Scientists are reporting development of an advanced lithium-ion battery that is ideal for powering the electric vehicles now making their way into dealer showrooms. The new battery can store large amounts of energy in a small space and has a high rate capacity, meaning it can provide current even in extreme temperatures.

France's consumption rose by 7% – and in Europe only Denmark and Ireland used less energy per unit of GDP than UK.The EU energy commissioner, Günther Oettinger, is expected to recommend member states are set individual targets on efficiency improvements.The UK is one of the top performers in Europe on energy efficiency, according to a European commission report.

The Umeox Apollo is named after the Greek Sun God, and comes with a built-in solar panel covering the rear of the phone allowing the user to place a call when the batteries are discharged, provided there is sufficient sun available. Daily usage recharge needs about 2.5 hours of sunlight with a complete recharge requiring 17 hours.

Implementing the Power VI plan approved by the Government, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is striving to accelerate the construction and complete the whole Son La hydropower project (capacity of 2,400 MW) at the end of 2012. In the short term, in 2011, EVN has planned to power on unit 2 on Apr 30th; unit 3 on Aug 31st and unit 4 on Dec 31st.

CyberSmart Africa implements a practical and scalable solution to enlighten the frequently ignored rural schools with contemporary education. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CyberSmart’s “tech-lite” approach, which includes a specially adapted interactive whiteboard and other low-power digital tools, puts learning first. The system uniquely focuses on teacher training and puts the latest low-power, portable equipment to work directly in the classrooms of off-the-grid rural schools.

The capital's nuclear programme is progressing well but must now begin to pay greater attention to areas surrounding nuclear fuel supply and disposal, and protection of facilities, said a review board set up by the emirate's Government.

Clearing up the regulatory hurdles that are slowing development of electricity transmission lines would provide a significant boost to U.S. wind power development, industry officials said Wednesday. The American Wind Energy Association is holding a two-day workshop in Omaha focused on the challenges of transmitting power to places that need it. The biggest regulatory barriers have to do with who pays for high-voltage transmission lines and who decides where the lines will go.

Until last year, wind power appeared immune to the worst ravages of an economic storm sweeping the globe. Then the world's biggest manufacturer of wind turbines took an axe to 3000 jobs in its native northern Europe. Did it signify not just a readjustment to a single producer's business model but a threat to the technology's continuing worldwide deployment? Or, as some believe, are fears of a decline in the sector's fortunes simply overblown?

Gaining new insight into how efficiently the microbes in large bioreactors produce methane from brewery waste, Cornell scientists hope to use their new knowledge to shape these microbial communities to produce liquid biofuels and other useful products.

The demand for renewable energy is expected to triple over the next decades according to U.N.E.P.’s Year Book 2011. United Nations Environment Program’s 2011 Year Book predicts this year to be the first where low-carbon energy capacity exceeds that of fossil-fuel.

The global market for LED light fixtures, which already stood at $3.8bn in 2010, is expected to grow to $8.3bn within the next three years, according to new research. The heightened awareness of energy efficiency together and global fiscal stimulus has created suitable conditions for the adoption of white light application of LED technology, which would otherwise have faced high costs.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has directed the MOIT to soon complete and submit to the Government the mechanism issuing regulations to support, facilitate and encourage wind power projects in Vietnam.

Thus, from March 1st, the average price of electricity will increase from 1,077vnd/kWh to 1.242vnd/kWh, equivalent to a 15.28% increase. With this increase, many of EVN’s costs shall continue to be kept from being allocated to the price, the rate of return on state capital of EVN is zero and coal price has not risen in the electricity price structure.

Giai đoạn 2008-2010, EVN tiếp tục triển khai chương trình 5 triệu đèn compact, đã bán được gần 4 triệu đèn, góp phần thúc đẩy thị trường tiêu thụ đèn compact, từ mức tiêu thụ 500.000 bóng đèn năm 2003, đến năm 2009 tiêu thụ 31 triệu bóng. EVN đã ký hợp đồng với các công ty sản xuất đèn huỳnh quang compact tiết kiệm điện được thiết kế riêng cho chương trình với chất lượng tốt, có tuổi thọ hơn 6.000 giờ theo tiêu chuẩn IEC60969 để cung cấp cho khách hàng với giá thấp hơn 15-20% so với giá sản phẩm cùng loại trên thị trường. Đến nay, việc sử dụng đèn compact tiết kiệm điện đã phổ biến.

Từ năm 2011 tại Việt Nam, Công ty Trường Thành và Công ty Jatro sẽ trồng 100.000 hecta cây Jatropha tại Việt Nam để tạo nguồn nhiên liệu dầu bio-diesel thân thiện với môi trường. Với dự báo đến năm 2020, nếu chỉ cần 10% xe hơi trên toàn cầu dùng nhiên liệu sinh học, thì thị trường cho loại dầu này cũng có giá trị lên đến 300 tỷ USD.

Automobiles, military vehicles, even large-scale power generating facilities may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to a new alloy developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. A team of researchers at the Lab that is jointly funded by the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, achieved a 25 percent improvement in the ability of a key material to convert heat into electrical energy.

India was taking serious steps to promote alternative technologies that used bio-fuels and solar and wind energy, a senior official said Saturday. India also has plans to produce more bio-fuels and electric vehicles to save petrol for other vital needs, Sohail Akhtar, director in the ministry of new and renewable energy, said.

Solar power could be on the brink of economic breakthrough, reaching investment levels of €70 billion in 2015, according to a major study out this week. The report, Solar Generation 6, by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International estimates that photovoltics could meet 12% of European demand by 2020 and up to 9% of the world’s demand by 2030.

Will electric car charging networks have the type of roaming commonly found between cell phone providers? If Nokia Siemens Networks– a joint venture between the European networking giants — has anything to say about it, in Europe they will. This week at Mobile World Congress (MWC), an annual telecom conference in Barcelona, Nokia Siemens and a German public utility group called Smartlab announced they are developing an authentication and authorization service to enable electric vehicle drivers to “roam” when charging up via various service providers.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a $36.8m loan for a privately owned wind farm in Pakistan. The loan will be used by Turkish energy firm Zorlu Enerji Electrik Uretim to install wind turbines in the southern Sindh province. The wind project will cost $147m with 30% financed through equity provided by Zorlu Enerji.