Cafe Energy

Our ability to mine great amounts of energy from uranium nuclei has led some to bill nuclear power as a plentiful, utopian source of electricity. But rather than dominate the global electricity market, nuclear power has declined from a high of 18% in 1996 to 11% today. What happened to the great promise of this technology? M.V. Ramana and Sajan Saini detail the challenges of nuclear power.

Stanford University researchers have found a new way to extract particles of Uranium from seawater. Could this bring us closer to sustainable nuclear power?

The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That's 10,000 times more power than the planet's population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines how solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy.

The Wendelstein 7-X was a nightmare to build, but if it works it may light a new path to fusion energy.

The world of energy is a confusing place. What's better, nuclear or solar? What's the difference between fluorescent bulbs and LEDs? What's the difference between energy and power? And what the heck is a kilowatt-hour?!

The technology for vehicles powered by fuel cells is established, and is set for market. However, the biggest challenge will be to make sure the fuel is available when the cars are available.

Off-grid solar panels are bringing electricity to Andean villages as part of a 15-year plan to provide Peru's vast countryside with electricity.

I'm filming a documentary for TV about how Uranium and radioactivity have shaped the modern world. It will be broadcast in mid-2015, details to come. The filming took me to the most radioactive places on Earth (and some places, which surprisingly aren't as radioactive as you'd think). Chernobyl and Fukushima were incredible to see as they present post-apocalyptic landscapes. I also visited nuclear power plants, research reactors, Marie Curie's institute, Einstein's apartment, nuclear medicine areas of hospitals, uranium mines, nuclear bomb sites, and interviewed numerous experts.

When complete, the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farms will have more than 8 million modules installed. The project will cover 4,700 acres in San Luis Obispo County and will provide enough electricity equivalent to powering more than 180,000 average California households.

1 calorie = 4.2 joules, wait what?!

Nest builds products like this thermostat that can be remotely set via your smartphone or tablet to automatically adjust to a particular temperature. It also connects to Wi-Fi to analyze and compare the outside weather with your indoor environment in real-time. The thermostat even has a sensor with a 150-degree range to detect when you're not home, so it can adjust the temperature accordingly, and save energy.

Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. Now that we're reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil and coal supplies, we're in for an exciting ride. While there's a real risk that we'll fall off a cliff, there's still time to control our transition to a post-carbon future.