# data[].attributes.headline
Can 100% renewable energy power the world?

# data[].attributes.subject
Can 100% renewable energy power the world?

# data[].attributes.body
Ted-ed | 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Can 100% renewable energy power the world? - Federico Rosei and Renzo Rosei

# data[].attributes.body
Ted-Ed | 2016

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How do solar panels work? - Richard Komp

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids learn about renewable energy and how it can help the environment. Teach students about solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's Where the Juice That Powers Batteries Comes From

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hydropower has long been our leading renewable energy resource. Explore how hydroelectric dams work with this interactive graphic.

# data[].attributes.body
Visit solar homes and companies throughout the US.
National Solar Tour

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This October, visit solar homes in your community and learn how clean, renewable, rooftop solar is already powering communities across America.

# data[].attributes.body
National Geographic | 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Renewable Energy 101 | National Geographic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Future Of Energy Storage Beyond Lithium Ion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How America can leave fossil fuels behind, in one chart

# data[].attributes.headline
Renewable Energy Is Key to Fighting Climate Change

# data[].attributes.subject
Renewable Energy Is Key to Fighting Climate Change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Renewable energy is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against climate change, and there is every reason to believe it will succeed. A recent New York Times column seems to imply that renewable energy investments set back efforts to address climate change-nothing could be further from the truth. What's more, renewable technologies can increasingly save customers money as they displace emissions from fossil fuels.

Wind and solar energy have experienced remarkable growth and huge cost improvements over the past decade with no signs of slowing down. Prices are declining rapidly, and renewable energy is becoming increasingly competitive with fossil fuels all around the country. In some places, new renewable energy is already cheaper than continuing to operate old, inefficient and dirty fossil fuel-fired or nuclear power plants.

In fact, the investment firm Lazard estimates that the cost of generating electricity from wind and solar has declined by 58 percent and 78 percent, respectively, since 2009. Those cost trends are expected to continue, and coupled with the recent extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy, wind and solar growth is widely expected to accelerate over the next several years, with capacity projected to double from 2015 levels by 2021. With careful planning, renewable energy and clean energy options like increased energy efficiency and storing energy for use later will help pave the way.

In the longer term, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan to establish the first national limits on carbon pollution from power plants will continue to drive renewable energy growth. Wind and solar energy will play a central role in achieving the emissions cuts required, and carbon policies like the Clean Power Plan will be critical to ensuring that low-carbon resources are prioritized over higher-emitting power plants.

The benefits are huge

In addition to the climate benefits that they will help deliver, renewables already provide a wide range of market and public health benefits that far outweigh their costs. A recent report from the Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National (LBNL) Laboratory found that renewable portfolio standards-state policies that mandate that a specific amount of the state's electricity comes from renewables-provide a wide range of economic, health, and climate benefits. The report concluded that in 2013 alone, renewable standards across the country saved customers up to $1.2 billion from reduced wholesale electric prices and $1.3 billion to $3.7 billion from lower natural gas prices (as a result of lower demand for natural gas across the power sector).

The non-market benefits of renewable energy also are considerable. The LBNL researchers estimated that renewables supported nearly 200,000 jobs, provided $5.2 billion worth of health benefits through improved air quality, and resulted in global climate benefits of $2.2 billion. At the same time, according to a separate report by DBL Investors, the top 10 leading renewable states experienced lower electricity price increases than the bottom 10 states between 2002 and 2013.

The United States must continue-and accelerate-its clean energy growth and the transition to a low-carbon electric grid. There will be technical challenges to completing this transformation, but study after study concludes that integrating high levels of renewables into our electric grid is achievable. This is also being demonstrated in practice, as many states are already incorporating wind and solar, including in Texas, where wind has now supplied over 45 percent of the state's total energy demand on multiple occasions, and in Iowa, as the state now generates 31 percent of its total annual power from wind.

