Companies like Google, Disney, General Motors, Walmart and more have launched the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), a trade organization looking to make purchasing renewable energy easier for companies. These corporate giants want to buy energy directly from utilities and power plants, and support new wind, solar and other renewable projects. Last year alone, the REBA struck enough renewable energy deals to support almost 16 gigawatts of new renewable capacity in the U.S. Corporate America understands that their role in utility-scale solar projects can have a dramatic effect on overall solar installation, providing more solar energy without consumers taking the blow.

As natural gas production has grown with shale booms in the Appalachian and Permian regions, it has become an affordable and reliable source for many across the U.S. to use for heating and cooling their homes. MIT researchers recently published findings to make natural gas even more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. Instead of using toxic solvents to purify natural gas, an energy-intensive process, researchers looked to the use of polymer membranes. After developing a new polymer membrane that can withstand higher carbon dioxide pressures and are more permeable than traditional membranes, researchers say this will help the overall process to separate gas from carbon dioxide run more smoothly.

EIA announced on Tuesday that U.S. crude oil production reached a record level in 2018 with an average of 10.96 million barrels a day – that’s 17 percent higher than 2017 levels. Texas led the pack in crude oil production, averaging 4.4 million barrels per day, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the national total in 2018.  Even though production declined in states like Alaska and California, innovative technology like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking have allowed the U.S. to increase production levels over the past ten years.

As costs rise, the future of recycling programs across the country faces uncertainty with more and more cities scaling back or cancelling their programs. Cities like Philadelphia, Memphis and Delton are just three of the hundreds of towns that have had to cancel, limit or agree to large price increases. As traditional buyers like China, Thailand and India began imposing restrictions on U.S. recyclable materials for having too much trash mixed in, recycling companies are attempting to recover their losses by charging cities more.

According to data from the EIA, the electrical energy produced from the nation’s nuclear fleet reached historic levels in 2018. This increased production is largely due to uprating, a process requiring the NRC to increase limits on maximum heat or power level for the reactor core. Even though there was less total nuclear capacity on the grid, because nuclear reactors were working at higher levels and for longer hours, the energy produced was able to outperform previous years. In 2018, the U.S. nuclear fleet was able to reach a capacity factor of 92.6 percent, by keeping reactors online.

In Mexico, some farmers are exploring the use of Opuntia, the prickly pear cactus, as a new biofuel crop and a potential replacement for single-use plastics. Rogelio Sosa López first began using opuntia, known as “nopal” to locals, in an attempt to cut operating costs on his farm. While sometimes used for food and drink, nopales are not a major source of either, which is great news as increased demand for nopales for energy purposes would not put stress on food prices.

A team of scientists at Stanford University have developed a way to convert seawater into hydrogen. Problematic to scientists looking to electrolyze seawater, chloride causes corrosion of the metal anode and desalination processes can be costly. However, researchers at Stanford University have developed a process to skip the costly desalination and stabilize the anode. The electrolysis of water can only be a clean hydrogen production method, the electricity must come from a renewable energy source. Therefore, the researchers teamed up with a solar cell research group to create a solar-powered seawater electrolyzer.

A first-of-its-kind master’s program, in wind energy engineering to be offered at Tufts University. As offshore wind projects continue to line up for construction in the U.S. and Europe, students see an opportunity to be among the first to specialize in the field. Massachusetts is already leading the way in the offshore wind development, with the first commercial scale 800 MW wind farm construction by Vineyard Wind.

While you may already know that drastic temperatures and weather can cause death to individuals, you may not realize how affordable and stable energy prices can help combat this. For those with enough money to own larger homes, typically they can afford fluctuations in energy costs – but for those who live at or below the poverty line, higher energy prices lead to households having to do without necessities like heat in the winter, medicine or groceries. Thankfully, the shale boom of the U.S. has led to lower natural gas prices that heat numerous homes across the U.S.

The Department of Energy recently announced $70 million to fund early-stage research in advancing cybersecurity and energy efficient manufacturing. With the manufacturing and industrial sector of the U.S. accounting for roughly 25% of the nation’s energy usage, just the implementation of automated sensors and controls could decrease energy usage by 15%.