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Surging demand for copper means its price is rising too

Jan 24, 2023
The metal is crucial renewable energy technology and the transition away from fossil fuels.
Copper is often referred to as “Dr. Copper,” because it’s considered a barometer for the health of the global economy.
Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

A power plant that captures carbon is coming to Texas, thanks to federal incentives

Nov 8, 2022
The plant will generate almost no greenhouse gas emissions, Net Power says. But critics say there are better alternatives.
Net Power says its planned electric plant will use natural gas but release almost no CO₂. Some critics, though, think wind and solar generation would be better choices. Above, a wind farm and power station in West Virginia.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Should the U.K. government nationalize the wind?

Oct 18, 2022
The opposition Labour Party recently proposed a publicly owned company to invest in renewable energy.
Offshore wind power supplies roughly 14% of the U.K.'s electricity needs yet the British government owns little of its generating output.
Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

Fracking flourishes as era of net-zero carbon looms

Aug 15, 2022
The energy industry is emphasizing the controversial technique over traditional drilling, partly for its shorter timetable.
David McNew/Getty Images

Could the sand battery make renewable energy more dependable?

Jul 29, 2022
A start-up in Finland unveils the world’s first commercial heat storage system using sand to solve the problem of the variability of solar and wind power.
The sand battery at Kankaanpaa in southwest Finland.
Courtesy Polar Night Energy

Filling jobs in the new U.S. offshore wind industry is a "huge challenge"

Jul 25, 2022
Good-paying jobs are a selling point with renewable energy projects. In Massachusetts, training programs are popping up to get people ready.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Cape Cod offers a safety training class that is required to work in offshore wind jobs.
Samantha Fields/Marketplace

Texas has more sources of renewable power, but needs to update infrastructure to get it to homes

Jun 17, 2022
The answer is to build more transmission lines, so that customers can see the benefit, in the form of cheaper utility bills.
Blades from a wind turbine rotate in a field, April 16, 2021 near Eldorado, Texas.
SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images

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Renewable energy is contributing a lot of power to the Texas grid

May 23, 2022
Despite being doubted for intermittency, wind and solar are delivering a lot of the state's electricity supply.
Renewable energy is becoming increasingly viable in Texas.
SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images

Should utilities rethink the power transmission model?

May 9, 2022
Some say lawmakers are trying to solve 21st century problems with 20th century solutions.
Electricity providers in some parts of the country with hot weather are warning consumers that demand may outpace supply.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What does the current energy crisis mean for the clean energy transition?

Apr 28, 2022
The war in Ukraine is forcing the U.S. to reconsider its dependence on oil.
"We have seen this scenario time and time again, where oil is proving to be an unstable factor in our economy," said Mark Brownstein at the Environmental Defense Fund. "And now we have the opportunity to move to a different future."
David McNew/Getty Images