renewable energy

How China Got Ahead on EVs Speakers: Zeyi Yang, China reporter, Amanda Silverman, Features & investigations editor, and Abby Ivory-Ganja, Sr engagement editor In the race to produce and sell more electric vehicles, China has emerged as the unexpected winner. If you visit Shanghai or Shenzhen today, it feels like half of the cars running on the streets are electric. The burgeoning domestic demand also transformed Chinese auto companies into aggressive challengers in the global auto market. What did China’s government…

“Just like we do research with corn, wheat, soybean, getting these plants to be more efficient in taking up nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium—well, there needs to be this research that goes into understanding the mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation,” says McNear. “And then enhancing that, whether it be through gene editing, or whatever.”ARPA-E is eying a specific kind of dirt to try these plants in, known as ultramafic soil, which is high in iron, cobalt, chromium, and nickel. It’s common where there’s been…

A bill that would provide state tax rebates to draw data centers to Colorado has run into opposition from critics who warn of the facilities’ large demands for energy and water and potentially higher costs for other electric customers. The legislation would offer state sales and use tax rebates for construction materials and equipment starting in 2026. Senate Bill 24-085 declares that investing in projects such as data centers “is crucial for the economy of the future” and Colorado, considered a growing high-tech hub, is…

Solar is one of the cleanest forms of energy, and the EU is determined to make sure it taps the giant ball of nuclear fusion in the sky to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Indeed, as part of the REPowerEU plan, the European Commission is considering a path to introduce rules that would mandate installation of rooftop solar energy panels on most new and public and commercial buildings by 2026. But not all countries in Europe get lots of sunlight. You’d think Spain would be big on solar energy generation since…

Smart devices on the electric grid increase vulnerability to hacking, threatening power outages and system damage. A team from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory proposes a new tool to prioritize and manage cyber threats more effectively, aiming to protect the grid by addressing both immediate and future challenges.The proliferation of programmable devices creates additional entry points for cyberattacks.There’s a down side to “smart” devices: They can be hacked.That makes the electric grid,…

Researchers have developed innovative ‘water batteries’ that offer a safe, recyclable alternative to lithium-ion batteries for large-scale energy storage. These aqueous metal-ion batteries use water instead of flammable electrolytes, preventing fire hazards. Their sustainable design facilitates easy disassembly for material reuse or recycling. Significant advancements include overcoming dendrite growth, extending battery lifespan, and achieving competitive energy densities with potential applications in grid storage and…

A a view from inside the OMEGA target chamber during a direct-drive inertial fusion experiment at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Scientists fired 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel, causing the capsules to implode and produce a plasma hot enough to initiate fusion reactions between the fuel nuclei. The temperatures achieved at the heart of these implosions are as high as 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit). The…

Last Updated: February 29, 2024, 18:20 ISTHyundai India Targets RE100 Benchmark With 100 Percent Renewable Energy By 2025. (Photo: Hyundai)The company has also significantly reduced hazardous waste by 19.4 percent and non-hazardous waste by 14.3 percent over the last five years.Hyundai Motor India has announced its goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage by 2025, aligning with the global RE100 benchmark.The South Korean automotive giant aims to power all its operations in India with renewable energy. Hyundai’s…

 Tech giants are racing to ward off a carbon time bomb caused by the massive data centers they're building around the world.A technique pioneered by Google is gaining currency as more power-hungry artificial intelligence comes online: Using software to hunt for clean electricity in parts of the world with excess sun and wind on the grid, then ramping up data center operations there. Doing so could cut carbon and costs. There's an urgent need to figure out how to run data centers in ways that maximize renewable energy…

Companies striving for net-neutral climate impact find common clean energy procurement strategies largely ineffective in the U.S., according to a Princeton-led study. However, an hourly matching approach—procuring clean energy in real-time to match consumption—significantly reduces emissions, unlike the common annual matching strategy which fails to impact long-term emissions.In the pursuit of attaining a climate-neutral impact, numerous businesses are opting to purchase extra electricity from renewable energy sources.…