Electricity

Renewable energy sources – in particular solar and wind – are growing by leaps and bounds around the world, in great part because the price for them has been plummeting over the years. This has made renewables the lowest-cost source of electricity in many places.

Ocean energy or marine energy refers to renewable energy obtained from the ocean’s motion (waves, tides, and currents) and thermal properties that are used to generate electricity. It is a largely untapped, consistent, and clean resource that has great potential. But a combination of high development costs and the challenges of operating in such a harsh environment has kept ocean energy as largely a research topic rather than a significant contributor to society’s energy needs. But that is gradually changing.The annual report of the Ocean Energy Systems international collaboration agency highlights many of the ongoing projects in ocean energy.China has tidal power demonstration projects, one of which has continued stable operation for over 8 years. China also has a floating wave power platform producing megawatt-level power.The UK has the world’s largest operational tidal stream project, the MayGen in Pentland Firth, in operation since 2018.The Shetland Tidal Array has been operating for more than nine years.There are additional operating systems in Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. Several other countries have systems under development or planned. In North America, Canada has multiple projects under development. The US has test systems in many locations on both coasts but no commercial-scale projects underway.The ultimate potential for ocean energy is enormous. Estimates are that it could power nearly 57% of U.S. electricity needs from just our two coasts. Globally, it could supply double the world’s current demand for electricity.

The United States has mostly stopped developing offshore wind, a technology vehemently opposed by the Trump administration. Five ongoing projects have managed to keep going as a result of federal court rulings against the administration. Meanwhile, the government is offering billions of dollars to recipients of offshore wind leases if they cancel their plans and drill for oil instead.

Texas is a red state. It has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1980. And yet, as a result of efforts by several past Republican governors, Texas is a national leader in renewable energy, with wind and solar providing over 30% of the state's electricity in 2023. The state produces more wind power than any other state and ranks second in solar capacity.

Data centers use vast amounts of water primarily for evaporative cooling, spraying it into the air or over coils to cool hot air generated by servers in order to keep the equipment from failing. The largest data centers can consume between 1 and 5 million gallons of water daily, with consumption rising during the summer.

The sources of U.S. electricity production have changed dramatically over the past 15 years and continue to change as the political winds blow in different directions.

Coal has historically been the largest source of global electricity generation. For the first half of the 20th century, more than half of the world’s electricity came from coal power plants. Until the 1950s, most of the rest came from hydroelectric plants. Nuclear power grew rapidly from the 1950s up until a decline that began at the turn of the new century. Natural gas assumed a growing role that has continued to increase since then. Only in the past two decades have renewables like solar and wind power become significant contributors.

Looking to build on efforts to reduce gas and electric bills, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is promoting a new plan she claims could save utility customers billions over the next 10 years.

Expensive electric bills during the winter are nothing new in the Northeast, but residents across Massachusetts say they’re really feeling the burn this season – all just to keep the heat going. It’s enough to get state and local officials to call out utility companies as well as regulators who approved some of the most recent rate hikes.

Orange & Rockland Utilities is blaming a power outage that affected more than 50,000 customers Saturday evening on an equipment malfunction at an O&R…