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.
Solar panels to become mandatory for all new homes in California
The state of California is due to vote next week on new energy standards that would require all new homes to be constructed with solar panels from 2020 onward. If the new standards are approved, California would become the first U.S. state to make solar panels mandatory. The move would greatly Read More...
The new world's 'hugest' solar plant is in Mexico, not the U.S.
Mexico wants to produce 43 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2024, in only 6 years. It has 58 new power plants planned, the majority of them solar and the rest wind. Toward that end, in December it opened the Villanueva solar farm in the desert, with 2.3 million solar panels, Read More...
A complete transition to renewables would save Australians $20 billion a year
Australia has only recently started to embrace renewable energy. If they were to complete a total shift to renewable energy, it would pay for itself through cost savings within two decades, ultimately saving Australian $20 billion a year in combined fuel and power costs, a new report says. The Read More...
Algae could light up our cities at night
Proper lighting at night is important for safety in cities and along highways, but all of those lamps require a lot of electricity to keep them going all night. Many places have transitioned to LED lighting, the most energy efficient lighting currently available, to cut down on the energy use of Read More...
India added more energy capacity from renewables than coal last year
For the first time ever, India has added more production capacity from renewable energy in a year than from conventional sources like Read More...
Cheap hydrogen fuel may soon arrive after new discovery
Ammonia, a hydrogen-rich molecule, has recently surfaced as a source of the molecular hydrogen needed to generate electricity. Now, researchers have figured out how to extract that fuel and generate power without creating the usual pollutants that come from using ammonia. What's more, the cost of Read More...
New semiconductor material could spark unlimited renewable hydrogen production
Researchers have created a semiconductor material that could pave the way to limitless hydrogen fuel. Using solar power to split water and produce hydrogen fuel is one of the most promising clean energy technologies being pursued, but so far it’s been held back by the lack of a stable Read More...
How to assess new solar technologies
Which is a better deal: an established, off-the-shelf type of solar panel or a cutting-edge type that delivers more power for a given area but costs more? It turns out that’s far from a simple question, but a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has come up with a way to figure out the best Read More...
The last Indian village without electricity now has power
In a big step towards nation building, the Indian government has claimed that the last Indian village which had not been electrified was brought in the national power grid on Read More...
No coal, no problem: The UK grid just went coal-free for three days straight
Coal is losing its grip in the UK. For more than three days in a row this past week, no electricity was generated from coal power—the longest streak since the 1880s. The new record comes just days after the UK grid recorded its first two-day period without using any power from the fossil fuel, Read More...