Sustainability - GeekWire

Mar 13, 2026, 10:22 AM

Report: TerraPower leadership faces tough questions about Gates, Myhrvold and Epstein ties

TerraPower employees questioned CEO Chris Levesque about connections between sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and company board leaders Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold, according to The Seattle Times. Read More

Mar 12, 2026, 8:05 PM

The ‘Tesla exemption’ no more: Rivian and Lucid break through Washington state’s dealership wall

At the start of next year, Washington state shoppers will for the first time be able to visit showrooms for Rivian and Lucid Motors, take a test drive and buy an EV. Read More

Mar 10, 2026, 7:00 AM

Seattle-area startup turns industrial emissions into high-performance battery materials

Homeostasis is building a business at the intersection of climate policy, trade wars and the global race for battery materials with its graphite production tech. Read More

Mar 9, 2026, 8:20 AM

Contractors sue Modern Hydrogen, alleging the Bill Gates-backed startup left their final invoices unpaid

Five contractors are suing the Seattle-area clean energy startup for more than $363,458, alleging unpaid invoices when the company suddenly slowed operations late last year. Read More

Mar 5, 2026, 8:51 AM

Fully charged: Meet the local leader energizing the Pacific Northwest battery boom

Grayson Shor, founder of the Pacific Northwest Battery Collaborative, is the driving force that’s uniting the region’s battery community. Read More

Mar 5, 2026, 7:02 AM

Washington state lawmakers target data center sales tax breaks to help plug $2B budget gap

Washington lawmakers are considering ending a sales tax break for data center owners when they replace equipment. Read More

Mar 4, 2026, 1:27 PM

TerraPower becomes first next-gen nuclear company to get U.S. green light for building reactors

TerraPower recently signed a deal with Meta to build up to eight advanced reactors in the U.S. with the first two coming online as soon as 2032. Read More

Mar 4, 2026, 8:46 AM

Washington state bill allowing direct sales of Rivian and Lucid is speeding toward finish line

Washington lawmakers are racing to pass legislation to let Rivian and Lucid sell their EVs directly to consumers following Rivian’s threat to put the issue on the ballot. Read More

Mar 3, 2026, 10:34 AM

Washington state’s data center regulation bill fails following pushback from tech industry

Microsoft last week publicly came out in opposition to the bill, which garnered support from environmental groups, tribal nations, and ratepayer advocates warning that the rapid expansion of data centers risked driving up utility bills and straining limited water supplies. Read More

Mar 2, 2026, 7:06 PM

Energy company Doosan GridTech lays off staff at Seattle-area office

Doosan GridTech, part of South Korea’s Doosan group, develops software for energy storage systems. Read More

Feb 28, 2026, 7:41 AM

Microsoft urges major changes to Washington data center regulations as bill nears final vote

After weeks on the sidelines, Microsoft publicly declared its opposition to a bill that aims to rein in the environmental and economic impacts of the data center boom. Read More

Feb 27, 2026, 2:22 PM

Washington state is primed to let Rivian and Lucid sell EVs directly to consumers

Electric automakers have fought for years to change the state law that only allows Tesla to directly sell cars, operate showrooms and offer test drives to potential customers in Washington. Read More

Feb 26, 2026, 10:16 AM

‘Meaningless’ theater? As tech giants pledge ratepayer protections in D.C., others question real-world impact

While the tech companies pledge to cover data center energy costs, some industry veterans say they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Read More

Feb 26, 2026, 7:54 AM

Reviving the ‘Mosquito Fleet’: Washington eyes passenger ferries to scale maritime transit and tech

Supporters of a proposed bill argue that a fast-tracked, passenger-only ferry service would help workers commute, connect residents to medical care, and boost tourism in harder-to-reach areas. Read More

Feb 25, 2026, 7:00 AM

The rooftop solar reset: Seattle startup launches platform to streamline financing and installation

Solar power is appealing, but the economics are tricky. Enter loanTERRA, a startup offering transparent financing and vetted installers. Read More

