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Two decades ago, renewable energy was a bit player on the world stage. Today renewables account for nearly half of all global electrical capacity, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, and there’s a lot more in the pipeline. It’s a stunning surge showing that the renewable revolution appears unstoppable. Clean energy still faces challenges, though. To meet them, countries and companies are taking some big swings to push this revolution into a new phase—with ambitious projects that may or may not pan out.

One of the most significant problems is that solar and wind are intermittent, and the lithium-ion batteries currently available can’t store enough energy from renewables to reliably meet demand. To squeeze the most juice out of solar and wind, we need longer-term storage, leading some in the industry—notably in China—to reach for a technology that has been shelved for decades. Chinese companies are also pushing the limits on how large and how far offshore turbines can be so they can take advantage of steadier, stronger winds. Other ventures are trying to broaden the appeal of geothermal energy and crack the code on tidal power, one of the biggest untapped sources of power on the planet. Here are some of the most audacious of these projects. —Andrea Thompson

Geothermal Energy for (Almost) Anywhere

Pulling heat from the earth without perfect geology

Name of project: Fervo Energy’s Cape Station
Location: Utah
Name of technology: Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)
Power generation: A projected 100 megawatts by early 2027, with 500 megawatts in total under construction

How it works: Fervo drills down and then sideways, creating a network of long fractures in rock as deep as almost 2,750 meters (although future depths may vary); it then pushes water through these cracks to draw heat out of the earth. The large network of fissures exposes much more water to much more hot rock than single-pipe geothermal setups do, increasing efficiency. To execute the design, Fervo has translated oil and gas fracking’s pressurized fluid injections from softer sedimentary shale rock to hotter, harder volcanic rock. (Experts say seismic monitoring is advanced enough that work can be paused if risks of quakes above magnitudes people can feel rise too high.) At a demonstration facility called Project Red, Fervo connected test wells to a preexisting power plant, where it has been generating three megawatts of power since late 2023.

Why it’s needed: Unlike solar and wind, geothermal energy can be used 24/7. But to be economical, traditional geothermal requires perfect geology: hot rock that water naturally passes through and a reliably recharged water source to keep the heat flowing. This necessity has limited its use to a handful of spots on Earth. By adding fractures, EGS creates more places where geothermal is economically feasible. Other companies have targeted different geothermal strategies, and geothermal has been met with a wave of enthusiasm from the U.S. government.

What the experts say: Jefferson Tester, a Cornell University engineering professor, says he’s excited by the work Fervo is doing but worries that the company might have promised its funders too much too soon. “You’ve got to prove that this thing actually works for a sustainable period of production,” he says. “The proof will come only with what you find out in the field.” (Fervo Energy did not reply to interview requests.) —Meghan Bartels

The Power of the Tides

Predictable motions of the ocean can provide reliable, renewable energy

Name of project: MeyGen
Location: Scotland
Name of technology: Tidal stream energy
Power generation: Six megawatts (increasing to 65 megawatts by 2031)

How it works: Since 2016, MeyGen, located between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney Islands, has been the world’s largest tidal stream energy project. It exploits the fact that the tides that ebb and flow along our planet’s coastlines carry tremendous energy, with a harvestable potential estimated at 1,200 terawatt-hours per year, more than a quarter of annual power generation in the U.S. That energy can be harnessed in much the same way that wind farms harness moving air. “In very simple layman’s terms, you’re putting a wind turbine underwater,” says Drew Blaxland, CEO of Proteus Marine Renewables, which developed MeyGen’s four 1.5-megawatt turbines. The turbine blades spin with each incoming and outgoing tide, capturing the ocean’s kinetic energy to power a generator that produces electricity.

Why it’s needed: Unlike other renewable energy sources, tides are highly predictable. “We can tell at any point in time, any day, exactly how much energy we’re producing,” Blaxland says, “which you can’t do with wind or solar.” Tides are as brutal as they are reliable, though; saltwater corrosion, ocean debris and the sheer force of rushing water often cause turbines to fail. But one of MeyGen’s turbines has reached a major milestone in performance, running for more than seven years without unplanned maintenance. Built on massive foundations and equipped with blades that adjust to align with the tide, the turbines are engineered to withstand extreme, fast-flowing marine currents. MeyGen plans to add 20 turbines by 2031, boosting its capacity to 65 megawatts. According to Ampeak Energy, which owns the project, the site could ultimately produce nearly 400 megawatts.

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