The Spark

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Can the US battery market untangle from China?

The US is hitting records for the rapid growth of its energy storage market. That’ll go a long way to shoring up the grid, increasing reliability and also cutting emissions, since batteries can help store energy from intermittent renewables like wind and solar. Crucially, this is all happening with the help of cheap Chinese batteries, […]

Can the US battery market untangle from China? Read More »

Agriculture relies on fossil fuels. It’s costing us.

If you’ve had to fill up your vehicle’s gas tank or buy a plane ticket lately, you’ve probably felt the effects of rising fossil-fuel prices. But farmers buying fertilizer for their crops are especially aware of just how far the ripple effects of the conflict in Iran have spread. Fertilizer prices have been on a

Agriculture relies on fossil fuels. It’s costing us. Read More »

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?

EVs account for under 10% of total new-vehicle sales in the US, and the numbers are declining. From a climate perspective, that’s pretty dismal, especially because the transportation sector is the single biggest source of greenhouse-gas emissions in the country.  One thing that could help turn that around? Slate Auto’s new truck—a vehicle that seems

Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need? Read More »

The next big thing in hydrogen could be underground

There’s a hunt for new sources of hydrogen, and the gas (or at least the right conditions to make it) could be hiding beneath our feet. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel in everything from large trucks to planes to steelmaking. It’s often hailed as a climate solution because when burned, it produces water

The next big thing in hydrogen could be underground Read More »

What’s behind this summer’s heat, and why 2027 could be worse

This summer has been a scorcher for much of the Northern Hemisphere. June and July marked the hottest two-month stretch in Europe since record-keeping began. The contiguous US endured its hottest month on record in July. South Korea saw its highest-ever recorded temperature.   The heat isn’t over yet, but some scientists are already looking ahead

What’s behind this summer’s heat, and why 2027 could be worse Read More »

How an overlooked geothermal plant got a second chance

In June 2024, a small company called Zanskar purchased a geothermal power plant in New Mexico that was failing fast. The water coming from the underground reservoir was getting colder by the day, making the plant uneconomical to run. Now, two years later, that plant is running at full capacity again, thanks to a new

How an overlooked geothermal plant got a second chance Read More »

The power line that could reshape New York’s grid is hitting snags

On July 3, as a heat wave swept the region, New York State’s grid imported 52 gigawatt-hours of electricity from Canada—enough to meet about 9% of its total electricity demand that day. Some of that power shuttled in on a 339-mile power line stretching from Quebec to Queens called the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE).

The power line that could reshape New York’s grid is hitting snags Read More »

Why heat pumps are still so hot in the US

It feels as if it should be illegal to even think about heating appliances during the height of summer—seriously, these heat waves in New York have been brutal—but we need to talk about heat pumps. The appliances use electricity for heating, they’re incredibly efficient, and they’re on the rise. (For what it’s worth, many heat

Why heat pumps are still so hot in the US Read More »

Four nuclear reactors hit a big milestone in the US

I was really looking forward to July 4, and not just because I love a poolside barbecue. This year the American holiday also marked a big symbolic deadline for US nuclear power. Last year the Trump administration set a goal to see three new microreactors achieve criticality, a technical milestone establishing that a reactor can

Four nuclear reactors hit a big milestone in the US Read More »

What Europe’s heat wave means for the power grid

It’s been hard to look away from headlines about the European heat wave this week. Temperatures are breaking records across the continent, and the weather is threatening lives, shutting down schools, and in one particularly ironic case, forcing the cancellation of a London Climate Action Week event about extreme heat.  As the summer ramps up

What Europe’s heat wave means for the power grid Read More »