As much as we all want coal as an energy source to go away completely, we also know it will take the government and private sector sometime (too long in our opinion) to fully move to clean energy sources. In the meanwhile, methods need to be developed which can minimize the impact of fossil fuel usage on the environment.

Under the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at Announcement number 343/TB-VPCP dated December 4th 2009 on building an energy saving advocacy program to every province, bringing the program to every ward, commune, block, making energy efficiency an emulation target, a standard in the cultural family evaluation, the Hanoi People’s Committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, organized the pilot campaign for the 2010 Energy Saving and Efficiency for Households in Hanoi, with the theme “Energy efficiency in every household is saving for you and for future generations”.

Using clean energy is a weapon in the fight against climate change. Ho Chi Minh City is considered to have a rich solar resource which has not yet been exploited and used wisely. Recently, although Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Area and 23-9 Park has installed 32 lamp posts using solar power, it is still too small in comparison with actual demand. Is it due to the lack of funding or a hesitation to invest?

Germany already leads the world on renewable energy and could become first G20 country to kick the fossil-fuel habit. Germany could derive all of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050 and become the world's first major industrial nation to kick the fossil-fuel habit, the country's Federal Environment Agency said today.

Spain's industry ministry has reached agreements with two key renewable energy lobbies, the Spanish Wind Energy Association and Protermosolar, aimed at reducing special tariff premiums for wind farms and solar thermal plants.

The federal government has just finished construction on a zero-energy office building, the nation’s largest, and is hoping that commercial developers will follow its lead. The 222,000-square-foot Research Support Facility is on the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus in Golden, Colo. Just over 800 employees will occupy the building once it officially opens in late August.

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a process for building an organic molecular-scale framework that could be used to collect solar energy. They did it using phthalocyanines, which are common dyes used in blue jeans and numerous other products.

During the recent heat wave, electricity consumption has increased sharply: on 19th June, 37 million KWh was used, on 20th June, almost 40 million kWh, increasing by nearly 40% over the same period in 2009. According to EVN Hanoi, the sudden growth mainly gathered in daily life consumption. Meanwhile, in other provinces electricity consumption were deeply reduced - 30% over the same period in 2009 because every week, these provinces have electricity outage in 2-3 days.

2009 statistics from Ministry of Industry and Trade show that Vietnam’s rate of growth in electricity consumption was 2.45 times greater than GDP growth rate. Consumption in industry – construction sector accounted for about 38%, civil 36.8%, transportation 20%, the rest in service and agriculture.

With advantages such as reasonable price, energy efficiency, high luminescence efficiency and high durability, diverse styles, LED (light emitting diode) products are becoming attractive to Vietnamese consumers.

In 2004, the second production line was installed, bringing the total designed capacity to two million square meters per year, in the meantime the company took over the Binh Duong Cotto Brick Factory, a unit under the Xuan Hoa Construction Ceramic Company (also a Viglacera member). Besides, efforts were made to build the Hoanh Bo Brick Factory with an annual capacity of 80 million bricks employing coal gasifier tunnel-kiln technology (the first tunnel-kiln factory in Vietnam using the technology).

American Electric Power CEO Michael Morris is all too familiar with the challenges of incorporating renewable energy into the existing industrial framework. But he believes that the largest of these hurdles can be overcome with sound planning for the future. Here’s what he has to say.

Không may là phong điện và điện mặt trời hiện nay đều có mức giá kém cạnh tranh so với các nguồn điện khác. Tuy nhiên, cũng như tất các các công nghệ mới, điều này sẽ thay đổi theo thời gian. Morris nhận thấy rằng, giá của phong điện đã rẻ đi rất nhiều so với lần đầu được đưa ra thị trường. Điện mặt trời cũng đang dần trở nên rẻ hơn, đặc biệt là khi chương trình PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) ngày càng phổ biến cùng với những ưu đãi về thuế của bang và liên bang.

The signing of the cooperation contract is part of the 9th meeting of Australia – Vietnam Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee (JTECC), in June in Melbourne, Australia. Mr Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment and Mr Simon Crean, Australian Minister of Trade, witnessed the signing. According to the agreement, ECT, through a joint venture which produces coal with Coldry clean technology in Australia (VCPL), will export 2 million tons of Coldry coal per year to Vietnam starting in 2014 and 20 million tons per year by 2020.

According to executives of Pacific West Energy LLC, one of the last players standing, securing the acreage needed to start production has been the high hurdle to overcome. Signing a preliminary accord on a biomass plant -- which could broaden its revenue stream -- is a promising step, but success still hinges on land acquisition and other complications being cleared.

Theo những nhà lãnh đạo của Pacific West Energy LLC, một trong những nhà sản xuất cuối cùng còn trụ vững, việc duy trì một diện tích đất cần thiết cho việc sản xuất là một trở ngại cực kỳ khó khăn. Việc ký kết một hợp đồng sơ bộ về một nhà máy sinh khối – nhà máy có thể giúp tăng doanh thu cho tập đoàn – là một bước đi đầy hứa hẹn, nhưng thành công vẫn phụ thuộc vào việc dành được đất và xóa bỏ các trở ngại khác.

Energy Efficiency Office - Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently hosted a meeting with Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) on the project "Supporting pilot production of commercial products using high-efficiency LEDs". The project is a part of the activities under Vietnam Energy Efficiency Program to enlarge the market for commercial products using high-efficiency LEDs.

Many passionately believe that clean coal is not the answer to decreasing carbon emissions or increasing the supply of energy. In fact, since Obama's decision to set aside $2.4 billion dollars "to lead the world in CCS technologies," disagreements (and for that matter, debates) have surfaced about its legitimacy as a true carbon-fighting, energy-producing solution.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report on June 23 detailing regional strategies to increase biofuels production to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) mandate for U.S. consumers to use 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year by 2022.

In recent years, together with the growth of the entire economy, construction companies obtained an annual growth rate of 12-16 percent. Production was expanded and the use of energy as well as natural resources increased. Presently, energy consumption by the construction sector accounts for 20-24 percent of the total amount of energy consumption nationwide.