Energy Policy News

April 25, 2024

Top Headlines

Apr. 18, 2024 — Companies can't simply walk away from old oil and gas wells. They have to be capped in a way that protects the environment and prevents leaks. A new approach to today's solution could be better for the environment and cheaper, ...

Subterranean Storage of Hydrogen

Apr. 9, 2024 — Scientists are using computer simulations and laboratory experiments to see if depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs can be used for storing carbon-free hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen is an important clean fuel: It can be made by splitting water using ...

Cost of Direct Air Carbon Capture to Remain Higher Than Hoped

Mar. 4, 2024 — Researchers estimate the cost of removing 1 ton of CO2 from the air in the year 2050 to be between 230 and 540 US dollars to remove 1 ton. This is twice as high as previous estimates. The researchers compared the potential costs of three ...

Improving Energy Security With Policies Focused on Demand-Side Solutions

Feb. 29, 2024 — Energy systems essential to supporting our everyday activities face increasing threats from wars, pandemics, climate change, and other unexpected events. An international team of researchers found that demand-oriented solutions have a significantly ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:20am EDT

Coal Train Pollution Increases Health Risks and Disparities

Apr. 18, 2024 — The first health impact study of coal train pollution centers on the San Francisco Bay Area, with scientists finding communities near passing coal trains suffer worse health ...

Global North Energy Outsourcing Demands More Attention

Apr. 15, 2024 — Manufacturing nations in the Global North are stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global ...

Clearing the Air: Wind Farms More Land Efficient Than Previously Thought

Apr. 17, 2024 — Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable. However, decision-makers have been reluctant to invest in wind energy due to a perception that wind farms require a lot of land ...

Heat, Cold Extremes Hold Untapped Potential for Solar and Wind Energy

Mar. 27, 2024 — Conditions that usually accompany the kind of intense hot and cold weather that strains power grids may also provide greater opportunities to capture solar and wind energy. A study found that ...

Pairing Crypto Mining With Green Hydrogen Offers Clean Energy Boost

Mar. 25, 2024 — Pairing cryptocurrency mining -- notable for its outsize consumption of carbon-based fuel -- with green hydrogen could provide the foundation for wider deployment of renewable energy, such as solar ...

The Atlas of Unburnable Oil in the World

Mar. 15, 2024 — In order to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 C, it is essential to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This would mean not exploiting most of the ...

What Will It Take for China to Reach Carbon Neutrality by 2060?

Feb. 26, 2024 — To become carbon neutral by 2060, China will have to build eight to 10 times more wind and solar power installations than existed in 2022, according to a new study. Reaching carbon neutrality will ...

Electrification or Hydrogen? Both Have Distinct Roles in the European Energy Transition

Feb. 16, 2024 — A key step to achieving climate neutrality in the European Union is to rapidly shift from fossil fuels to electric technologies powered by renewable ...

Japan's Electric Vehicle Transition by 2035 May Be Insufficient to Combat the Climate Crisis, but There Are Solutions

Feb. 7, 2024 — Researchers report that Japan's policy of banning the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035 may be insufficient to reduce the country's CO2 emissions. The ...

Inexpensive, Carbon-Neutral Biofuels Are Finally Possible

Feb. 7, 2024 — When it comes to making fuel from plants, the first step has always been the hardest -- breaking down the plant matter. A new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the ...

The Biggest Barrier to a Vibrant Second-Hand EV Market? Price

Apr. 19, 2024 — As early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) trade up for the latest models, the used EV market is beginning to mature in the United States. Yet many potential buyers, particularly low-income ...

Researchers Look at Environmental Impacts of AI Tools

Feb. 27, 2024 — As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in radiology, researchers caution that it's essential to consider the environmental impact of AI ...

Ambitious Roadmap for Circular Carbon Plastics Economy

Jan. 31, 2024 — Researchers have outlined ambitious targets to help deliver a sustainable and net zero plastic economy. The authors argue for a rethinking of the technical, economic, and policy paradigms that have ...

