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2024 Year in Review: Clean Energy Progress Steeped in Solar and Storage

Union of Concerned Scientists

The end of every year is a great time for taking stock of what the year has broughtincluding in terms of clean energy in the power sector. Heres a taste, from US projects, technologies, electrons, and investment, to happenings in the world as a whole.

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Fossil Fuels vs. Renewables: A Price on Reliability?

Union of Concerned Scientists

The same scenario has played out with the power plants that use fossil fuels, predominantly methane (“natural”) gas, delivered by pipelines. The electric power system is trapped by gas-dependent power plants that cannot obtain gas when it needs it to keep the lights on. It’s a vicious feedback loop.

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5 Powerful Facts for Global Wind Day

Union of Concerned Scientists

We at the Union of Concerned Scientists think a lot about wind power. In honor of Global Wind Day , here’s a roundup of what we’re seeing and what we’ve been thinking—five facts about wind energy to keep in mind as you celebrate, or at least make note, on June 15. Wind power is big, and getting bigger.

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How Are Lithium-ion Batteries that Store Solar and Wind Power Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

A 1 megawatt vanadium flow battery (a different technology from lithium-ion, but also used for energy storage) is in Pullman, Washington, built by UniEnergy Technologies and owned by Avista Utilities. Source: UniEnergy Technologies / Wikimedia Commons. Engineers develop energy storage battery technologies. Batteries.

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IEA Unveils Ambitious Path to Net-Zero Emissions by 2050

Yale E360

In a new report , the International Energy Agency is calling for an immediate end to new investments in fossil fuel supply projects such as pipelines, the rapid adoption of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, and a large-scale research and development program to develop future technologies, including advanced batteries, producing energy (..)

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Renewables Have Pulled Ahead of Coal. What’s Next?

Union of Concerned Scientists

The progress in the numbers The new numbers are from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), which collects data from power plant operators from across the country. Solar power increased the most among renewable electricity sources in percentage terms, up 24 percent. It supplied 10.5 percentage points).*

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Building a Better Power Grid for Minnesota

Union of Concerned Scientists

Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.