Feb 23, 2026, 2:43 PM

Water, power, and transparency: Amazon’s $12B data center deal signals a new era of accountability

Amazon announced a $12 billion data center project in Louisiana in which the company vowed to pay its own way for energy and other infrastructure. Read More

Feb 16, 2026, 7:00 AM

Washington state has embraced data centers – but now it’s looking to set terms of engagement

Washington’s House on Saturday approved a slate of rules for data centers around energy costs and transparency. The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration. Read More

Feb 13, 2026, 9:47 AM

Report: Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy is not pursuing additional funds for a key initiative

Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy, headquartered in Seattle, is not currently pursuing additional capital for Catalyst, its initiative that funds ready-to-scale… Read More

Feb 13, 2026, 2:00 AM

Helion reaches record 150 million degrees Celsius as it strives for ambitious commercial fusion launch

Helion announced two milestones: hitting a record temperature of 150 million degrees Celsius and being the first private venture to use radioactive tritium. Read More

Feb 3, 2026, 3:00 AM

Soviet secrets and Star Wars prototypes: Avalanche raises $29M for its desktop-sized power quest

Seattle startup Avalanche Energy will use the funding to support its push toward fusion power and to help launch a commercial-scale testing facility for fusion technologies. Read More

Jan 30, 2026, 8:41 AM

Seattle startup Electric Era lands $5.1M in U.S. grants to install freeway chargers in Washington

Seattle startup Electric Era landed $4.28 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funding to install five charging stations in Washington. Read More

Jan 29, 2026, 5:00 AM

From ash to assets: Seattle’s Mast proves buried biomass from wildfires can fund forest recovery

Seattle’s Mast Reforestation has engineered a solution for disposing trees destroyed in wildfires, locking away their carbon and helping recover the damaged woods. Read More

Jan 28, 2026, 5:00 AM

AZX lands $6M: Seattle-area tech veterans reunite to build custom AI solutions for energy industry

AZX, a startup building bespoke AI solutions, has raised $6 million and reports a 10-fold revenue spike over the past year. Read More

Jan 27, 2026, 9:55 AM

Battery company Group14 furloughs workers at Washington factory — just as rival Sila ramps up

Next-gen battery materials company Group14 last week furloughed an undisclosed number of employees at its unfinished facility in Moses Lake, Wash., as rival Sila expects to start production this spring. Read More

Jan 26, 2026, 9:20 AM

‘Leading nuclear project in the U.S.’: TerraPower closes in on key permits for first next-gen reactor

In perhaps a matter of weeks, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower expects to receive federal permits to build the nuclear components of its first-of-a-kind, next-gen plant in Wyoming. Read More

Jan 22, 2026, 10:00 AM

B.C. energy company General Fusion aims to go public via a $1B SPAC deal

Less than a year after layoffs and a public plea by its CEO for new investments, General Fusion announced a $1 billion deal with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III to go public. Read More

Jan 22, 2026, 8:00 AM

The race to replace lithium: Seattle startup lands funding for salt-powered battery technology

Seattle startup Emerald Battery Labs raised just under $1.1 million in a pre-seed round to continue scaling its sodium-ion battery technology. Read More

Jan 20, 2026, 8:15 AM

Engineers in the field: Washington state bets on AI to help save the future of farming

A new initiative called Growing with AI will bring together the state’s tech giants and diverse farming community to tackle pressing challenges in the agriculture industry. Read More

Jan 14, 2026, 1:39 PM

Big tech takes a backseat to big science in Washington governor’s annual address

While AI is generating all the buzz, it was Washington state’s climate tech and healthcare innovation that got shoutouts in Gov. Bob Ferguson’s State of the State address. Read More

Jan 14, 2026, 12:00 PM

Forget burying unwanted carbon — this Washington startup is turning it into protein, fuel and a frost deicer

OCOchem, a clean tech startup turning carbon dioxide into industrial chemicals, has raised $2.15 million and continues signing new partnerships. Read More