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A new study shows that Germany has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions to the level pledged in the Kyoto Protocol. But a greater reliance on coal-fired power plants may soon reverse the trend. When it comes to global warming and concurrent efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, Germany has always tried to present itself as a leader. New data set to be released on Friday shows that the country has earned its bragging rights.

Olive stones can be turned into bioethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from plant matter and used as an alternative to petrol or diesel. This gives the olive processing industry an opportunity to make valuable use of 4 million tonnes of waste in olive stones it generates every year and sets a precedent for the recycling of waste products as fuels. Researchers from the Universities of Jaén and Granada in Spain show how this can be achieved in a study published in the latest edition of the Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI) Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology.

It was a day when the shift from the past to the future was almost palpable. It started Thursday morning in Berkeley where Green Wombat was moderating a panel of tech luminaries gathered at the University of California's Global Technology Leaders Conference. As Shai Agassi, founder of electric car infrastructure company Better Place, makes the case for harnessing Silicon Valley's technological innovation to Detroit's manufacturing might to create a sustainable car industry, dispatches from the automotive apocalypse roll down my BlackBerry: Ford (F) shares sink to $1.01…GM's (GM) stock falls to its lowest level since World War II…U.S. automakers beg for a bailout…California Congressman Henry Waxman ousts Michigan's John Dingell - the Duke of Detroit - from his 28-year chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Agassi slips out of the conference and an hour later I catch up with him across the Bay at San Francisco City Hall where he and representatives of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland announce a $1 billion project to build a regional network of electric car charging stations. Better Place has signed similar deals with governments in Israel, Denmark and Australia, but California is the company's first foray into the U.S. market. Planning for the Bay Area network begins in 2009 with construction scheduled to start in 2010 and commercial rollout set for 2012.

Australian mining firms, hit by high fuel costs and falling commodity prices, could soon swap their diesel generators for 24-hour, solar-power systems, the head of a private renewable power firm said on Thursday. Mining firms are also worried about an emissions trading scheme set to begin in Australia in 2010, Steve Hollis, CEO of Sydney-based Lloyd Energy Storage, told Reuters in an interview.

A home wind turbine already installed at 250 sites in Scotland is now being sold across the pond. Cascade Engineering said Monday the Swift wind turbine, for homes and other buildings, is available in the U.S. and Canada. (Credit: Cascade Engineering) The Swift tries to set itself apart from existing small wind turbines with a design that reduces noise. Also, the turbine can be attached to a home, rather than to a free-standing pole or tower. Like other wind turbines, the Swift has blades that turn and power a generator. But rather than the typical three blades, the Swift has five and a ring that goes around them. That "outer diffuser" ring cuts the noise level to 35 decibels and reduces vibration, according to the company.

A $1 billion network of electric car recharging stations will dot San Francisco Bay area highways under a plan unveiled Thursday that aims to greatly expand the number of electric vehicles on the road. Palo Alto-based Better Place along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced the deal, which sets out to install charging stations in homes, businesses, parking lots and government buildings by 2012.

New satellite measurements show that crucial sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has plummeted to its second-lowest level on record. Arctic ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter. But more and more ice is being lost and not recovered. The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, announced Wednesday that the extent of sea ice in the Arctic is down to 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point on record is 1.65 million square miles set last September. With about three weeks left in the melt season, the record may fall, scientists say.

After slow start, wave energy approaches commercial scales The burgeoning wave energy sector, which has endured ups and downs in recent years through initial testing of devices and uncertain government support, has recently set sail with new projects that have brought the industry to the brink of commercial development (Listen to podcast: Emergence of the wave energy industry).

Electricity from geothermal sources is set to soar in Germany -- and all thanks to a law that has made drilling wells deep enough to hit the hot temperature water, which is needed to produce electricity, financially viable. Less than 0.4 percent of Germany's total primary energy supply came from geothermal sources in 2004. But after a renewable energy law that introduced a tariff scheme of EU €0.15 [US $0.23] per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity produced from geothermal sources came into effect that year, a construction boom was sparked and the new power plants are now starting to come online.

Toxic waste still plagues American communities 27 years after the U.S. government set up a program to identify and clean up the country's worst sites. A one-year investigation by the Center for Public Integrity reveals the beleaguered state of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund effort, uncovers the companies and government agencies linked to the most sites and tracks progress of the clean up.

