Although solar panels are a source of renewable energy, making them has an environmental impact. A new type of panel has a lower carbon footprint than traditional silicon ones Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250574-changing-how-we-make-solar-panels-could-reduce-their-carbon-emissions/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Tag: renewable
Microsoft Used Hydrogen Fuel Cells To Power a Data Center For Two Days Straight
Microsoft announced Monday that hydrogen fuel cells powered a row of its datacenter servers for 48 consecutive hours, bringing the company one step closer toward its goal of becoming “carbon negative” by 2030. Engadget reports: The idea to explore hydrogen fuel cells originated in 2018, when researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO used a proton exchange membrane…
Renewable Power Surpasses Fossil Fuels For First Time In Europe
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Japan Times: Renewable power for the first time contributed a bigger share in the European generation mix than fossil fuels as the fallout from the pandemic cut energy demand. About 40 percent of the electricity in the first half in the 27 EU countries came from renewable sources, compared with 34 percent from…
Solar + Battery in One Device Sets New Efficiency Standard
Ars Technica reports on an international team’s demonstration of a device merging photovoltaic and battery hardware into a single, unified device “that can have extensive storage capacity… a device that’s both stable and has efficiencies competitive with those of silicon panels.”
The resulting hardware can operate in any of three modes: providing power as a solar cell, using sunlight to charge as…
South Korea Commits $61 Billion For ‘Net-Zero Society’ By 2025
South Korea announced it’s investing $61 billion by 2025 to become a “net-zero society,” according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Environment, reports a local news source. Interesting Engineering reports: As part of the South Korean New Deal, this “green” policy is the Asian country’s response to the rising tide of climate change, while also boosting its economy –…
Giant Flywheel Project In Scotland Could Prevent UK Blackouts
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: A giant flywheel in north-east Scotland could soon help to prevent blackouts across Britain by mimicking the effect of a power station but without using fossil fuels. The trailblazing project near Keith in Moray, thought to cost about 25 million British pounds, will not generate electricity or produce carbon emissions — but…
Germany is First Major Economy To Phase Out Coal and Nuclear
German lawmakers have finalized the country’s long-awaited phase-out of coal as an energy source, backing a plan that environmental groups say isn’t ambitious enough and free marketeers criticize as a waste of taxpayers’ money. From a report: Bills approved by both houses of parliament Friday envision shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038 and spending some $45 billion to…
Renewable Energy Breaks UK Record In First Quarter of 2020
Renewable energy made up almost half of Britain’s electricity generation in the first three months of the year, with a surge in wind power helping to set a new record for clean energy. The Guardian reports: The government’s official data has revealed that renewable energy made up 47% of the UK’s electricity generation in the first three months of the year,…
America Can Achieve Its 90% Clean Energy Goals 15 Years Early
destinyland writes: Most studies aim for deep decarbonization of electric power systems by 2050,” argues a new study from the Center for Environmental Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. But they’ve produced a new report — “the first to show we can get there in half that time with the latest renewable energy and battery cost data.” “Plummeting costs…
Construction Begins On World’s Biggest Liquid Air Battery
AmiMoJo shares a report from The Guardian: Construction is beginning on the world’s largest liquid air battery, which will store renewable electricity and reduce carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power plants. The project near Manchester, UK, will use spare green energy to compress air into a liquid and store it. When demand is higher, the liquid air is released back into a…