The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to award bioenergy and biobased products with research grants in order to further the development of sustainable projects. After the selection process, the chosen projects will implement sustainable regional systems for the production of biofuels.

The World Bank approved on earlier this week a new loan of US$330 million for Vietnam to support the mid-sized multipurpose Trung Son Hydropower Project (TSHPP) which will help meet growing domestic demand for electricity and bring flood control and irrigation benefits to rural and poor communities in Thanh Hoa Province.

ANU has a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer to commercialise new solar cell technology. The scarcity of high grade silicon is one of the things which pushes up the price of roof top solar panels. The majority of existing solar energy cells on the market rely on high grade silicon components.

Philips Lighting is launching a new line of incandescent light bulbs designed to meet federal energy efficiency standards that will take force in the US over the next few years. While not as efficient as compact fluorescent or LED bulbs, EcoVantage bulbs will likely appeal to people who are unhappy with the quality of light delivered by the more energy efficient technologies.

Launching its 2050 Technology Roadmap in Biofuels for Transport at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, the IEA Director of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology Bo Diczfalusy, said that “This [production cost] figure may seem large, but in fact even in the worst case biofuels would only increase the total costs of transport fuels by around 1% over the next 40 years, and could in fact lead to cost reductions over the same period.”

Cement industry is one of the industries that have been making a significant contribution to economic growth in Vietnam. However, in face of the soaring prices of fuels such as gasoline, oil and electricity, it is meeting with a lot of difficulties. Technological innovation, costs reduction, quality improvement and energy efficiency are what the Viet Nam Cement Corporation is endeavoring for.

Theo chuyên san Nature Nanotechnology, các nhà khoa học thuộc trường Bách khoa Lausanne (Thụy Sĩ) vừa nghiên cứu thành công một loại vật liệu từ khoáng vật molybdenite (MoS2) có thể giúp chế tạo ra các bộ vi mạch nhỏ hơn và tiết kiệm điện hơn nhiều so với hiện nay.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu Tuesday announced $5 million in new funding for community efforts to deploy electric vehicle infrastructure and charging stations. The funding opportunity furthers President Barack Obama's stated goals of putting one million electric drive vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015 and reducing U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025.

Minimum taxes on energy-rich diesel will rise under the EU plans, although the commission has stressed that this will not automatically result in a rise in diesel prices at the pump. It points to Germany and other member states where diesel taxes are already above the proposed new minimum threshold of €412 euros per 1,000 litres.

The research team, led by Christian Wetzel, professor of physics and the Wellfleet Constellation Professor of Future Chips at Rensselaer, etched a nanoscale pattern at the interface between the LED's sapphire base and the layer of gallium nitride (GaN) that gives the LED its green color. Overall, the new technique results in green LEDs with significant enhancements in light extraction, internal efficiency, and light output.

Xuong Giang paper mill under Bac Giang Import Export Corporation-IMEXCO Bac Giang is the largest energy consumer in the province of Bac Giang. Responding to the energy saving program in recent years, the factory has continuously made improvements to reduce power consumption and protect the environment. However, according to experts of Hanoi Center Energy Conservation Center, energy saving potential in this business is still quite large.

Along with the pressure of raising electricity prices, fuel prices, adjusting the VND/USD exchange rate, price of coal sold to cement households has risen by 40% since the beginning of April, which has added a greater burden to cement enterprises. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thien, Chairman of Vietnam Cement Association, currently, the total energy costs account for 45% - 50% of cement production costs. An 18% increase in gasoline price, a 15.3% increase in electricity price and a 40% increase in coal price have made price of cement increase by 10% to 15%.

A planned fund to channel hundreds of billions of dollars to poor countries exposed to climate change has overcome an early obstacle, the UN said on Friday. Members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have agreed on the make-up of a 40-seat transitional committee to design the Green Climate Fund (GCF), an issue that had been debated for weeks, the UNFCCC said.

Edano said, ‘We will create eco-towns that are fully equipped with district heating utilising plant matter and biomass from the region and cultivate features of communities that thoroughly foster public welfare. We will proceed by moving forward with the world’s most advanced reconstruction plan, with a vision of going beyond mere restoration to the previous state and instead create a truly marvelous Tohoku region and indeed a marvelous Japan.’

“Algae has been a hot topic of biofuel discussions recently, but no one has taken such a detailed look at how much America could make – and how much water and land it would require — until now,” said Mark Wigmosta, lead author and a PNNL hydrologist. “This research provides the groundwork and initial estimates needed to better inform renewable energy decisions.”

In recent times, Gia Lai Power Company has taken many measures in propagating the economic and effective use of electricity, thus saving not only an energy source for the country but also expenses for agencies, businesses and households. Thereby Gia Lai Power Company has made a good use of the electric energy source allocated for production and social-economic development in the province, contributing significantly to the electric energy saving movement.

100% of the barracks and households in Truong Sa District (The Spratly - Khanh Hoa Province) can now use electric energy for their work and life, with the continuous supply for 24 hours a day. The whole district is now under television and telephone coverages. It is special that all the electric energy used in this island district is produced from wind power and solar energy. So far, Truong Sa has been the first district in the country to use clean energy sources.

Sa Giang Import Export JSC (Sa Dec Industrial Zone, Dong Thap) is specialized in producing shrimp chips which have been very familiar to domestic consumers. Since late 2010, as part of the project "Promoting energy conservation in small and medium enterprises", the company has implemented energy audit for the purpose of raising the efficiency of energy use.

Theo một nghiên cứu mới đây của Stanford, trồng các loại cỏ lâu năm phục vụ sản xuất nhiên liệu sinh học có thể giúp giảm nhiệt độ mặt đất tại khu vực đó. Nghiên cứu này được công bố trên mạng 0của tạp chí Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), tiếp bước các sáng kiến cấp liên bang trong việc đưa Mỹ thoát ra khỏi tình trạng sử dụng liệu hóa thạch bằng cách tăng cường sản xuất ethanol.

Deputy Prime Minister confirmed this would be an important legal basis for investors to implement projects exploiting potential renewable energy sources, especially a series of wind power projects in the South Central Province, on islands and in remote areas. He also signaled the views and encouragement on increasing the promotion of renewable energy exploitation and utilization to meet the demand of national energy balance and sustainable development at present.