Change is here

Much is said about the need to adapt the electric grid to the variability associated with integrating renewable energy into our electricity mix. Until recently, the huge costs of maintaining back-up generation and transmission in case they're needed to keep the lights on when large, inflexible resources like coal and nuclear plants suddenly and unexpectedly go offline has too often been ignored. Grid managers and planners are now appropriately as concerned about the need for flexibility and predictability, assets that large fossil and nuclear plants lack. Renewable energy production is variable, but predictable (we mostly know when it will be sunny or windy). However, it can be impossible to predict when large fossil or nuclear plant will have to shut down for critical maintenance.

In a sign of the declining status of large, inflexible base load resources, PG&E recently announced it will close the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California and replace it with 100 percent clean energy (NRDC is a signatory), PG&E explains: "California's electric grid is in the midst of a significant shift that creates challenges for the facility in the coming decades. Changes in state policies, the electric generation fleet, and market conditions combine to reduce the need for large, inflexible baseload power plants."

As we move forward, there are a number of grid planning practices and technologies that will help facilitate America's transition to higher and higher amounts of renewable energy. For example, as more and more cars on the road become electric, those vehicles can help store electricity and manage peak demand so that supply and demand can be better aligned. Demand response (compensating customers for altering their electricity use at specific periods) and time of use electricity pricing can provide similar support. Leading states are currently contemplating how to design policies and market structures that support a modernized, low-carbon grid. Planning for the future can and must be done in parallel with promoting strong renewables growth in the present.

Renewable energy is already helping address climate change. It's time to put our feet on the accelerator.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Renewable Energy Is Key to Fighting Climate Change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Renewable energy is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against climate change, and there is every reason to believe it will succeed. A recent New York Times column seems to imply that renewable energy investments set back efforts to address climate change-nothing could be further from the truth.

# data[].attributes.headline
Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy 

# data[].attributes.subject
Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy 

# data[].attributes.body
By: Russell Gold

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the ever more urgent quest for sources of renewable energy, meet the man boldly harnessing the natural forces that could power America's future.
The United States is in the midst of an energy transition. We want to embrace renewable energy sources like wind and solar, and rely less on dirty fossil fuels. We don't want to keep pumping so many heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Any transition from a North American power grid that uses mostly fossil fuels to one that is predominantly clean requires a massive building spree-billions of dollars' worth.

Enter Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder who began working on wind energy in 2000, when many considered the industry a joke. Eight years later, Skelly helped create the second largest wind power company in the United States-which was sold for $2 billion. Wind energy was no longer funny; it was well on its way to generating a substantial percentage of the electricity in the United States.

Acclaimed journalist and author of The Boom, "the best all-around book yet on fracking" ( San Francisco Chronicle), Russell Gold tells the story of this pioneer whose innovations, struggles, and persistence represent the groundbreaking changes underway in American energy. In Superpower, we meet Skelly's financial backers, a family that pivoted from oil exploration to renewable energy; the farmers ready to embrace the new "cash crop"; the landowners prepared to go to court to avoid looking at overhead wires; and utility executives who concoct fiendish ways to block renewable energy. Gold also shows how Skelly's innovative company, Clean Line Energy, conceived the idea for a new power grid that would allow sunlight where abundant to light up homes thousands of miles away in cloudy states, and take wind from the Great Plains to keep air conditioners running in Atlanta. Thrilling, provocative, and important, Superpower is a fascinating look at America's future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
superpower: one man's quest to transform american energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics / development / sustainable development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics / industries / energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/development - sustainable development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/industries - energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science / global warming & climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering / power resources / alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering/power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
energy; renewable energy; carbon; climate change; wind; solar; wind farms; oil; naomi klein; this changes everything; an inconvenient truth; al gore; sixth extinction; global warming; carbon emissions; capitalism; climate deniers; climate science; ocean levels; ice caps; nature conservancy; big oil; coal; trump

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics / development / sustainable development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics / industries / energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/development - sustainable development

