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A new study published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists investigates the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the largest international cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions in the world, on power plant fuel efficiency. In “The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Fuel Efficiency of …

Solar storm analysis carried out by an army of citizen scientists has helped researchers devise a new and more accurate way of forecasting when Earth will be hit by harmful space weather. Scientists at the University of Reading added analysis carried out by members of the public to computer models designed to predict when coronal …

Wind plants in the United States — especially the newest models — remain relatively efficient over time, with only a 13% drop in the plants’ performance over 17 years, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report in the May 13 issue of the journal Joule. Their study also suggests that a production tax credit …

Tests on new designs for next-gen solar cells can now be done in hours instead of days thanks to a new system built by scientists at Australia’s Monash University, incorporating 3D-printed key components. The machine can analyse 16 sample perovskite-based solar cells simultaneously, in parallel, dramatically speeding up the process. The invention means that the …

Australian scientists have for the first time produced a new generation of experimental solar energy cells that pass strict International Electrotechnical Commission testing standards for heat and humidity. The research findings, an important step towards commercial viability of perovskite solar cells, are published today in the journal Science. Solar energy systems are now widespread in …

Washington State University researchers have made a key advance in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that could make the highly energy-efficient and low-polluting technology a more viable alternative to gasoline combustion engines for powering cars. Led by PhD graduate Qusay Bkour and Professor Su Ha in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering …

In line with the depletion of fossil fuels and the environmental problems our planet faces due to their combustion, developing technology for clean energy generation is a topic of global interest. Among the various methods proposed to generate clean energy, photocatalytic water splitting is showing much promise. This method utilizes solar energy to split water …

Researchers have used biosolids to produce hydrogen from wastewater, in new technology that supports the comprehensive recycling of one of humanity’s unlimited resources — sewage. The innovation focuses on the advanced upcycling of biosolids and biogas, by-products of the wastewater treatment process. Developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the patented technology uses …

A research group at Nagoya University has developed a new technology that can drastically conserve the energy used to capture carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the greenhouse gases, from facilities such as thermal power plants. Conventionally, a significant amount of energy (3 to 4 GJ/ton-CO2) or high temperatures exceeding 100 deg.C has been required to …

A ‘smart’ system that controls the storage and release of energy from wind turbines will reduce the risk of power cuts and support the increase of wind energy use world-wide, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. The system uses the variable speed of the rotors in wind turbine systems to more closely regulate the …

Wind farms are large, highly technical projects but their development often relies on personal decisions made by individual landowners and small communities. Recognizing the power of the human element in wind farm planning, Stanford University researchers have devised a model that considers how interactions between developers and landowners affect the success and cost of wind …

Smokey the Bear says that only you can prevent wildfires, but what if Smokey had a high-tech backup? In a new study, a team of Michigan State University scientists designed and fabricated a remote forest fire detection and alarm system powered by nothing but the movement of the trees in the wind. As detailed in …

A new mathematical model for predicting variations in solar irradiance has been developed at Uppsala University. It may help to promote more efficient use of electricity from solar energy. In tests of various data models, the model proved capable of making highly reliable forecasts, and emerged as the best for this purpose in some respects. …

Utility-scale photovoltaics, ground-mounted projects larger than 5 megawatts of alternating current, are the largest sector of the overall solar market within the U.S. and the fastest-growing form of renewable power generation. This fleet of utility-scale photovoltaic projects is relatively young and hasn’t been operating long enough to establish a lengthy history of operational field service. …

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a novel machine learning approach to quickly enhance the resolution of wind velocity data by 50 times and solar irradiance data by 25 times — an enhancement that has never been achieved before with climate data. The researchers took an …

Wind energy is considered to be one of the most promising forms of renewable energy. Yet, each year, wind turbines are responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of airborne animals such as bats which die from collisions with turbine blades. To find a constructive way out of this “green-green” dilemma, companies building and …

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, people in developed countries are assured of ample supplies of clean water to wash their hands as often as needed to protect themselves from the disease. And yet, nearly a third of the world’s population is not even assured of clean water for drinking. University of Rochester researchers have now found …

A team of researchers at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has created a perovskite solar mini module that has recorded the highest power conversion efficiency of any perovskite-based device larger than 10 cm2. Perovskites are new materials that have emerged as promising alternatives to silicon in solar cell applications. The material offers power …

Making the transition to a renewable energy future will have environmental and long-term economic benefits and is possible in terms of energy return on energy invested (EROI), UNSW Sydney researchers have found. Their research, published in the international journal Ecological Economics recently, disproves the claim that a transition to large-scale renewable energy technologies and systems …

They say it’s better to have had something special and lost it than to have never had it at all. Who would have thought that sentiment holds true for metal oxide catalysts? According to scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Caltech, copper that was once bound with oxygen is better at converting …

As California aims to provide 60% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2045, a study from California Polytechnic State University provides some good news. Offshore winds along the Central Coast increase at the same time that people start using more energy — in the evening. One of the challenges of …

Could we create massive sulfuric acid clouds that limit global warming and help meet the 2015 Paris international climate goals, while reducing unintended impacts? Yes, in theory, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Earth System Dynamics. Spraying sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere at different locations, to form sulfuric acid clouds that …

New research suggests that graphene — made in a specific way- could be used to make more durable hydrogen fuel cells for cars. In the study, published today in the journal Nanoscale, scientists produced graphene via a special, scalable technique and used it to develop hydrogen fuel cell catalysts. The research team, involving scientists from …

In a new study, researchers from Texas A&M University and industry have designed a smart technology that can help utility companies better serve communities affected by blackouts. The researchers said their single device works by improving energy delivery between home solar-power systems and the electrical grid. “Our innovation lets solar energy consumers be less dependent …

The latest round of offshore wind farms to be built in the UK could reduce household energy bills by producing electricity very cheaply. Renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind and solar farms, have so far been subsidised by government support schemes. This has led to some to complain that clean energy is pushing …

Florida is one of several states in the Southeast where wind energy is virtually nonexistent, which is one reason wind farms have not been an economically viable energy source in the region. But a new study from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering shows how upcoming technological advances could make wind energy a hot commodity in …