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Renewable Energy World has an article on a plan to greatly expand the use of passive solar thermal energy in Europe - Action Plan for 50%: How Solar Thermal Can Supply Europe's Energy. The research efforts and infrastructure needed to supply 50% of the energy for space and water heating and cooling across Europe using solar thermal energy has been set out under the aegis of the European Solar Thermal Technology Platform (ESTTP). Published in late December 2008, more than 100 experts developed the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which includes a deployment roadmap showing the non-technological framework conditions that will enable this ambitious goal to be reached by 2050. A strategy for achieving a vision of widespread low-temperature solar thermal installations was first explored by ESTTP in 2006, but since then the SRA has identified key areas for rapid growth. These focus points include the development of active solar buildings, active solar renovation, solar heat for industrial processes and solar heat for district heating and cooling. Meanwhile, amongst the main research challenges is the development of compact long-term efficient heat storage technology. Once available, they would make it possible to store heat from the summer for use in winter in a cost-effective way.

EPTV Executive news roundtable -- Corporate energy efficiency (video) Energy Policy TV Judi Greenwald, Director of Innovative Solutions, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, is interviewed about a partnership between the Pew Center and Toyota to undertake a study and project to improve corporate energy energy efficiency nationwide. Such improvements are aimed at reducing corporate carbon emissions. (23 July 2008)

CNN reports that Obama is planning an economic stimulus package based on energy efficient buildings and improved internet access - Obama outlines initiative to create 2.5 million jobs. President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined some of his plan to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, and said he will push for immediate action by Congress when he takes office in January. Obama wants to make public buildings more energy-efficient, repair roads and bridges, modernize schools, increase broadband access and ensure that health care professionals have access to the latest technology. "Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world," he said in the weekly Democratic radio address.

More than 100,000 people attend; a testament to the popularity of sustainable building and renewable energy in the region. by Michael Fell Wels, Upper Austria [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Last week saw the return of the World Sustainable Energy Days conference which is held every year in Wels, Upper Austria. Taking place over three days (plus a day of site visits), the conference has three main streams: the European Pellet Conference, the European Energy Efficiency Conference and Regional Biomass Action Plans. Austria is an apt location for the conference - along with Sweden it is well known as one of Europe's biggest users of pellet technology - and as the final remnants of this year's snow melted away it is plain to see why. With cold winters and real enthusiasm for efficient and sustainable building, the demand for renewable heat is strong. The country is also highly forested, providing ample raw material for pellet production in the form of sawdust and wood shavings from sawmills (along with other biomass waste).

Loan Guarantees Will Help Create New Jobs while Fostering Clean Energy Innovation Washington, DC - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy will provide up to $30 billion in loan guarantees, depending on the applications and market conditions, for renewable energy projects. Another $750 million will support several billion dollars more in loan guarantees for projects that increase the reliability, efficiency and security of the nation's transmission system. The two new loan guarantee solicitations announced today are being funded partly through the Recovery Act and partly through 2009 appropriations.

A detailed new economic analysis "Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California" finds: Over the past thirty-five years, innovative energy efficiency policies created 1.5 million additional fulltime jobs with a total payroll of over $45 billion. Looking forward, the report finds that if California improves energy efficiency by just 1 percent per year, proposed state climate policies will increase the Gross State Product (GSP) by approximately $76 billion, increase real household incomes by up to $48 billion and create as many as 403,000 new

From March 4-6, world leaders in the renewable, green, clean technology and energy efficiency sectors will gather in Bangalore for Green Energy Summit 2009. The summit is a highly efficient forum for varied stakeholders from solar, wind, biomass, IT, transport, construction, aviation, nanotechnology and biotechnology to bring together the business and science of the most important and relevant Green Energy and Clean technologies (http:// www.greenenergysummit.com).

In what comes as a surprising move, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner announced his resignation from the Department of Energy on Wednesday. Karsner's resignation came on the same day as news that Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to extend funding for renewable energy tax credits for the fourth time this summer. It is still unclear if there is any relationship between the two events.

Fast Lean Pro™ (official) | weight lose Formula thefastleanpro.us · by Fast Lean Pro Fast Lean Pro Only $49/Bottle Limited Time Offer! Fast Lean Pro Special Deal + Special 51% Discount Save $300 + 180 Days Money Back Guarantee FastLeanPro The #1 Solution To natural metabolism booster helps you lose weight quickly without starving yourself. Fast Lean Pro is a natural powder supplement for weight loss that has recently been developed by Japanese scientists. Regular Price: $99/per bottle Only for: $49/per bottle What Is Fast Lean Pro? Fast Lean Pro is a powdered dietary powdery supplement designed to aid in weight loss. It contains a unique combination of ingredients that are believed to activate the body's "fasting switch" to optimize results. This product focuses not only on weight loss but also on promoting cellular rejuvenation, fasting, and a healthy metabolism. The concept behind Fast Lean Pro is that incorporating fasting into one's lifestyle can lead to positive outcomes irrespective of individual food choices and eating habits. To comprehend the mechanism of the Fast Lean Pro process, it is necessary to delve into its specific details. One of the few weight loss pills on the market that contains Fibersol is Fast Lean Pro. This safe, specialized fiber adds bulk to its weight when combined with water, curbing your appetite before it throws off your meal plan. If you're trying to lose weight or curb your appetite, Fast Lean Pro can help. Supporting substances such as niacin and chromium contribute to this. The body can further benefit from these nutrients, such as through improved metabolic regulation. Fast lean Pro is non-GMO, vegan friendly, and contains no artificial ingredients or stimulants. Fast Lean Pro is a weight loss product that promotes the body's natural self-feeding process. The body naturally removes old, damaged cells through a process known as autophagy to encourage cell regeneration and repair. Recent studies by a group

