Energy Production
The greatest need modern civilizations have is energy. Learn about oil, electricity and newer forms of energy like solar and wind power.
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Move over corn and soybeans, there's a better biofuel in town. And this one grows in abundance at the bottom of the ocean.
A combination of energy deregulation, competitive power markets and the push for low prices are all to blame for taking down the Texas power grid. But what's being done to prevent it from happening again?
Though a highly publicized 1989 cold fusion breakthrough was subsequently discredited, research is still being conducted in hopes of future success.
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Could solar cells be the asphalt of the 21st century?
Wouldn't it be nice if we could pull CO2 out of thin air and transform it into a fuel that's better for the environment?Now we can.
By Mark Mancini
Properly disposing and storing coal ash is extremely tricky, and it only takes one small trigger to cause a catastrophe.
By John Donovan
We may be able to capture carbon emitted from fossil fuel-burning power plants and convert it to fuel for storing energy generated by wind turbines and solar panels.
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Germany's multi-billion-dollar investment in green energy seems to be paying off, but there's still more work to be done.
By Mark Mancini
Tesla has built the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage system in Australia.
Researchers have found a way to use evaporation from lakes and reservoirs to generate electricity, and say that could become a major renewable energy source.
Bird death is a critique among those who oppose wind turbines. The data from multiple studies doesn't back that up.
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Australia's having some serious energy issues. Elon Musk is betting Tesla can help.
The largest coal-fired power plant in the western United States could close up shop by the end of 2019. And the reasons aren't strictly environmental.
By Julia Layton
The island of Ta'u is ditching diesel and embracing solar, with a little help from SolarCity and some government funding.
Yep, the same country that's home to Saudi Aramco, an energy behemoth valued at trillions of dollars, thinks it might be time to start stepping away from the oil.
By Ben Bowlin
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There's no question that people are interested in solar energy. The problem has been how to store it. Could the much-hyped Powerwall home battery change that scenario?
Could the source of Earth's future energy come from an ambitious idea to encircle the sun with technology? Maybe, but it's a concept that's a long way from today's reality.
People all over the world are working on turning this very ancient power source into an even more important modern one. And that means a lot more than dams.
Nobody likes to spend a small fortune fueling up at the pump. Could some minuscule matter change that scenario and the energy sector in general?
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While nanoparticles and nanocrystals have always existed -- they're even found in volcanic ash -- it was only recently that scientists could manipulate things on the nanoscale. What applications might nanotechnology have in fuel efficiency?
Sometimes the ideas get a little crazy in the race to find clean and inexpensive energy, like tying solar energy to hydrogen production in a palm-sized device. And sometimes those crazy ideas actually work.
Traditional wind power is a promising, through controversial, alternative energy source. But new research is yielding new possibilities: The future of wind may not be in blades, in farms or even fixed to the Earth.
By Julia Layton
Farmland, farmland, farmland and ... drilling rig? That's the reality in parts of Pennsylvania, where hydraulic fracking for shale gas is bringing in profits and protests. What do you know about this controversial process?
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The energy choices we make today have a huge impact on the generations that follow. In this article you will explore 5 energy choices for a sustainable future.
By Jane McGrath
The explosion and fire that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 killed 11 crew members and triggered an environmental nightmare.