Solar accounted for most of the capacity the nation added to its electric grids last year. That feat marks the first time since World War II, when hydropower was booming, that a renewable power source has comprised more than half of the nation’s energy additions.
Specifics: “It’s really monumental,” said Shawn Rumery, senior director of research at the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA. The trade group announced the 2023 numbers in a report released today with analytics firm Wood MacKenzie. The 32.4 gigawatts that came online in the United States last year shattered the previous high of 23.6 gigawatts recorded in 2021 and accounted for 53% of new capacity. Natural gas was next in line at a distant 18%.
Read more ... for a closer look at the factors that led to this solar surge.
Solar accounted for most of the capacity the nation added to its electric grids last year. That feat marks the first time since World War II, when hydropower was booming, that a renewable power source has comprised more than half of the nation’s energy additions.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
“It’s really monumental,” said Shawn Rumery, senior director of research at the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA. The trade group announced the 2023 numbers in a report released today with analytics firm Wood MacKenzie. The 32.4 gigawatts that came online in the United States last year shattered the previous high of 23.6 gigawatts recorded in 2021 and accounted for 53 percent of new capacity. Natural gas was next in line at a distant 18 percent.
SEIA called 2023 the best year for renewables since the Second World War. Texas and California led a solar surge driven mostly by utility-scale installations, which jumped 77 percent year-over-year to 22.5 gigawatts. The residential and commercial sectors also reached new milestones. Only the relatively nascent community solar market missed its previous mark, though not by much, said Rumery. Overall he called it an “almost record-setting year across the industry.”
One factor driving all that growth was an easing of supply chain constraints, which had slowed the delivery of solar panels. The problem arose in early 2022 after a small California manufacturer, Auxin Solar, filed a petition with the Department of Commerce accusing Chinese companies of circumventing U.S. tariffs by funneling panels through Southeast Asia. The government largely sided with Auxin, and new tariffs are set to take effect in June.
The dispute “really set back a lot of utility-scale projects,” said Rumery. But, he explained, solar developers found workarounds that helped foster such strong 2023 growth, when projects slated to finish in 2022 finally wrapped up. While the boost from delayed installations will dissipate in coming years, and residential solar faces headwinds due to changes in net metering rules, experts generally expect renewable energy to keep on its torrent trajectory.
“It’s very likely to continue because solar and wind are now very well established,” said Rob Stoner, director of the MIT Energy Initiative. “Solar costs continue to fall far below where we ever thought they would.”
Read Next Solar is one of the cleanest power sources we’ve got. But it could be even greener.Maddie Stone Despite its rapid ascendance, solar still makes up just 5 percent of the U.S. electricity mix. But today’s report projects that, over the next decade, the nation will add nearly 500 gigawatts of solar power. The authors warn, however, that deployment could shift dramatically depending on how policies and the market progress. Their bull scenario would see as much as a 17 percent increase from that base case, while their bearish outlook predicts up to a 24 percent decline — swings that could account for some 200 gigawatts of capacity.
Rumery says he’ll be watching the extent to which companies take advantage of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes significant incentives for renewable energy deployment. So far interest in solar appears to be strong, with one tally pegging utility-scale investment at $53 billion in 2023. But, according to Stoner, the biggest open question is how quickly projects can connect to the grid.
“Interconnect times are nationally very long for utility scale,” he said. “That’s a big problem.”
Rumery said companies are expecting wait times to grow from around five years to as long as a decade or more. He adds interest rates and state-level policies such as net metering rates to the list of factors that could shape the future of solar. But overall, he said, there’s just one direction the industry is headed.
“We certainly expect the solar industry to grow,” he said. The only question is by how much.
Kyle Chrise
is the producer of Morning Edition. He’s created more than 20,000 hours of programming in his 25-plus-year career.
Published December 3, 2025 4:44 PM
A West Valley City, Utah, patrol officer operates his body camera. LASD is bringing them to county jails for the first time.
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Topline:
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna is introducing body-worn cameras in jails for the first time. The Sheriff's Department says the move is designed to enhance safety, accountability and transparency.
Why it matters: The Sheriff's Department says body-worn cameras provide additional information during public interactions and increases the ability to reduce criminal and civil liability. The cameras also will allow officers to collect evidence for use in criminal investigations and prosecutions. According to the LASD, research has shown that when officers are outfitted with body cameras, citizen complaints decrease, use-of-force incidents decrease, subject behavior improves and transparency and public trust are enhanced.