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/industries - energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science / global warming & climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering / power resources / alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering/power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy [Gold, Russell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy

# data[].attributes.headline
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth

# data[].attributes.subject
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth

# data[].attributes.body
By: Molly Bang

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
buried sunlight: how fossil fuels have changed the earth: how fossil fuels have changed the earth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - earth sciences - rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children’s / teenage general interest: science and technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / biology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / earth sciences / rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - biology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - earth sciences - rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - earth sciences - rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
teenage general interest: science and technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / biology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / earth sciences / rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - biology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - earth sciences - rocks & minerals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction/science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
children’s / teenage general interest: science and technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth [Bang, Molly, Chisholm, Penny, Bang, Molly] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth

# data[].attributes.body
by David Elliott

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/industries - energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering/power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
energy politics; climate; energy security; energy systems; energy transition; renewables; wind; solar; hydro; biomass; nuclear; fuel; fossil fuels; resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
business & economics/industries - energy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
technology & engineering/power resources - alternative & renewable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Renewable Energy: Can it Deliver? [Elliott, David] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Renewable Energy: Can it Deliver?

# data[].attributes.headline
Sun Power: A Book about Renewable Energy (Earth Matters) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Sun Power: A Book about Renewable Energy (Earth Matters) 

# data[].attributes.body
By: Esther Porter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
sun power: a book about renewable energy (earth matters)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - earth sciences - general

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / earth sciences / general

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - earth sciences - general

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
science & nature - environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / earth sciences / general

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
juvenile nonfiction / science & nature / environmental conservation & protection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sun Power: A Book about Renewable Energy (Earth Matters)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sun Power: A Book about Renewable Energy (Earth Matters) [Porter, Esther] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sun Power: A Book about Renewable Energy (Earth Matters)

# data[].attributes.headline
Podcast series energy and climate change

# data[].attributes.subject
Podcast series energy and climate change

# data[].attributes.body
Bill Gates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Podcast series energy and climate change

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In these podcasts, I share my thoughts on the challenges of developing alternatives to fossil fuels and finding zero-carbon energy sources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The energy system is changing fast. Come explore the future with journalist Stephen Lacey and venture capitalist Shayle Kann. Each week, they'll take you on a tour of the global energy transformation, providing provide insight into technology trends, markets, and companies -- making for wonky and entertaining listening.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Listen to The Freeing Energy Podcast with fifty-eight episodes, free! No signup or install needed. Samir Ibrahim: The story behind an affordable solar-powered irrigation system that is changing the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa.. John Farrell: Monopoly utilities and consumers are headed for a collision over local energy.

# data[].attributes.body
WITF NPR

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pennsylvania is kind of a big deal when it comes to energy. From fracking to coal to renewables to nuclear, the Keystone State has it all. And increasingly, Pennsylvania is at the center of national debates over energy and the environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You are here

INTERACTIVE ENERGY SCENARIOS TOOL: Explore Decarbonizing the Global Energy System

Humans have caused climate change by relying on carbon-intensive energy sources (like fossil fuels). To help steer the planet's climate back on track, we'll have to revolutionize the global energy system. This interactive tool allows you to "wave a magic wand" and create your own global energy scenario within technologically feasible approaches.

Welcome to our Energy Scenario Interactive Tool, currently in beta. If you have any feedback please Contact Us ×

This tool is not yet optimized for mobile use. Some features may not be functional and display may not appear as intended. ×

Please note: Touch screen functionality is under development ×

Step 1: Current World Energy System

First let's look at the how energy is currently supplied and utilized. Fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) provide the majority of the world's Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES). Renewable energy sources (like solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal) make up about 14% of primary energy. The remaining supply is about 5% from nuclear energy. The primary energy is then utilized by four sectors: the industrial sector (which includes production of food, chemicals, iron/steel, mining, construction, forestry, etc.) takes over half of the world's primary energy. The remainder is split between residential (household heating, cooling, lighting, consumer products, etc.), commercial (heating, cooling, lighting, refrigeration, computers of offices, stores, hospitals, schools, etc.), and the transportation sector (all road, rail, air, water and pipeline needs).

