Environment

Solar power keeps getting cheaper and keeps growing year after year, now accounting for nearly half of new power capacity in the United States. But coal and fossil methane (also deceivingly called “natural gas”) power plants need to be retired more quickly than they have been. We need to cut emissions more quickly than we

choja | E+ | Getty Images The White House on Wednesday outlined a plan for solar energy to supply nearly half of the nation’s electricity by 2050. The ambitious goal would see solar rising from 3% of generation in 2020 to 40% by 2035 before ultimately hitting 45% by 2050. Heavy spending across industries will

Originally published on ILSR.org Residents of Puerto Rico are ready for energy democracy. Specifically, a resilient, renewable electricity system with equitably shared benefits. Is this vision possible for the island, whose democratic power is limited to begin with? For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with guest Ingrid Vila, environmental

In this article NES.N-CH The CEO of consumer goods giant Nestle told CNBC Thursday that sustainability concerns among its younger customers were “off the charts” and a major influence on purchasing decisions. “If you win their hearts and minds, I mean, this is the future growth of the business,” Mark Schneider, a founding member of

Microgrids are all the rage, and they have been for a few years. Who doesn’t like the idea of a little self-sustainable, independent grid that ropes in solar power, wind power, battery energy storage, EV charging stations and perhaps a tad of some other less common electricity solutions? It sounds simple: tie them all together

In this article DVN RRC COG AR LNG Flames from a flaring pit near a well in the Bakken Oil Field. The primary component of natural gas is methane, which is odorless when it comes directly out of the gas well. In addition to methane, natural gas typically contains other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane,

Streetlights, headlights, and apartments with lights on around noon on Sept. 9, 2020, in Russian Hill, San Francisco. Christina Farr | CNBC One year ago today was the most terrifying day of my life. I’ve faced personal tragedies and professional setbacks, but there are templates to deal with those. You rely on friends and family,

Agriculture accounts for about 90% of total water consumption in the western United States and around 80% in the rest of the country. This year, droughts, ferocious wildfires, and extreme heat waves are turning farmlands dusty and ranchlands into grass stubble too short to feed livestock. Without adequate water supplies, farmers and ranchers are suffering, facing unprecedented restrictions on

Energy Vault, which recently raised $100 million in Series C funding, has achieved another milestone. The technology company, which uses gravity-based grid-scale energy storage to accelerate global decarbonization, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) through a merger with Novus Capital Corporation II. The two companies jointly announced that they’ve entered into

The CFS and MIT teams working on the magnet. Credit: Gretchen Ertl, CFS/MIT-PSFC, 2021 Fusion took a key step forward in its movement from the lab to commercial viability with the successful test of a key technology — a very powerful magnet that uses very little energy. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s

CleanTechnica has been actively educating people about cleantech for more than a decade now. I don’t know about you, but I genuinely feel it’s time to blow the lid off and truly accelerate the cleantech revolution. With that in mind, we are going to start seeking equity investment for the first time ever, and hope

In this article HOL.N-CH GE SGRE-ES ENR-DE RWE-DE Wind turbine in backlight Jorg Greuel | DigitalVision | Getty Images Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said Tuesday it had launched a recyclable wind turbine blade, a move which represents the latest example of how the industry is attempting to find ways to re-use materials. In a statement,

In this article 7267.T-JP 7203.T-JP BMW-DE The Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell truck on display during the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center on November 5, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Zhang Hengwei | China News Service | Getty Images The Hyundai Motor Group plans to develop hydrogen fuel cell

Everybody is talking about a new EU clean power project that pairs floating solar with offshore wind turbines, but they’re missing half the story. Wave energy is also part of the project. The wave part is not getting much attention, probably because wave-to-electricity conversion has fallen behind wind and solar in the renewable energy race.

I recently wrote an article about the threat to rooftop solar net metering — and thus rooftop solar power growth — in California. Then, a few days later, one of our editors found and published “347 Organizations Sign Letter to Protect Rooftop Solar Power in California.” In response to the article, an organization called “Solar

Longtime market bull Tom Lee is predicting a profitable period for investors in September. According to Lee, the S&P 500 is positioned to surge more than 100 points this month. However, he warns the positive momentum has an expiration date. “We could have a really strong rally in September,” the Fundstrat Global Advisors’ co-founder and

Last week, Hurricane Ida knocked out all 8 transmission lines into New Orleans. In Baton Rouge, it took out our communications along with our electricity — with the exception of those who had Verizon. Although most of Baton Rouge is getting back online, New Orleans as well as smaller towns and cities still don’t have

Adriana Van De Wal | EyeEm | Getty Images The chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission has highlighted the role both companies and governments can play when it comes to reducing emissions, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming COP26 summit on climate change. In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the end

Somebody asked me recently why there is so much argument and tribalism on alternative fuels, and it’s a reasonable question. After all, the economics, chemistry, physics, and transitional effort clearly support electrification of everything that can be electrified, biofuels for most of the rest, and hydrogen and synthetic fuels in a handful of niches. But

In this article BAS-DE Wind turbines operated by RWE AG during sunset in Rheinisches Revier, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Politicians in Germany need to work with industry leaders if the country wants to succeed in reducing its carbon emissions, according to Martin Brudermüller, chief executive of BASF,