Energy access

Ahead of the "EU Sustainable Energy for All Summit", survey shows that nine out of ten Europeans think the EU should support developing countries in energy access - A new survey today revealed that 95% of Europeans think that access to energy is an important precondition for overcoming poverty in developing countries. In fact, nine out of ten EU citizens want the EU to help people in developing countries to gain access to energy. (European Commission Press Release)

Kenya receives Sh10b for geothermal power - Kenya’s elaborate plan to meet its growing demand for electricity has received a major boost. (Jackson Okoth, Standard Media)

Renewable energy
  
Clean Energy Investments Continue to Soar: Time to "Triple Down" on Renewable Electricity - In 2011, new clean energy investments rose to a record $263 billion -- a 6.5 percent increase from last year.  The United States rose to the top in 2011 after having fallen behind China and Germany last year. (Jake Schmidt, The Huffington Post)

Nigeria: Country's First Wind Farm Comes On Stream in Katsina - A wind-propelled power project is due for commissioning in July this year in Kastina State, the minister of state for power, Arc. Darius Ishaku, has said. (Bode Gbadebo, All Africa)

Wind farm firm to create 1,000 jobs - An engineering firm is to create up to 1,000 new jobs after receiving a Government grant to build foundations for offshore wind farms, it has been announced. (Fulham Guardian)

Rio+20

Reflections on the Race to Rio: Ten weeks before the next Earth Summit -After participating in Rio+20 preparatory meetings last month at the United Nations, it appears that governments will spend thousands of hours this spring arguing over a draft Rio+20 output document now more than 200-page long. (Jacob Scherr, Sierra Club Switchboard)

Delivering Sustainable Energy for All: Opportunities at Rio+20 - Worldwide, about 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, while 2.7 billion lack access to clean cooking fuels. Meeting their needs is central to reducing poverty but relying on existing technologies would make runaway climate change unavoidable. (Center for Global Development)

Energy efficiency

Private funding of clean energy rises 54% - The flow of private investments into India's clean energy sector rose 54% to over $10 billion in 2011, marking the second-highest growth rate for such investments among the G-20 nations. (The Times of India)

Solar pumping system installed at Kalyan Bigha - Greenpeace India installed and demonstrated a low-cost solar pumping system at village Kalyan Bigha in Nalanda district on Thursday. (The Times of India)

Sustainable energy policy
  
State to formulate green energy policy soon - The state will soon formulate a green energy policy to encourage efforts to exploit non-degradable sources of energy. (The Times of India)

Country 'set to remain' global clean energy hub - China invested $45.5 billion in clean energy in 2011, causing the country to cede its top ranking in such expenditures to the United States for the first time since 2009. (Lan Lan, China Daily)