Energy

Solar, wind, batteries, green hydrogen and power grids

The Energy section of ECOnews covers solar and wind power, offshore wind farms, batteries and energy storage, green hydrogen, nuclear power and power grids. Follow the projects, records and innovations changing how the world produces and uses electricity.

MARMOK-A-5 wave-power buoy being prepared in Spain before deployment at the Biscay Marine Energy Platform

Spain just put a wave-power buoy about 138 feet tall into the Bay of Biscay, and the twist is that the new tests suggest the ocean’s up-and-down motion can feed electricity to shore in a way that could actually scale

By ECONEWS

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June 17, 2026 at 5:51 AM

Aerial view of Pripyat with the Chernobyl reactor in the distance inside the exclusion zone.

Forty years after Chernobyl, its legacy still echoes across health, politics, and the land itself, and the disaster’s long tail has not stopped reshaping lives

By Adrian Villellas

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June 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM

Basalt quarry with exposed volcanic rock layers and excavator, showing material proposed as a low-carbon alternative for cement production.

Cement’s carbon problem may have a blunt fix, swap limestone for basalt, because modeling suggests energy demand could drop by more than 40% and emissions by over 80%, cutting CO2 from about 1,343 lb per ton of cement to roughly 110 lb with certain rock types

By ECONEWS

—

June 12, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Aerial view of floating solar panels covering a reservoir in Singapore with green islands in the background.

Singapore covers about 111 acres of the Tengeh Reservoir with 122,000 floating solar panels, a bid to cut an energy dependence the city-state can’t afford

By ECONEWS

—

June 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM

Cracked dry earth at sunset symbolizing AI water use, data center cooling demand, and growing drought concerns.

A 100-word email written with ChatGPT may use about 17.6 fluid ounces of water, roughly the size of a stan

By Adrian Villellas

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June 11, 2026 at 6:04 AM

Sheep grazing between solar panels at a solar plant using livestock for vegetation control and land management.

A solar farm in southern England put 40 native sheep under 20,000 panels across about 30 acres to graze in winter, and the twist is that the flock didn’t just “mow the grass”, it helped protect wildflowers and pollinators while using the panels as storm shelter, turning a power site into a two-job landscape called agrivoltaics

By ECONEWS

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June 10, 2026 at 11:17 AM

Aerial view of tankers docked at the SUMED Ain Sukhna oil terminal on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

Can SUMED steal Hormuz’s spotlight? Saudi Arabia and Egypt move to secure oil routes into Europe and reduce reliance on the strait

By Adrian Villellas

—

June 10, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Driver using an electric tricycle with a solar panel roof in Havana, boosting range and supporting daily work.

In Cuba, a 21-year-old builds a homemade solar panel “factory,” equips 15 electric trikes, and boosts their range, a local fix that kept multiple workers’ livelihoods alive

By ECONEWS

—

June 9, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Aikido floating offshore wind turbine with an integrated AI data center module at sea

A floating wind turbine could become the next AI data center, packing 10–12 MW of compute, a 15+ MW turbine, and seawater cooling into one offshore platform as land, power, and water constraints tighten toward 2030

By Adrian Villellas

—

June 9, 2026 at 5:40 AM

An aerial rendering of the proposed Padma Barrage construction site near Pangsha, highlighting the 1.3-mile infrastructure spanning the river.

Bangladesh approves the Padma River barrage to store water for the dry season and benefit 70 million people

By ECONEWS

—

June 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Panoramic view of the rocky Venusian surface captured by the Soviet Venera 13 lander in 1982.

In 1982 the Soviet Venera 13 lander survived 127 minutes on Venus in about 855°F heat and pressure comparable to roughly 2,950 feet underwater, long enough to beam back two panoramas of basaltic rock under an orange sky

By Adrian Villellas

—

June 6, 2026 at 10:15 AM

Rows of vertical floating solar panels installed on a lake, designed to capture sunlight from both sides.

Germany covers an artificial lake with solar panels without harming the ecosystem, and the experiment hints at a future where water becomes a rooftop for power

By ECONEWS

—

June 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Brazil’s oil reserves could soar with $30B a year as the Equatorial Margin becomes the country’s next big test.

Brazil could jump its oil reserves from 17 billion to 23.5 billion barrels with $30 billion a year in investment, and exploration along the Equatorial Margin is being pitched out to 2042

By ECONEWS

—

June 3, 2026 at 11:22 AM

Kalu Putik wearing a fashion design made from recycled tires, cardboard, wires, and other discarded materials in Ethiopia

A young Ethiopian turns trash into fashion using tires, cardboard, and electrical wire, and his viral videos look like luxury editorials while teaching recycling without speeches

By ECONEWS

—

June 3, 2026 at 6:30 AM

Massive underground redox flow battery construction site in Laufenburg, Switzerland, built for grid-scale energy storage

Switzerland dug a hole the size of two soccer fields to install the world’s most powerful underground battery, able to release 1.2 GW in milliseconds and store 2.1 GWh at a multibillion-dollar price tag

By Adrian Villellas

—

June 2, 2026 at 8:06 AM

Industrial pyrolysis unit used by Petgas to convert plastic waste into fuel products in Boca del Río, Mexico.

