News
News
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M&S becomes UK’s first major carbon neutral retailer
Marks and Spencer today announced that it has become the UK’s first major carbon neutral retailer. Reporting on progress of its environmental and ethical programme Plan A, the retailer says all of its stores, offices, warehouses and delivery fleets in the UK and Northern Ireland are now certified carbon neutral. Greenhouse gas emissions are down […]
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Panasonic starts production of home energy storage system
Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic says it is starting production of lithium-ion battery packs for home energy storage this month. The energy storage system consists of Panasonic’s 1.35 kWh capacity lithium-ion battery with a battery management system to allow charging and discharging as needed. The system could store excess energy from home solar photovoltaic panels, for […]
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Chicago joins Obama’s better buildings challenge
Chicago’s mayor Rahm Emanuel and US Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday announced that the city is joining President Barack Obama’s better buildings challenge. As part of the initiative, which was launched last year to drive improvement in the efficiency of the nation’s buildings, Chicago is pledging to reduce energy use by 20% in 24 million […]
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UK farmers sowing seeds of a renewable harvest
Nearly a third of farmers in England and Wales are investing in renewable energy, according to research by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and NatWest. The survey of 400 farmers indicates that one in five farmers will be producing clean electricity, one in six have installed solar photovoltaics and one in eight are using or […]
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US west coast ‘electric highway’ reaches Canada
An ‘electric highway’ for electric vehicles, which will one day span the length of the US west coast, has moved a step closer with ten new charging points on major routes near the Canadian border. The latest charging stations from AeroVironment along Interstate 5, which runs from the Mexican to Canadian borders through California, Oregon […]
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UK and Iceland sign pact on geothermal energy
The UK and Iceland signed an agreement yesterday that could see geothermal power from Iceland’s volcanoes supply electricity to the UK. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Energy Minister Charles Hendry during a visit to Iceland’s Hellisheidi geothermal field on an active volcanic ridge in the south west of the country and his Icelandic counterpart Oddný […]
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IEA sets out rules for ‘golden age of gas’
The International Energy Agency (IEA) yesterday set out the ‘golden rules’ for exploiting natural gas while allaying concerns over environmental and social impacts. The extraction of unconventional sources of natural gas like shale gas using hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ have attracted controversy after reputedly polluting water supplies in the US and causing earth tremors in […]
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Japanese firm to plant ‘green curtains’ to cut energy use
Japanese advanced ceramics company Kyocera ia planting ‘green curtains’ at its locations throughout the country to cut energy use. The country is undertaking a major energy efficiency drive after shutting down all its nuclear reactors in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. Energy shortages could become an issue as the summer approaches and homes and […]
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Empire State Building efficiency makeover saves $2.4 million in first year
The energy efficiency makeover of New York City’s iconic Empire State Building has saved $2.4 million dollars in reduced costs in its first year. According to Johnson Controls, who undertook the project along with Jones Lang LaSalle and Rocky Mountain Institute, the retrofit project is ahead of its plans and has exceeded its year one […]
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HP unveils net zero-energy data centre design
HP’s research arm HP Labs has unveiled a design for a net zero-energy data centre that matches energy supply to computing demand to lower power costs by 30%. Combined with ‘holistic’ energy demand techniques, HP says the new design can reduce dependence on a larger power grid by more than 80%. The approach, which is […]
Quotes
The cheapest kWh of energy is the one you don't use Delvin Lane, Head of Energy 360, British Gas