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MADRID (Reuters) - Spain plans to give people grants to make their homes more environmentally-friendly, the prime minister said on Monday, a sign the government wants to push the green issue ahead of March's general election.

All newly built homes to produce more energy than they consume by 2020. Renovate all existing buildings to save energy. Ban incandescent light bulbs by 2010. Reduce greenhouse-gas emission by 20% by 2020. Increase renewable energy from 9% to 20-25% of total energy consumption by 2020. Bring transport emissions back to 1990 levels. Reduce vehicle speed limits by 10 kilometres per hour. Taxes and incentives to favour clean cars. Shift half of haulage by road to rail and water within 15 years. Develop rail and public transport. Reduce air pollutants quantitatively. Create a national network of "green" corridors and nature reserves. Increase organic farming from 2% to 6% of total acreage production by 2010 and to 20% by 2020. Ecological groups to be stakeholders, like trade unions, in government negotiations. Create a body to review planting of genetically modified crops on a case-by-case basis.

The idea is to create a common set of communication protocols and data formats that utilities and smart-grid start-ups can adhere to.

The benefit of a more intelligent infrastructure is that load can be curtailed as needed and problems spotted more quickly. By flattening out spikes in demand, utilities may not need to build new power plants, which are expensive and opposed in some places for environmental and health reasons.

improve energy efficiency throughout the economy, starting with buildings, lighting and the power grid

ICT could make not only the management of power grids more efficient but also facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources.

green light for new nuclear build in the UK

Each of the reactors at Oldbury for example generate 815MW of thermal output, of which only some 218MW emerges as electricity indicating a thermal efficiency of 27%. This is an important point to be aware of when making primary energy comparisons.

listen to people working on gasification and terra preta, and you'll have something new to think about.

Not much more, he adds, saying that incorporating energy-efficient technology and design into what he describes as "mountain/craftsman style" homes will add 5% to 10% to the price tag, with buyers paying $350,000 and up for the homes, and somewhat less for a series of townhouses and condo units also on the drawing board.