Renewable and Alternative Energy
People have developed systems to harvest and store energy from sources such as wind, sunlight, and tidal action. Many of these installations are visible from orbit.
An Earth Observatory Collection
Buoyant photovoltaic systems, also called floatovoltaics, have been deployed across a reservoir in central India.
Michigan’s Ludington Pumped Storage Plant uses excess electricity to pump water uphill, which generates power when it flows back down.
A chart-topping solar-plus-storage project in the Mojave became fully operational in January 2024.
The array of turbines is an example of Uruguay’s rapid adoption of wind power.
Windpark Fryslân can produce enough electricity to power about half a million homes in the Netherlands.
Hot springs and fumaroles dot this misnamed geothermal field that hosts the world’s largest complex of power plants capturing subterranean…
As countries look to decarbonize their economies, floating solar farms have become an option.
Greening valleys and sinuous reservoirs near Knoxville stand out in this April satellite image.
Remote sensing could help experts monitor Nile hydrology as a new reservoir is filled.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will boost electricity production and development in Ethiopia, but could have less desirable consequences for…
Solar and wind farms now cover fields that were abandoned after the nuclear accident in 2011.
The Thar desert’s abundance of open space and sunshine make it an ideal place for solar power.
South America’s second-longest river forms part of the border between Argentina and Paraguay.
Kaheawa Wind Power facilities provide 10 to 15 percent of this Hawaiian island’s electric power.
As water levels rise from excessive monsoon rainfall, dam operators discharge water through spillway gates.
Phytoplankton and sediment produced a vivid display in this relatively shallow sea between Great Britain and northern Europe.
The 12,000-year old town of Hasankeyf could soon be underwater due to the construction of a new dam.
The 500-megawatt Núñez de Balboa photovoltaic plant in Spain will supply energy to 250,000 people per year.
The fourth largest man-made reservoir in North America extends from Pierre, South Dakota, to Bismarck, North Dakota.
Fjords and funnel-shaped bays and inlets are often the scene of dramatic tidal changes and sediment loads.
Egypt is near completion of one of the world’s largest solar energy installations.
