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.
High-altitude balloons with solar panels could produce power on cloudy days
Solar panels will be vital to powering the world in the future, but what will we do on days when the clouds block the sun’s rays? Energy scientists from France’s CNRS and the University of Tokyo are looking towards balloons for the answer. The scientists are developing solar panels attached to Read More...
'Hydricity' concept uses solar energy to produce power round-the-clock
Solar power is a major component in the global strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but the issue is it can’t continuously produce electricity. The solution? The “hydricity” concept, which aims to create a sustainable economy by not only generating electricity with solar power but also Read More...
San Diego vows to move entirely to renewable energy in 20 years
Last weekend, representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark accord in Paris to lower planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. On Tuesday, local leaders in San Diego committed to making a city-size dent in the problem. With a unanimous City Council vote, San Diego, the country’s Read More...
Nigeria is betting on solar power to reach a million homes without access to the grid
Nigeria is gearing up to tackle its chronic shortage of electricity. The World Bank, the International Finance Corporation as well local banks and energy firms are partnering up to help develop a private sector that will provide electricity, using solar power, to a million households who lack Read More...
This incredible building material reflects heat back into space, keeping you cool
What if instead of spending vast amounts of electricity to keep our buildings cool from the inside, we just bounced the heat where it came from? Allow us to explain. Aaswath Raman, a researcher at Stanford University, is working on building a material that is ultra-reflective to the sun’s rays Read More...
Coca-Cola, BMW and four others join the growing list of companies going 100% renewable
While Leonardo DiCaprio was urging mayors and governors to “commit to moving to no less than 100% renewable energy as soon as possible,” some of the world’s biggest companies have pledged to go fully renewable. RE100, a project that invites influential companies to commit to 100% renewable Read More...
"Water-in-salt" battery bodes well for greener, safer grid storage
Scientists at the University of Maryland and the US Army Research Laboratory have used high concentrations of salt in water to create safe, green batteries that could find use in anything from large-scale grid storage to spaceships and pacemakers. Many of today's batteries are designed so that, on Read More...
The Tea Party leader taking a stand for solar energy: 'I will do what's right'
Debbie Dooley is a firebrand Republican and an outspoken founding member of the Tea Party. But in a fast-intensifying battle over the future of solar power in Florida, she is not on the side you might expect. Along with a diverse grassroots citizens’ coalition including environmentalists and Read More...
When it comes to energy, more countries need to be like Uruguay
Uruguay is showing the world that transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is not only possible, but rather easy and affordable. Through a diverse range of energy sources such as wind turbines, solar power, hydropower and biomass, the South American country now supplies 94.5% of its Read More...
African Union introduces $20 billion renewable energy plan
The African Union, an alliance of 54 countries, announced a plan to mobilize $20 billion to develop at least 10 gigawatts of renewable energy on the continent by the end of the decade. The African Renewable Energy Initiative was announced Tuesday at the United Nations climate summit in Paris. It Read More...