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China is reportedly planning to build the first solarpower station in space, which would send energy back to Earth. With this move, China has allocated $8bn for its space programmes. It intends to compete with the US and gain economic, military and technological dominance.

China intends to develop a solar power station in space as part of its efforts to cut down greenhouse gases and tackle energy shortage, and E.ON plans to take two of its gas-fired power plants in Germany offline due to unprofitability.

In the battle to reduce energy poverty, the opportunities that satellite imaging data offers could be key to shining a light on wasteful inefficiencies. Andy Tunnicliffe speaks to E.ON to find out more about a project to use space-based technology to improve energy efficiency.

European astronomers have found 32 new planets outside our solar system, adding evidence to the theory that the universe has many places where life could develop. Scientists using the European Southern Observatory telescope didn't find any planets quite the size of Earth or any that seemed habitable or even unusual. But their announcement increased the number of planets discovered outside the solar system to more than 400.

The EU-funded Sinfonia smart cities project aims to retrofit more than 100,000m2 of living space in two pioneer districts, optimising technologies for electricity grids and district heating and cooling. At the project's heart is collaboration - the sharing of processes to increase energy savings and develop a coherent framework to expand the use of renewables.