Ireland has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, starring in a soap opera of EU intrigue and enforced bank bailouts. In Dublin recently for the first time in years, I heard some good news in the midst of all the gloom. The country has a head start on most of the world in capitalizing on one of its few plentiful resources: renewable energy.

As countries such as China, the United States and Germany plow billions of tax dollars into renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, Canadian energy companies say the federal government urgently needs to develop a national strategy to grab a piece of the global clean-energy market, which attracted $162 billion US in investment last year.

The creative juices of designers are now flowing into mice and keyboards that are becoming sleeker, smaller and more power-efficient. Microsoft and Logitech have blended eco-friendly technology and space-saving designs in their new mouse and keyboard products.

The solar industry called on Congress on Tuesday to extend a contentious grant program in the lame-duck session that it says produced 20,000 solar jobs in a year and half and helped to jump-start the U.S. clean energy economy. The U.S. Treasury's "Section 1603" Renewable Energy Grant Program, part of the $787 billion anti-recession stimulus of 2009, is slated to run out at year's end.

On the morning of November 25th, as part of the 2nd Exhibition of Energy efficiency product of and renewable energy in Ho Chi Minh city, Ho Chi Minh City Energy Efficiency Center, in collaboration with the project Promoting energy conservation in small and medium enterprises (PECSME), held the Conference reviewing the execution of the project Promoting energy conservationin small and medium enterprises in the 2006-2010 period, in Southern region.

The World Bank's lending for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects increased by 300 percent between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2010, to a record $3.4 billion. But over that same period, lending to fossil fuel projects also jumped 430 percent.

While some members of Congress seem to think that spending federal dollars on local projects is a bad thing, hundreds of farmers and rural business owners are eagerly taking the opportunity to improve their operations through federal clean energy loans and grants totalling more than $30 million. The funds, administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will pay for 516 projects that install renewable energy equipment and improve energy efficiency at agricultural operations.

The 30th India International Trade Fair (IITF 2010) themed ‘Clean and Energy Efficient Technology, Products and Services’ was opened in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, on November 14. Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Tan cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Vietnam Pavilion at the fair.

Theo báo New York Times, tại châu Âu và Mỹ, than dường như đã qua thời hoàng kim khi sản lượng tiêu thụ giảm mạnh từ 5 năm trước, một phần do suy thoái kinh tế, một phần do những quy định khắc khe của luật môi trường, cũng như phụ thuộc vào khí tự nhiên và năng lượng tái tạo. Trong khi đó, tại các cảng biển ở Mỹ, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Colombia và Nam Phi, tàu xếp hàng “ăn” than để đưa sang châu Á gần như làm việc liên tục.

EnerNoc EfficiencySmart Energy Management Software cuts energy costs by 15% without undertaking any efficiency projects. EnerNoc, a well-established efficiency software company, released a new line of energy management software yesterday that the company's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Gregg Dixon, claims can help companies cut their energy costs by 15% without undertaking any efficiency projects.

Prime Minister affirmed: “Vietnam highly appreciates potential and technologies of South Korean businesses and calls upon South Korean businesses to continue expanding investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of economic - social infrastructure development, new energy and material production, high technology product manufacturing, support industry, human resource and health development, and agriculture, forestry and fishery development.”

The vast majority of the European Parliament has voted in favour of plans to release €146m of unused European Union (EU) funds to finance energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Today’s vote swing has given the go-ahead to amend legislation on the European Energy Recovery Plan (EERP) to channel unspent capital into a new fund.

The initial line-up of energy efficient roofing products, includes a solar energy-generating system, a unique ventilation and insulation product, along with steel and aluminum shingles. According to company President Todd Miller, "We are bringing products to market that allow homeowners to invest in and improve their current homes, and do so in a way that benefits the environment."

"You can save 10 to 20 percent of your energy costs just by paying attention to when and how you use energy in your home," said a member of Middleboro's Green Energy Committee. "Then you can save even more by improving the windows and insulation. On top of all that, use renewables like solar or wind to generate your own electricity.

Thailand will be supplied with some more solar panels for a new power plant, as a result of the signed agreement between the authorities and Suntech Power Holding Co. The latter will provide approximately 9.43MW worth of panels to the installation. The project is owned by Bangchak Petrolem and is scheduled to be finalized by the end of next year. Once online, the solar power plant should provide around 44MW of clean electricity

Bưu chính New Zealand đang cùng với Hội đồng thành phố Wellington và Công ty Mitsubishi thử nghiệm phương tiện bưu chính chạy điện trong hai năm tới. BC New Zealand hiện phải vận hành một khối lượng phương tiện lớn để chuyển phát thư, hàng hóa và các dịch vụ khác với 7 máy bay, hơn 120 xe đẩy, 100 xe tải, 172 xe máy và 112 xe nâng. Lượng phương tiện vận chuyển này khiến cho mỗi năm BC New Zealand đều phải chi rất nhiều tiền cho nhiên liệu.

Hội chợ Thương mại Quốc tế lần thứ 30 tại Ấn Độ (IITF 2010) với chủ đề “Các dịch vụ và sản phẩm công nghệ tiết kiệm năng lượng và sạch” đã khai mạc ngày 14/11 tại khu triển lãm Pragati Maidan của Thủ đô New Delhi. Đại sứ nước ta tại Ấn Độ Nguyễn Thanh Tân đã cắt băng khai trương khu gian hàng Việt Nam (VIETNAM PAVILION).

People living in warm climates have been used to using biogas since ages, with even the Assyrians using it to heat their baths 3,000 years ago. But in the colder regions such as Alaska, biogas is harder to produce, since temperatures do not allow for bacteria to ferment the organic waste. However, this problem is about to fade now, as a new type of bacteria has been discovered, and it promises to cut the reliance on fossil fuels for these people big time.

The City of Toronto brought into the spotlight the latest addition to its green fleet of waste and recycling collecting service. The new garbage truck can run on converted biogas obtained from the picked up organic material waste. The new model reveals the city’s determined step toward reduction of fuel consumption, protection of air quality and health.

A star-rating system, similar to that used for electrical appliances, will now be a mandatory part of advertising for lease or sale of office space. The scheme is designed to make climate change a more important consideration in corporate decision-making, in part by naming and shaming companies with office space in energy-hungry buildings.