Running on renewable energy, Burlington, Vermont powers green movement forward

Hydrogen fuel has made promising strides from Germany to Japan, thanks to shifting markets for renewables, improved storage technologies, and emissions-reduction goals. Electrolysis that uses renewables to make the fuel could transform transportation and energy infrastructure, but a few concerns about the unintended effects persist.

Alberta, Canada is a place that historically has had a close relationship with oil and gas. But as renewable energy surges into the market, these industries become more and more precarious. This article talks to a range of young men—a key demographic in these industries—about why they made the decision to leave oil and gas for solar energy and what helped them make that transition. Many said, among other things, that their motivations lay in wanting to leave a better world for their children to grow up in.

An economic shift to renewable energy could take decades, but thanks to rapidly evolving disruptive technologies, dropping prices of solar and wind power sources, and increasing market demand for green business, the new age of renewable energy could encompass the world economy much more quickly.

Two organizations partnered to help eight low-income households convert their homes to become all-electric in Virginia. It entailed replacing fossil-fuel based heating and cooling systems like stoves and water coolers with electric ones. Some of the households saw a reduction in their utility bills. Organizers estimate that over the course of 20 years the changes will result in the households avoiding the emission of over 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

Over 70 Catholic dioceses in the Philippines have entered into an agreement with energy resource company WeGen Laudato Si to install solar panels on their parishes, schools, and other buildings. The Diocese of Maasin on Leyte Island became the first in the world to completely shift to renewable energy. Installing the panels can be expensive, but shifting to solar has saved one diocese at least 100,000 pesos a month in energy bills.

Hywind Scotland is the world's first commercial wind farm using floating wind turbines to generate power for about 36,000 homes a year. This approach — which is being seriously looked at by several countries seeking to reduce their carbon emissions and oil-and-gas companies wanting to expand into renewable energy — allows wind farms to work in deeper waters where there is often stronger winds.

As a way to reduce the amount of diesel fuel that powers trains, governments and transit companies around the world are turning to solar panels as a way to utilize renewable energy. In Australia, a solar train launched in 2017 that uses lithium-ion batteries that are charged by solar panels on the roof of the carriages. And a rail line in the United Kingdom uses energy from a solar farm to keep the train running. Scaling solar panels for nation-wide transit systems can be challenging, but many countries are committed to eliminating the use of fossil fuels on their rail networks.

Floating wind turbines off the coast of Portugal is one of the latest experiments to convert wind energy into electric power. These machines can generate electricity for a city of up to 60,000 people. While it will take more financing and time to scale the project, investors are impressed with the results and see it as a viable financial return to combat climate change.

Three major US companies are leading the way in developing the technology to extract carbon dioxide from the air: Global Thermostat, Carbon Engineering, and Climeworks. With federal tax credits per ton of carbon dioxide captured and a prosperous system of injecting the CO2 back into the ground to stimulate crop yield, the companies' three different approaches all offer a way to cut into the massive amount of global emissions, an opportunity to make a lot of money with new technology, and a helping hand for states working on achieving new federal guidelines and restrictions for a green future.

The city of River Falls in Wisconsin built the state’s first city-owned solar garden, taking steps to reduce their use of fossil fuels and encourage community members to go green. Now, all city buildings are 100 percent run on renewable energy and residents can sign up for a program allowing them to buy renewable energy. Getting people to take action can be difficult, but city officials say they found the right message to get its residents on board.