Why now: Luna said body-worn cameras started Oct. 1 at the Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers Correctional Facility, the Inmate Reception Center and Century Regional Detention Facility. He added that more than 1,000 personnel have been trained on the cameras, and the department is training 7,200 additional employees each week.
The backstory: In September, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state was suing Los Angeles County and the Sheriff's Department over conditions inside the jail system. The suit claimed inmates lacked basic access to clean water and edible food and lived in facilities that were infested with rats and roaches. At that point, Bonta said there had been 36 deaths in jails in 2025 and 205 deaths over the past four years. The Sheriff's Department responded by insisting progress has been made in improving jail conditions and in meeting requirements of four existing federal settlement agreements relating to the jails.
What's next: Luna said the department will be rolling out body-worn cameras to the jail at the Pitchess Detention Center, the L.A. County General Medical Center Jail ward and all other custody support units.
Two of the nation's latest food recalls concern cheese — and lots of it.
About the recalls: The recalls are distinct, citing different food safety concerns: One involves hundreds of thousands of containers of shredded mozzarella and multi-cheese blends, while the other affects several brands of grated Pecorino Romano.
About the products: Both recalls target products that have sell-by dates in 2026 and are sold in major retailers in more than a dozen states.
Read on... for more about the recalls.
Two of the nation's latest food recalls concern cheese — and lots of it.
The recalls are distinct, citing different food safety concerns: One involves hundreds of thousands of containers of shredded mozzarella and multi-cheese blends, while the other affects several brands of grated Pecorino Romano.
But both target products that have sell-by dates in 2026 and are sold in major retailers in more than a dozen states.
Here's what to know:
The shredded cheese recall
Great Lakes Cheese, an Ohio-based company that calls itself "the nation's leading natural cheese packager," initiated a recall of half a dozen kinds of shredded cheese products — from mozzarella to pizza-style — in early October because they may contain fragments of metal.
This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) upgraded its risk classification to Class II, the second-highest, meaning consumption of the product could cause "temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences."
The affected cheeses are sold under dozens of brand names at nationwide retailers including Target, Walmart, Publix and Aldi.
The FDA says they were distributed to 31 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, as well as Puerto Rico.
The recalled bags, with varying sell-by dates in February and March 2026, include:
Low-moisture part-skim shredded mozzarella from the following brands: Always Save, Borden, Brookshire's, Cache Valley Creamery, Chestnut Hill, Coburn Farms, Econo, Food Club, Food Lion, Gold Rush Creamery, Good & Gather, Great Lakes Cheese, Happy Farms by Aldi, H-E-B, Hill Country Fare, Know & Love, Laura Lynn, Lucerne Dairy Farms, Nu Farm, Publix, Schnuck's, Simply Go, Sprouts Farmers Market, Stater Bros. Markets and Sunnyside Farms.
Italian style shredded cheese blend under the brand names: Brookshire's, Cache Valley Creamery, Coburn Farms, Great Value, Know & Love, Laura Lynn, Publix, Simply Go and Happy Farms by Aldi.
Shredded pizza-style cheese blend from Food Club, Econo, Gold Rush Creamery, Great Value, Laura Lynn and Simply Go.
Mozzarella and provolone shredded cheese blend from Freedom's Choice, Good & Gather, Great Lakes Cheese and Great Value, as well as a mozzarella and parmesan blend from Good & Gather.
The full list of products is on the FDA's website. The FDA has not published a press release or responded to NPR's request for comment about the recall. NPR reached out to Great Lakes Cheese but did not hear back by publication time.
The Pecorino Romano recall
One of several brands of grated Pecorino Romano being recalled over listeria concerns.
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Food and Drug Administration
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The Ambriola Company, a New Jersey-based cheese distributor, announced last week that it was recalling some of its products after routine testing confirmed the presence of listeria, which can cause potentially life-threatening infections.
It said while no illnesses had been reported, it was recalling products processed at that same facility "out of an abundance of caution." Those products were distributed to retail stores — and other distributors — between Nov. 3 and Nov. 20, the FDA says.
"We take food safety very seriously and immediately alerted stores and distributors to remove the affected products from shelves," Ambriola CEO Phil Marfuggi said in a statement. "We are working closely with the FDA and continuing to test our products and facilities to fully understand the situation."
The recalled products are sold — both in plastic containers and pound-sized plastic bags — under the brand names Ambriola, Locatelli, Pinna, Boar's Head and Member's Mark.
