Evan Halper

Washington, D.C.

Business reporter covering the energy transition

Education: Bates College, B.A. in Rhetoric; Columbia University, M.S. in Journalism

Evan Halper is a business reporter for The Washington Post, covering the energy transition. His work focuses on the tensions between energy demands and decarbonizing the economy. He came to The Post from the Los Angeles Times, where he spent two decades, most recently covering domestic policy and presidential politics from its Washington bureau.
Latest from Evan Halper

A utility promised to stop burning coal. Then Google and Meta came to town.

Google and Meta targeted Omaha as a digital frontier. But their plans to push the energy transition forward there are not working out. A coal plant is filling the void.

October 12, 2024
“A promise was made, and then they broke it,” said Cheryl Weston, who has lived for five decades in Omaha's largely minority neighborhood of North Omaha. The North Omaha Station stands in the background.

Three Mile Island owner seeks taxpayer backing for Microsoft AI deal

The Department of Energy is weighing a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for a plan to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant with Microsoft as its sole customer.

October 3, 2024
The Three Mile Island nuclear plant, as seen from across the Susquehanna River in Goldsboro, Pa. Microsoft and Constellation Energy reached a deal that would restart the plant's Unit 1, which was retired in 2019.

Microsoft deal would reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI

The Three Mile Island nuclear plant, home of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, would restart under a deal in which Microsoft purchases all its power.

September 20, 2024
An employee leaves in his car from the nuclear plant on Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pa., in 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

In Pennsylvania, Harris can’t shake her anti-fracking past

A history of hostility toward fossil fuels by Kamala Harris creates a political challenge for Democrats in the must-win state of Pennsylvania

August 13, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris takes photos with supporters during a campaign event at Girard College in Philadelphia on Aug. 6. Her position on fracking has put off some voters in a state where natural gas is crucial to the economy.

Anger over power outages boils as Beryl leaves Houston reeling

CenterPoint Energy said about 500,000 customers are expected to still be without power by early next week — a full week after the hurricane barreled through.

July 11, 2024
Harold Bishop, 73, walks up the stairs of the WALIPP Senior Residence on Tuesday in Houston. The residence was without electricity and running water. (Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post)

A nuclear accident made Three Mile Island infamous. AI’s needs may revive it.

Driven by the ravenous energy appetites of artificial intelligence developers and green technology manufacturers, Three Mile Island is poised for a comeback.

July 10, 2024
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979.

AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution.

Some data centers need as much energy as a small city, turning companies that promised a clean energy future into some of the most insatiable guzzlers of power

June 21, 2024
Scientists have been chasing the fusion dream for decades but have yet to overcome the extraordinary technical challenges.

As nuclear power flails in the U.S., White House bets big on a revival

Are the new reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear plant — years behind schedule and billions over budget — a sign of an industry in collapse or a revival?

June 5, 2024
Cooling towers at a nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga.

Get ready for a hot AI summer

Crypto, AI and clean-tech manufacturing are pushing America’s power grid to the brink. Aging utilities can’t keep up. On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we look into who will be left to pay the price.

May 29, 2024

Biden releases 1 million barrels of gasoline in bid to lower summer costs

The move underscored the White House’s attempts to tame consumer prices, especially with voters feeling sour on the economy.

May 21, 2024
Prices at a gas station in Northbrook, Ill., on Thursday.