Step 2: Efficiency Improvements

Advanced technologies and improved system designs can result in more efficient energy usage resulting in energy savings. Improving efficiency saves how much primary energy you need from the start! Use the sliders below to explore what end-use energy savings are available in each sector by implementing existing advances. In the next step you'll be able to explore additional energy savings possible through switching to electric and renewable energy. Note the sliders have a colored zone corresponding to each sector. The range for efficiency improvement in this Beta version is limited by the references cited, but will be expanded in future versions of the Interactive Energy Scenarios Tool.

Commercial (% improvement)

Industrial (% improvement)

Residential (% improvement)

Transportation (% improvement)

Step 3: Electrification of Sectors

Most energy is delivered to end-uses by electric grids or by burning fuels directly. Electrifying more of the energy system can be both your best friend and worst enemy in trying to save energy. Electrification can result in needing to produce more primary energy if the electricity comes from a thermal to electric conversion such as a coal fired power plant. Thermal to electric conversions yield only about 33% of the primary energy as electricity. On one hand, you can save energy by increasing electrification AND supplying that electric energy with renewable energy sources. On the other hand, you actually need to produce more primary energy if you increase electrification but continue to supply the majority of that energy with either fossil fuels or nuclear. Nuclear doesn't have the same carbon emissions penalty as conventional fossil fuel power plants. Use the sliders below to determine how much of Your Energy Scenario will be supplied by electric vs. non-electric energy, and of that electric energy the balance between renewables vs. non-renewables. This will set targets for how much of Your Energy Scenario will be supplied by a) non-electric sources, b) electric non-renewables, and c) electric renewables. In Step 4 you'll choose specific energy sources to meet these targets.

Commercial (% Electric)

(% Electric Renewable)

Industrial (% Electric)

(% Electric Renewable)

Residential (% Electric)

(% Electric Renewable)

Transportation (% Electric)

(% Electric Renewable)

Step 4: Choosing Energy Sources

In Steps 2 and 3, you changed how much total primary energy you need to supply, as well as what percentage of that energy comes from electric renewable energy, electric non-renewable energy, and non-electric energy (direct fuels). Now it's time to choose how to supply that energy using the many different energy sources available. Some energy sources can be used as electric sources, some as direct fuels, and some as both. Note that in this step the bar graphs have red target lines indicating your target energy levels based on your choices from Steps 2 and 3. By using the sliders you will be able to build up to or pull down the total energy in each of the 3 energy source types (non-electric/direct fuel energy vs. electric non-renewable energy vs. electric renewable energy). You can also apply carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to select energy sources like electric Coal, Natural Gas, and Biomass. CCS can offset some of your emissions, but at a cost. Meet your red target lines, and apply CCS, and see what the impacts of your energy scenario are on global energy system costs and emissions!

Non-Electric Sources ( TWh)

Coal (Non-Electric) $ ( TWh)

Oil (Non-Electric) $$ ( TWh)

Gas (Non-Electric) $ ( TWh)

Biomass (Non-Electric) $ ( TWh)

Non-Renewable Electric Sources ( TWh)

Coal (Electric) $$$ ( TWh)

CCS

Oil (Electric) $$$$$ ( TWh)

CCS

Gas (Electric) $$ ( TWh)

CCS

Nuclear $$$ ( TWh)

CCS

Renewable Electric Sources ( TWhe)

Solar $$ ( TWhe)

CCS

Wind $ ( TWhe)

CCS

Hydro $$ ( TWhe)

CCS

Ocean $$$$ ( TWhe)

CCS

Geothermal $$ ( TWhe)

CCS

Biomass (Electric) $$ ( TWhe)

CCS

Based on the New Target TPES you set in Step 2 + Step 3 and the mix of sources you picked in Step 4 to reach your targets here are the outcomes for your energy scenario.

