Renewable Energy

Installing solar panels on bodies of water has the potential to generate large amounts of renewable energy. Among other benefits, floating solar has the advantage of not taking up land that has other uses. However, there are potential interactions between birds and floating solar facilities, possibly being problematic for both.

Our country has a deep political divide over wind and solar renewable energy sources. Generally, Democrats are in favor of them, and Republicans are against them. The current administration is doing whatever it can to stop the growth of wind and solar power despite that they involve nearly $100 billion in US investments and nearly 500,000 jobs.

Hydrogen can play a key role in the transition to clean energy because when it is used as a fuel, it only produces water as a byproduct. Hydrogen is already produced in industrial quantities, but it is primarily made with methods that use fossil fuels like natural gas. But instead of extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbons, it can be obtained by splitting water into its constituent elements.

Tidal power is a way to generate clean, renewable energy by harnessing the rise and fall of ocean tides. Unlike wind and solar power, tidal power is predictable on a regular basis.

The ongoing battle between the Trump administration and the American offshore wind industry saw multiple court rulings in January. In December, the Interior Department ordered all work to stop on five offshore wind projects under construction, citing unspecified national security concerns. As a result, $25 billion in investments are in jeopardy. In response, the developers of the projects filed lawsuits in various courts arguing that the government failed to justify its actions and delaying the projects would cause irreparable harm to the companies involved.

Within a day of President Trump shutting down five major offshore wind farms off the East Coast, the governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York arranged a conference call to craft strategies to save the projects.

In mid-December, the Trump administration ordered a halt to the five offshore wind projects currently being built in the United States, a major blow to the American power-generating industry at a time when electricity consumption is increasing rapidly.

The Trump administration broadly opposes renewable energy. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill gutted green energy subsidies and the administration has been systematically cutting back on clean energy programs including essentially bringing American offshore wind energy development to a halt. Their overall policy position is that climate change is not a serious problem and that fossil fuels are the way to go.

(Airs 09/11/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina speaks with Democratic New York State Senator James Skoufis about his issue with the Public Service Commission granting a rate increases to Central Hudson Gas & Electric, why he’s concerned about Democrats running away from New York City Democratic Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and much more.

Berkshire-based actor, voice over artist, comedian, and audiobook narrator and producer, Alison Larkin joins us again with the next chapter in her tumultuous, marvelous journey finding her way to live - before she meets her soulmate, Bhima, and after she loses him.Her book, “Grief … A Comedy” is available now.