United States’ Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has increased the percentage of ethanol blending optional for cars and light-weight trucks made in or after 2007 to 15 percent (E15). This is the first increment in the ethanol blending standard in more than 30 years. Since 1979, automobiles had an option to use only 10 percent blended ethanol (E10) in gasoline.

Ceatec Japan 2010 hosted Rohm’s new dye-sensitized solar cells that we were talking about a few months ago. Now, the Japanese company applied their plans to TV remotes, mice and sensors. The solar cell that the company presented is highly optimized for low room, fluorescent light, having a wavelength of 400 to 800 nm. The interesting fact is that the efficiency of the exhibited cells is 30%, a year after the company showed off with their latest 20% samples.

More than 300 students in HCM City on Sunday took part in activities for the International 350 Day for Climate Change. Together with millions of people around the globe, they raised their voices about climate change and environment protection. The students made a painting of five-by-five metres, and 260 small paintings that were combined to depict the number 1,000 in celebration of Ha Noi’s millenium anniversary.

ENERGY STAR® qualified, biodegradable supply cores and recyclable packaging make the new Datacard® SD260 card printer the industry’s first desktop printer with environmentally focused features, according to Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization systems.

SunHydro, a hydrogen refueling company is launching their first hydrogen station that will be open to the public. The refueling point will be made available starting Friday in Connecticut, USA, in an attempt of the firm to create a chain of hydrogen refueling stations from Maine to Florida.

One of the first 100 percent electric mass-production cars in US is to be launched this year and will be for sale starting 2011. The CODA Sedan will be manufactured by a private American firm that sells battery systems and all-electric vehicles.

Growing numbers of cities and towns are turning to solar-powered road warning and school safety signs to inform the public and save money and energy. In the past year, cities including Baton Rouge, Branson and Kansas City, Mo., and Lyndhurst, Wayne and Ringwood, N.J., have adopted the technology, officials in those municipalities say.

Thị trường phong điện Trung Quốc đang chiếm ưu thế hơn Mỹ nhờ khung chính sách hỗ trợ rõ ràng, Steve Sawyer, Tổng thư ký Ủy ban năng lượng gió toàn cầu (Global Wind Energy Council - GWEC) cho biết.Theo bản báo cáo mới nhất của GWEC, năm 2009, Trung Quốc xếp thứ hai trong việc phát triển nguồn phong điện và là nhà khách hàng mua công nghệ gió lớn nhất thế giới.

The management of the exploration and exploitation of natural resources should be strengthened to preserve valuable assets for younger generations, according to attendants of a conference in Ha Noi last week. This idea was put forth by experts from several sectors to discuss the draft of the amended law on mineral resources exploitation.

Vietnam ’s first wind power turbine production factory was inaugurated at the Nomura industrial zone in the northern port city of Hai Phong on October 15. The 61 million USD project, invested by the US-based GE group, rolled out over 200 turbines for export in the past five months of test run.

Solar panels are usually mounted in series, to sum up their voltages, and the resulting power is sent to a large inverter, which transforms the DC voltage into AC. One big issue with this scheme is that if shade falls on one panel, or it gets dirty, the inverter lowers the current of all the other panels, and causing power losses through inefficiency.

West Virginia has recently discovered, though a project funded by Google, that it is lying on top of a major resource: geothermal power. The finding is even more significant taking in consideration the state’s high dependence on fossil fuels.

Solar panels, throughout their entire existence, have had the same issue over and over again: once the Sun’s light began to hit them with an angle, they became inefficient, so fixed solar panels were only great at noon. Soon after people realized that, they began constructing all sorts of contraptions that would modify the panels’ position so to face the Sun directly.

The University of Malta Junior College recently concluded a two-year project entitled ‘Saving energy… Saving our future’, in which 21 Maltese students and teachers made use of Comenius EU funds made available by the European Commission through the local agency EUPA.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the release of a new proposed energy efficiency standard for residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. The standard, as proposed, could save consumers as much as $18.6 billion over thirty years. The Obama Administration has made efficiency standards a major priority as a way to save energy and money for American families and businesses.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved on October 5 the first large-scale solar energy plants ever to be built on U.S. public lands. The approval of two developments in California grants the U.S.-based companies behind the projects access to almost 6,800 acres of public lands for 30 years to build and operate solar plants. The approved plants could produce up to 754 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, or enough to power 226,000–566,000 typical U.S. homes. The projects will generate almost 1,000 new jobs.

It seems that we are finding a new use for solar power everyday. Whether its grid-tie applications, lighting, or backup power, solar is rapidly becoming our green energy alternative of choice. Solar is rapidly evolving as the technology and applications for it are changing daily. In this light, here are 3 great contests that are stretching the limits of what solar can be used for and may just change the way we use energy in our everyday lives.

Dong Nai is a province which has rapid economic growth with over 10 thousand enterprises in operation. Not only energy consumption but also the risk of environmental pollution is significantly high. Therefore, the goal of cleaner production, energy efficiency and conservation in production and consumption has been seriously implemented and brought positive results.

According to architect Pham Minh Hieu of Song Da Thang Long Joint Stock Company, the design of window for any architectural space needs to focus on the air convection. The sizes of window can be various, depending on the structure of the house and hobbies of the owner.

According to the latest data from the Bundesnetzagentur, Germany's solar industry added another 1,000 MW during July and August. This brings the total for the eight-month period from January through August to 4,900 MW from nearly 175,000 solar installations.