Energy Issues News

February 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Rooftop Panels, EV Chargers, and Smart Thermostats Could Chip in to Boost Power Grid Resilience

Feb. 20, 2025 — After a cyber attack or natural disaster, a backup network of decentralized devices -- like residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and water heaters -- could restore ...

Solar-Powered Device Captures Carbon Dioxide from Air to Make Sustainable Fuel

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have developed a reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel, using sunlight as the power ...

The 'Hydrogen Economy' May Be Relatively Small, but Critical

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have quantified the role of the 'hydrogen economy' in making our society more sustainable. They present the results of extensive modelling of pathways to decarbonizing the European economy by 2050. They conclude that when it comes to ...

Solar and Electric-Powered Homes Feel the Effects of Power Outages Differently

Feb. 7, 2025 — An expert in energy technologies uses AI tools to investigate the impact of extreme weather on solar-powered and electrified homes and uncover their unique vulnerabilities and develop insights on how ...

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updated 8:25pm EST

Gender Equality Is Crucial for a Climate Resilient Future

Feb. 5, 2025 — A new study shows why gender equality trends should be central when planning how societies adapt to and mitigate climate ...

Coal Emissions Cost India Millions in Crop Damages

Feb. 4, 2025 — New research shows grain yields critical to India's food security are dragged down 10% or more in many parts of the country by nitrogen dioxide pollution from power stations that run on coal. ...

Electricity Prices Across Europe to Stabilize If 2030 Targets for Renewable Energy Are Met, Study Suggests

Feb. 3, 2025 — National targets for solar and wind power will see reliance on natural gas plummet, reducing electricity price volatility across Europe, with major ...

Severe Weather and Major Power Outages Increasingly Coincide Across the United States, Study Finds

Jan. 22, 2025 — An understanding of the relationship between severe weather and power outages in our changing climate will be critical for hazard response plans, ...

Researcher on Energy Revolution: Sustainability Is Still a Work in Process

Jan. 30, 2025 — The world is experiencing more frequent and intense heat waves, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires due to rising greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sector is one of the largest contributors to ...

Floating Solar Increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Small Ponds

Jan. 27, 2025 — While floating solar -- the emerging practice of putting solar panels on bodies of water -- is promising in its efficiency and its potential to spare agricultural and conservation lands, a new ...

Researchers Invent a New Tool to Help Lower the Cost of Tomorrow's Medicine

Jan. 27, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new chemical tool that could help lower the cost of prescription medications. The tool, called AshPhos, is a ligand, or molecule, that makes it easier to create special ...

How Households Can Cut Energy Costs

Jan. 13, 2025 — Giving people better data about their energy use, plus some coaching, can help them substantially reduce their consumption and costs, according to a new ...

Floating Solar Panels Could Support US Energy Goals

Jan. 14, 2025 — Federal reservoirs could help meet the country's solar energy needs, according to a new study. Geospatial scientists and senior legal and regulatory analyst quantified exactly how much energy could ...

Sodium-Ion Batteries Need Breakthroughs to Compete

Jan. 13, 2025 — A thorough analysis of market, technological, and supply chain outcomes for sodium-ion batteries finds that significant advances are needed before ...

It's Worth Mixing It Up: What Combination of Policies Will Lead to a Clean Energy Future?

Dec. 16, 2024 — How can we ensure that as many households as possible adopt not only solar panels, but also their own battery to store solar energy, a heat pump, and an electric car? Researchers have looked into ...

Tourism Leads the Pack in Growing Carbon Emissions

Dec. 10, 2024 — Greenhouse gas emissions from tourism have been growing more than 2 times faster than those from the rest of the global economy. The study tracked international and domestic travel for 175 countries ...

Four Global Policies Could Eliminate More Than 90% of Plastic Waste and 30% of Linked Carbon Emissions by 2050

Nov. 14, 2024 — A new study determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste -- plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution -- by 91% and plastic-related ...

Trees Cool Better Than Reflective Roofs in Vulnerable Houston Neighborhoods

Nov. 1, 2024 — As heatwaves become more intense, cities are looking for strategies that can help keep neighborhoods cooler. A new tool has already helped identify potential solutions in Houston, a city where the ...

How Local Governments Can Lead the Way in Decarbonizing the U.S.

Oct. 30, 2024 — The success of the $1 trillion that was recently invested by the U.S. federal government to mitigate climate climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ...

Curbing Air Pollution Control Devices Would Cost Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars

Oct. 25, 2024 — A new commentary found that power plants' use of these devices saved up to 9,100 lives and up to $100 billion in health costs in 2023. These estimates reveal the substantial health benefits that ...

New AI Model Could Make Power Grids More Reliable Amid Rising Renewable Energy Use

Oct. 24, 2024 — Researchers use AI to manage the growing complexity of modern power ...

New Research Reveals How Large-Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles Can Improve Air Quality and Human Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research team used computer simulations to show that ...

Transition to a Circular Bioeconomy Requires Getting Prices Right

Oct. 8, 2024 — A circular bioeconomy that reduces and recycles waste, transitions away from fossil fuels to renewable bio-based alternatives, and regenerates natural systems is critical for feeding and fueling the ...

Climate Report Warns of Escalating Crisis, Urges Immediate Action as UN Summit Nears

Oct. 8, 2024 — An international coalition of scientists concludes that the Earth's worsening vital signs indicate a 'critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis' and that ...

Despite Progress, China Remains Tethered to Coal as Climate Change Pressures Mount

Oct. 8, 2024 — A new paper details how China faces numerous political, economic and technological obstacles as it tries to transition away from coal while balancing the need to combat climate change with the need ...

Liquefied Natural Gas Carbon Footprint Is Worse Than Coal

Oct. 3, 2024 — Liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new ...

Green Subsidies May Have Hidden Costs, Experts Warn

Oct. 3, 2024 — Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, writes a group of scientists and economists. They ...

Using Antimatter to Detect Nuclear Radiation

Oct. 1, 2024 — Discerning whether a nuclear reactor is being used to also create material for nuclear weapons is difficult, but capturing and analyzing antimatter particles has shown promise for monitoring what ...

Cool Roofs Could Have Saved Lives During London's Hottest Summer, Say Researchers

Oct. 1, 2024 — As many as 249 lives could have been saved in London during the 2018 record-setting hot summer had the city widely adopted cool roofs, estimates a new ...

High Costs Slow Widespread Use of Heat Pumps, Study Shows

Oct. 1, 2024 — The high cost of installing heat pumps for home heating could slow down people widely adopting the technology and leave government targets missed, research ...

Getting to Zero Emissions: A Call for Unified Energy Planning

Sep. 30, 2024 — To help speed decarbonization, state regulators should reconceive of gas and electric utilities as serving the same purpose, according to a new report. Without coordinated action, the energy ...

Support for Meat Rationing to Protect Climate

Sep. 30, 2024 — Rationing of goods such as meat and fuel can both effectively and fairly reduce consumption with high climate impact. Almost 40 percent of the public say they could accept such ...

Digital Biomarkers Shedding Light on Seasonality in Mood Disorders

Sep. 25, 2024 — Wrist-based activity sensors worn by individuals with depression and those without over the course of two weeks provided evidence for the relationship between daily sunlight exposure and physical ...

Major Boost in Carbon Capture and Storage Essential to Reach 2°C Climate Target

Sep. 25, 2024 — Large expansion of carbon capture and storage is necessary to fulfill the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet a new study shows that without major efforts, the technology will not expand fast enough to meet ...