While renewable energy gets significant press as an alternative to coal in electricity generation, it isn't the main factor in decreasing the use of that carbon-intensive fuel. Thanks to its generally lower cost, natural gas is quickly displacing other fuels in the nation's power plants. In addition to its cost benefit for electric utilities... Natural-gas plants cut carbon, but methane emissions can be 100 times higher than expected
While renewable energy gets significant press as an alternative to coal in electricity generation, it isn't the main factor in decreasing the use of that carbon-intensive fuel. Thanks to its generally lower cost, natural gas is quickly displacing other fuels in the nation's power plants. In addition to its cost benefit for electric utilities... 
Natural gas has not proven popular for vehicles bought by individual consumers, but some fleet operators continue to find it an attractive alternative to gasoline and diesel. That's because the lack of public fueling infrastructure proves a major drawback for natural-gas passenger cars, but fleets can circumvent that by operating their own... 
New natural-gas passenger cars from major carmakers have disappeared from the U.S. Natural-gas options are available for large pickup trucks and vans but only exist for cars through aftermarket conversions offered by specialty firms. In Europe, though, the German luxury maker Audi remains committed to natural-gas powertrains. DON'T MISS: Renault... 
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $1 million prize to a little-known team for what you might call a new garage appliance. The SimpleFuel team—actually a collaboration of three separate companies—won the prize, first offered in November 2014, for its hydrogen home-fueling station. The goal is to let drivers of hydrogen... 
Renewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of Energy, and solar energy is responsible for most of... ![Coal's share of U.S. electricity generation, 1949-2015 [U.S. Energy Information Administration data]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/coals-share-of-u-s-electricity-generation-1949-2015-u-s-energy-information-administration-data_100585464_t.gif)
The coal industry is on the decline, but the reason for that decline has become a subject of political debate. Supporters of fossil fuels blame the energy policies of the outgoing Obama Administration, claiming the emphasis on renewable energy and lowering carbon emissions puts coal at a disadvantage. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to... 
The smallest U.S. state now faces a big question on energy policy. Rhode Island is in the midst of deciding whether to continue getting a large portion of energy from fossil fuels, or to switch to renewable energy. Those options are represented by two competing projects: a large natural-gas power plant, and an offshore wind farm. DON'T MISS: Dirty... 
Cars and trucks aren't the only source of transportation-related carbon emissions. The massive ships that ply the world's oceans are major sources of pollution as well, but generally receive less attention from regulators. But one cruise line is now taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of its fleet. DON'T MISS: Cruise ships start to...