Reports abound of homeowners and businesses unplugging from the power grid and opting instead to generate and store their own electricity. Such grid defections may make sense in places where electricity rates are sky-high or service is spotty. But for just about everywhere else, it’s far more sensible to do the very opposite: interconnect regional electricity networks to form a globe-spanning supergrid.

Fossil fuel companies are seeing the writing on the wall and investing their profits from burning oil into renewable energy. British oil giant BP’s wind energy is a good example of that and it is now combining a wind farm with its first Tesla Powerpack project.

It’s already cheaper to build a new solar or wind farm than a coal plant. But when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, renewable electricity can still be fairly expensive to store–even though the cost of batteries is dropping. If the world shifted to 100% renewable electricity right now, we might pay more on electric bills.

True story.

Electric vehicles enable owners to have more choices for the sources of energy to power their vehicles.

"A solar thermal fuel is like a rechargeable battery, but instead of electricity you put sunlight in and get heat out."

China has some of the worst air pollution in the world. In several cities, thick layers of smog are common, resulting in thousands of deaths every year. According to a 2016 study, the top contributor of air pollution-related deaths in China is the burning of coal. The team of Chinese and American researchers behind the study said that pollution from coal caused 366,000 premature deaths in 2013.

Palau, under threat from sea level rise, wants to have 70 percent renewable energy by 2050

Could a new battery designed for the demands of aviation solve one of the hardest problems in the climate puzzle?

A UK-based budget airline announced this week that it is “moving fast” toward developing a fleet of electric planes.

A small, lightweight fission system could help spacecraft travel huge distances. 

The European Commision has pledged that the EU will cut greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Realistically, everyone will need to get stuck in to actually hit that target but at the moment, the prospects don't look fantastic: to halt climate change, the UN has said "unprecedented change" will be required, both on a social and on a global level . However, Spanish company Ingelia may have the key to at least part of the solution: after developing an industrial process to produce a biocarbon called "biochar" which can be used as a much cleaner energy source to traditional coal.

One of the biggest offshore wind developers in Europe, a Danish company called Ørsted, purchased US offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind on Monday. The move suggests confidence in an expanding US offshore wind industry. There are more than 15 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in Europe, with more capacity being added every year.

The release of a damning report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week predicting unprecedented climate disaster within the next decade was no doubt a sobering reminder of the fragile state of our planet. But new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the future of global renewable energy capacity offers a far more hopeful picture, predicting a massive spike in clean energy over the next five years—if, that is, necessary policy and regulation are acted upon now.

As hurricanes tore apart Caribbean islands and crippled their energy infrastructure, renewables consistently outperformed fossil fuels.

Buying enough clean energy to make up for your dirty energy is one thing; using all clean energy 24/7 is another, and it could signal a new approach.

The announcement comes just a month after the company revealed its 2040 plans.

Could allow us to generate electricity using supercritical carbon dioxide.

Analysts at Swiss investment bank UBS believe that by 2030, we could all be living without much of a carbon footprint — at least at home. The analysts believe that the cost of renewable energy will continue to dive heading into the next decade, and that by 2030, costs will be so low they will “effectively be free,” according to new research published this morning in the Financial Times (paywall).

California's green policy is so successful it needs to slow down for a bit.

ERCOT's pipeline of projects has ballooned to almost 80 GW. 12 GW of this is gas and the rest is wind and solar power plants, as well as 522 MW of energy storage.

California is following in Hawaii's footsteps by committing to 100 percent clean energy. Lawmakers in the state have passed a bill that will see it moving entirely to clean electricity sources by 2045, CBS reported Tuesday. The vote comes as a report revealed Monday that California could lose up to two-thirds of its beaches and water supply due to climate change. Public polling showed the majority of Californians (about 72 percent) are supportive of the bill, although some business groups and utilities aren't in favour, citing job concerns.

Japan's Marbeni will no longer build coal power plants. Just 1,600 more plants to go.

The country is using oil and gas riches to engineer emission-free vessels

Within two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Richard Birt, a Las Vegas fire captain, flew to San Juan on what would be the first of many missions to try to get the island’s 96 fire stations up and running—not by fixing the problematical grid but by using solar power. With the encouragement of San Juan fire chief Alberto Cruz Albarrán, logistical help from San Juan firefighters, and donated equipment from the company Sunrun, within a day-and-a-half a team outfitted the flat roofs of the fire department in Barrio Obrero—one of the poorer neighborhoods in San Juan—with solar panels.

Solar energy-produced electricity is poised to grow exponentially as solar panels get cheaper to install, more efficient batteries are developed to store the sun's energy and investors pour more money into an increasingly reliable energy source. Energy produced by the sun is already providing electricity to about 30 percent of the United States, and investors have taken notice of the investment potential.

Spanish government agrees to scrap much-reviled tax on solar self-consumption, brings in new rules removing all costs and barriers to self-consumed power.

All across the country, solar energy is providing real, tangible benefits to the American people. Everyone from families and businesses to churches and schools are investing in clean energy to take control of their own energy and lower their utility bills.

The natural gas "bridge" to sustainability may be shorter than expected.

The law that requires America to turn some of its soybeans into diesel fuel for trucks has created a new industry. But it's costing American consumers about $5 billion each year.

Chile will phase out coal power generation, president Michelle Bachelet declared on Wednesday. The energy ministry has secured an agreement with its major utilities not to build any more coal plants, unless they are fitted with technology to pump the emissions underground. A working group will develop a plan to replace existing coal capacity, Bachelet said. The fuel generated 35% of the South American country’s electricity in 2015.

It's a new milestone: Europe got more of its power from solar, wind and biomass than coal last year. But when it comes to investment, the European industry is in decline as China steals the title of renewables pioneer.

Imagine planning your next trip and finding that Delta was selling first-class seats for less than the cramped middle seats in the back of the plane. So you fly first class to New York and walk into the best French restaurant, only to discover that every dish is cheaper than the burger and fries down the street. Waiter, bring the duck à l’orange!

Seawater is a complex cocktail of useful minerals, but it’s hard to separate the ones we need. Now a team of scientists from Australia and the US has developed a new water desalination technique that can not only make seawater fresh enough to drink, but recover lithium ions for use in batteries.

News that Swedish furniture giant IKEA is planning to sell solar panels “at cost” in its Australian stores has been met with mixed responses from the local solar industry, with many expressing fears that it will further destabilise – and perhaps undermine – an already over-crowded solar retail and installation market.