They have expiration dates ranging from February to May 2026. It's not clear exactly where the cheeses ended up, though Walmart says some are sold at Walmart locations in 14 states and Sam's Club locations in 27 states.
Wegman's has also issued a recall of Locatelli-brand Pecorino Romano — over the same listeria concerns — that it says was sold in stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. between Nov. 14 and Nov. 24.
The FDA urges customers to toss or return the cheese for a refund, and contact their doctor if they develop symptoms of a listeria infection, which usually start within two weeks of eating contaminated food and can include fever, headache, stiff neck and muscle aches.
In the meantime, Ambriola says it has suspended production and distribution of affected products as it conducts a "thorough review of all sanitation and food safety procedures."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published December 3, 2025 3:59 PM
Clearman’s Steak ’n Stein in Pico Rivera, with its signature central fountain and wood-paneled dining room
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Eric Wareheim
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Topline:
LAist 89.3's AirTalk recently featured actor and comedian Eric Wareheim, who spent three years traveling the country to document America’s most beloved steakhouses for his new book, "Steak House: The People, the Places, the Recipes." Host Larry Mantle asked listeners for their local recommendations. The phones lit up.
Why now? Steakhouses are having a cultural resurgence, especially in Los Angeles, where old-school dining rooms are suddenly packed again. In an era of constant change, these throwback spaces offer comfort, ritual and a sense of place.
Why is this important? Steakhouses aren’t just restaurants — they’re community anchors built on decades of shared meals, celebrations and familiar faces. By spotlighting the servers, owners and traditions that keep them alive, the story reveals how food can preserve local history. It’s a reminder that some institutions matter precisely because they’ve stayed the same.
Listen
20:09
A new book takes a meaty look at the steak houses that make America
How far would you travel for a good steak?
For actor and director Eric Wareheim, best known as half of the pioneering duo Tim & Eric, the answer turned into a three-year journey across the United States, a sprawling tour of iconic dining rooms, veteran servers and the rituals that define America’s most enduring steakhouses.
Wareheim joined LAist 89.3’s AirTalk recently, talking to host Larry Mantle about how the project grew from a simple “best of” list into a full cultural record.
“Every city has five more, not on anyone’s list,” he said, describing the scale of the country’s steakhouse universe.
Understanding the appeal
For Wareheim, a great steakhouse is built on atmosphere as much as what’s on the plate. Newer restaurants may source fancier meat, he said, but the old-school places offer a different kind of comfort — a sense of continuity that’s increasingly rare.
A suited-up Wareheim sampling prime cuts as he documents America’s great steakhouses.
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Marcus Nilsson
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What became clear in reporting the book, he said, is that steakhouses serve as more than dining rooms. They’re gathering places for birthdays, anniversaries and decades-long family traditions. They’re neighborhood anchors. And they’re deeply specific to their cities, each one carrying its own rituals, quirks and regulars.
An archival look at the people who built the classic American steakhouse, one dining room meeting at a time.
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Courtesy Valley Times Photo Collection
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The local perspective
It didn’t take long for AirTalk listeners to jump in with their own L.A. favorites.
George Petrelli’s Steakhouse in Culver City: “They bring the meat in and butcher everything right there in the shop — cutting, dressing, even grinding the beef on the premises,” said Douglas in Long Beach.
555 East in Long Beach, which recently marked its 40th anniversary: “It was a grand celebration for the regulars — incredible prime rib, as much as you wanted, plus all sorts of other good things. Their steaks were terrific, and for dessert, they served a molten, individually baked pudding in its own little casserole dish," raved Harriet in Seal Beach.
Dear John’s in Culver City: “So dark you can’t see for the first five minutes,” joked Michael in Sherman Oaks.
Magic Lamp in Rancho Cucamonga: Its classic neon signage was singled out by Eric via email.
Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood: "The best New York strip in town," said Jennifer in Silver Lake.
Betsy in Altadena: Praised by local resident Peggy as her new go-to, calling its real-wood, fire-seared steaks “a bright spot amongst the ashes” — a nod to the community recovering from the Eaton Fire.
Wareheim himself shouted out Taylor’s in Koreatown, the first steakhouse he and his comedy partner Tim Heidecker visited years ago. This formative experience planted the seed for the book.
From neon signs to prime rib rituals, Wareheim’s book captures the soul of the American steakhouse.
