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.
South Africa to become wind energy hot spot (and why we should care)
As recently as 2012, South Africa had very little wind energy capacity—10 MW to be precise—and it had taken ten years to get to that point. Now, in 2016, it is right around 2 GW. That's something like a 1900% increase in four years by my (admittedly math-addled) brain. And according to Read More...
Chinese people want renewable energy more than anyone, but nobody’s selling it to them
It turns out a staggering number of Chinese people are willing to pay more for renewable energy. But businesses that sell green power to consumers, prolific elsewhere, haven’t yet got a single foothold in the biggest market on earth. A survey of 3,000 Chinese city-dwellers by Ipsos Mori, a Read More...
'Smart energy' revolution to balance electricity demand
A "smart energy" revolution could help ensure that the UK does not suffer blackouts, according to National Grid's new UK chief. Nicola Shaw, its executive director, said technological advances will reduce the need to build new conventional power stations in the UK. An "internet of energy" will Read More...
Millions of used electric car batteries will help store energy for the grid. Maybe.
Once or twice a year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) founder Michael Liebreich posts a magisterial summation of some trend or set of trends in the energy world. His latest report is about electric vehicles. It’s worth reading the whole thing, but it was an aside about discarded EV Read More...
New solar powered device revives hydrogen economy dream
Despite a plethora of naysayers, research is progressing apace on deploying hydrogen as a sustainable fuel that also doubles as an energy storage opportunity. The latest development illustrates just how quickly that pace is accelerating. A research team based at Switzerland’s Ecole Read More...
Wave power is going to revolutionize renewable energy
There's enough wave energy in the oceans to power the world, and scientists are finally close to harnessing it. For decades wave energy has lagged behind wind energy and solar because harnessing it is more complex. However, the potential is huge: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, waves Read More...
Renewables now provide 43% of new electricity capacity in U.S.
The grid continues to get cleaner and cleaner. Renewable energy accounts for a large percentage of new electricity generation capacity quarter after quarter in the United States, while old coal power plants close down quarter after quarter. However, due to the massive size of the electricity Read More...
An effective and low-cost solution for storing solar energy
Solar energy can be stored by converting it into hydrogen. But current methods are too expensive and don't last long. Using commercially available solar cells and none of the usual rare metals, researchers have now designed a device that outperforms in stability, efficiency and cost. Share: FULL Read More...
The hydrogen economy is much nearer than we think
Hydrogen produced from renewable energy is already finding a market as a 'green' fuel for cars. But its future potential goes way beyond that, as a vital storage mechanism for surplus wind / solar electricity on the grid, to provide power on demand. Photo: University of Nottingham via Flickr (CC Read More...
The future of solar power in 7 promising charts
Global growth of solar power and curbing climate change go hand in hand. If growth slows down, climate change will further its grip on the earth. Luckily, the expansion of solar power is going remarkably well thanks to plummeting costs of electricity. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Read More...