Energy transformation in Europe has exposed the shortcomings of over-regulation and national-centric policy, providing the Middle East with valuable lessons to manage supply, competition and future investment in its own market.

Net energy analysis provides a quantitative way to compare the amount of energy a technology produces over its lifetime with the energy required to build and maintain it.

Germany on Tuesday offered to change a planned reform of its renewable energy policy, trying to end a standoff with the European Commission over green power subsidies and to meet a deadline needed to secure rebates for German industry.

On May 22nd, Swedish Environmental Technologies for Vietnam (SENTECH), together with the Embassy of Sweden and the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment – Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), held the conference “Gateway to Swedish Greentech” in Hanoi.

Australia faces at least another year of policy uncertainty and stagnation in the renewables sector, Brazil has attracted a huge amount of interest from the developers of wind farms and solar farms for a government auction in November.

The EU Commission has published a Green Paper with the title “A 2030 framework for energy and climate policy.”

Cambodia inaugurated a National Council on Green Growth (NCGG) and a General Secretariat for Green Growth (GSGG) at a ceremony on March 19.

UK holds sixth spot in quarterly Renewables Attractiveness Index, but consultancy warns industry still being undermined by policy uncertainty

Nearly 250 policy makers, senior officials and experts of ASEAN and India gathered in a workshop on renewable energy cooperation which opened in New Delhi on November 5.

The report also comes just days after two new reports from analyst firms Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Clean Energy Pipeline both calculated that clean energy investment reached its lowest level in several years during the first quarter of 2012, primarily as a result of policy uncertainty in the EU and US.

Ministers have tried to address public lack of trust in energy companies by offering assurances about the “Green Deal” – a policy designed to improve the energy efficiency of homes. Under this plan, any householder will be able to spend up to £10,000 making their home more energy efficient, funded by the savings from future gas and electricity bills.

The Rome-based Global Bioenergy Partnership today released a voluntary policy for producing and using biomass and biofuels in ways that don’t add to climate change or affect food prices. The partnership, established in 2005 by the Group of Eight nations and five emerging economies, also includes 13 international organizations and institutions.

More evidence that clear, strong policies are key to renewable energy development came recently via the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). In a statement issued by the association, some statistics about wind energy growth in the country and the states that lead in wind energy development indicate that areas with strong policy are driving development at an impressive pace.

Launching its 2050 Technology Roadmap in Biofuels for Transport at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, the IEA Director of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology Bo Diczfalusy, said that “This [production cost] figure may seem large, but in fact even in the worst case biofuels would only increase the total costs of transport fuels by around 1% over the next 40 years, and could in fact lead to cost reductions over the same period.”

America is yearning for leadership, and energy policy is another area where it is lacking. Democrats argue we must do more to promote and develop alternative fuels. Republicans counter that there is no alternative to oil and gas in the short term and that we need to increase our domestic output to secure our energy supply.

Senator Joe Lieberman called for a temporary halt on the building of nuclear plants in the U.S., and many news organizations have reported that it could cause a major setback for U.S. nuclear policy. Last year, the Department of Energy announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of two nuclear plants in Georgia. The plants are part of a major push by President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu to support nuclear power in the United States.

Energy will be at the top of the agenda at the first EU summit chaired by Hungary on 4 February. Officials will push for negotiation between leaders to focus on controversial EU energy market reform and measures to prevent Europe losing its lead as a clean energy hub to China and other emerging economies.

While in general terms wind energy does not represent a threat to wildlife, poorly sited or designed wind farms can have a negative impact on vulnerable species and habitats That's why the European Commission has published today guidelines for wind energy development in protected natural areas. The guidelines apply to the Natura 2000 network, a cornerstone of EU biodiversity policy and a key tool to achieve the EU target of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2020.

Head of government's environmental transport policy urges businesses to enrol employees on subsidised eco-driving courses The head of environmental transport policy at the Department for Transport (DfT) has criticised the apparent lack of corporate interest in a government-backed scheme encouraging people to drive in an environmentally friendly manner.

The United States is on the verge of a solar boom that could provide 4.3 percent of the nation's electricity by 2020, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. There's just a 12-figure catch: Investors need to put $100 billion into the solar industry to keep the generation of solar electricity growing by 42 percent a year for the next decade to expand capacity from the current 1.4 gigawatts to 44 gigawatts.