Military tests fuel-cell backup power systems

 U.S. military bases are required to keep functioning even if there’s a power failure, so typically they have backup systems that run on diesel.   

Heat transfer breakthrough cools computers

In what it calls a "fundamental breakthrough in heat transfer technology for microelectronics," the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories has developed the "Sandia Cooler."  

New compound improves solar heat storage

 In Spain, a solar power plant using molten salt to store heat recently produced power for 24 uninterrupted hours.   But could there be an even better way to retain energy captured from the sun?

Biofuel research takes a bath in algae search

Could there be the beginnings of biofuel in your desperately-in-need-of-cleaning bathtub?   

Atmospheric aerosols slow global warming by a third


Geothermal research gets stimulus boost

It's enough to make a geothermal engineer cry: extensive investment has allowed the oil and minerals industry to map out a good picture of the fossil fuels lurking below Earth's surface.   

Bill Gates invests in new toilet

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding an effort to 'reinvent the toilet'.

Forests are world's biggest carbon sink

Forests account for almost all of the world's land-based carbon uptake, a new report shows, helping end uncertainty about just how much carbon is being stored, and where.

Wind power capacity to triple by 2017


Mississippi runoff expands Gulf 'dead zone'


Lab-grown meat could slash greenhouse emissions


Nissan wants to electrify commercial vans

Nissan already has the Leaf, and now the company is moving forward on electrifying the compact commercial vehicle market.

Fossil fuel algae: key to new biofuels?

 The new technologies that change our world only seem to happen overnight. Really, they're built on constantly pushing forward scientific research.   

Cook Islands aim for all-green power by 2020

For small islands, the incentive to end dependence on imported fossil fuels and embrace renewables is powerful.

Tidal map pinpoints power potential in U.S.

 The tides can be a great source of energy, as evidenced by recent news on the Scottish tidal turbines.

Soil microbes amplify global warming


Light bulb ban bill burns out in Congress


Seaweed could be the next big thing for biofuel


DOE funds carbon capture in Virginia

Virginia Tech researchers plan to inject some 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into a coalbed methane field in southwest Virginia, as part of a Department of Energy project.

MIT prints solar cells - on paper

MIT's developed a technique to print out solar cells on paper, almost as cheaply and easily as printing a document.