Though fall began on September 22, it still feels like summer for many in Texas and across the United States. Each year, summer temperatures occur earlier and last longer—a problem experienced across the globe. According to the U.N., the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than in the late 1800s and greenhouse gas emissions continue […]
Green Energy
How sustainable are typical electric vehicle batteries?
A fully electric vehicle fleet is globally hailed as a transformative solution to slow climate change. But how green are EV batteries? Will they help save us from a warming planet or add to an ever-increasing problem? Within the U.S. alone, the transportation sector was responsible for 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, more than […]
Report: Fusion energy could play a major role in the global response to climate change
For many decades, fusion has been touted as the ultimate source of abundant, clean electricity. Now, as the world faces the need to reduce carbon emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change, making commercial fusion power a reality takes on new importance. In a power system dominated by low-carbon variable renewable energy sources (VREs) such as solar and […]
Southeast Asia Will Be a Major Energy Power for the Next Decade
Southeast Asia’s role in the global energy system is set to grow strongly over the next decade, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) most recent publication. The region will contribute heavily both to energy production as well as global demand, as its population expands rapidly, and several countries undergo industrialization. Several emerging economies, such […]
Novel covalent organic framework quickly captures CO₂ from ambient air
Capturing and storing the carbon dioxide humans produce is key to lowering atmospheric greenhouse gases and slowing global warming, but today’s carbon capture technologies work well only for concentrated sources of carbon, such as power plant exhaust. The same methods cannot efficiently capture carbon dioxide from ambient air, where concentrations are hundreds of times lower […]
European leaders meet to re-energize offshore wind power
The countries bordering the North Sea meet in Denmark on Thursday to seal commitments to boost offshore wind power, a sector that is suffering from stiff competition from China. At the gathering, eight countries—Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Ireland—and the European Commission are expected to reach an agreement on the installation […]
Saudi Arabia’s 3.7 GW solar tender attracts lowest bid of $0.0129/kWh
Saudi Power Procurement Co. (SPPC) announced this week the shortlisted bidders for the final phase of the fifth round of the Saudi Arabian government’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). The tendered PV plants include the 2 GW (AC) Al Sadawi plant located in the country’s east and the 1 GW (AC) Al Masa’a project located […]
Increasing the efficiency of hydropower plants with utility-scale batteries
Utility-scale batteries can revolutionize how we harness renewable power. Coupled with wind and solar, these batteries could increase the reliability of green energy by storing excess energy during times of high generation and low demand. Then, utilities can tap the stored energy when demand increases. Hydropower accounts for 29% of renewable energy generated in the […]
Study finds misinformation about wind farms is widespread
Misinformation about wind energy—such as “turbines are harmful to health and are economically inefficient”—undermines the social acceptance of wind power. However, these statements are widespread and met with great approval. More than a quarter of respondents in representative studies involving the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart agree with a variety of misinformation. This mainly depends […]
How farmers can use solar power without damaging the rest of their operation
As the world races to meet net-zero targets, emissions from all industrial sectors must be reduced more urgently than ever. Agriculture is an important area of focus as it contributes up to 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions—almost as much as the energy sector. One approach to decarbonizing the agricultural sector is agrivoltaics. It involves integrating […]
