Over seven years, an 800-strong team of researchers and surveyors—led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., Duke University and WorldFish built a global dataset that aims to make small-scale fishing more visible. The work culminated with a study in Nature that details the global impacts "so that it will be clear for governments that small-scale fishing cannot continue to be overlooked in terms of policymaking,” former Duke faculty member Xavier Basutro told Mongabay.

The US power system has the potential to more quickly add large loads while mitigating the need for costly system upgrades—as those loads can occasionally cut their power use when the grid is most stressed. DailyEnergyInsider reports on recent research from the Nicholas Institute rethinking the common paradigms around data center–driven load growth.

Federal funding for clean energy projects faces an uncertain future, potentially upending workforce training programs at many community colleges, writes Work Shift. A federal electric vehicle infrastructure program, which earmarked up to $1 billion for Southeastern states and was highlighted in a report authored by Nicholas Institute expert Trey Gowdy, is among those paused by an executive order calling for a 90-day review to ensure that clean energy projects are aligned with the Trump administration’s energy policy.

A recent report by Nicholas Institute researchers shows that by simply reducing power usage at certain data centers during specific times, data centers can come online using existing US electricity generation capacity. This will buy time for regulators to determine where increased generation is needed and to explore cleaner generating technologies.

If data centers can be flexible and limit their power demands for a handful of hours each year, the US could add around 100 GW of new load without expanding generation, according to a new report from Duke University. The findings add a wrinkle to the dire warnings that the load from data centers training artificial intelligence models could crash the grid, reports E&E News.

Citing recent Nicholas Institute research, TechCrunch reports that by limiting power drawn from the grid to 90% of the maximum for a couple hours at a time—for a total of about a day per year—76 GW of load capacity could be unlocked in the United States.

The first in a series of profiles of student leaders working on climate and sustainability. Duke Today highlights Tyler Ratcliffe and his journey of student leadership on campus—including becoming the first undergraduate co-chair of Energy Week at Duke and co-designing a house course on "Energy and Climate Venture Investing" with faculty advisor Brian Murray (Nicholas Institute director).

The Axios Generate newsletter included a recent Nicholas Institute study in its energy and climate news and analysis roundup. Calling the report "buzzy," the newsletter says the report "challenges the [conventional wisdom] that massive amounts of new generation are needed to feed AI and other emerging sources that are boosting US energy demand."

S&P Capital IQ reports on recent Nicholas Institute research that reveals the existing US power system capacity, "intentionally designed to handle extreme peak demand swings — could accommodate significant load additions with modest flexibility measures."

A new study from Duke University’s Nicholas Institute finds that the US power system has significant untapped potential to integrate new large electricity loads while minimizing the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.“Our study demonstrates that the existing US power system—designed to manage extreme peak demand fluctuations—could accommodate significant load additions with modest flexibility measures,” lead author Tyler Norris told