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Courtesy Ten Speed Press
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In addition, Steakhouse also makes mention of plenty of other L.A.–based restaurants that make beef their specialty, including:
Clearman’s Steak ’n Stein (Pico Rivera — classic mid-century steakhouse known for prime rib). Soot Bull Jip (Koreatown — Korean barbecue) Langer’s Delicatessen (MacArthur Park — famed pastrami) Thien An Bo 7 Mon (Rosemead — Vietnamese seven-courses-of-beef restaurant) Niku X (Downtown L.A. — high-end dry-aged/robot-assisted steakhouse) Musso & Frank Grill (Hollywood — iconic old-school chophouse) Majordomo (Chinatown — modern Korean-American takes on large-format beef)
Veteran servers
Wareheim argued that the heart of any steakhouse isn’t the cut of meat — it’s the staff. Many of the places he visited have servers who’ve been there 30 or 40 years, passing down the rhythms of the room like a craft.
“You want to go to a serious server, a lifer who knows exactly what the best thing is,” he said. “You can let go and just let these veterans guide you. And that’s a good feeling.”
The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration's broader pivot away from cleaner cars.
CAFE standards: The federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules require that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a given automaker, on average, gets more fuel efficient over time. Automakers who fall short previously have needed either to pay hefty fines or buy credits from a company that over-performs on efficiency, like Tesla and other all-electric automakers. At the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, "We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome — horrible, actually — CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions."
Why now: The Trump administration already has defanged the existing CAFE standards by eliminating the fines associated with them, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The administration also has been working to roll back tailpipe standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are designed to cut pollution from vehicles. The two sets of rules have overlapping effects, with both of them pushing automakers toward cleaner vehicles. Trump campaigned against what he called the "electric vehicle mandate" and promised to rescind policies — including fuel economy standards — that encouraged or incentivized EVs.
What's next: The proposed change now enters a period of public comment. The Department of Transportation will collect input from companies and citizens before finalizing the rule.
The Trump administration has started the process of dramatically easing fuel economy requirements for new vehicles, part of the administration's broader pivot away from cleaner cars.
At the White House on Wednesday, surrounded by the executives from several major car companies, President Donald Trump said the move would save consumers money by making cars cheaper.
"We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome — horrible, actually — CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions," Trump said, referring to the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules, often called CAFE standards. "And all sorts of problems, all sorts of problems for automakers."
CAFE standards require that the entire fleet of vehicles sold by a given automaker, on average, get more fuel-efficient over time. Automakers who fall short have previously needed to either pay hefty fines, or buy credits from a company that over-performs on efficiency, like Tesla and other all-electric automakers.
The Trump administration has already defanged the existing CAFE standards by eliminating the fines associated with them, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under Former President Joe Biden, the rules called for vehicles to get 2% more efficient every year; the Trump administration is now proposing to revert to the 2022 baseline and increase by .5% annually.
The proposed change now enters a period of public comment; the Department of Transportation will collect input from companies and citizens before finalizing the rule.
The administration has already been working to roll back tailpipe standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which are designed to cut pollution from vehicles. The two sets of rules have overlapping effects, with both of them pushing automakers toward cleaner vehicles.
The policy shift was no surprise. Trump campaigned against what he called the "electric vehicle mandate," and promised to rescind policies — including fuel economy standards — that encouraged or incentivized EVs.
Trump has framed the policy rollback as a gift to the auto industry. And that's partially true: Large trucks and SUVs may be inefficient, but they're popular and profitable, and selling more of them without any penalty is a financial boon to automakers. In earnings calls this fall, multiple executives noted that the regulatory rollback will boost earnings and help offset the cost of tariffs.
Electric vehicle adoption in the U.S. has moved slower than automakers had expected. Some automakers have said made some of the Biden-era policies not just challenging but unworkable.
In a statement provided by the White House, Ford CEO Jim Farley praised "President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities."
But automakers are also navigating a changing global market, with many countries continuing to prioritize climate action. The popularity of high-quality, affordable Chinese EVs has raised questions about whether legacy automakers can compete. So Farley's statement also promised that "We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability."
For companies, which need to plan their future vehicle lineups years in advance, it's challenging when rules whipsaw back and forth with each change in administration. That's been the reality for years now: The Obama administration set ambitious fuel economy rules, which Trump 1.0 reversed, Biden reinstated, and now Trump 2.0 is seeking to "reset."
Farley obliquely noted that risk in a conversation with investors in October. He explained why Ford was continuing to move ahead with plans for an affordable electric pickup, despite regulations shifting to no longer support EVs. "We expect adoption will increase over time and the market continue to evolve," Farley said. "And maybe the regulations evolve."
