World
How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hobble a U.S. Battery Boom
The sweeping tariffs that President Trump announced on Wednesday could hobble the use of giant batteries that energy companies are increasingly installing to help them tap more wind and solar power and make the broader electric grid more reliable.
Over the past five years, grid batteries have become one of the biggest growth industries in the U.S. energy sector. In states like Texas and Arizona, companies have been installing stacks of lithium-ion cells the size of shipping containers. They can soak up excess wind and solar energy and save it for when it’s needed. In California, the use of batteries to store solar power for the evening hours has helped utilities reduce the amount of natural gas that is burned.
Yet the majority of America’s lithium-ion batteries are still imported, and 69 percent of those imports came from China in 2024, according to BloombergNEF. Mr. Trump’s latest round of tariffs, when combined with earlier trade moves, will impose a 64.5 percent tax on grid batteries from China, and that rate would rise to 82 percent next year.
“This will throttle U.S. energy storage deployment,” Jason Burwen, vice president of policy and strategy at the battery developer GridStor, wrote in a social media post. “Bad for business, bad for grid reliability.”
Energy companies were expected to install a record 18,200 megawatts of grid battery capacity this year, enough to store the entire output from 18 large nuclear reactors for a few hours, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Together, batteries, wind and solar power were expected to make up 93 percent of capacity added to the grid.
Those batteries help address renewable energy’s biggest weakness: the fact that the wind and sun aren’t always available. In states that rely heavily on solar power like California and Texas, a boom in battery installations has helped reduce the risk of blackouts during the hot summer months by working together with gas plants to provide power when demand spikes.
But batteries aren’t just useful for adding more renewables: Utilities also use them to smooth out small disruptions in the flow of electricity, say, if a power plant unexpectedly tripped offline. Or, they can be used to reduce congestion on transmission lines.
Companies have largely been installing grid batteries because the price of lithium-ion technology has plummeted (the batteries are similar to those found in electric cars). Tariffs could reverse that trend.
“Batteries are the only major clean tech sector where imports still overwhelmingly come from China,” said Antoine Vagneur-Jones, head of trade and supply chains at BloombergNEF. “So the impacts of these tariffs are going to be a lot bigger for batteries than they are for other technologies.”
In recent years, the United States has started to build up a domestic battery supply chain. After the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act passed, the Biden administration poured billions of dollars into new battery factories and offered tax credits for both domestic manufacturers and the use of batteries in both grids and electric vehicles.
But many of those factories face an uncertain future now that President Trump and Republicans in Congress are looking to roll back a variety of clean energy policies.
Teasing out the precise effects of tariffs on the energy mix is complicated, Mr. Vagneur-Jones said. Right now, batteries often compete with natural gas plants as a technology to fill in the gaps left by fluctuating wind and solar power.
But it won’t always be so easy for many power companies to increase their use of gas: There is a lengthy global backlog for new gas turbines, and a company trying to build a new gas plant from scratch today may have to wait until 2030 or beyond. The oil and gas industry is also being hurt by new tariffs on steel and aluminum, which can affect everything from the steel pipe used to line new gas wells to power transformers.
“It’s always tempting to say these tariffs are good for fossil fuels, bad for clean energy,” Mr. Vagneur-Jones said. “But I think it’s just bad for everyone.”
World
Anyma Says He’s ‘Truly Devastated and Deeply Sorry’ Following Canceled Coachella Set: ‘I’m Working on a Solution’
Electronic musician Anyma is speaking out after his Coachella set was canceled due to severe weather condititions early Saturday morning.
“I’m heartbroken,” the DJ, whose real name is Matteo Milleri, wrote in a statement shared to his X account Saturday evening. “I don’t have many words other than to say I’m truly devastated and deeply sorry to everyone who showed up to the main stage, and to those watching the livestream at home. Having the opportunity to perform the new ÆDEN show and share all the new music and art means more to me than I can express. It’s incredibly painful, especially after working day and night for the past year, not just me, but my team and the @coachella crew, who poured everything into this.”
The statement continued: “Safety was and always will be our biggest concern. The dangerous winds not only prevented us and Coachella from building our stage, but also made it impossible for my entire live setup and performance to operate safely.”
While he noted there are no other slots available for him to perform during Coachella weekend 1, Milleri wrote that he is “working on a solution to bring you some music at least,” but doesn’t want to “impose on the other artists’ slots.” “Updates soon,” he concluded.
Anyma was set to perform following Sabrina Carpenter’s headlining set on Day 1 of the festival, but the weather made it unfeasible. Attendees were notified at 12:17 a.m. of this “schedule update” with a statement posted online and sent as a push notification via the Coachella app.
“Due to strong wind conditions affecting Anyma’s stage build, he is unable to perform,” the statement read. “Coachella & Anyma have made this decision together with your safety as the priority. Further updates to come.”
