• Europe Faces a Chilling Couple of Years, but Russia Will Lose the Energy Showdown

    In the European Union this winter, fears of rolling blackouts triggered by Russian energy export cuts amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine have subsided thanks to good luck, good weather, and quick action. “In the long run, Russia simply can’t win this energy war,” says an expert.

  • Hydrogen Changing Power Dynamics in Energy Sector

    As the EU tries to finalize its hydrogen rules, Asian countries are moving fast to secure deliveries and the US is committing money to set up local supply chains. Can the Middle East collaborate with both continents?

  • To Quit Russian Gas, EU Invests Billions in LNG

    The European Union is investing billions in infrastructure in its effort to replace Russian fuels with liquefied natural gas. This could prove to be a dead end — both for taxpayers and for the climate.

  • Energy, War, and the Crisis in Ukraine

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having a global impact on many areas of the world today, affecting the balance of power among states and creating a contest between democratic and authoritarian alliances. It is also having a major impact on the global energy supply. An expert panel examined the implications of energy use and energy policy during Russia’s invasion.

  • Why Nuclear Fusion Is So Exciting

    The Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California last week achieved fusion with a net energy gain. Harvard scientist Adam Cohen breaks down breakthrough that might prove major turning point in clean energy efforts — but not any time soon.

  • Can Nuclear Fusion Help Fuel the World?

    The US Department of Energy is expected to make an important announcement Tuesday on the generation of energy using nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion reaction has a higher energy potential than all other energy sources we know. It can release nearly 4 million times more energy than chemical reactions like burning coal, oil or gas, and four times more than nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is the process currently used in all nuclear power plants around the world.

  • Renewable Power’s Growth Is Being Turbocharged as Countries Seek Energy Security

    The global energy crisis has triggered unprecedented momentum behind renewables, with the world set to add as much renewable power in the next 5 years as it did in the past 20

  • The Benefits of Integrating Electric Vehicles into Electricity Distribution Systems

    As the cost of EVs continues to decrease, the industry matures, incentives grow, and charging infrastructure improves, EVs could make up the vast majority of vehicles on the road in 2050. Many studies have looked at how increased electricity demand will affect the bulk power system in the United States, but public analysis of the impacts on the distribution system has been less prevalent.

  • Fukushima Fears Notwithstanding, Japan Still Depends on Nuclear Power

    The 2011 Fukushima disaster helped seal the fate of nuclear power in Japan, or so it seemed. Tokyo now plans to extend the life of its nuclear plants and is considering new smaller, safer reactors.

  • Fossil Fuel Past, Green Future: Abandoned Wells May Offer Geothermal Power

    Tapping into abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, products of the state’s long history of energy extraction — could provide a future source of affordable geothermal energy. Regulators estimate hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells have been drilled in the state, many before modern regulations, and lost over time in fields, forests and neighborhoods.

  • Hydropower Delivers Electricity, Even During Lengthy Droughts

    The megadrought in the Southwestern United States is the driest—and longest—in the last 1,200 years, depleting water reservoir levels to critically low levels over the past 22 years. Droughts particularly impact hydroelectric power dams as well as some thermoelectric power plants that require large amounts of water for cooling. But a new report suggests that the relationship between drought and hydroelectric power is more nuanced than it might seem. Drought-strained hydropower sustains 80 percent average power generation capacity.

  • Battery Tech Breakthrough Paves Way for Mass Adoption of Affordable Electric Car

    If new car sales are going to shift to battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs), they’ll need to overcome two major drawbacks: they are too slow to recharge and too large to be efficient and affordable. Researchers develop new technique that charges EV battery in just ten minutes.

  • The Promise and Peril of Guyana’s Oil Boom

    Most people may not have even heard of Guyana, a tiny country on the northeast coast of South America, but the former British colony is in the midst of an oil boom of staggering proportions. The vast oil reserves discovered off the Guyana coast will soon make Guyana a major oil producer. The question is whether Guyana will escape what economists call the “Resource Curse” — the phenomenon which sees economies that are blessed with natural resources experience less favorable development outcomes than their resource-poor counterparts.

  • Inconsistencies Found in Studies Evaluating Small Hydropower Projects

    Hydropower can move beyond enormous, Earth-altering infrastructure. Small hydropower projects have the potential to contribute more to a renewable energy future because they can be reliable, flexible and cost-effective. But researchers find inconsistencies in studies evaluating small hydropower projects.

  • Existing Water Infrastructure May Hold Key to Generating More Hydropower

    Millions of miles of pipelines and conduits across the United States make up an intricate network of waterways used for municipal, agricultural and industrial purposes. Researchers have found potential opportunities in all 50 states to efficiently utilize existing infrastructure to harvest this otherwise wasted energy.