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2024 Year in Review: Clean Energy Progress Steeped in Solar and Storage

Union of Concerned Scientists

The latest data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) suggests that solar large and small may have generated 27% more in 2024 than in 2023, and that solar might have accounted for 7% of US electricitymore than double its contribution in 2020. One of 2024s new crop.

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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

However, several analyses—including a recent one by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)—have concluded that the IRA, even when coupled with the bipartisan infrastructure act and other federal and state climate policies, will not be enough to meet US carbon emission reduction goals. EN: We have already seen a great deal of progress.

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How Are Lithium-ion Batteries that Store Solar and Wind Power Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

The renewable energy transition involves harnessing epic forces of nature. Sleek solar panels forged from silver and silica from the depths of the Earth translate the sun’s blindingly fiery light energy into electricity. Once the battery looks up to code, it is off to the grid to power our renewable energy future!

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7 Things to Know About Burning Hydrogen in Gas Plants: An H2 FAQ 

Union of Concerned Scientists

Some gas plant developers and their backers are talk ing up the prospect of burning hydrogen in the plants as a way to address carbon pollution and keep the plants from becoming irrelevant as we make the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy. And how would that approach compare to using renewable energy?

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Building a Better Power Grid for Minnesota

Union of Concerned Scientists

Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climate change, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Renewable energy will help with all of that—but we need a grid that is designed for wind and solar instead of having to rely on expensive coal and gas plants.

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Climate Policy and the Audacity of Hope

Legal Planet

Fourteen states now have net-zero emissions targets for the economy as a whole, and sixteen have zero-carbon targets for the grid. New California legislation will require corporations to disclose their carbon emissions. Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of clean energy.

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Ask a Scientist: Two Dozen States Can Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Renewables by 2035

Union of Concerned Scientists

All told, they represent 56 percent of the US population, generate 62 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, and are responsible for 43 percent of the country’s annual carbon emissions. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.