As of 2025, wave power projects remain in early research and testing phases

Wind energy is categorized into land-based, distributed, and offshore types

Distributed wind turbines efficiently serve on-site energy needs, while land-based turbines are large and generate cost-competitive electricity. Offshore wind turbines capture powerful winds above the ocean and may be pounded into the seafloor using pile drivers or built to float above water at scales larger than the Statue of Liberty.

Renewable energy basics

Discover the many benefits to using renewable energy resources, but what is it exactly? From solar to wind, it’s the fastest-growing source of energy in the world – and how we can use it to combat climate change.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Researchers identify a hidden instability pattern in simple ocean wave models

Stokes waves—a solution to the mathematics of water waves—were once assumed to be stable. Italian mathematicians have proven disturbances cause these waves to collapse and such collapses follow an infinite repeating pattern. To complete the proof, the team offered a $100 donation to solicit online help.

Explaining how water's movement between different salt concentrations can generate electricity

Water naturally moves from regions of low salinity, such as freshwater, to regions of high salinity, such as ocean water, across a semipermeable membrane. This movement produces pressure that can be harnessed in osmotic power systems to drive turbines and generate electricity, much like in hydroelectric plants.

How the ocean is the new frontier of innovation

Space has been called the final frontier of innovation and investment for decades. Many innovators say the ocean is the new space, the vast majority of whose hidden depths remain obscure. In this podcast episode, business-minded experts discuss the opportunities founders see in the ocean, including seagrass restoration, underwater cable networks, and more.

Why is hydropower important when other power sources go dark?

Hydropower can ramp up, recoup shortfalls, and stabilize the grid nearly instantaneously. A new study quantifies the energy source’s contribution to grid stability.

Like nuclear power, US geothermal power plant construction stalled for decades

Development and investment into geothermal energy took off in the 1960s. However, by the 1980s, companies repeatedly failed to find reservoirs of hot water when exploring new locations, and investors lost interest in the expensive drilling required. By the 2020s, technological advancements had finally helped mitigate exploration risk and expand viable drilling locations.

A breakdown of global electricity generation in 2025, led by coal power plants

Fossil fuel plants generated 57% of global electricity, with the remaining power produced by clean energy sources, led by hydroelectric power at 14.0%. Roughly equal amounts of generation were provided by nuclear (8.9%), solar (8.7%), and wind (8.5%) power.

Check out this interactive 3D animation of a virtual renewable energy-powered island

The US Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island invite explorers to discover clean, renewable energy options by navigating a virtual island filled with energy efficient power generation and desalinization technologies.

Agricultural land remains mostly unchanged after wind projects

From 2012 to 2020, less than 0.05% of available US farmland had commercial wind turbines installed. More than 95% of this land lacks wind farm structures such as turbine pads or roads, leaving most cropland and pasture-rangeland unchanged.

A visual exploration of the environmental impacts and uncertain demand for deep-sea mining

While models suggest demand for crucial metals is expected to exceed supply through 2050, new battery technologies, such as those that require no nickel or cobalt, introduce uncertainty that opponents of deep-sea mining see as not worth the risk of certain environmental damage, which includes noise and light pollution and the release of toxic plumes from mining equipment.

Oceans absorb 90% of warming from greenhouse gases

Oceans are providing increasingly more energy to power hurricane intensity. Current projections show rapid intensification is becoming more common, increasing the likelihood of Category 4 and 5 storms.

Bioluminescence may provide a sustainable alternative to electric lighting

French start-up Glowee is experimenting with lights made from bioluminescent microorganisms in public spaces to reduce energy use. While the technology shows promise, challenges remain with brightness, maintenance, and scaling it for widespread use.

The floating homes of Holland

Floating communities like Schoonschip in Amsterdam are offering a novel approach to combat climate change-induced flooding. With sea levels rising and storms becoming more intense, these floating neighborhoods are providing a sustainable flood defense solution. Learn how they work here.

Space-based solar power systems may beam energy to Earth

Researchers have successfully collected power from solar panels on a plane and transmitted it to a receiver on Earth's surface, achieving a milestone for space-based energy. The proof of concept is a precursor for a satellite-based solar farm that would transmit energy 24 hours a day.

Sharp wave ripples in the brain tag experiences for long-term memory storage

These ripples were known to quickly replay neuronal sequences during sleep for consolidation. While awake, they help the brain prioritize memories to remember, and their disruption can impair memory formation.

As of 2024, there are 90,000 tons of nuclear waste stored at 100+ sites in 39 states

Over 315,000 bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods are stored in water pools and over 3,800 dry storage casks in concrete vaults above ground. Corrosion from saltwater spray threatens waste containers of reactors near oceans.

Find out how decommissioned oil rigs can be repurposed into artificial reefs

A 2014 paper analyzing drilling structures found many had become nursery habitats for fish, corals, sponges, and other invertebrates in the decades since their installation. Oil companies responsible for bringing these rigs to shore to salvage them can more affordably transport only the oil rig's deck on a barge, leaving the remaining rig to maintain the established biodiversity.

Probability waves govern particles like electrons in the quantum space

Just as waves are extended objects whose heights change across space, quantum waves dictate that the probability of an object existing in different locations across space varies. Like water waves, the probability waves can combine, changing the heights—and therefore probabilities—in different locations.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Since 2022, two-thirds of data centers have been built in water-stressed areas

In residential evaporative cooling systems, 10% of consumed water is lost to evaporation compared to 80% in data centers. Although some companies have pledged to become water-positive—replenishing more freshwater than they consume—by 2030 through a transition to air cooling, only 10% of data center operators track water use across all their facilities.

Japanese scientists develop an eco-friendly plastic that dissolves in saltwater

The strong and flexible plastic is made from molecules held together by saltwater-sensitive chemical bonds. The components left after the plastic breaks down within hours contain phosphorus and nitrogen, allowing them to serve as soil fertilizer.

What makes the world's biggest waves?

Some of the world’s biggest waves, routinely reaching 100 feet high, are formed near the town of Nazaré, Portugal. But what makes this area so prone to massive swells? While a number of factors are involved, the key feature is the Nazaré Canyon,...

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

As of 2025, self-driving cars continue to be unavailable to consumers

These vehicles rely on radar, cameras, lidar, and advanced AI to process data and make real-time driving decisions. Companies like Waymo and Mercedes-Benz are testing autonomous cars on public roads, but challenges remain, including technical reliability issues, regulatory hurdles, and a lack of consumer trust.

Payday lenders spent more than $5M on lobbying efforts in 2025

Payday lenders largely oppose rate cap policies, increased borrower risk-assessment requirements, and other regulations that would effectively shutter their industry. In 2025, the payday lending industry lobbied against interest rate limits on payday loan apps.

One of five competing qubit technologies may usher in the quantum computing era

No winning qubit technology exists among photonic networks, superconducting circuits, spin qubits, neutral atoms, and trapped ions. Each has significant limitations and unique advantages, such as neutral-atom systems' ability to maintain quantum states for several minutes, far longer than the others.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.