Plastic headed for landfills is being turned into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel in Mexico, and Petgas is sparking an uncomfortable debate about what “recycling” really means

By ECONEWS

—

May 31, 2026 at 12:30 PM

A deepwater drilling rig operating in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil at the Bumerangue exploration site.

BP finds oil and gas nearly 20,000 feet deep in Brazil’s Santos Basin, its largest discovery in 25 years

By Adrian Villellas

—

May 30, 2026 at 10:15 AM

Historical illustration of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption showing massive ash plumes and atmospheric shock waves radiating outward.

Nuclear blasts can go unnoticed from 1,000 km away, but the loudest sound ever recorded was heard 4,800 km away and circled the planet four times, a physics oddity that still stuns

By ECONEWS

—

May 29, 2026 at 6:30 PM

ModRoof modular panels made from recycled cardboard and coconut husk fiber being installed on a low-income home.

A man builds roofs from cardboard and farm waste for precarious homes, and after installing hundreds he proves impact can be humble, cheap, and scalable

By ECONEWS

—

May 29, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Cardboard cooler box filled with ice and beer bottles, designed to keep drinks cold using a recyclable insulated structure.

A Brazilian entrepreneur’s recyclable cardboard cooler keeps drinks cold for six hours and sells 40,000 units a month

By ECONEWS

—

May 28, 2026 at 6:30 AM

Previous Next

Energy

Spain just put a wave-power buoy about 138 feet tall into the Bay of Biscay, and the twist is that the new tests suggest the ocean’s up-and-down motion can feed electricity to shore in a way that could actually scale

Forty years after Chernobyl, its legacy still echoes across health, politics, and the land itself, and the disaster’s long tail has not stopped reshaping lives

Cement’s carbon problem may have a blunt fix, swap limestone for basalt, because modeling suggests energy demand could drop by more than 40% and emissions by over 80%, cutting CO2 from about 1,343 lb per ton of cement to roughly 110 lb with certain rock types

Singapore covers about 111 acres of the Tengeh Reservoir with 122,000 floating solar panels, a bid to cut an energy dependence the city-state can’t afford

A 100-word email written with ChatGPT may use about 17.6 fluid ounces of water, roughly the size of a stan

Can SUMED steal Hormuz’s spotlight? Saudi Arabia and Egypt move to secure oil routes into Europe and reduce reliance on the strait

In Cuba, a 21-year-old builds a homemade solar panel “factory,” equips 15 electric trikes, and boosts their range, a local fix that kept multiple workers’ livelihoods alive

A floating wind turbine could become the next AI data center, packing 10–12 MW of compute, a 15+ MW turbine, and seawater cooling into one offshore platform as land, power, and water constraints tighten toward 2030

Bangladesh approves the Padma River barrage to store water for the dry season and benefit 70 million people

In 1982 the Soviet Venera 13 lander survived 127 minutes on Venus in about 855°F heat and pressure comparable to roughly 2,950 feet underwater, long enough to beam back two panoramas of basaltic rock under an orange sky

Germany covers an artificial lake with solar panels without harming the ecosystem, and the experiment hints at a future where water becomes a rooftop for power

Brazil could jump its oil reserves from 17 billion to 23.5 billion barrels with $30 billion a year in investment, and exploration along the Equatorial Margin is being pitched out to 2042

A young Ethiopian turns trash into fashion using tires, cardboard, and electrical wire, and his viral videos look like luxury editorials while teaching recycling without speeches

Switzerland dug a hole the size of two soccer fields to install the world’s most powerful underground battery, able to release 1.2 GW in milliseconds and store 2.1 GWh at a multibillion-dollar price tag

Plastic headed for landfills is being turned into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel in Mexico, and Petgas is sparking an uncomfortable debate about what “recycling” really means

BP finds oil and gas nearly 20,000 feet deep in Brazil’s Santos Basin, its largest discovery in 25 years

Nuclear blasts can go unnoticed from 1,000 km away, but the loudest sound ever recorded was heard 4,800 km away and circled the planet four times, a physics oddity that still stuns

A man builds roofs from cardboard and farm waste for precarious homes, and after installing hundreds he proves impact can be humble, cheap, and scalable

A Brazilian entrepreneur’s recyclable cardboard cooler keeps drinks cold for six hours and sells 40,000 units a month

A sea captain left pigs near New Zealand for future navigators, and 192 years later a rescue of Auckland Island pigs led to diabetes safety trials while officials plan to eradicate the rest

Shell and FAW Trucks are testing an immersion cooling battery that bathes truck cells in liquid, and Shell says early results point to potential climbing gains of up to 98 percent, pending final validation

Germany now has a truck with no cab hauling Lidl groceries on a public road up to three times a day, and one human job still travels with it in a separate vehicle

Farmers can plant this perennial grain once and harvest it for several years while its roots reach 10 feet deep, and researchers say the catch shows up in the grain bin after the second harvest

A farmer digging in a Swiss marsh took a 5,500-year-old board for a box lid or a bench, and it turned out to be one of the oldest preserved doors in Europe

A Patagonian sheep ranch that once held 40,535 sheep is now home to one of Argentina’s main Magellanic penguin colonies, and the twist is that the birds were already nesting there while the flocks grazed down their cover

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