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When Southern California Edison unveiled plans to install 250 megawatts' worth of solar panels on warehouse roofs back in March, it was hailed as a ground-breaking move. In one fell swoop, the giant utility would cut the cost of photovoltaic power, expand the solar market and kick-start efforts to transform untold acres of sun-baked commercial roof space into mini-power plants. There's just one problem: the solar industry is fighting the billion-dollar plan.

Mining for helium-3 on the moon is being considered as another alternate fuel source.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) recently released its 2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review, highlighting a third year of record growth. The report notes that 1,265 megawatts (MW) of solar power of all types were installed in 2008, bringing total U.S. solar power capacity up 17 percent to 8,775 MW. The 2008 figure included 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV), 139 MWTh (thermal equivalent) of solar water heating, 762 MWTh of pool heating and an estimated 21 MW of solar space heating and cooling.

As you've probably already heard, Google is exploring the possibility of an offshore data facility , powered with Pelamis wave energy converter units.

There is no shortage of wind in the densely-populated Netherlands but there is a shortage of space and in a nation which likes its houses small and its gardens cosy, opposition to [onshore] wind farms is immense.

Lenovo reinvigorated the desktop PC space today with the ThinkCentre A61e, an ultra small form factor desktop that combines a small footprint the size of a telephone book, choices of energy efficient, 45-watt AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual core and AMD Sempron™ single core processors and an affordable price tag starting at $399(1).

PUMPING aerosol particles into the atmosphere to create a sunshade could take a heavier toll on solar power generation than expected. For every 1 per cent of the sun's rays deflected into space, the average output of solar systems that rely on direct sunlight would drop by 4 to 5 per cent, says Daniel Murphy at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado. Geoengineers propose scattering 1 to 2 per cent of sunlight.

Even on the moon, superconductors would need to be cooled.

There are two different aspects to bear in mind when speculating on the future of energy. First, which will be the energy source? And, secondly, what will the energy vector of the future be? Let us now consider both issues. In 1960, physicist Freeman Dyson indicated, more or less directly, in an article in Science magazine on the search for extraterrestrial civilizations titled "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" the importance of solar energy in the development of any civilization. In that article Dyson pointed out that a technologically more advanced civilization than ours would build so-called Dyson Spheres, spherical structures surrounding a star, with the aim of taking maximum advantage of the radiation emitted. Therefore, his idea was that the future of an advanced civilization would necessarily opt for making the most of solar energy

Herzog and de Meuron have been very busy lately designing some amazing new buildings in Europe, like their Project Triangle in Paris. Their newest design for the Spanish banking group BBVA will be built on the outskirts of Madrid as early as 2013. The verdant green headquarters will feature luscious gardens and will create it's own microclimate by using natural ventilation, evapotranspiration, and the shade of the gardens and buildings to create a cool artificial oasis on a desert-like site. The project is meant to function as a small city, encouraging people to walk and meet within the outdoor spaces. The project is essentially a linear series of 3-story buildings seperated by alleyways and irrigated gardens. The smaller buildings are designed to give employees access to natural light and the outdoors, while the tower rises as a skyward-tilted circle, giving BBVA a presence in the Madrid skyline. The courtyard located around the tower is planted with shady trees and features a large basin of water that serves as a resevoir and humidifies the air.