BOSTON—Back in 1995, when the global market for solar panels was small, the U.S. shipped more than 40 percent of the world’s photovoltaic modules, which produce electricity from light. Today the number is closer to 4 percent. As China, Taiwan, Europe and Japan have dramatically stepped up production of photovoltaics, American companies have not kept [...]

Making aluminum requires a lot of electricity. That’s because the metal bonds tightly to oxygen and it takes a lot of energy to break that bond. In essence, the process of making aluminum is a giant battery with the silvery metal being reduced to purity at the cathode while oxygen bonds with the carbon anode [...]

For wind power, 2011 was a great year. California added more new wind energy to the grid than any other state, according to a report published Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy. A number of other states received high honors as well. These include Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Colorado, which churned out at [...]

Today, President Obama unveiled his $3.8 trillion 2013 budget proposal for the federal government. According to Mark Z. Barabak at the LA Times, this budget “is, at its hear, a political document, laying out [the President’s] priorities and, not incidentally, reflecting the strategy he plans to pursue in his reelection bid.” In the energy sphere, [...]

This year, the U.S. Department of Energy showed its holiday spirit in traditional ways at its annual holiday party – with holiday cookies and punch at its downtown headquarters building. But, with a fun energy twist, Secretary Chu’s holiday tree was lit using a 150 W fuel cell instead of the local electric grid. The [...]

The U.S. is currently home to a suite of national laboratories that conduct cutting-edge research. Throughout the country, this network of 17 labs (overseen by the Department of Energy) focuses on a wide array of basic science and engineering questions. The results of this research have spurred innovation and technology development for more than seven [...]