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Warning Issued Over the Unintended Consequences of Wind for Achieving Net Zero Targets
In the run-up to the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, an expert on geoengineering and energy transition highlights the need for joined up thinking if the U.K. is going to find the optimal use of the North Sea to achieve Net Zero targets.
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Historical Analysis Finds No Precedent for the Rate of Coal, Gas Power Decline Needed to Limit Climate Change to 1.5C
Limiting climate change to the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Climate Agreement will likely require coal and gas power use to decline at rates that are unprecedented for any large country, an analysis of decadal episodes of fossil fuel decline in 105 countries between 1960 and 2018 shows.
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France Sets to Invest in Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
France plans to invest in small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Some experts question whether this is ecologically and economically sensible, but it may be that France’s interests in SMRs is as much about geopolitical strategy as it is about energy.
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Increasing Hydrogen Energy Requires All Technologies to Be Pushed Forward
No single hydrogen technology should be prioritized, says a new study, and the production, distribution, and use of hydrogen needs to be optimized.
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Assessing Global Electricity Generation Potential from Rooftop Solar Photovoltaics
The first detailed global assessment of the electricity generation potential of rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) technology has important implications for sustainable development and climate change mitigations efforts.
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Hydrogen Can Play Key Role in U.S. Decarbonization
“Hydrogen is not really an energy source. It is rather an energy carrier or what we often call an energy vector,” says Berkeley Lab’s Ahmet Kusoglu. “So, you have to produce hydrogen from another energy source, store it, and then use or convert it. Hydrogen is a versatile and flexible energy carrier because it can be produced from various sources and for different applications. This flexibility is a key benefit of hydrogen versus other hydrocarbon fuels or energy storage technologies like batteries.”
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Himalayan Hydropower “Clean but Risky”: Scientists
The Himalayas, with steep topography and abundant water resources, offer sustainable, low-carbon hydropower for energy-hungry South Asia. But there is a catch — the mountain range falls in one of the world’s most seismically active regions.
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Boosting Geothermal Energy Research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) earlier this week announced $12 million in funding for seven research projects to advance the commercialization of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) — manmade reservoirs that produce clean, renewable energy.
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Powerful Clean Energy Available in Our Oceans
Marine energy—clean power generated from ocean currents, waves, tides, and water temperature changes—is still young, but it has the potential to deliver clean, renewable electricity to coastal communities where nearly 40 percent of Americans live. Before that can happen, scientists need to pinpoint which oceanic arteries host the most reliable energy.
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Improving Florida’s Hurricane Resilience: Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Infrastructure
When events like tropical storms or other unforeseen crises disrupt a state’s primary supply of gasoline and diesel, emergency fleet efforts can become hampered as access to fuel is restricted or completely unavailable.
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Can Hydropower Survive in a Future of Extreme Weather?
Hydropower has long been seen as a reliable renewable energy source. But during drought and heavy rain, hydropower plants often come to a standstill. Will climate change spell the end for this clean energy alternative?
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Can Burying Power Lines Protect Storm-Wracked Electric Grids? Not Always
Electricity is critical for health, safety and comfort. People wonder whether their electricity service might be more secure if those lines were buried underground. But I’ve studied this question for utilities and regulators, and the answer is not straightforward. There are many ways to make power grids more resilient, but they are all costly, require the involvement of many agencies, businesses and power customers, and may not solve the problem.
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Hydropower Faces the Future Challenge of Extreme Weather?
Hydropower has long been seen as a reliable renewable energy source. But during drought and heavy rain, hydropower plants often come to a standstill. Will climate change spell the end for this clean energy alternative?
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Wave-Powered SeaRAY Set for Hawaii trial
Offshore industries, like marine research, fish farming, and mineral mining, often rely on big ships with large crews. Without clean energy to power these vessels, each trip out to sea and back to shore is not only expensive but also carbon intensive. You cannot charge that ship by plugging it into the ocean. Or maybe you can.
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Small Modular Reactors May Mitigate Climate Change
The consequences of carbon emissions from the large-scale burning of fossil fuels are all around us, from relentless wildfires to scorching heatwaves to devastating floods to destructive megadroughts. There is renewed interest in nuclear energy, specifically in the new generation of small modular reactors.
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The long view
Data Centers’ Insatiable Demand for Electricity Will Change the Entire Energy Sector
When the first large language models were unleashed, it triggered a headache for authorities around the world as they tried to figure out how to satisfy data centers’ endless demand for electricity.