin; high exposure has been linked to birth defects and learning disabilities in children. Exposure can also impact the kidneys and nervous system.

Trump's deregulation spree aims to make it easier to quickly constr …

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]]> Justine Calma <![CDATA[Anthropic says it’ll try to keep its data centers from raising electricity costs]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=877526 2026-02-11T17:37:02-05:00 2026-02-11T17:37:02-05:00 Anthropic logo on an orange and grey background.

Anthropic is the latest AI company promising to limit the impact its data centers have on nearby residents' electricity bills.

The company said it would pay higher monthly electricity charges in order to cover 100 percent of the upgrades needed to connect its data centers to power grids. "This includes the shares of these costs that would otherwise be passed onto consumers," the announcement says.

Anthropic didn't provide details today about any agreements it has inked with energy companies in order to accomplish these goals. In November, it shared a $50 billion plan to build data centers in New York and Texas "with more sites to come."

…

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