Stories by Melissa C. Lott

Scottish Power awards $1.2 billion contract for offshore wind turbines, as Scotland pushes toward 100% renewable power by 2020.

Coal may still represent 33% of electricity generation in the US - but its use is on the decline.

This month, researchers at the University College London’s Energy Institute published an interactive map showing ship movements (and emissions) around the world.

The last coal-fired power plant in Scotland has been shut down as the system moves toward renewables

Edith Clarke was a pioneer in electrical engineering whose innovative ideas have been called the first steps toward “smart grid” technology

Imitation sunlight is a crucial part of making and testing solar panels

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Heather Rosentrater—vice president of energy delivery at Avista—about her work in using technology to support the grid’s evolution and improve her customers’ experience

Texas set a new record on Thursday night wth more than 14 GW of wind power on the grid.

For the energy enthusiast, there are a number of excellent podcasts available online. Check out these four recommendations for this week's commute

U.S. fleet-wide fuel economy reaches record high while car manufacturers surpass greenhouse gas emission standards for the 3^rd year in a row (VW excluded).

Denmark set a new record for wind power generation in 2015

A record-setting 62 gigawatts of new wind power was installed around the globe in 2015

Americans have gained 336 million life-years since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, according to researchers at the University of Chicago

The President spoke about a number of key energy topics in his final State of the Union Address earlier this month.

Last weekend's storm left one million Americans without power from Arkansas to Massachusetts, but post-Sandy fears were not realized

There’s a clear energy winner when it comes to washing your hands—bar soap

Here are readers' top 10 favorites from “Plugged In” in 2015

The price of oil is sitting at an 11-year low as 2015 draws to a close. These prices will certainly challenge efforts for reducing the use of this fossil fuel (and its associated carbon emissions) going forward, though policies and technological advances might help. 

The nation’s wind farms perform at their best during the spring and their worst during the mid-to-late summer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This variability stems from the fact that wind patterns vary not only by region, but also by the time of the year. In turn, the amount of power generated by wind farms can change considerably from season to season.

The amount of spent nuclear fuel stored at commercial sites in the United States has increased by more than 50% since 2002, according to a new dataset from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

It's time to look beyond the tailpipe.

On Wednesday, Germany’s market leader for residential energy storage – Sonnenbatterie – launched an energy trading platform that the company hopes will become “bigger than E.ON” over the next decade

Battery costs for electric vehicles (EVs) have dropped by more than 60% since 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Over the same period, nearly 300,000 EVs have been sold across the country in a sharp upward trend.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), per capita CO2 emissions from energy-related activities dropped in 47 states and the District of Columbia between 2005 and 2013. In terms of total emissions, 42 states saw reductions over the same time period.