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The best portable power stations in 2026
The best portable power station for most people is the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus. Compare 7 picks for home backup and camping, with specs and 2026 prices.
The best home battery backup systems in 2026, and what they cost
A home battery backup costs $15,650 installed on average in 2026. Compare Tesla Powerwall 3, FranklinWH, Enphase, Generac and EcoFlow plug-in kits.
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03
How carbon pricing works around the world in 2026
See how carbon pricing works, from carbon taxes to cap-and-trade markets, plus current US and EU allowance prices and why the US has no federal one.
04
Electricity prices around the world, by country
Household electricity price per kWh by country in US dollars, where the US ranks, and why German and British homes pay more than twice as much.
05
The future of nuclear energy in the US and worldwide
The future of nuclear energy includes US plant restarts backed by tech money and a Chinese reactor-building boom that's now roughly half the world's total.
06
Geothermal Heat Pumps for Homes: How They Work and What They Cost
A geothermal heat pump doesn't tap into volcanic heat. It works because the ground a few feet down holds a steady temperature year-round, and installed systems for a typical home run $15,000 to $40,000.
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Guides, explainers & field experience
01
How geothermal energy works, and why EGS is finally taking off
A geothermal power plant makes electricity by pulling heat out of the ground and using it to spin a turbine, the same basic principle behind a coal or gas plant, minus the fuel and the smokestack.
02
Ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel: how biofuels differ
Ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel are three different products made three different ways. Ethanol comes from fermenting starch or sugar. Biodiesel comes from a chemical swap called transesterification, and renewable diesel comes from a refinery process called hydrotreating that produces a fuel nearly identical to petroleum diesel.
Dispatches from the shift
Full archive
01
Is Biomass Carbon Neutral? It Depends on the Wood
Biomass energy can be carbon neutral, or it can be worse than coal. Which one you get depends mostly on what you're burning and how long you're willing to wait for the atmosphere to break even.
02
What happened at Fukushima Daiichi, explained simply
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a tsunami that knocked out power and cooling at Fukushima Daiichi, and the fuel in three reactors melted down within days.
03
What Germany’s nuclear phase-out did to emissions and coal
Germany shut down its last three nuclear reactors on April 15, 2023, and for most of the decade after Fukushima, the power nuclear used to supply went mostly to coal, not to wind and solar.