ANN ARBOR - Across the United States, local wind and solar jobs can fully replace the coal-plant jobs that will be lost as the nation's power-generation system moves away from fossil fuels in the coming decades, according to a new University of Michigan study. As of 2019, coal-fired electricity generation directly employed nearly 80,000 workers
LOS ANGELES - It’s no secret by now that cities run hotter than the countryside: Fewer trees mean less shade, and concentrated human activity generates heat, which hard surfaces like pavement and parking lots absorb. To combat the so-called urban heat island effect, some cities have been retrofitting public buildings into climate shelters, while others have been planting
CAMBRIDGE, UK - While 2022 continues to add to the challenges electric vehicle (EV) makers face, markets are still growing. Indeed, electric car sales for the first half of 2022 reached ~3.5 million, according to IDTechEx research. To learn more, the new IDTechEx report, “Electric Cars 2023-2043”, provides a deep dive into future automotive markets
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For the first time, Sandia National Laboratories researchers delivered electricity produced by a new power-generating system to the Sandia-Kirtland Air Force Base electrical grid. The system uses heated supercritical carbon dioxide instead of steam to generate electricity and is based on a closed-loop Brayton cycle. The Brayton cycle is named after 19th century
SEATTLE - Terabase Energy, a company looking to make massive solar farms economically viable, has received a co-sign from Bill Gates in the form of a cash infusion from Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on climate change solutions. The move marks what may be the next step in ratcheting up
LIVERMORE, Ca. - Scientists have confirmed that they were able to ignite the same chemical reaction that powers the Sun by pumping more power than the entire US electric grid into a small gold capsule. If scientists were able to develop fully functioning fusion power plants, the sites would produce scores of energy using hydrogen from
SAN FRANCISCO - With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains $370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind power. Today the U.S. has just two operating offshore wind farms, off of Rhode Island and North Carolina, with
BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the
DETROIT - The upstart manufacturer of electric vehicles has been in a not so encouraging situation for several months. The firm is indeed going through a very difficult and delicate period for any young vehicle manufacturer: being able to mass-produce vehicles. It is in this phase that many suitors give up and go bankrupt. For
PALO ALTO - With energy and fuel costs at an all-time high, the world is seeking cost-effective solutions for moving away from oil and gas for energy needs. A new Stanford University study says it might not be as difficult as we think to switch to all renewable energy sources. After examining 145 countries, the