Winds had gusted as high as 35-40 mph in Indio during the day Friday, and there were reports of tents being toppled in the campground area at Coachella. Weather reports for the area on Sunday, the closing day of the festival, show winds predicted at 10-20 mph, although the possibility for gusts again exists.
Even if Anyma is shut out of appearing at Coachella this weekend, he is still on the agenda for the same slot during weekend 2, this coming Friday night.
Anyma first gained popularity as one-half of the EDM duo Tale of Us.
World
Pope Leo calls out ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling Iran war in vigil for peace at St. Peter’s Basilica
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Pope Leo in a Saturday vigil for peace, called out the “delusion of omnipotence” he claimed is fueling war.
“In prayer, our limited human possibilities are joined to the infinite possibilities of God. Thoughts, words and deeds then break the demonic cycle of evil and are placed at the service of the Kingdom of God,” he said in a prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica.
He continued, “A Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness. It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
In posts on X and during the prayer vigil, the pontiff also warned that war “divides” while hope and faith unite humanity.
TRUMP’S LAST-MINUTE DELAY: WHY HE WAS NEVER GOING TO OBLITERATE IRAN IN THE FIRST PLACE
Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday. (Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo)
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money. Enough of the display of power. Enough of war,” he wrote. “True strength is shown in serving life.”
The archbishop of Tehran, Belgian Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, was among those in the pews.
Leo’s words came on the same day Vice President JD Vance and a U.S. delegation began face-to-face talks with Iran amid an uneasy ceasefire.
MIKE PENCE WARNS JD VANCE TO AVOID OBAMA-STYLE IRAN DEAL AS NUCLEAR TALKS SET TO BEGIN IN PAKISTAN
They were some of the first American pontiff’s strongest words yet after he called President Donald Trump’s threat against Iran on Tuesday “truly unacceptable.”
“Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said earlier this week. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.”
Pope Leo XIV speaks to the media on the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, as he leaves the papal residence to head back to the Vatican, April 7, in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)
Trump had written on Truth Social “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Hours later, the president announced a two-week ceasefire subject to Iran agreeing to “the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote in another post.
As the high-stakes talks began on Saturday in Islamabad, Trump told reporters outside the White House: “We win regardless of what happens. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don’t.”
Islamabad hosted peace talks between Iran and the U.S. on Saturday. (Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)
For more than a month, the pope limited his remarks to muted appeals for peace, but in his Easter blessing last Sunday, he urged “those with weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Leo also invoked what he said were the final words that Pope Francis issued to the world from the same balcony one year ago, during which the late pontiff warned of a “globalization of indifference.”
“What a great thirst for death, for killing we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world,” Leo said, quoting Francis.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
‘Enough of war!’ says Pope Leo XIV who grows increasingly frustrated
Published on
Pope Leo XIV did not hold back on Saturday as he denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is powering the US-Israel war on Iran and urges political leaders to stop and engage in peace processes. All while, the US and Iran entered peace negotiations in Pakistan.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
During an evening prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica Pope Leo XIV did not mention the US nor did he mention US President Donald Trump, however, his tone and message appeared directed at US officials and Trump, who have bragged of their military superiority and justified the war using religion.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
The US Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) announced on 3 March 2026 that it had received more than 200 complaints from military personnel from various branches of the armed forces – including the Marines, Air Force and Space Force – accusing their commanders of using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war against Iran.
Among those in the basilica was the archbishop of Tehran, Dominique Joseph Mathieu. The United States was represented by Laura Hochla, the deputy chief of mission, the US Embassy said.
US-born Pope Leo XIV had initially been reluctant about openly criticising the war, however, he stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. Earlier this week, he condemned Trump’s threats to annihilate Iranian civilisation calling them “truly unacceptable” and pushed for dialogue to be prioritised.
On Saturday, the pontiff called for all people of good will to pray for peace and demand an end to war from their political leaders.
Praying for peace, Pope Leo XIV said, was a way to “break the demonic cycle of evil” to build instead the Kingdom of God where there are no swords, drones or “unjust profit.”
“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he said. “Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Leaders have used religion to defend their actions in the war. US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have spoken about their Christian faith and described the United States as a Christian nation fighting its enemies.
Leo has said that God does not support any war, especially wars where bombs are dropped.
The Vatican is especially worried about Israel’s war with Hezbollah which is spreading into Lebanon, where Christian communities in the south are already suffering.
-
Atlanta, GA1 week ago1 teenage girl killed, another injured in shooting at Piedmont Park, police say
-
Georgia5 days agoGeorgia House Special Runoff Election 2026 Live Results
-
Pennsylvania6 days agoParents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo
-
Arkansas2 days agoArkansas TV meteorologist Melinda Mayo retires after nearly four decades on air
-
Milwaukee, WI6 days agoPotawatomi Casino Hotel evacuated after fire breaks out in rooftop HVAC system
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoFighting Illini begin Final Four preparations in Indianapolis
-
Technology1 week agoAnthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extra
-
Austin, TX5 days agoABC Kite Fest Returns to Austin for Annual Celebration – Austin Today