Climate
Coal investments set to rise 10% this year as nations fret over energy security
Coal and a wind turbine in Hohenhameln, Germany, on April 11, 2022. A number of major economies have formulated plans to reduce their reliance on Russian hydrocarbons in recent months. Mia Bucher | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Global energy investment is on course to jump by more than 8% in 2022 and hit $2.4 […]
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Last year it was floods. Now heat waves are driving record power consumption in China’s Henan
A citizen wearing a breathing mask to escape heat rides on the road on May 23, 2019 in China. The electricity load in the Chinese province of Henan reached a new record on Monday, primarily driven by air-conditioning demand, as scorching heat waves spread across regions north of the Yangtze river. Vcg | Visual China […]
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Canada is banning single-use plastics, including grocery bags and straws
Restaurants and grocery stores worry about a supply of alternative products as the government announces details of its ban on single-use plastics. in Toronto. June 20, 2022. Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images Canada is banning the manufacture and import of single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government announced on […]
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Russia is squeezing Europe’s gas supplies, sparking a bitter and reluctant return to coal
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has warned that the situation is going to be “really tight in winter” without precautionary measures to prevent a supply shortage. Ina Fassbender | Afp | Getty Images Reduced flows of Russian gas and the specter of a full supply disruption have prompted some European governments to reconsider coal, one […]
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Volvo says it has started testing trucks with fuel cells powered by hydrogen
According to Volvo Trucks, fuel cells for the vehicles will be provided by cellcentric, a joint venture with Daimler Truck that was established in March 2021. Tomohiro Ohsumi | Bloomberg | Getty Images Volvo Trucks said Monday that it had begun to test vehicles that use “fuel cells powered by hydrogen,” with the Swedish firm […]
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‘The situation is serious’: Germany plans to fire up coal plants as Russia throttles gas supplies
Germany plans to compensate for a cut in Russian gas supplies by increasing the burning of coal — the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel in terms of emissions. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Germany has said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s largest economy must limit the use of natural gas for electricity production […]
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A huge offshore wind farm is jumping on a growing industry trend — recyclable turbine blades
A wind turbine at the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm, in the Irish Sea. With governments around the world attempting to ramp up their renewable energy capacity, the number of wind turbines worldwide only looks set to grow, which will in turn increase pressure on the sector to find sustainable solutions to the disposal of blades. […]
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Environmental groups sue Biden to block 3,500 oil and gas drilling permits
A polar bear sow and two cubs are seen on the Beaufort Sea coast within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Reuters A coalition of environmental groups this week sued the Biden administration in an effort to stop more than 3,500 permit applications from energy companies […]
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UK bolsters gas stockpile for winter with Ukraine war squeezing supply and sending prices soaring
Russia is a significant supplier of oil and gas. A number of major economies have formulated plans to reduce their reliance on Russian hydrocarbons following its invasion of Ukraine. Sean Gladwell | Moment | Getty Images Norwegian energy firm Equinor said Thursday it would deliver extra gas to the U.K.’s Centrica over the next three […]
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Inside the U.S. government project to create tiny nuclear reactors like batteries
Nuclear reactors have a well-earned reputation for being massive construction projects that frequently run into cost overruns. Plus, once they are eventually constructed, monitoring and maintaining them takes a staff of dozens of trained experts. But Yasir Arafat believes nuclear power doesn’t have to be this way. Arafat is the technical lead of the microreactor […]
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