electricity

An Intel advertisement on a Hewlett-Packard desktop computer in 2012.

California Is First State To Set Energy-Efficiency Limits For Computers

5:25pm December 16, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The California Energy Commission approved standards for the amount of energy computers and small servers can use when they are on, off, idling or asleep. The rules will roll out between 2018 and 2021.

The Cardinal Power Station is a coal-fired energy plant in Brilliant, Ohio. The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan requires a 32 percent cut in carbon emissions from power plants by 2030.

Appeals Court Hears Challenge To Obama Power-Plant Emissions Rule

3:14pm September 27, 2016

by Stephanie Joyce

A key piece of the Obama administration's efforts to cut back on carbon emissions faces a test in court on Tuesday. An appeals court is hearing arguments on regulations announced last year.

Queue Listen Now

A car drives by a Switch data center in Las Vegas on Sept. 9, 2015. In 2013, data centers consumed 2 percent of all U.S. power â triple what they used in 2000.

Making The Cloud Green: Tech Firms Push For Renewable Energy Sources

5:19pm July 22, 2016

by Stephanie Joyce

Few people can demand what kind of electricity they get. But Microsoft and Facebook, which operate huge, power-hungry data centers, are trying to green up the electricity grid with their buying power.

Queue Listen Now

SolarReserve's Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant, located near Tonopah, Nev., features an array of 10,347 mirrors arranged in a circle 1.75 miles across. A 640-foot-tall tower glows when the sun's energy is concentrated and directed to the top.

Solar And Wind Energy May Be Nice, But How Can We Store It?

9:19am April 05, 2016

Renewable energy is taking off across the nation, but storing the energy is still a problem that is challenging companies to innovate, with solutions ranging from molten salt to ice.

Queue Listen Now

The headquarters of the Bank of Venezuela (from left) and buildings housing the National Assembly and various government ministries stand in darkness in Caracas on March 22. Venezuela shut down for a week to conserve electricity amid a deepening power cri

World News

In Venezuela, An Electricity Crisis Adds To Country's Woes

5:19pm March 29, 2016

by John Otis

The country has oil, natural gas and rivers for hydroelectric power. Yet it's suffering crippling electricity cuts, adding to its economic woes.

Queue Listen Now

From The Ashes Of Some Coal Plants, New Energy Rises

3:32pm February 17, 2016

by Jeff Brady

For decades, coal was king of electricity generation in the U.S., but that's changing. Across the country, coal power plants are being replaced with generators that run on cleaner burning natural gas.

Queue Listen Now

Onlookers come to admire the self-proclaimed

Which Burns More Kilowatt-Hours: America's Christmas Lights Or Tanzania?

5:57pm December 22, 2015

by Marc Silver

As you might have guessed, the answer is not Tanzania. So the holiday season is a good time to reflect on ... electricity.

Wind turbines outside Caledon in Cape Town, South Africa. Solar and wind farms are filling in the gaps during power shortages.

Wind And Sun Come To The Rescue In Power-Short South Africa

4:34pm December 11, 2015

by Don Boroughs

Is renewable energy worth the cost? This is a question being debated in Paris this week. Though there's no simple answer, in South Africa the verdict is in.

Waking Up Without Power Starts The Day Off Wrong

4:03pm November 14, 2015

by Jacqueline Musiitwa

Rolling blackouts and power shortages make it hard to get anything done in Africa — from cooking a hot breakfast to running a small business.

Economy

USDA Awards Infrastructure Loans to North Carolina Companies

4:31pm October 22, 2015

The USDA announced Thursday it's granting nearly $2.3 billion in loans to help rural communities improve their power grids, and three North Carolina companies will g