Total Primary Energy

Cost

Carbon Emissions

Carbon Budget Implications

At your Energy Scenario's current rate of emissions, global emissions will exceed the carbon budget for 1.5°C warming in

test years

Carbon Budget

In December 2015, 196 countries signed the Paris Climate Agreement, with the aim to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To meet this ambitious goal, we will need to cap total historical global carbon emissions at 614 GtC. As of the end of 2017, approximately 570 GtC had already been emitted, leaving only 44 GtC left to emit in the carbon budget! At current rates of annual emissions, we'll exceed the 1.5°C carbon budget within 4 years. How many years of emissions created by Your Energy Scenario would use up the remaining 1.5°C carbon budget?

About AGCI

AGCI has become an intellectual proving ground, a ferment for new ideas and concepts, and a place where the different disciplines actually talk, and progress. Hal Harvey

What We Do

AGCI has been the most prominent place for developing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogues between scientists and practitioners. Guy Brasseur

Get Involved

We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims. R. Buckminster Fuller

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
INTERACTIVE ENERGY SCENARIOS TOOL: Explore Decarbonizing the Global Energy System Humans have caused climate change by relying on carbon-intensive energy sources (like fossil fuels). To help steer the planet's climate back on track, we'll have to revolutionize the global energy system.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Tax incentives are a proven tool for encouraging consumers and businesses to adopt energy efficiency, stimulating construction, manufacturing, and other economic activity while significantly reducing carbon emissions and lowering energy bills.

The U.S. transportation sector is on the verge of a major transformation, providing a unique opportunity to design its path forward. If we are proactive, we can build a sector that is more energy-efficient, safe, productive, clean, convenient, and accessible for all.

As energy efficiency enters the digital age, we must coalesce around a shared vision that integrates well-established energy efficiency approaches with the capabilities of smart and connected technologies, distributed energy resources, and key decarbonization strategies.

The Alliance to Save Energy is on a quest to advance energy efficiency. That means using our limited energy resources as wisely as possible, whether it's homes and buildings that better manage energy consumption and hold their heating and cooling better, more efficient vehicles that drive farther using less energy, or smarter industrial technologies that use less energy for manufacturing and construction. Increasingly, it means using data analytics, connectivity, and artificial intelligence to optimize energy use across all sectors, from lighting an office building to designing a transportation system.

VISIT OUR AFFILIATED COALITION WEBSITES

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tax incentives are a proven tool for encouraging consumers and businesses to adopt energy efficiency, stimulating construction, manufacturing, and other economic activity while significantly reducing carbon emissions and lowering energy bills. The U.S. transportation sector is on the verge of a major transformation, providing a unique opportunity to design its path forward.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SEIA | Solar Energy Industries Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since 1974, SEIA has been the voice of solar energy in the United States. We work with our member companies to promote pro-solar policies and advocate for the growth of solar nationwide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The clean power industry is full of innovators who are leading the global transition to a clean energy economy. Congratulations to ACP members Hannon Armstrong and The AES Corporation for being recognized on Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2022.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The clean power industry is full of innovators who are leading the global transition to a clean energy economy. Congratulations to ACP members Hannon Armstrong and The AES Corporation for being recognized on Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2022.

