Solar photovoltaics and wind power are on track to supplant fossil-fuel-based electricity generation by the 2030s. The only thing holding back the renewable revolution is politics.
Eskom’s pilot wind-farm facility at Klipheuwel. The utility must seriously consider in-house renewable projects.
Warren Rohner/Flickr
Innovation in small-scale solar systems and mobile money systems is giving people in sub-Saharan Africa access to electricity at a lower cost than diesel or kerosene.
Lowering your carbon footprint by living off-grid is a sustainability dream. But how possible is it using current technology?
Men transporting a large bag in the Muvumba river valley in Kigali. A massive Rwandan electrification programme sets out to benefit rural communities.
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A massive rural on-grid electrification programme in Rwanda has delivered considerable benefits. But is it the most sensible way to deliver power to remote areas?
Andrew Blakers, Australian National University; Bin Lu, Australian National University, and Matthew Stocks, Australian National University
New modelling suggests that Australia could use renewable energy to hit its 2030 emissions reduction targets, without it costing any more overall than maintaining the status quo.
Solar technicians inspect panels at a Pacific Gas and Electric Solar Plant, in Dixon, Calif. in this file photo.
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Amid news that solar power capacity will outstrip nuclear by 2018, what do those assertions really mean?
A total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States Aug. 21, treating amateur and professional astronomers alike to sights similar to this NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory ultraviolet image of the moon eclipsing the sun on Jan. 31, 2014.
(NASA)
On Q&A, an audience member said renewable energy is 'now cheaper than coal'. Senator Matt Canavan disagreed, saying renewables are not 'at the moment, cheaper than coal'. Let's look at the numbers.
New research shows it only takes a few countries to kick-start the kind of global transformation required to meet the Paris Agreement’s long-term goals.
A boy silhouetted against smog while playing cricket in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2011.
Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Massive new coal plants planned for Pakistan will further harm the environment in a country already suffering the effects of climate change. Solar energy is a clear alternative.
To manage renewable energy efficiently, all weather variation need to be taken into account.
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Relying less on fossil fuels is one of the key challenges of energy transition, and taking weather variations into account can help increase the overall efficiency of a renewable-energy system.
Wind turbines require massive structures that are polluting to produce and can harm ecosystems, but these impacts compare favorably with those of fossil alternatives.
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Edgar Hertwich, Yale University; Anders Arvesen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Sangwon Suh, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Thomas Gibon, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
No energy source is perfect, but solar and wind have a much lower health and environmental footprint than fossil fuels, a study finds. Biopower, though, is a mixed bag.
The rise of renewable energy is one reason the world is shifting away from coal.
Wind turbine image from www.shutterstock.com
Global emissions from fossil fuels have stalled. That puts us in the right place to keep warming below 2℃, but there's plenty of work still to be done.
South Africa’s new energy plan shows a greater reliance on gas, solar and especially wind power.
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Will government policy to promote clean energy be disastrous or a boon? A close look at the 2009 stimulus, which plowed $90 billion into energy, can tell us a lot.
Companies like Tesla, with batteries and electric cars, are disrupting traditional energy companies in Australia.
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