Emerging tech
Piezoelectric floors, kinetic pavements, artificial photosynthesis, thermoelectrics and other technologies still finding their place.
16 explainers
Explainers
Solar-powered desalination backpacks: what exists and what is still a concept
You may be looking for a compact, solar-powered device that turns seawater into drinking water and fits on your back. The honest answer is that a "solar…
Energy-generating playgrounds: turning fun into power
Yes, an energy generating playground can produce electricity, but only in small amounts. The technology captures the mechanical energy of children…
Solar-powered ice makers: how off-grid ice and cold chains work
Solar powered ice makers freeze water using energy from the sun, creating a cold chain where the grid is absent or unreliable. They address a real gap in global…
Piezoelectric dance floors: can dancing power a club?
The short answer is no. A piezoelectric dance floor cannot power a club. While the concept sounds like science fiction, the physics and the numbers tell a…
Solar roadways: what happened to the idea of roads that make electricity
The short answer is that solar roadways largely failed. Every high-profile pilot in France, the Netherlands, the US and China produced far less electricity than…
Waste heat recovery in industry: how lost heat becomes useful energy
Waste heat recovery is the process of capturing excess thermal energy from industrial operations and redirecting it for productive use. Instead of letting heat…
Biomimicry in energy: designs borrowed from nature
Biomimicry in energy means borrowing designs from animals and plants to make power generation and buildings work better. The best examples are real but modest:…
Albedo: what it means and how it cools (and warms) the planet
Albedo is the measure of how well a surface reflects solar energy. It is a unitless value ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 represents a perfect absorber and 1 a…
Solar paint: what exists, what is research and what to buy instead
You may have seen headlines claiming solar paint can turn any wall into a power station. In 2026 there is no paint you can buy, roll onto a wall and wire up to…
Renewable energy art: installations that make (or show off) clean power
Renewable energy art covers two distinct approaches. Some works use energy as a visual medium, turning wind or sunlight into motion and light. Others are…
Solar-powered drones and drones in renewable energy: from stratospheric flights to solar farm inspections
A solar powered drone is an unmanned aircraft with solar cells on its wings. By day the cells power the electric motors and charge batteries, and the batteries…
Thermoelectric generators (TEGs): turning waste heat into electricity
A thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a solid-state device that converts a temperature difference directly into electricity. It has no moving parts. The…
Solar power for healthcare: vaccine fridges, clinics and medical devices
Solar powered medical devices matter most where the grid is weak or absent. In health facilities without reliable electricity, lights go out during births,…
Artificial photosynthesis: making fuel from sunlight
Artificial photosynthesis exists, but only in laboratories and pilot projects. As of October 2026 we found no commercial plant anywhere making fuel this way.…
Human powered energy: how much electricity can people make?
Not much. A typical adult can comfortably sustain about 75–100 watts on a bike for an hour. Turned into electricity, an hour of steady pedalling at 100 watts…
AI in renewable energy: forecasting, grids and the data centre question
AI in renewable energy is already in practical use. Its clearest job today is forecasting: predicting how much electricity solar panels and wind turbines will…
Key terms
Glossary →- Albedo
- The share of incoming sunlight that a surface reflects, on a scale from 0 (absorbs everything) to 1 (reflects everything).
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS / CCUS)
- Capturing carbon dioxide from power stations or factories before it reaches the air, then piping it for permanent storage deep underground.
- Thermoelectric generator (TEG)
- A solid-state device with no moving parts that turns a temperature difference directly into electricity, using the Seebeck effect.