All new investments must undergo independent assessments and government reviews on whether they are energy-saving or not before being approved by regulators, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said yesterday in a statement on its website.

A team of Ukranian and American scientists have discovered that by using structures called ferroelectric nanowires, they can generate electricity from a temperature difference. This concept is now new, but rather uses different approaches and materials. It can harvest energy by using the temperature difference between materials and/or ambients.

Ahead of the 2020 deadline for constituent parts of the UK to hit renewable power targets, Scotland has raised its ambitions for real-terms energy saving by switching to eco-friendly alternatives.

A delegation representing 15 Finnish enterprises said here on Tuesday they wanted to look for local partners to develop renewable energy, wastewater treatment, industrial waste management and other environmental technologies. Some of the Finnish companies introduced their clean technologies at a seminar held here on Tuesday were Neste Oil Corporation, Cargotec, GD Power, Kemira, Fincumet, YIT and Outotec.

Apart from awareness in all the company, LaVie has also decided to invest in new technology as a way to reduce energy consumption. The deputy general director reveals that her company will replace all energy-consuming air compressors by smaller ones that fit the capacities of the current production lines. In addition, it has changed its lighting systems to LED lamps, and reduced water use as a way to cut energy consumption as well.

The two researchers tried to combine spintronics (electronics that use the spin of electrons to read/write data) with thermoelectricity, which transforms heat into electricity through the Seebeck effect. The spin-Seebeck effect (the conversion of heat to spin polarization) had been observed in action in 2008, but only on a metal rod, not on a semiconductor. They called their new heat-to-electron spin discovery “thermo-spintronics.”

The new nano-ceramics would be key components in the next generation of capacitors. Like batteries, capacitors store energy, but there the resemblance ends. Batteries are designed to collect energy over a relatively long period of time, then release it at a low, constant rate. Capacitors charge and release large amounts of power very quickly. The basic principle has been around since the 18th century, but until recently one roadblock has been how to reduce them down to an efficient size.

The two companies, in cooperation with PetersenDean Roofing and Solar Systems, announced a partnership earlier this year to pre-install solar panels at no additional cost to homebuyers at The Preserve new home community. Last Friday, September 17, Toll Brothers hosted the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the community to the public.

The UK environmental group Carbon Trust and Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory have jointly formed a new company called Eight19 concentrating on the development of new organic photovoltaic (PV) technology that could make the installation of solar cells cheaper and easier.

As part of the National program on energy efficiency and conservation, Energy Efficiency Office has collaborated with the German Energy Agency, ALTUS AG Company of German and Hanoi University of Science and Technology’s Center of New Energy to start the project "Installation of grid-connected solar system at the headquarters of MOIT to save energy and protect the environment".

Recently-invented e-readers, though, do not have this issue, since they only use ambient reflections as their source of energy – mostly like regular paper. Still, current e-readers are limited to black and white, since their electrophoretic displays only know how to let light pass or block it.

The King of Malaysia presented the trophy to the grand winner David Wendell, left, at the Earth Awards at Marlboro House in London on Thursday. David Wendell wants to revolutionize renewable energy by taking a page out of nature’s book, and improving it. His new technology captures carbon and transforms it into sugar — something that plants do naturally — more efficiently using artificial photosynthetic foam.

At the beginning of this month, the European division of Sanyo has officially released its new enhanced HIT solar panel. Dubbed HIT-N235SE10, the new 235 watt solar panel has an energy-efficiency of 21.1%, improving the performance in limited space installations and offering more power generation per square meter.

A personal helicopter weighing just 230 lb created sizzling news when it flew on hydrogen with zero emission. With an ability to carry payloads up to 800 lbs, this pocket Hercules can fly for 90 minutes. Fitted with easy controls, this reaches a speed of 100 knots thanks to a pair of small yet powerful motors mounted on it. Two common and easily available things – Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and a catalyst – combined to bring about a milestone in personal aviation history with attention to the environmental issues as well! Avimech has combined these two to power engine in to an innovative machine.

The U.S. Navy’s Seal Beach facility in California is now home to a new $1.9 million solar parking lot, thanks to funding from the federal Recovery Act. Aside from creating new green construction jobs, the new solar facility will save the Navy more than $30,000 per year in electrical costs. It’s just one part of an all-around solar power makeover for the Navy, which just this summer has commissioned another $100 million worth of new solar projects.

The 155,000-square-foot facility is located in Lockport, N.Y., and unlike conventional ones, it uses 95 percent less water and 40 percent less energy. The energy-efficient data center has a power usage effectiveness rating of 1.08, which is quite less compared to the industry average of 1.92.

Energy supplier EDF have unveiled a new gadget that allows consumers to turn off their appliances from anywhere in the home. The wireless EcoManager enables householders to control and switch off their microwave ovens, TVs and stereos from any location, allowing them to cut needless energy use and save money on their bills in the process.

Six miles per gallon doesn't sound like much, but don't tell that to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. The transit authority's new diesel-electric hybrid buses get two miles per gallon more than the diesel-only cousins they are replacing.

Starting early to develop China's own energy-efficient and new-energy vehicles a decade ago, China now has an established industry with the research and development of three types of these vehicles and three key technologies at its core. Zhang Laiwu, vice science and technology minister, made the remark Thursday at a press conference in Beijing, adding that China' s industrial pattern of green vehicles was relatively unique in the world, because of its early start to develop these vehicles.

Siemens has launched its renewable energy business arm in India to get a sizable share in one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The German engineering giant has opened its business in India at just the right time given the abundant economic and policy incentives offered by the government to the project developers as well as manufactures in the renewable energy sector.