article thumbnail

Extreme Heat Makes Electricity More Expensive, More Polluting, and Less Reliable

Union of Concerned Scientists

But extreme heat also hits our electricity system in ways that make it more expensive, more polluting, and less reliable. Extreme heat means more expensive electricity Extreme heat can sharply increase electricity consumption as people turn up their air conditioners for relief. Here’s how. That’s the supply part.

article thumbnail

Solar device generates electricity and desalinates water with no waste brine

Physics World

A device that can generate electricity while desalinating seawater has been developed by researchers in Saudi Arabia and China, who claim that their new system is highly efficient at performing both tasks. The device uses waste heat from the solar cell for desalination, thereby cooling the solar cell.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Five Things the “Nuclear Bros” Don’t Want You to Know About Small Modular Reactors

Union of Concerned Scientists

SMRs are nuclear reactors that are “small” (defined as 300 megawatts of electrical power or less), can be largely assembled in a centralized facility, and would be installed in a modular fashion at power generation sites. What are SMRs? Some proposed SMRs are so tiny (20 megawatts or less) that they are called “micro” reactors.

article thumbnail

Does turning the air conditioning off when you’re not home actually save energy? Three engineers run the numbers

Environmental News Bits

by Aisling Pigott, University of Colorado Boulder; Jennifer Scheib, University of Colorado Boulder, and Kyri Baker, University of Colorado Boulder Hot summer days can mean high electricity bills. People want to stay comfortable without wasting energy and money.

Cooling 105
article thumbnail

How Are Solar Panels Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Solar panels generated almost 4 percent of electricity in the US in 2021, up from less than 1 percent in 2015. In some places that number is much higher; for example, 17% of California’s electricity generation came from solar in 2021. Even more encouraging, by 2030, the solar industry aims to generate nearly a third of US electricity.

article thumbnail

Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. First, decarbonizing the electricity sector mainly with wind and solar to replace coal and fossil gas.

article thumbnail

Are EV Batteries Recyclable?

Union of Concerned Scientists

As electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to increase, questions about how these cars and their batteries will be disposed of have been top of mind for current owners, future buyers, policymakers, and many experts in the automotive industry. Recycling is key to making EVs greener. Recycling is key to making EVs greener.

Recycling 360