The building of new renewable energy sources continued to outstrip new fossil fuel power plants in Europe and the US during 2009, a report has shown. The UN-backed study said renewables accounted for 60% of new electricity generation capacity in Europe. And in the US, green electricity accounted for more than half of the generation capacity built last year.

All the incidents at the new coal-run thermopower plants in northern Vietnam have been resolved and these plants have resumed operation. The rainy season has begun in both the north and the south while the domestic demand for power consumption does not increase and has even fell by 5-7 percent.

With the above awareness, some State employees in Thai Nguyen province (most of them have retired), have established the Nui Coc Lake Hydropower Joint Stock Company. They have withdrawn some amounts of money from their saving accounts to invest in the construction of a small-sized hydropower plant near the southern dam of the Nui Coc Lake, Phuc Triu commune, Thai Nguyen city.

ATK, a company that builds the space shuttles’ booster rockets may have a solution for the massively-polluting coal power plants, by using rocket nozzle technology to turn the carbon dioxide into dry ice, and capture it easier than they can do with chemicals.

Thua Thien Hue has a large number of small and medium enterprises (accounting for 95% of the total), many of which have obsolete equipment consuming much energy. Meanwhile 80% of energy used for living and production every year comes from electricity.

Ca Mau electric grid was built and completed immediately after the administrative separation with Bac Lieu (November 1996). This grid spreads from primary forests in U Minh Thuong and U Minh Ha to Dam Doi district, Ngoc Hien. Due to sparsely populated condition, electrical loss only exceeds 9% because of naked wire and frost. The efforts of the electricity industry and Ca Mau’s people in saving electricity are quite impressing. During the serious lack of electricity in the dry season, Ca Mau has contributed to the national grid by operating its gas-power-fertilizer plant with capacity 1,500MW. To help Southern Electricity Corporation overcome difficulties, the implementation of energy saving and reduction in Ca Mau is a matter of great importance for all sectors. The output in 2010 is scheduled to reach 670 million kWh. However, due to planned reduction, the first 5 months in 2010 only reached 258.3 million kWh, equals to 38.55% of plans.

Today a long-standing electronic dream has become a reality thanks to research done by a team of scientists from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, supported by U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Producing superconducting nano-scale wires to facilitate faster and more powerful electronic devices has been the long-time ambition which had eluded achievement until now.

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?

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.

This could very well be the magic formula for future power generation. Yes, scientists are busy crafting what is now called as “solid organic electric battery based upon treated potatoes.” These are absolutely eco-friendly batteries – based on the hidden powers of potatoes – which will be an economical answer to the growing power needs of developing and developed countries.

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.

The Prime Minister has approved of the Nuclear power development plan in Vietnam in 2010 – 2030. There are 8 construction sites proposed for building nuclear power plants in 5 provinces, including: Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ha Tinh and Quang Ngai, each capable of installing 4 – 6 units.

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.

Japan's Toshiba said Friday it was working with Mitsubishi Motors to develop batteries for electric vehicles, as the race intensifies among automakers and technology giants to make emission-free cars. Toshiba, which spans electronic components, appliances and nuclear power plants has developed a fast-charging long life lithium-ion battery called SCiB (Super Charge ion Battery), which it plans to adapt for cars.

Some young fellows stare at a big TV screen and shout noisily as they are watching a World Cup 2010 football match. Some electric fans run at their maximal speed to soothe the ongoing summer heat. The pigsty system behind the house of Tran Van Tam in Phu Trung hamlet, An Phu commune, Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City also gets cooled with home-made ventilation panels. It is unlikely that the area does not benefit from the national power grid and often incurs power outages.

Fourteen years ago, the Hanoi Towers at 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi had Air Handling Units (AHUs) installed for the 13-storey tower consisting of office and shopping space, and Inverter Multi Systems installed for the 25-storey apartment tower. At that time, AHUs and Inverter Multi Systems were modern technologies.

A fresh-water wind farm is taking shape at Lake Erie and when completed will provide 20 megawatts and get on to about one gigawatt power by 2020. Huge individual turbines 300 feet tall, to be built by GE will be erected off Ohio, Cleveland. Better designs: These are special gearless super-efficient turbines, with three 176-foot long blades, which run with the help of a giant ring of magnets. The blades are longer due to strategically placed carbon fibre, and lighter too. Many moving parts like gearbox, coils and starter brushes are eliminated with resultant reduced maintenance. The giant magnetic ring array helps the turbine generate power even at very low speed.

"Also we need to have some kind of social mechanism to watch whether the nuclear community is doing the correct thing or not... mass media for instance," Suzuki said on the sidelines of an international conference on technology and safety in nuclear power plants.

Really amazing are the innovative ways solar power is put into use. Now a team of scientists working in Sandia National Laboratories is focusing on exploring basic steps to make synthetic liquid fuel with the help of solar panels. The goal is that this will help considerably reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Nuclear power technology is developing and Vietnam must be updated continuously with new technology, especially in the field of waste treatment and material reuse, said Brett Jacobs, the Southeast Asia Programs Manager under the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Directorate of Global Energy Dialogue, at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Huu Hao.