In a new study, conducted by the Rock Mountain Institute, it has been found that electricity consumption can be reduced by 30 percent through energy efficiency and coal powered power generation can be reduced by 60 percent. vote nowBuzz up! The study, which spanned across 50 states, identified five states with highest electric productivity rates - New York, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware and California - and stated that if all other states were to adopt similar efficiency parameters are implemented in other states the whole country can save up to 1.2 million gigawatt-hours annually. The study also brought out the long-term benefits of improving the electric productivity

2009 brings some new incentives for homeowners to adopt energy efficiency from both state and federal sources. The Wall Street Journal reported last week on several of these, including new provisions for tax credits in solar, small wind, and biomass stoves (those burning wood pellets or corn). In addition, this year, both solar and wind residential tax credits can be claimed against the alternative minimum tax. Improvements to weatherize your home could also qualify for an energy efficiency tax credit of up to $500. There are also new credits for upgrading your furnace, boilers, heat pumps, and water heaters. Read more at WSJ.com: http://tinyurl.com/93n535 Link to original post

Technology Review has an article on advances in wind turbine technology - Better Wind Turbines. ExRo Technologies, a startup based in Vancouver, BC, has developed a new kind of generator that's well suited to harvesting energy from wind. It could lower the cost of wind turbines while increasing their power output by 50 percent. The new generator runs efficiently over a wider range of conditions than conventional generators do. When the shaft running through an ordinary generator is turning at the optimal rate, more than 90 percent of its energy can be converted into electricity. But if it speeds up or slows down, the generator's efficiency drops dramatically. This isn't a problem in conventional power plants, where the turbines turn at a steady rate, fed by a constant supply of energy from coal or some other fuel. But wind speed can vary wildly. Turbine blades that change pitch to catch more or less wind can help, as can transmissions that mediate between the spinning blades and the generator shaft. But transmissions add both manufacturing and maintenance costs, and there's a limit to how much changing the blade angle can compensate for changing winds.

World Bank funding for efficient and renewable energy rose 87 this year to nearly $2.7 billion, reflecting the importance of moving to a low-carbon economy, the bank's energy chief said on Thursday. Investment in "green" energy projects is essential for poor countries hit hard by soaring oil prices, said Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Energy, Transport and Water.

Are you ready to find out if in fact your home is as energy efficient as it can be? Most of us have some big and some small things that they can do to better the cost efficiency of home. Whether you just want to drop a few dollars off of your gas bill or you are looking for a better way to fuel your home altogether, doing just a few things can make a tremendous amount of difference in your home.

The South Korean government has allocated 18.3 trillion won (about US$14.2 billion) for an energy efficiency initiative that will run until 2012 and save 34.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). The goal is an 11.3% improvement in energy efficiency by 2012, compared with the level seen in 2007. Among the steps are a 16.5% increase in new vehicle average fuel economy by 2012. In 2004, South Korea replaced its voluntary, unenforced standard with a mandatory program-the Average Fuel Economy (AFE) system-that started in 2006 for domestic vehicles and will start in 2009 for imports. (Earlier post.) The current standards are 12.4 km/l (29.2 mpg US) for vehicles with engine displacements of 1.5 liters or less and 9.6 km/l (22.6 mpg US) for vehicles with engine displacements of more than 1.5 liters. Credits can be earned to offset shortfalls.

Amid growing concerns over the preservation of the environment, the quest for energy efficient and greener technologies is intensifying in Europe, especially after the signing of the Kyoto Protocol. Green initiatives have encouraged the gravitation towards environmentally friendly technologies such as flywheel UPS systems. The European Commission energy efficiency action plan has also helped drive the uptake of flywheel UPS systems. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.powersupplies.frost.com), European Flywheel UPS Markets, finds that market earned revenues of over €25.4 million in 2007 and estimates this to reach €58 million in 2014. "Although the technology has been in existence for a long time, it has seen widespread acceptance and increased uptake only over the past three or four years," says Frost & Sullivan programme manager Malavika Tohani. "Flywheel UPS systems use kinetic energy, eliminating harmful emissions and disposal issues and reducing the impact on the environment."

Researchers at Ohio State University have accidentally discovered a new solar cell material capable of absorbing all of the sun's visible light energy. The material is comprised of a hybrid of plastics, molybdenum and titanium. The team discovered it not only fluoresces (as most solar cells do), but also phosphoresces. Electrons in a phosphorescent state remain at a place where they can be "siphoned off" as electricity over 7 million times longer than those generated in a fluorescent state. This combination of materials also utilizes the entire visible spectrum of light energy, translating into a theoretical potential of almost 100% efficiency. Commercial products are still years away, but this foundational work may well pave the way for a truly renewable form of clean, global energy.

An assessment of the "electric productivity" of the 50 states indicates that shoring up performance gaps through energy efficiency could not only cut consumption by 30 percent, but also eliminate the need for more than 60 percent of coal-fired generation, according to a new study by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The RMI study, "Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity," determines the productivity rate of each state by measuring how much gross domestic product is generated for each kilowatt-hour consumed.

The University of California today issued a report concluding that if California improves energy efficiency by just 1 percent per year, proposed state climate policies will increase the Gross State Product (GSP) by approximately $76 billion, increase real household incomes by up to $48 billion and create as many as 403,000 new jobs.

Scientists at the Ohio State Institute for Materials Research recently announced that they have developed a new hyper-efficient solar material that is able to capture light from every spectrum of the rainbow. Whereas most photovoltaics are limited to collecting energy from a small range of frequencies, the new material is able to absorb energy from all spectrums of visible light at once. The breakthrough development heralds a new breed of extremely efficient solar panels on the horizon.