The Opal nuclear research reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney. It does not produce nuclear energy but is used to produce medical radioisotopes and for other purposes.
Tracey Nearmy/AAP
The state of Australia’s energy and climate change policy is reason to despair. But there may be a nuclear solution that keeps both sides happy.
Electricity pylon.
Wikimedia Commons
Ghana’s experience is a cautionary tale for countries that find themselves in a situation of having too much electricity at any given point.
A gas-fired power station will be a cheaper option for Eskom than its current diesel plant.
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South Africa’s policymakers see a greater role for liquefied natural gas in the country’s energy mix, reduce the country’s over-reliance on coal and drive re-industrialisation.
Community members in Zandspruit west of Johannesburg block roads after their illegal electricity connections were removed.
EPA/Kevin Sutherland
A clandestine system of transfer payment, with roots in apartheid-era boycotts, has developed into routine behaviour on which many family budgets now depend.
Electricity was frightful stuff in the 19th century and women played their part in its being accepted into homes.
KinoCheck/YouTube
In the race to bring electricity to the masses, the crucial role that women played in it being accepted by the masses is left at the sidelines.
Flickr/Tsvetan Bondzhov
Electricity happens when electrons move from one atom to another.
Aerial view of Kariba dam.
Dmitriy Kandinskiy/Shutterstock
Zimbabwe has a severe energy crisis because its major sources of electricity are struggling to keep up with demand.
Goskova Tatiana/Shutterstock
A nanotube innovation using waste plastic could help solve one of the world’s energy problems.
Powering up.
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Electricity consumption will grow as more people switch to electric cars – but this could drive up emissions, unless power is sourced from renewables.
Solar has lit up remote communities. The next step is to link these communities to an energy market.
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South Africa could become a test bed of technologies that enable households, especially in remote areas, to join electricity trading markets.
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Almost 80 million Nigerians do not have access to electricity and its erratic supply is costing the economy an estimated $29 billion annually. Nigeria’s abundant sunlight could be the solution.
This sounds like a good idea at first, but it’s not very practical.
Image Credit: NASA/Mark Vande Hei
Even fridge magnets have magnetic fields approximately 200 times stronger than Earth’s.
On the hook: California utility PG&E declared bankruptcy due to liabilities linked to power lines and wildfires.
AP Photo/Ben Margot
The electric utility is seeing rapid changes and threats that affect consumers, from more wind and solar to wildfires. How they react depends in large part on regulators.
Phosphorene nanoribbons.
Oliver Payton/University of Bristol
Phosphorene nanoribbons are like tagliatelle, but carry the potential to boost battery capacity by 50%.
There are plenty of economic reasons to change our gas-guzzling habits.
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The transport sector is the fastest growing contributor of greenhouse gases. Electric vehicles are a cost-effective solution.
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There’s mounting evidence that increased lighting has a range of negative effects.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has six pumped hydro projects on his list, and most are better taxpayer investments than the already announced Snowy 2.0 project.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Twelve power projects are in the running for federal government dollars: six pumped hydro, five gas and one coal. It’s clear which one shouldn’t be on the list, for economic and environmental reasons.
There’s not enough sustained electricity investment in Africa.
Shutterstock/Andrea Willmore
In sub-Saharan Africa there are more people with mobile phones than access to electricity, and their data could be useful.
Romanian electric power transmission lines.
Wikipedia
The blockchain is creating new opportunities for the electricity sector. The December 2018 Energy Market Barometers looks at where experts think the technology is heading.
In some provinces, families that heat with wood will pay no carbon tax but still get a refund.
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Canadians will start paying for their carbon emissions this year, but the cost will depend on where they live.