The challenge set by Ford Global Technologies is to design a Model-T for the 21st Century - an inexpensive, innovative and sustainable car. Deakin University is the only Australian university and one of only five worldwide invited to participate in the Challenge, part of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the fabled Model T; the car that changed the 20th Century. Deakin University's 'under wraps' design for the Ford Global Challenge left for Detroit on 29th August carried by Deakin's Tim de Souza (Chief Design Engineer) and Stuart Hanafin (Portfolio Coordinator). Deakin's project is code-named T2 ('TSquared').

- U.S. producers of solar power will no longer need federal subsidies within eight years because by then solar power will cost less than electricity generated by conventional power plants, industry players said this week. The U.S. government recently extended tax breaks for wind and solar producers for another eight years. They are set to expire in 2016.

The Panasonic Mini Home Theater System SCEN38 may be exactly what you are looking for. Built to let you listen to your favorite CDs in the exact way that you want to; this model is up to date, stylish, and easy to set up

Will Stewart has a guest post up at The Oil Drum on passive solar design techniques - Passive Solar Design Overview - Part 1. Also, at TOD, a post on the Passivhaus standard from another long-time commenter, marjorian - US Housing and the Passive Home Standard. Passive solar refers to the design and placement of a building to enable solar heating without the need for sensors, actuators, and pumps, in contrast to active solar, which utilizes pumps/blowers, sensors, and logic control units to manage collection, storage, and distribution of heat. The two techniques are not exclusive, however, and can work together effectively. As solar radiation (insolation) is a diffuse energy source, and not at the beck and call of a thermostat, passive solar design techniques are at their best when combined with other related methods, such as energy efficiency (insulation, weatherization, building envelope minimization), daylighting, passive cooling, microclimate landscaping, and a conservation lifestyle (i.e., temperature settings, raising and lowering of insulated shades, etc). Most of these topics will be covered in other articles, though passive cooling will be addressed in this series, which is intended as an overview, as a complete engineering treatment on passive solar design would require several dozens of articles.

Next Tuesday in Las Vegas renewable energy industry leaders, experts, companies and other interested participants will meet in Las Vegas to discuss how the industry is faring amidst the current economic conditions during Renewable Energy World North America, the renewable energy's leading expo and conference in North America. "While some companies may have delayed their growth plans in reaction to the current economic situation, I am hearing that they do plan to hire as soon as the U.S. stimulus package begins to take affect." -- Katharine Hart, Online Job Sales Manager, RenewableEnergyWorld.com The show kicks off with a keynote round-table session that will set the stage for the 3-day event. During the session, leaders of the major renewable industry trade associations plus a senior executive from host utility NV Energy will take part in a round-table discussion on the economy, the economic stimulus bill and renewable energy initiatives likely to come from the Obama Administration and Congress. These individuals have their fingers on the pulse of their respective industries and should be able to shed light on the most current insights into what the next four years may hold for the industry.

Spain has set a record this week by powering 29-40% of its electricity needs from wind energy. A huge 11,180 MW was generated on Thursday when high winds blew through north west Spain. When demand was lower early in the morning, wind energy supplied 40% of the country's requirements whilst later on when demand rose, wind energy supplied 29%. This year wind turbines have supplied 11.5% of electricity demand in Spain positioning the country as the third biggest producer of wind energy next to Germany (second) and the US (first). There is a national target of reaching 20,000 MW by 2010. This compares with a figure of just 7300 MW likely to be operational in the UK by 2010 (the number currently built or with planning consent). Companies with a significant presence in Spain are Iberdrola, Acciona and Endesa.

In January 1912 a three-man party of explorers from the Australasian Antarctic Expedition set out from their base at commonwealth Bat, Adélie Land, to chart a huge section of the largely unknown continent. A year later two team members were died, and the expedition leader, Douglas Mawson, had barely survived both an epic lone journey across the Antarctic wastes and an appalling, mysterious illness that was to baffle medical science for the next 50 years.

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The US Dept. of Energy has issued a set of spreadsheets on the use of alternative fuel vehicles, available from two web pages: EIA Alternative Transportation Fuels-Supplier Data EIA Alternative Transportation Fuels-User and Fuel Data A few observations:

DONG Energy, E.ON and Masdar have announced that they will invest EUR 2.2 billion (US $3 billion) in building the first 630-megawatt (MW) phase of the London Array offshore wind farm in England's Thames Estuary. The wind farm is set to be build the world's largest offshore wind farm. The consortium hopes the first phase of 630 MW will be completed and generating in 2012. The first phase will consist of 175 turbines. The announcement comes after the UK Government's recent proposal to increase its support for offshore wind power. The partners are satisfied that the project is now financially viable and are now keen to push ahead with construction and to produce the first renewable power in 2012. Onshore work is now due to start in the summer, with offshore work due to start in early 2011.