• Two's a crowd: Nuclear and Renewables Don't Mix

    If countries want to lower emissions as substantially, rapidly and cost-effectively as possible, they should prioritize support for renewables, rather than nuclear power. That’s the finding of new analysis of 123 countries over 25 years.

  • Energy security The Promise of California Offshore Wind Energy

    As California aims to provide 60 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045, a Cal Poly study provides some good news: Offshore winds along the Central Coast increase at the same time that people start using more energy — in the evening.

  • Assembling Offshore Wind Turbines

    The United States offshore wind energy industry is growing, with planned commitments to build 26 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind projects along the East Coast from now through 2035. This is the clean power equivalent of 26 nuclear power plants, or roughly 10 times the average electric energy used by the entire state of Delaware. Marshalling ports, large waterside sites with the acreage and weight-carrying capacity necessary to assemble, house and deploy the huge wind turbines ready to ship out into the ocean, will be critical to meeting this current and committed demand for offshore wind.

  • U.S. Seeks to Seize Iran’s Gasoline Shipments Heading to Venezuela

    U.S. prosecutors have filed a lawsuit to seize the gasoline aboard four tankers that Iran is currently shipping to Venezuela, the latest attempt to increase pressure on the two sanctioned anti-American allies. The civil-forfeiture complaint filed in the District of Columbia federal court late on 1 July claims the sale was arranged by an Iranian businessman with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

  • France Shuts Down Its Oldest Nuclear Plant

    France gets 70 percent of its energy from nuclear reactors – it has 56 of them (only the United States, with 98, has more). Most of France’s nuclear reactors were built in the late 1960s and 1970s, and they are reaching – and in some cases, have exceeded — the 40-year limit on the safe operation of reactors. On Monday, France took offline its oldest nuclear reactor, and it will shut down 12 more by 2035.

  • Uncertainty in Renewable Energy Regulation Leads to Electricity Price Volatility

    Incorporating renewable energies into the electricity system entails a certain degree of volatility in the electricity price owing to the intermittent nature of generation by plants of this type. However, a study by the UPV/EHU shows that the greatest volatility is caused when unexpected regulatory changes are made in the renewable sector. What disrupts economic players most is uncertainty.

  • Using Wind Turbines to Defend the National Grid from Power Cuts

    A ‘smart’ system that controls the storage and release of energy from wind turbines will reduce the risk of power cuts and support the increase of wind energy use world-wide, say researchers. The system uses the variable speed of the rotors in wind turbine systems to more closely regulate the supply of power to the grid. This means that when electricity demand is high, stored kinetic energy in the turbines can be used intelligently to keep the grid stable. 

  • Digital Twins of Nuclear Reactors Could Bring Down Nuclear Energy Costs

    Safe and more affordable nuclear energy is the goal of a new project which brings together researchers who specialize in nuclear energy technology and computer science. Among other things, the project will develop virtual copies of nuclear reactors, enabling smarter maintenance for current reactors and more automation for advanced reactors.

  • Clean Energy Outperforming Fossil Fuels in America, U.K., and Europe

    Renewable power is outperforming fossil fuels in U.S. and European markets, according to a new report. The report reveals that despite the growing profile of renewables, total investment in clean energy is still well short of the level needed to put the world’s energy system on a sustainable path.

  • An Atomic Catch 22: Climate Change and the Decline of America's Nuclear Fleet

    Nuclear energy in the United States has become deeply unprofitable in the last decade, driven by a combination of aging infrastructure and other electricity sources like renewables and natural gas simply becoming cheaper to build and operate. While some in the environmental community may cheer nuclear’s decline, others are concerned. Love it or hate it, nuclear plays a unique role in the American electric sector, one for which we currently have no market-ready replacement, and its decline will likely make other environmental issues, particularly climate change, harder to solve.

  • Wind Energy Expansion Would Have $27 Billion Economic Impact

    Wind, which generates less greenhouse gas emission than burning fossil fuels, is making up an increasing share of the energy production portfolio in the United States. But wind is not as efficient as coal or natural gas, causing some concern about its economic impact. A new study that models increased wind production in 10 states shows significant economic impact in those states, as well as billions of dollars spread over the rest of the country.

  • New Website Will Help Steer the U.S. Away from Fossil Fuels

    A new website, Model Laws for Deep Decarbonization in the United States, was launched on Tuesday to help accelerate a sustainable U.S. transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. It will provide policy makers at the federal, state and local levels with the legal tools needed to transition away from fossil fuels.

  • Floating Wind Turbines on the Rise

    Over 26,000 megawatts (MW) of planned offshore wind capacity exists in the offshore wind development pipeline. Rapidly falling technology costs for offshore wind, including floating offshore wind technology, have aided the growth of this pipeline and promise to help wind become a significant part of the power mix in coastal communities.

  • Reducing U.S. Fossil-Fuel Dependence: Left, Right Agree on Goal, Differ on Means

    Both sides of the political spectrum recognize a need to reduce American dependence on carbon-based energy sources, but how the nation does so remains a divisive issue, a new study found.

  • Coal Developers Risk $600 Billion As Renewables Outcompete Worldwide

    Coal developers risk wasting more than $600 billion because it is already cheaper to generate electricity from new renewables than from new coal plants in all major markets, the financial think tank Carbon Tracker warns in a new report. The report also finds that over 60 percent of global coal power plants are generating electricity at higher cost than it could be produced by building new renewables. By 2030 at the latest it will be cheaper to build new wind or solar capacity than continue operating coal in all markets.