Powering The Future

Turn Your Windows Into Outlets With These Sticky Solar Chargers

You don’t need panels on your roof to reap the benefits of the sun.

A House Powered By Exercise Will Keep You In Shape While You Keep The Lights On

A House Powered By Exercise Will Keep You In Shape While You Keep The Lights On

The JF-Kit House takes a little extra work to live in, but it will be worth it when you hit the beach this summer.

Generating Electricity With The Steps Of Exhausted Marathoners

Generating Electricity With The Steps Of Exhausted Marathoners

This year’s Paris marathon also served as a demonstration of pavement that can create power just by being walked on. Runners at the finish line managed to create a lot of juice--but was it enough to make us rethink where we get our renewable energy?

China Is Still Winning The Clean Energy Race

The U.S. simply can’t match China’s ability to deploy solar panels and wind turbines--and other countries are starting to catch up.

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Four African Teenagers Create Power From Pee

Four African Teenagers Create Power From Pee

A group of African girls have made an engine that runs on a truly renewable resource: human urine.

Salvaging Wasted Energy By Turning Heat To Electricity

Most of the power we generate gets frittered away as heat, but a new material can generate more power from that heat. The energy savings could be astronomical.

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Creating An All-Natural Solar Panel From… Spinach?

New understanding of photosynthesis means that scientists are closer than ever to creating powerful solar panels that mimic how plants--especially spinach--get their energy. In the future, you might be able to mix up some panels using just old grass.

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8 Crazy Ocean Power Plants That Make Energy From The Sea

8 Crazy Ocean Power Plants That Make Energy From The Sea

The tide is turning for marine power plants, especially in Scotland, which is serving as a test-bed for all sorts of underwater turbines and other crazy solutions to generate power from the waves and tides.

Powering Solar Energy In Africa With Pay-As-You-Go

To cover the cost of prohibitively expensive solar installations in Africa, a startup called Angaza is introducing solar power that works the same way as mobile phone minutes.

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The Most Solar Company In The U.S. Is … Walmart?

There’s no sense in letting all that roof real estate go to waste. But is the retailer--which has the most installed solar capacity of any company--really a renewable energy hero?

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