With rapid industrialization, the world has seen the development of a number of items or units, which generate heat. Until now this heat has often been treated as a waste, making people wonder if this enormous heat being generated can be transformed into a source of electric power. Now, with the physicists at the University of Arizona finding new ways to harvest energy through heat, this dream is actually going to become a reality.

The U.S. military had been tinkering with renewable energy for some time. Now, seeing that one in 24 fuel convoys carried in Afghanistan gets at least a civilian and a soldier killed, the Pentagon set a firm standard for the army to use 50 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2020.

The world's largest consumer product maker announced Monday that it has set ambitious long-term targets for cutting the waste it produces and improving its energy efficiency. Procter & Gamble said it eventually will use only renewable energy to power its factories and only recycled or renewable materials to make and package its products.

Eurostar has today announced a planned £700m investment in its rolling stock that will result in the rail operator running some of the greenest trains on the planet from 2014. The company revealed it is to buy 10 new trains and refurbish its existing 28-strong fleet as it looks to further build on its position as a low-carbon alternative to short haul flights.

A British business offering turnkey solutions for micro wind power is aiming to become one of the top five producers in the world by 2016. Its innovative new design will provide a fully installed wind turbine for as little as $7000, according to the company’s CEO.

United States’ Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has increased the percentage of ethanol blending optional for cars and light-weight trucks made in or after 2007 to 15 percent (E15). This is the first increment in the ethanol blending standard in more than 30 years. Since 1979, automobiles had an option to use only 10 percent blended ethanol (E10) in gasoline.

More than 300 students in HCM City on Sunday took part in activities for the International 350 Day for Climate Change. Together with millions of people around the globe, they raised their voices about climate change and environment protection. The students made a painting of five-by-five metres, and 260 small paintings that were combined to depict the number 1,000 in celebration of Ha Noi’s millenium anniversary.

SunHydro, a hydrogen refueling company is launching their first hydrogen station that will be open to the public. The refueling point will be made available starting Friday in Connecticut, USA, in an attempt of the firm to create a chain of hydrogen refueling stations from Maine to Florida.

Growing numbers of cities and towns are turning to solar-powered road warning and school safety signs to inform the public and save money and energy. In the past year, cities including Baton Rouge, Branson and Kansas City, Mo., and Lyndhurst, Wayne and Ringwood, N.J., have adopted the technology, officials in those municipalities say.

Ngày càng có nhiều các thành phố và thị trấn sử dụng những loại tín hiệu chạy bằng năng lượng mặt trời để cảnh báo an toàn trên các cung đường và khu trường học, nhằm tiết kiệm năng lượng và chi phí. Theo lời của một số các quan chức tại những khu tự trị, trước kia, các thành phố Baton Rouge, Branson and Kansas, Mo., Lyndhurst, Wayne and Ringwood, N.J đã sử dụng công nghệ này.

The management of the exploration and exploitation of natural resources should be strengthened to preserve valuable assets for younger generations, according to attendants of a conference in Ha Noi last week. This idea was put forth by experts from several sectors to discuss the draft of the amended law on mineral resources exploitation.

Vietnam ’s first wind power turbine production factory was inaugurated at the Nomura industrial zone in the northern port city of Hai Phong on October 15. The 61 million USD project, invested by the US-based GE group, rolled out over 200 turbines for export in the past five months of test run.

Solar panels are usually mounted in series, to sum up their voltages, and the resulting power is sent to a large inverter, which transforms the DC voltage into AC. One big issue with this scheme is that if shade falls on one panel, or it gets dirty, the inverter lowers the current of all the other panels, and causing power losses through inefficiency.

West Virginia has recently discovered, though a project funded by Google, that it is lying on top of a major resource: geothermal power. The finding is even more significant taking in consideration the state’s high dependence on fossil fuels.

Ngày 15/10, Tập đoàn GE (Mỹ) đã chính thức đưa vào hoạt động Nhà máy sản xuất máy tuabin gió phát điện đầu tiên tại Việt Nam (thuộc Công ty GE Energy) sau gần một năm ruỡi xây dựng tại Khu công nghiệp Nomura-Hải Phòng.

The University of Malta Junior College recently concluded a two-year project entitled ‘Saving energy… Saving our future’, in which 21 Maltese students and teachers made use of Comenius EU funds made available by the European Commission through the local agency EUPA.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the release of a new proposed energy efficiency standard for residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. The standard, as proposed, could save consumers as much as $18.6 billion over thirty years. The Obama Administration has made efficiency standards a major priority as a way to save energy and money for American families and businesses.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) approved on October 5 the first large-scale solar energy plants ever to be built on U.S. public lands. The approval of two developments in California grants the U.S.-based companies behind the projects access to almost 6,800 acres of public lands for 30 years to build and operate solar plants. The approved plants could produce up to 754 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, or enough to power 226,000–566,000 typical U.S. homes. The projects will generate almost 1,000 new jobs.

It seems that we are finding a new use for solar power everyday. Whether its grid-tie applications, lighting, or backup power, solar is rapidly becoming our green energy alternative of choice. Solar is rapidly evolving as the technology and applications for it are changing daily. In this light, here are 3 great contests that are stretching the limits of what solar can be used for and may just change the way we use energy in our everyday lives.

According to the latest data from the Bundesnetzagentur, Germany's solar industry added another 1,000 MW during July and August. This brings the total for the eight-month period from January through August to 4,900 MW from nearly 175,000 solar installations.