IDEAAS used REEEP funding to develop the
Center for Learning on Renewable
Energy and Decentralized Generation
, which provides a basis for the two
projects that have won the
Itaú Bank 'Ecomudança Award' (Eco Change Award)
and 'Fundo Itaú de Excelência Social' (Itaú Fund
for Social Excellence
2008). Itaú Bank is the largest Brazilian Private Bank, and interested in
projects
on renewable energy and CO² Emissions Saving.

One of the world's most famous skyscrapers - the Empire State
building in New York - is going green.

A project is underway to reduce the amount of energy used in the building by
more than a third, saving millions of dollars a year.

Most people tend to think of renewable energy as a clear break with our energy
history, jettisoning all of the trappings associated with a dirty industry. It
thus may come as a surprise to discover that, in fact, certain conventional
technologies and infrastructure, including those associated with fossil fuel
production, increasingly are being adapted to facilitate renewable energy
production.

Until November it was virtually impossible for a private developer of
renewable energy power plants to become an independent power producer (IPP) in
Mexico. Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution precluded private investment
stating that electricity generation for public use is an activity to
be
undertaken exclusively by the Government.

Mexico's enactment of a new law for the use of Renewable Energy and the
Financing of the Energy Transition (
Ley para el Aprovechamiento de Energías Renovables y el
Financiamiento de la Transición Energética
) substantially improves the legal
framework for private investment in renewable energy projects. The law regulates
renewable energy electricity generation for purposes other than providing public
electricity services. The law states
that the use of renewable energy for
electricity generation is possible for private use and any excess energy can be
sold, but only based on regulations and approvals by Mexico's energy regulatory
body,
CRE
.

Super strong nanometals - a Chinese-Danish success




Research shows that it is possible to produce copper about 4 times
stronger than commercial material - and doing so while also having a ductile
material. As the thermal and electrical conductivity are also good, the
manufacturing of, for example, electrical conductors with improved mechanical
properties looks promising

Brazilian Government introduces new taxes for inefficient lamps.