Alternative energy

Homeowners can connect solar panels to batteries in their garage, this one from the Bay Area company Sunrun, to help power much of their homes during times of peak electricity demand.

Here comes the sun (storage)

Energy

Solar batteries are booming, and this is just the start.

Hampshire solar power

Here comes the sun: How Hampshire College moved to 100 percent solar energy

Environment
Solar panels

Jobs in solar energy fall for the first time in seven years

Technology
Technician Alexis Portalatin stands next to rooftop solar panels he is connecting to a new Tesla battery storage system the San Juan suburb of Guaynabo. The storage system will allow the panels to operate separately from the power grid and supply electric

Hurricanes blew away Puerto Rico’s power grid. Now solar power is rising to fill the void.

Economics
Fourteen year-old Nuru Sheha studies at night in the light of solar-powered LED lights at home in the village of Matemwe, on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. He family's first electrical system was installed by one of Zanzibar's 13 "solar mamas," illiter

Zanzibar’s ‘Solar Mamas’ flip the switch on rural homes, gender roles

Environment
Nellis Solar Power Plant

Natural gas and solar power have been growing together. Can that last?

Environment

Solar power and natural gas seem like competitors in the race to create new power generating capacity. And that’s true — to an extent. But they both may be crucial to helping meet future global energy needs — and reducing the risks of climate change.

A wind farm with 43 wind turbines generates electricity for the village of Feldheim, Germany.

A German village keeps the lights on with windmills and pig manure

Environment

The tiny German village of Feldheim, about 50 miles southwest of Berlin, has sworn off fossil fuels and nuclear power. It produces every bit of its electricity and heat from local sources, and a key way it does that is by using manure from local farms.

Shoubra El-Kheima Power Station, belonging to the North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company, is pictured in Cairo, April 19, 2014. Egypt needs to find at least $5 billion to invest in its dilapidated power grid, a government official told Reuters.

What’s on Egyptian voters’ minds? They want enough electricity to keep the lights on

The lights were on at Cairo polling places today. But with frequent power outages, voters took nothing for granted. Stores selling gas-powered generators have had a boom in sales, recently, as the country struggles to deal with electric shortages. But few Egyptians, authorities included, are discussing long-term solutions.The lights were on at Cairo polling places today. But with frequent power outages, voters took nothing for granted. Stores selling gas-powered generators have had a boom in sales, recently, as the country struggles to deal with electric shortages. But few Egyptians, authorities included, are discussing long-term solutions.

Chamonix Skywalk

Stepping out in the new year?

Global Scan

If being in the French Alps isn’t enough of a thrill, now you can “step into the void” with only a glass floor to hold you. Indian police use bananas to recover stolen goods. And we introduce you to the Paradogs of World War II, Chess boxing, Christian Rock Pakistani-style, and more in today’s Global Scan.

Solar-powered car now comes in family size

Environment

A team of students at a Dutch university have created what they believe to be the first functioning solar-powered car with room for four passengers. Though production may be years away, the team hopes to have the vehicle street-legal as soon as possible.