Stephen Connors, leading alternative energy researcher, dies at 58
Stephen R. Connors SM '89, director of the MIT Analysis Group for Regional Energy Alternatives (AGREA) and a leading alternative-energy researcher who helped bring solar and wind power into the...
View ArticleModeling plausible futures
Last spring, MIT research scientist C. Adam Schlosser, who serves as deputy director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and colleagues published a paper in the journal...
View ArticleEngineers identify key to albatross’ marathon flight
The albatross is one of the most efficient travelers in the animal world. One species, the wandering albatross, can fly nearly 500 miles in a single day, with just an occasional flap of its wings. The...
View ArticleMaking renewable power more viable for the grid
Wind and solar power are increasingly popular sources for renewable energy. But intermittency issues keep them from connecting widely to the U.S. grid: They require energy-storage systems that, at the...
View Article3 Questions: Innovating for the clean energy economy
Daniel Kammen is a professor of energy at the University of California at Berkeley, with parallel appointments in the Energy and Resources Group (which he chairs), the Goldman School of Public Policy,...
View ArticleMIT Clean Energy Prize rewards student innovation
As renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar power, become increasingly attractive power sources for the grid, industry is looking for better energy-storage systems that can make these...
View ArticleKeeping the balance: How flexible nuclear operation can help add more wind...
In the Southwestern United States, the country’s sunniest region, sunlight can shine down for up to 14 hours a day. This makes the location ideal for implementing solar energy — and the perfect...
View Article3 Questions: New England’s wholesale electricity markets
Abigail Krich is the founder and president of Boreas Renewables, a consulting firm serving renewable energy developers, owners, operators, and advocates. She recently gave a talk at MIT, hosted by the...
View ArticleStudy: Adding power choices reduces cost and risk of carbon-free electricity
In major legislation passed at the end of August, California committed to creating a 100 percent carbon-free electricity grid — once again leading other nations, states, and cities in setting...
View ArticleHow Greentown Labs became the epicenter of clean tech
Greentown Labs is the largest clean technology incubator in North America, a fact that’s easy to accept when you walk inside. The massive, open entrance of Greentown’s Somerville headquarters gives...
View ArticleThe race to develop renewable energy technologies
In the early 20th century, just as electric grids were starting to transform daily life, an unlikely advocate for renewable energy voiced his concerns about burning fossil fuels. Thomas Edison...
View ArticleStudy: State-level adoption of renewable energy standards saves money and lives
In the absence of federal adoption of climate change policy, states and municipalities in the United States have been taking action on their own. In particular, 29 states and the District of Columbia...
View ArticleHow airplanes counteract St. Elmo’s fire during thunderstorms
At the height of a thunderstorm, the tips of cell towers, telephone poles, and other tall, electrically conductive structures can spontaneously emit a flash of blue light. This electric glow, known as...
View ArticleAssessing the value of battery energy storage in future power grids
In the transition to a decarbonized electric power system, variable renewable energy (VRE) resources such as wind and solar photovoltaics play a vital role due to their availability, scalability, and...
View ArticleEvaluating battery revenues for offshore wind farms using advanced modeling
Lithium-ion battery technologies currently dominate the advanced energy storage market — a sector of increasing importance as more focus is put on variable renewable energy generation and reliability...
View ArticleRevamped MIT Climate Portal aims to inform and empower the public
Stepping up its ongoing efforts to inform and empower the public on the issue of climate change, MIT today announced a dramatic overhaul of the MIT Climate Portal, climate.mit.edu, which provides...
View ArticlePowering the energy transition with better storage
“The overall question for me is how to decarbonize society in the most affordable way,” says Nestor Sepulveda SM ’16, PhD ’20. As a postdoc at MIT and a researcher with the MIT Energy Initiative...
View ArticleAsegun Henry has a big idea for tackling climate change: Store up the sun
Asegun Henry has a bold idea to save the world. He believes the key to reducing carbon emissions, and mitigating further climate change, lies in our ability to box up the sun. Today, much of the...
View Article3 Questions: Secretary Kathleen Theoharides on climate and energy in...
Massachusetts is poised to be a national and global leader in the fight against climate change. This spring, Kathleen Theoharides, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs...
View ArticleMaking the case for hydrogen in a zero-carbon economy
As the United States races to achieve its goal of zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035, energy providers are swiftly ramping up renewable resources such as solar and wind. But because these...
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