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.
France wants to ban all fossil fuel production by 2040
In what would be a world first, the government of President Emmanuel Macron wants to phase out all oil and gas exploration and production in France and its overseas territories by 2040. Sounds dramatic, but the EU nation has very little to lose as Read More...
Water-based lithium-ion batteries without explosive risks now a reality
A new water-based battery part could be the key to safe, powerful batteries that don’t risk catching on fire. Though they don’t last as long as the batteries already in our phones, researchers hope it’s an important next step toward solving Read More...
New water-cooling solar panels lower the cost of air conditioning by 20 percent
We’ve all heard of solar water heaters, but have you ever heard of solar water coolers? Researchers have come up with a roof-mounted system of panels that can cool a building by beaming excess heat back into space while cooling water beneath the panels to help industrial-size air-conditioning Read More...
Insect-eye inspired solar cells could pave the way to cheaper energy
When it comes to converting sunlight into electricity, the photovoltaic mineral perovskite is just as efficient as silicon and costs just a fraction of the price. The only problem is perovskites are fragile and can deteriorate easily when exposed to the elements. By mimicking a hexagon-shaped resin Read More...
Robotic kelp farms promise a competitive, abundant source of carbon neutral fuel
Kelp can be harvested in the ocean and turned into carbon-neutral biofuel. Because kelp can grow more than a foot a day and is easy to process, the production can be cost-competitive with fossil fuels. A startup is using elevators to grow kelp farther out in ocean waters. The technology is Read More...
California wants to change the law and only allow renewable energy on grid
California lawmakers are considering passing a law that would ensure that eventually only clean energy moves through the state’s electricity grid, a goal nearly unmatched anywhere in the world. The proposal would accelerate the adoption of renewable energy by requiring utilities to obtain 60 Read More...
Renewable energy on track to exceed expectations, again
This graph shows clearly that solar and wind energy have been consistently underestimated year after year (the red line in the picture). The leading energy institution in the world, the International Energy Association (IEA) in Vienna (black lines) has been wrong for 20 years. Greenpeace (green Read More...
The neighborhood of the future is made from homes that are power plants
It the not so distant future your home, every home (and every car!), will be a power station. Connected homes will replace power plants and create autonomous energy-producing neighborhoods. Here’s a story about an experimental neighborhood in the U.K. that is showing what that new reality is Read More...
Solar power to rival nuclear by end of 2017
According to a recent report by GTM Research, solar power capacity not only continues to surge worldwide, but will rival the amount of nuclear power generated across the globe by the end of this year. And by 2022, says GTM’s Stephen Lacey, the Read More...
Coal-fired power just reached a 135-year low in Britain
Coal-fired power has slumped to its lowest level in the UK for 135 years, analysts have said. The fossil fuel contributed to just two percent of total power generated in July, according to Aurora Read More...