RENEWABLE ENERGY

There's no denying it—our world is getting hotter, and not just because of global warming. With more people on the planet, we're using more energy to stay comfortable. This means more heating and cooling, which isn't great for the environment. Traditional systems for managing temperature use a lot of energy and add to greenhouse gases. But there's hope! New technolog...

Imagine harnessing the power of the sun more efficiently. Scientists are exploring a fascinating solution using tiny metal teams. These aren't your average metals; they're special nanoparticles made from two different metals. One metal excels at absorbing sunlight, but it struggles to keep that energy separate. The other metal steps in to make the process more effici...

The power industry faces a big problem. It's a gas called sulfur hexafluoride, or SF6. This gas is 23, 500 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. It's used in power equipment to stop electrical sparks. As we use more electricity and add more renewable energy, we release more SF6 into the air. SF6 is crucial for managing high-voltage electricity i...

The world's water treatment plants churn out a mountain of sewage sludge every day. This stuff is a hassle to manage and dispose of safely because it's messy and expensive. The sun is powerful. A lot of people have been thinking about using it to dry out this sludge. This is the process of using solar greenhouses to evaporate the water from the sludge and is beco...

You might hear lots about renewable energy (RE) these days. These are like wind turbines and solar panels. They are really important to fight climate change, but do you know how they affect cities or towns? One way to look at things is with the idea of friendly or unfriendly ground. This is a way to see if a place is open to new green energy projects like wi...

In his early days as President, Trump signed several executive orders focusing on energy and climate policies. The mix of orders shows a bunch of confusing moves. Trump wants the U. S. to lead in mining things like lithium and rare earth elements, which are key for making batteries, strong magnets, and advanced military tools. Sounds great, right? Except in another ...

Bitcoin, the top dog in the cryptocurrency world, has a big problem: it uses a ton of energy and isn't kind to the environment. The proof-of-work system it runs on is to blame. As Bitcoin grows, mining it becomes more popular, especially in places where energy and money costs are low. Researchers decided to check if using solar power to mine Bitcoin could be a good s...

A recent fire at a huge battery storage facility in Moss Landing, California, is raising questions about the safety and future of renewable energy. The fire, which forced the evacuation of 1, 200 people and closed Highway 1, has local officials concerned. Some compare it to the Three Mile Island accident, highlighting the need for safety improvements. Lithium battery...

Imagine if we could tackle two big problems at once - energy waste and water scarcity. That's where nuclear power plants (NPPs) come in. Did you know that NPPs produce a lot of heat that's often wasted? This heat, known as waste heat, can be used to drive desalination systems. Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater to make it drinkable. Scientist...

Do you know how countries are trying to reduce their carbon footprint? This study took a look at 87 countries from 2000 to 2023, focusing on how climate-related financial policies, or CRFPs, are helping them switch to renewable energy and cut down on CO2 emissions. Using some fancy methods like the Policy Sequencing Score (PSS) and a bindingness-weighted adoption ind...