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General Electric and Google on Wednesday announced a collaboration to lobby for renewable energy policies and to jointly develop clean technologies.

On the technology side, the two companies intend to develop smart-grid technologies, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and enhanced geothermal systems, where underground heat is converted into electricity. Smart-grid technology lets utilities more efficiently manage electricity on the grid. And through smart meters and in-home displays, it lets consumers better understand and control home energy use. GE and Google will work on utility software to make the grid more efficient, and on software for home smart-grid equipment, Immelt said.

These technologies are expected to reduce total carbon emissions in Europe by up to 15% by 2020. ICT can not only improve monitoring and management of energy use in factories, offices and in public spaces but above all help make people more aware of how they use energy.

The ICT sector itself is responsible for 2% of carbon emissions in Europe: 1.75% resulting from the use of ICT products and services, and 0.25% from their production

Results from trials in a number of Member States show that using smart meters can lower energy consumption by up to 10%

DOE and SuperPower, Inc. commemorated on February 21 a $27 million project to install a 350-meter high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable between two electrical substations in Albany. While that might not sound like much cable for the money, the project is the first demonstration of a technology that could someday be used to build a more energy efficient power grid. The HTS cable reduces energy loss by up to 10%, and wires using the same technology could potentially be integrated into generators, transformers, cables, and fault current limiters, making most of the equipment that produces and delivers power more energy efficient. On the other end of the power line, HTS wires can be employed in motors, providing an energy efficiency improvement for one of the largest electrical loads served by electric utilities.

the San Alfonso pool is 1km in length. The revolutionary clear water artificial lagoons, transparent to a depth of 35 meters and unprecedented in design and construction methods

Rinspeed’s concept car, sQuba, is set to make its debut at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show (March 6th thru 16th, 2008). The car is similar to past concepts from Rinspeed in that it also operates in water but, this time, it will be motoring under the surface - acting like a submarine. The sQuba will have two propellers and dual jet drives, thrusting it through water up to 10 meters deep.

According to Penn State engineers, transmission rates of 100 gigabits per second are possible today over copper. But only on distances of less than 100 meters. And only with high-end Category 7 copper cables. These Ethernet cables are made up of four pairs of twisted wires shielded to reduce crosstalk. The Penn State technology could provide an alternative to glass fiber optics cables in computer datacenters where distances between systems are not too big. In other words, it would be possible to interconnect servers inside a building at speeds similar to the ones provided by more expensive fiber optic cabling.