Energy
Transitioning to a world powered by renewable energy is key to tackling climate change. Here you can find the latest good news related to our clean energy transition, covering wind, solar, green hydrogen, hydropower, and more.
Tequila ingredient shows potential as an efficient and eco-friendly biofuel
Agave, the desert plant most commonly known for producing the notorious tequila drink in Mexico, shows promise to expand its purpose beyond producing a party starter to become an efficient and environment-friendly biofuel. After analyzing agave’s ability to produce bioethanol, scientists from Read More...
Researcher says COVID-19 will reduce European emissions by 24 percent
Yesterday we shared a story about how the COVID-19 outbreak demonstrates society’s ability to act fast in the face of a crisis. If we choose to apply this amazing human capacity for action to the climate crisis, we may already have a bit of a head start with massive emissions drops due to the Read More...
Agrivoltaics: The mission to combine agriculture with solar farming
Are fields of open, often fertile land better used for producing renewable energy or food? The United States already hosts more than 2 million solar installations, and photovoltaic capacity is projected to more than double over the next five years. Meanwhile, our growing global population means Read More...
Global wind energy capacity hits all time high; it grew by a fifth last year
The past year was a good one for renewables as the world’s wind power capacity grew by almost a fifth in 2019, boosted by a boom of wind farms in China and the US. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) found that wind power capacity grew by 60.4 gigawatts, or 19 percent, compared with 2018, in Read More...
The UK’s parliament pension fund is dumping fossil fuel investments
Good news from the clean energy front in the UK: The Parliament’s pension fund, which takes care of the pensions for members of parliament (MP), has made record investments in renewable energy and cut its exposure to fossil fuel companies. A new report from the £700m pension fund showed that Read More...
Virginia is the first southern state to commit to 100 percent renewable energy
Virginia passed a landmark law on March 6 which makes it the first state in the southern United States to commit to achieving 100 percent renewable energy. The Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 includes plans to eliminate emissions from the electricity sector and create 13,000 new clean energy Read More...
The world witnessed a 2% drop in overall carbon emissions last year
Good news from the green energy transition front: Carbon emissions generated by the electricity sector fell at the fastest rate in at least 30 years as countries turned their backs on coal, analysis suggests. Overall, coal-fueled electricity declined 3 percent in 2019, leading to a 2 percent fall Read More...
How adventure tourism provided a lifeline to struggling coal towns
Although we staunchly support the transition away from coal energy, we cannot ignore the struggles of the many communities that have long relied on coal mining. Fayetteville, West Virginia, is just one of the many towns within Appalachia to be hit hard by the transition from fossil fuels to Read More...
Fruit waste shows great potential as energy-storage technology
Biowaste has been used for energy production for some time already (see this story about using coffee grounds in your tank!), but tapping into its potential for energy storage is quite a recent phenomenon. Particularly, two unusual tropical fruits have been standing out as attractive candidates to Read More...
An old coal plant and a new deal would benefit LA and the Navajo Nation
If you live in Los Angeles, you probably didn’t know that until last year the Navajo Nation had helped power the city with energy from a reservation coal plant. The plant was shut down, but this partnership will live to see another, greener, day. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to Read More...