An ultrasonic dryer can extract moisture from your clothes faster and more efficiently than heat. Forget heat—drying laundry is about cranking up the volume. At least, that’s how it goes in a lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where researchers have built …Continue reading
Clean Energy Is About to Become Cheaper Than Coal
Donald Trump’s desire to bring coal roaring back has always faced a huge barrier in the form of an unstoppable decline in clean energy prices. But now a new report…
By 2040, More Than Half of All New Cars Could Be Electric
Tesla knows it. Volvo knows it. Hell, most of the automotive industry knows it. At this point, electric cars are inevitable. But how quickly will they usurp our current gas guzzlers? A new analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance…
Tesla Will Build the World’s Biggest Lithium-ion Battery
Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will install a bank of lithium-ion batteries in South Australia with a total capacity of 129 megawatt-hours—making it the world’s largest li-ion battery. The scheme essentially provides a…
Why Bad Things Happen to Clean-Energy Startups
By all measures that usually matter, Aquion Energy should have succeeded. The startup, which sold big batteries for renewable projects and power grids,…
Why India and Pakistan Are Renewing Their Love Affair with Coal
Much of the world agrees: burning coal is bad, and we ought to do less of it. But not everyone sings from that sheet, including Pakistan’s Water and…
Capitalism Behaving Badly
Despite healthy corporate earnings, an employment rate that has slowly rebounded since the financial crisis of 2008, and the outpouring of high-tech distractions from Silicon Valley, many people have an aching sense that there is something deeply wrong with the economy. Slow …Continue reading
A Coal-Fired Power Plant in India Is Turning Carbon Dioxide Into Baking Soda
In the southern Indian city of Tuticorin, locals are unlikely to suffer from a poorly risen cake. That’s because a coal-fired thermal power station in the area captures carbon dioxide and turns it into baking soda. Carbon capture schemes are nothing new. Typically, …Continue reading
Are Electric Airplanes Finally About to Take Off?
Fasten your seat belts, ensure tables are stowed—and check the batteries for charge. At least, that’s what the preflight checklist might be for a pair of plucky new startups promising to build passenger electric airplanes inside a decade. Zunum Aero, backed by …Continue reading
On Energy, Trump Heads in the Opposite Direction from Public Opinion
Just four days into his presidency, Donald Trump’s views on energy are already snapping into focus. Those views, however, are at odds with public opinion in America, and they run counter to market forces shaping the energy industry. According to a new …Continue reading