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The redeveloped World Trade Center will be “one of the largest fuel cell installations in the world” according to the New York Power Authority (NYPA). Under the US$10.6 million agreement between NYPA and fuel cell developer and provider UTC Power, fuel cells with a total capacity of 4.8MW will provide an on-site supplement to the renewable and other clean energy that will power the rebuilt centre. The first fuel cells will be delivered to the Freedom Tower in January 2009, and will be owned and operated by the Port Authority, which also owns the building. The fuel cells for the other three towers will be owned and operated by World Trade Center Properties, LLC. “Fuel cells are one of the environmentally beneficial technologies that the Power Authority is investing in under Governor Paterson’s leadership to combat greenhouse gas emissions and diversify the state’s energy mix. To date, we’ve installed 15 fuel cells in New York City and other locations, and expect to add to this total in support of the Governor’s ambitious goals for significant increases in the state’s renewable power,” says Roger B Kelley, NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer.

. Masdar, the oil-rich emirate’s $15 billion renewable energy venture, and Spanish technology company Sener on Wednesday announced a joint venture called Torresol Energy to build large-scale solar power plants in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States.

The irony is too rich to leave unsaid: A leading oil producer invests billions in carbon-free energy while a leading consumer of fossil fuels - the United States - continues to subsidize Big Oil while while offering only tepid support for green technology

Torresol plans to build solar power plants using a technology it calls a Central Tower Receiver system. It’s similar to technology used by competitors like BrightSource in that fields of mirrors called heliostats focus the sun’s rays on tower that contains a receiver. In this case the receiver is filled with salt which when heated vaporizes water to create steam that drives an electricity-generating turbine. The company says it intends to have 500 megawatts of solar electricity online by 2012.

Renderings of the 27-story Antilla building depict a highrise that couldn’t be greener. It’s covered in foliage, with living walls enclosing all four sides, hanging gardens and green rooftop. Just a few days ago, the architects boasted about its environmental features – primarily that the walls of plants will increase green space and combat urban heat island effect.

BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC), the transmission system operator for the province of British Columbia, is the first Canadian utility to install 3M’s light-weight, high-capacity electricity conductor, 3M Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced (ACCR). 3M ACCR can carry twice the current of conventional steel-core conductors of the same diameter, without requiring larger towers, even across long spans.