Less Is More: Less Greenhouse Gas, Lower Energy Consumption, Higher Wellbeing

Jan. 25, 2024 — A new commentary highlights that switching the focus from how energy is supplied to how energy is consumed can be a more effective approach to reducing carbon emissions with the added benefit of ...

Offshore Wind Farms Are Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

Jan. 24, 2024 — Researchers have presented a new study on cyberattack risks to offshore wind farms in Glasgow, United Kingdom. They looked specifically at wind farms that use voltage-source-converter high-voltage ...

Using Idle Trucks to Power the Grid With Clean Energy

Jan. 15, 2024 — Researchers are tapping into idled electric vehicles to act as mobile generators and help power overworked and aging electricity grids. After analyzing energy demand on Alberta's power grid ...

U.S. Health Costs Related to Chemicals in Plastics Reached $250 Billion in 2018

Jan. 11, 2024 — Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in plastics pose a serious threat to public health and cost the U.S. an estimated $250 billion in increased health care costs in 2018, according to new ...

Green Wheels, Bright Skies: Analysis Unveils the Connection Between Electric Vehicles and Photovoltaics

Jan. 9, 2024 — People who own electric vehicles (EVs) are more likely to go a step further and add solar panels to their home, according to an analysis of a behavioral study. Conversely, the impact of owning solar ...

Green Ammonia Could Decarbonize 60% of Global Shipping When Offered at Just 10 Regional Fuel Ports

Jan. 9, 2024 — A study has found that green ammonia could be used to fulfill the fuel demands of over 60% of global shipping by targeting just the top 10 regional fuel ports. Researchers looked at the production ...

A Single Bitcoin Transaction Could Cost as Much Water as a Backyard Swimming Pool

Nov. 29, 2023 — Cryptocurrency mining uses a significant amount of water amid the global water crisis, and its water demand may grow further. Researchers provides the first comprehensive estimate of Bitcoin's ...

Commitments Needed to Solve Aviation's Impact on Our Climate

Nov. 28, 2023 — Researchers could find no simple solution to limiting non-CO2 emissions from ...

New Framework for Using AI in Health Care Considers Medical Knowledge, Practices, Procedures, Values

Nov. 27, 2023 — Health care organizations are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve patient care, but their translation into clinical settings has been inconsistent, in part because evaluating ...

Outlook on Scaling of Carbon Removal Technologies

Nov. 21, 2023 — The research makes it clear that ensuring the sustained well-being of our planet requires a more serious commitment toward new carbon dioxide removal technologies, and a faster scale-up of their ...

Hydrogen Fuel Can Be a Competitive Alternative to Gasoline and Diesel Today

Nov. 16, 2023 — Energy researchers posit hydrogen fuel can potentially be a cost-competitive and environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline and diesel, and that supplying hydrogen for transportation in the ...

No One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Net-Zero Grid

Nov. 16, 2023 — As power generation from sources like solar and wind increases, along with the introduction of devices such as heat pumps and batteries, a new optimization tool will help the UK plan for a greener ...

Nuclear Expansion Failure Shows Simulations Require Change

Nov. 16, 2023 — A team of researchers looked back at a model that predicted nuclear power would expand dramatically in order to assess the efficacy of energy policies implemented ...

Ammonia Fuel Offers Great Benefits but Demands Careful Action

Nov. 13, 2023 — Researchers have identified the potential environmental risks of using ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel in order to develop an engineering roadmap to a sustainable ammonia ...

Plastics Treaty Must Tackle Problem at Source

Nov. 9, 2023 — The new Global Plastics Treaty must tackle the problem at source, researchers say. They say the treaty must prioritize 'upstream' issues: cutting total production and consumption of ...

Deep Decarbonization Scenarios Reveal Importance of Accelerating Zero-Emission Vehicle Adoption

Nov. 7, 2023 — The rapid adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles will move the nation close to an 80% or more drop in transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from the 2019 level according to ...

Electric Vehicles Are Driven Less Than Gas Cars

Nov. 6, 2023 — One of the largest studies to date finds the current generation of EV owners drive far fewer miles than owners of gas vehicles, translating to lower emissions savings from ...