Renewable energy

Wind turbine creates water from thin air - Wind turbines have long produced renewable energy but a French engineering firm has discovered another eco-purpose for the towering structures. (Eoghan Macguire, CNN)

Small Businesses Want Government to Invest in Clean Energy - Across the United States, Main Street small businesses are working to rebuild our economy. These entrepreneurs are doing all they can to hire, grow and move their businesses forward. And they're doing it largely through innovation -- particularly in the clean energy arena. (John Arensmeyer, Huffington Post)

Energy efficiency

NY spends $10M in energy efficiency on LI - The Long Island Railroad used its $4 million to pay for a heating upgrade that replaced platform exhaust fans with new, insulated ducts and high-efficiency fan motors. Funds also were used to install gas-fired rooftop heaters including a gas detection system and repair a roof at a Queens facility. (Claude Solnik, Long Island Business News)

Tata BP Solar CEO Resigns - The chief executive officer of Tata BP Solar Ltd. resigned, exiting India’s third-largest panel maker as the industry struggles to cope with oversupply from Chinese competitors that’s crushed prices. (Natalie Obiko Pearson, Bloomberg)

UK, Denmark study power cable to swap wind energy - Wind power producers Britain and Denmark are studying options to build a power cable between them to import and export renewable energy and increase market competition, the countries' grid operators said on Monday. (Reuters)

Rio+20

Governments to Support Sustainable Energy for All Initiative - Governments are stepping up to the challenge of meeting the goals of the UN Secretary-General’s proposed goals of achieving universal access to sustainable energy by 2030. (Gordon Day, IEEE)

UNEP chief calls for urgent action to tackle environment issues - Now it is a good time to talk green, between the Earth Day on April 22 and the World Environment Day in June, when the United Nations will organize a pivotal conference on sustainable development that is known as Rio+20. (REVE)

Energy access

Eight19's IndiGo Solar - On the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, residents have few amenities. Clean drinking water, modern sewage systems, and affordable energy are nonexistent. (Sustainable Energy for All)

UN, EU to boost renewable energy - More Ugandans may soon get access to cheaper, cleaner and more efficient energy, after Uganda was selected among 12 United Nations countries to pilot a new initiative, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL). (Simon Musasizi, The Observer)

Sustainable energy policy

Merkel’s Green Jobs Ambition Stalls With Cuts for Solar - German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s effort to create jobs in renewable energy is faltering as subsidy cuts and competition from Chinese manufacturers forces the industry to stop hiring for the first time in eight years. (Stefan Nicola, Bloomberg Business Week)

Africa: Why Energy Should Play a Crucial Role in Continent's Development- Recent studies on energy use in Africa indicate that promoting cleaner, more efficient technologies for producing charcoal in Africa can save millions of lives and have significant climate change and development benefits. (Oscar Kimanuka, All Africa)