# data[].attributes.headline
Towards A Sustainable Oil & Gas Industry: Renewable Biofuels And LNG | Climate For Change | Ep 1/2

# data[].attributes.subject
Towards A Sustainable Oil & Gas Industry: Renewable Biofuels And LNG | Climate For Change | Ep 1/2

# data[].attributes.body
CNA Insider | Feb 27 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Towards A Sustainable Oil & Gas Industry: Renewable Biofuels And LNG | Climate For Change | Ep 1/2

# data[].attributes.headline
Harnessing The Sun And Wind: Inside Our Renewable Energy Future | Climate For Change | Ep 2/2

# data[].attributes.subject
Harnessing The Sun And Wind: Inside Our Renewable Energy Future | Climate For Change | Ep 2/2

# data[].attributes.body
CNA Insider | Feb 27, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harnessing The Sun And Wind: Inside Our Renewable Energy Future | Climate For Change | Ep 2/2

# data[].attributes.headline
Solar energy in Morocco | DW Documentary (Renewable energy documentary)

# data[].attributes.subject
Solar energy in Morocco | DW Documentary (Renewable energy documentary)

# data[].attributes.body
DW Documentary | 2019

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Solar energy in Morocco | DW Documentary (Renewable energy documentary)

# data[].attributes.headline
Singapore's Power Problem: Inside Our Immense Energy Consumption | Climate Change: A Wicked Problem

# data[].attributes.subject
Singapore's Power Problem: Inside Our Immense Energy Consumption | Climate Change: A Wicked Problem

# data[].attributes.body
CNA Insider | 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Singapore's Power Problem: Inside Our Immense Energy Consumption | Climate Change: A Wicked Problem

# data[].attributes.headline
How much electricity does it take to power the world?

# data[].attributes.subject
How much electricity does it take to power the world?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How much electricity does it take to power the world?

# data[].attributes.headline
This Plane Flew Across the Pacific Ocean Without a Drop of Fuel

# data[].attributes.subject
This Plane Flew Across the Pacific Ocean Without a Drop of Fuel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Say hello to the future of clean energy travel.

It might have taken three days, but two Swiss pilots were able to fly a solar-powered plane across the Pacific Ocean - taking off in Hawaii and landing in California - without using one drop of fuel.

"It's not science fiction. It's today," co-pilot Bertrand Piccard, who's also a psychiatrist, told CNN after landing in Mountain View, California, late Saturday night. "It exists and clean technologies can do the impossible."

Bertrand and his co-pilot, Andre Borschberg, took turns flying the plane during the course of their 62-hour journey, traveling at an ideal speed of 28 miles per hour during the day. Yahoo reports that Bertrand would take 20-minute naps at a time in the tiny cockpit, which didn't have air conditioning or heat, and used self-hypnosis to stay energized.

The plane was outfitted with 17,248 solar cells on its wings, which powered propellers and batteries, which kept it running at night. And although the wingspan was larger than a Boeing 747, the plane only weighed the equivalent of a mid-sized truck.

The solar plane began its around-the-world journey in Abu Dhabi in March 2015 and will continue its adventure.

Related: 8 Young Environmentalists on Why OUR Generation Has to Save the Planet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This Plane Flew Across the Pacific Ocean Without a Drop of Fuel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Say hello to the future of clean energy travel. It might have taken three days, but two Swiss pilots were able to fly a solar-powered plane across the Pacific Ocean - taking off in Hawaii and landing in California - without using one drop of fuel. "It's not science fiction.

# data[].attributes.headline
How do renewable energy sources hold up in a warming world?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do renewable energy sources hold up in a warming world?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Anthropocene | Innovation in the Human Age

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's a glaring blind spot in climate-economy models. When they corrected it, researchers discovered a path to a green energy system that's cheaper than the fossil fuel system it replaces

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How do renewable energy sources hold up in a warming world?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Renewable energy could help lessen the worst possible impacts of climate change. Yet, the changing climate also impacts those very renewable energy sources. In a new study published in Nature Climate Change, researchers have estimated how global warming will impact the supply of eight key renewable technologies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Geothermal energy is one of the most exciting frontiers of renewable energy. Some people think that if we can figure out the costs and engineering problems, geothermal could be the answer to most of the world's energy problems! You can learn more about ways engineers convert the earth's heat into energy here, including how heat pumps can be used in reverse to cool a building. If you want a super deep dive into the issues, potentials and different technologies related to geothermal energy, read this article.

