23Nov

Bill Gates calls for massive increase in energy research

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Even though it’s supposed to be a time of federal fiscal austerity, Bill Gates says its time to double down on energy research.

The software industry icon and philanthropist on Friday published an editorial in Science calling for a massive boost in federal energy research and development from about $5 billion a year now to $16 billion.

“In a time of economic crisis, asking policymakers in Washington, D.C., to spend more money might not be the most popular position. But it’s essential to protect America’s national interests and ensure that the United States plays a leading role in the fast-growing global clean energy industry,” Gates wrote, noting that federally funded research in energy has dropped by more than 75 percent in the last three decades.

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23Nov

Coalition faces major revolt over planned cuts to solar subsidies

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The coalition will seek to head off one of the biggest rebellions on policy yet on Wednesday when MPs debate drastic cuts to the subsidies that have sparked a 39,000-job boom in solar power.

More than 20 Liberal Democrat MPs are likely to vote against the plans, in a revolt that observers say is likely to outdo the vote on tuition fees, when 21 of the party’s number broke ranks.

The rebellion extends to ministerial level, with Norman Baker, the transport minister, writing to the climate secretary and fellow Lib Dem Chris Huhne to protest about the cuts, under which incentives to install solar panels would be halved, with potentially disastrous results for the fledgling industry. Baker said: “I have reservations about the speed and level of the proposed changes for communitysize projects [usually for panels to be installed on social housing] and I am therefore asking the secretary of state to examine urgently the case for some flexibility to mitigate any adverse effects of the changes.”

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22Nov

Five green options for your rooftop

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People understand the importance of energy conservation and therefore are gradually opting for methods in which natural and renewable resources of energy are implied for generating power. Everything inside our homes, from your cooking appliances to A/V devices to lighting fixtures, is going green these days. Have you ever considered the idea of having a green roof for your home? There are a numerous methods that can be implied on the roofs of the homes to make them green, which will not only help cut down on the electricity bills but will also make your home an eco-friendly and an eye-pleasing appearance. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting green options for your rooftop after the jump.

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22Nov

Can Vertical Acuity Stop Your Site Losing Visitors?

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Drawing internet concept on blackboard

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Quick Pitch: Vertical Acuity is a self-serve content syndication platform.

Genius Idea: Letting a website’s visitors browse other publications’ content without leaving.

Google, Facebook and Twitter allow users to bounce between different publications’ websites — often to the detriment of those publications’ revenue.

Vertical Acuity wants to reduce this bouncing by turning sites into platforms for discovering content from other publications. Its year-old content syndication platform lets websites post each others’ content.

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21Nov

World Bank Group Co-Finances Morocco’s Ouarzazate 500 MW Solar Thermal Power Project

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World Bank Co-Finances Morocco's Ouarzazate 500 MW Concentrated Solar Thermal Power

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The World Bank approved $297 million in loans to Morocco to support construction and operation of Morocco’s 500-megawatt (MW) Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, one of several large scale solar power projects in various stages of planning or development across the solar energy rich Middle East-North Africa region.

Upon completion, the Ouarzazate parabolic trough CSP plant would be one of the largest CSP plants in the world. A group of seven international lenders has committed $1.435 billion dollars to build and develop the project. Ouarzazate is seen as a key milestone for Morocco’s national Solar Power Plan, which was launched in 2009 with the goal of deploying 2000 MW of solar power generation capacity by 2020.

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19Nov

Secret to Facebook’s green data center? Water misters

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Secret to Facebook's green data center Water misters

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by Martin LaMonica

Facebook’s state-of-the-art data center houses awesome amounts of computing power, but the biggest technical challenge has been the air handlers.

The company said today that its Prineville, Ore., data center received LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating varies between 1.06 and 1.1, making it a data center that consumes about half what a building simply built to code would use.

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15Nov

YouTube, Disney joining ranks

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YouTube and The Walt Disney Co. announced on Monday they are teaming up to produce an original video series and feature “family-friendly” Disney programming on the popular video-sharing site.

Disney Interactive and Google-owned YouTube said the programming will be available on Disney.com and on YouTube and the “complementary online video destinations” will launch in early 2012.

“Disney Interactive will produce and program the co-branded video destinations for both Disney.com and YouTube, providing a family-friendly experience for viewers across both platforms,” Disney and YouTube said.

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15Nov

How Much Can You Really Save with Solar?

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How Much Can You Really Save with Solar

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I just returned from the Solar Power International (SPI) show, an annual event for the solar industry, and there were a few things I kept hearing over and over.

One was: “It’s simple: People can live better with solar.” The second was: “The price of electricity will rise over the next decade.”

Over the last 40 years, Americans have been fortunate to have largely consistent electric rates. But as utility providers need to replace aging systems and fuel costs rise, experts predict that homeowners will soon need to pay more for electricity.

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14Nov

How Google, eBay, And PayPal Are Gearing Up For A Very Mobile Holiday Shopping Season

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Online holiday shopping reached record levels in 2010. And e-commerce spending is up this year. All signs point to consumers spending even more online this holiday season. I sat down with executives from Google, eBay, PayPal and ShopKick to discuss the trends that are expected to emerge in the e-commerce space over the next few months.  They center around mobile, tablets, and deals.

PayPal has more than doubled its mobile payments volume since the 2010 holiday shopping season, and we haven’t even hit the thick of this year’s rush. eBay is projecting $5 billion in mobile payments volume in 2010 and this number could increase in the next few months. And Google projects that 15 percent of total search on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping days of the year) will come from mobile devices. Tablet devices are now a part of the online shopping experience and retailers are taking note. Clearly, all signs point to the fact that this could be the breakout year for mobile shopping.

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14Nov

California Approves Solar Contract Despite High Cost

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Should consumers pay more for renewable energy in order to promote a certain technology? That’s an interesting question raised by California regulators on Thursday, when they approved what they acknowledged to be a pricey contract for Abengoa Solar to sell power to Pacific Gas & Electric.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-1 to approve the 25-year contract, which will allow Abengoa to build the 280-megawatt solar farm called Mojave Solar in southern California. The company already has secured construction permits from state and federal regulators, as well as a $1.2 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to help pay up to 80 percent of the project’s cost.

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