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"Mexican government's Special 2010-2012 Climate Change Program. * Quintana Roo Governor Félix González Canto has announced plans to install 25,507 high-efficiency GE LED street lights in the town of Othón P. Blanco * The pioneering initiative represents the largest LED street lighting installation in Latin America, saving the town 51% on energy "

Very interesting presentation at the TED Conference.  Not quite a nuclear battery, but a really good redesign of nuclear power systems. excerpt: "Instead of finding a new way to boil water, Wilson's compact, molten salt reactor found a way to heat up gas. That is, really heat it up. Wilson's fission reactor operates at 600 to 700 degrees Celsius. And because the laws of thermodynamics say that high temperatures lead to high efficiencies, this reactor is 45 to 50 percent efficient. Traditional steam turbine systems are only 30 to 35 percent efficient because their reactors run at low temperatures of about 200 to 300 degrees Celsius. And Wilson's reactor isn't just hot, it's also powerful. Despite its small size, the reactor generates between 50 and 100 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power anywhere from 25,000 to 100,000 homes, according to Wilson. Another innovative component of Wilson's take on nuclear fission is its source of fuel. The molten salt reactor runs off of "down-blended weapons pits." In other words, all the highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium collecting dust since the Cold War could be put to use for peaceful purposes. And unlike traditional nuclear power plants, Wilson's miniature power plants would be buried below ground, making them a boon for security advocates. According to Wilson, his reactor only needs to be refueled every 30 years, compared to the 18-month fuel cycle of most power plants. This means they can be sealed up underground for a long time, decreasing the risk of proliferation. Wilson's reactor is also less prone to proliferation because it doesn't operate at high pressure like today's pressurized-water reactors or use ceramic control rods, which release hydrogen when heated and lead to explosions during nuclear power plant accidents, like the one at Fukushima in 2011. In the event of an accident in one of Wilson's reactors, the fuel from the core would drain into a "sub-critical" setting- or tank-

Interesting comparison between 3 electricity systems enjoying similar climates

Skyline Solar today introduced the Skyline X14 System and announced that it has been selected for a 500-kilowatt (kW) concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) plant to be built in Durango, Mexico. DelSol Systems, one of Mexico's leading solar integrators, will construct the project, which will be the largest CPV plant in Latin America.

"Icelandic singer Bjork, known for her political activism, urged parliament on Monday to review the planned sale of a local geothermal energy company, saying the deal could harm Iceland's interests. Environmental issues have caused friction in Iceland before, with construction of a power plant for an aluminium smelter triggering street protests in 2005. Bjork said she was unhappy with the sale of Icelandic power company HS Orka to Canada's Magma Energy (MXY.TO: Quote) and asked members of parliament to review it."

"Carbon neutrality by 2030 is the new standard for climate policies, and again the UK is leading North America in the climate debate with a bold national-level proposal about how to get there. The Centre for Alternative Technology just launched zerocarbonbritain2030 (ZCB2030), a collaborative project showing one possible scenario for making the entire UK carbon-neutral by 2030. ZCB2030 is a well-researched, well-written, and well-designed report on a set of possible pathways to a zero carbon Britain by 2030 (The goal, though bold, is not unique: Alex Steffen called for a very similar position for Seattle, a target which the Seattle City Council has included in their legislative priorities this year; and a variety of other nations and cities are approaching the same target, from Copenhagen to New Zealand). In 384 pages, CAT presents a comprehensive look at the kind of systemic changes needed to achieve dramatic emissions reduction in just 20 years in such areas as farming, energy generation, building codes, transportation planning, and economic frameworks. This report truly addresses the scope, scale and speed of the climate crisis and the solutions needed to create a bright green future. "

The BioEnergy Center will generate eight million gallons of third-generation bioethanol each year from renewable biomass including yard, wood, agricultural and vegetative wastes. The Center will also generate six megawatts of renewable electricity. The facility will be the first to use INEOS Bio's advanced BioEnergy technology, the world's leading feedstock flexible technology for advanced biofuels. The technology breaks the link between food crops and ethanol production. At the heart of the INEOS Bio technology is a patented anaerobic fermentation step, through which naturally occurring bacteria convert gases derived directly from biomass into bioethanol.

At present, China produces just over 6 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy, making it 5th in the world for total wind energy. (Germany leads with 22.2 GW.) However, with China's massive push for 21st Century renewable technologies, we shouldn't be surprised if China achieves 100 GW by 2020 say energy experts.

A new international research project which could one day lead to a new source of safe, abundant clean energy for Earth was launched today by scientists, engineers and Ministers from across Europe, at a special event and press conference at the Science Museum in London. Today's launch event marks the start of a three year planning and preparatory phase of the European High Power Energy Research Facility ( HiPER ) project. This is the first step towards HiPER's long term goal, which is to facilitate the technological and scientific advances necessary to make nuclear fusion, which powers the sun, a possible source of energy in the future.