The Earth is constantly radiating gigantic amounts of heat. Earth's total surface heat flux is estimated to be in the range of 47 terawatts, which is three times higher than the total energy consumption of the whole world population in 2019. This heat comes from the heat accumulated during the formation of the Earth (Primordial Heat), from radioactive decay in the mantle, and from the absorption of heat generated by incoming sunrays. Heat from the first two deep sources is slowly transferred towards the surface of the Earth through convection movements and conduction. At present, only a small part of this energy is used by geothermal plants to produce electricity.

Some of the challenges behind our difficulties harnessing this tremendous amount of energy are the relatively high set-up cost for individual plants, which include drilling several kilometers into the Earth's crust, and the identification of relatively shallow geothermal systems including permeable rocks in an area with elevated geothermal gradient. A major issue towards capturing heat from deep sources lie in the location of the main sources of heat at the center of Earth's oceans along so-called Mid-Ocean Ridges. There, magma is extruded under water and pushes tectonic plates and continents away from each other.

One of the only places in the world where a Mid-Ocean Ridge crops out above sea-level is Iceland, a divergent plate boundary that was formed ca. 64-58 million years ago in the Paleocene-Eocene epochs during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. There, magma pockets occur at relatively shallow depth and are ideal targets for geothermal plants. Recent advances have led scientists and the geothermal industry to drill through magma. Unfortunately, technical difficulties prevented connection of the magma-seated well to an active geothermal plant. Further work is needed but preliminary results are encouraging.

Mid-Ocean Ridges are not the only places in the world where shallow magma pockets occur. For example, convergent plate boundaries, like the Andes Mountains in South America, host numerous active volcanoes that are fed by such magma bodies. The occurrence of volcanoes in the Andes and around the whole Pacific Ocean in countries like New Zealand and Japan is actually related to the subduction of the Pacific oceanic plate under lighter continental plates. During subduction, water absorbed by sediments deposited on the ocean floor and by basalt extruded at Mid-Ocean Ridges is released into the overriding continental plate. This results into partial melting of both the subducting oceanic plate and overriding continental plate and, eventually, into the ascent of magma through the crust. Unfortunately, the contamination of magma (initially made up with heavy and dark minerals like olivine and pyroxene) by continental material (mostly consisting of light minerals like quartz and K-feldspar) increases the viscosity, and, thus, slows down the ascent of magma. This often leads to deep crystallization of magma bodies, i.e., out of reach for geothermal exploitation.

Other challenges in convergent plate boundaries include the relatively thicker nature of the continental crust (average of 35-70 kilometers thick) compared to oceanic crust like in Iceland (6-10 kilometers thick), the occurrence of frequent, high-magnitude earthquakes, which may disrupt geothermal wells, and the remoteness of potential geothermal systems in these areas.

By contrast to deep geothermal systems, heat absorbed from incoming sunrays is briefly stored in the uppermost layers of the ground before being dissipated. This heat can easily be used at relatively low cost to heat buildings and homes through geothermal heat pumps. Several models exist, of which closed-loop horizontal heat pumps are generally the most cost effective alternative, pending that sufficient land is available to host the heat pump (about 700-900 m ² or the equivalent of a square with sides of 25-30 meters). Vertical heat pump require less land but may require drilling holes up to 100 meters and come therefore at a higher cost.

Geothermal heat pumps may also act as a cooling system in summer months and actually evacuate the excess heat in a house or building and transfer it into the ground. This system takes advantage of the relatively constant temperature of the Earth's sub-surface throughout the year (i.e., warmer than the air at the surface in the winter months, and colder during summer).

Lesson materials compiled and edited by Cheney Munson.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While the weather in Iceland is often cold, wet, and windy, a nearly endless supply of heat bubbles away below the surface. In fact, almost every building in the country is heated by geothermal energy in a process with virtually no carbon emissions. So how exactly does this renewable energy work?