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.
The ancient plant that's helping Indonesia modernize its electricity grid
As a nation made up of 17,000 islands, one of Indonesia’s most challenging problems in the 21st century has been modernizing its electric grid. But now on the island of Siberut, some electricity-starved hamlets are sustainably developing their own energy by relying on a material that has Read More...
A startup has come up with a stronger EV battery without the precious metals
Creating long-range electric vehicles that are still comparable in affordability to gasoline cars has long been the challenge of the electric vehicle industry. While improvements in technology have made batteries cheaper and more efficient, the average addition of a battery to a vehicle still costs Read More...
New Jersey just doubled its offshore wind power promise
How do you go about generating renewable energy when your state has 130 miles of windy coastline? Massive wind farms, of course. This week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared the state will install 7.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, almost double its initial target of 3.5 gigawatts. Read More...
The humble ski-lift could lead us to clean energy that’s available on demand
What do you see when you imagine a zero-carbon future? Electric buses zipping by? Rolling hills covered with solar panels? Offshore wind farms towering over the sea? If batteries are part of your vision, good thinking. But there’s a promising if whimsical, piece of the renewable energy puzzle Read More...
Mirror-based solar panels could finally decarbonize steel production
A typical large steel mill might burn through 1.5 million metric tons of coal in its furnaces in a year. It hasn’t been possible to run that type of industrial process on renewable energy, because of the extremely hot temperatures required, making nearly a quarter of global emissions hard to Read More...
Two of America’s biggest coal plants are closing this month
Coal is still America’s third most important energy source, but that won’t last long as two of America’s biggest coal plants are set to cease operations this month. The reason? Slowing electricity demand for coal, climate regulations, and consumers having cheaper alternatives for Read More...
Superconductors are about to make wind turbines ultra-efficient
Wind turbines are set to become a whole lot better at turning wind into energy after a team of Danish scientists tested a superconducting rotor on a turbine. So, you might be asking: what on Earth is a superconductor and how does it improve wind turbines? A superconductor is a material capable Read More...
After the nuclear disaster, Fukushima is being transformed into a clean energy hub
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Japan’s northeastern prefecture of Fukushima is recovering awesomely from the nuclear disaster that struck in 2011. The disaster, which was triggered by an earthquake, wreaked havoc on the energy hub and created toxic conditions in the wider area. But, Read More...
No state is more prepared for a transition to 100% clean energy than Colorado
At the moment, Colorado only generates a fraction of its electricity using clean energy sources. Despite this, there’s perhaps no state that is better poised for a full-scale transition to clean energy. For one thing, thanks to its bountiful sunlight and wind, Colorado has enormous potential Read More...
These artificial sunflowers move like real flowers to harvest solar energy
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: nature is the best source of inspiration for the design. In that light, scientists from UCLA have designed tiny solar panels disguised as sunflowers that mimic the behavior in plants known as phototropism, which is what plants do when they bend to Read More...