A UN-backed study has reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has overtaken fossil fuel power plants in Europe and the US. The report charts construction from last year and states that renewables accounted for 60 percent of new electricity generation capacity in Europe. In the US, green power accounted for more than half of new generation capacity that was constructed in 2009.

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Post tags: "wind power", clean power, clean tech, green design, renewable energy, renewable energy production, sustainable design, us renewable energy

When folks zip down icy, snow-covered mountains at warp speed, it’s only natural that some (OK, most) of those people are going to take a fall. That’s why skiing and snowboarding, while fun, can also be pretty dangerous. Students at Northeastern University aim to make winter sports safer through a new helmet that protects wearers’ heads and monitors injuries.

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Post tags: Design for Health, Head Impact Detection and Alert System, helmet detects head injuries, LCD, Northeastern, Sinan Muftu, ski helmet, skiing, snowboarding

When dutch architecture firm MVRDV started conceiving their plan for 2,700 new houses in Liuzhou, China, one of their primary goals was to protect the city’s precious limestone mountains from further erosion while preserving the rolling beauty of the landscape. The homes are individual ?boxes clustered together in a natural configuration that follows the topography of the slopes. The floors and walls of the houses make use of local rocks, and each unit in this curious vertical village dubbed Long Tan Park has its own magnificent view of the sprawling hills.

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. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodation with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a television, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodation with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a television, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodation with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a television, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodation with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a television, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

. Excluding breakfast. Ideally located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur's lively Chinatown is Hotel China Town Inn offering affordable accommodation with free wireless internet access in public areas. Rooms offer a television, comfortable bed and attached bathroom. Most rooms offer air conditioning. Services offered by Hotel China Town Inn include a tour desk, car rental and laundry services. Hotel China Town Inn is close to the LRT Station, Pudu Raya Bus Station and Bukit Bintang Shopping Centre. It is also within walking distance from various attractions.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has announced new prices for fuel, cooking gas and sugar, effective midnight. The new price for RON 95 petrol will be RM1.85 per litre from RM1.80 per litre previously. For RON 97, the new price starts at RM2.10 per litre, and will be reviewed monthly. Diesel will be priced RM1.75 per litre from midnight. For LPG (cooking gas), the new prices are RM18.50 for 10kg, RM22.20 for 12kg and RM25.90 for 14kg. Sugar prices, meanwhile, have been increased to RM1.90 per kg from RM1.65 per kg. In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said the changes will help Malaysia achieve a position of fiscal responsibility and help reduce the national deficit. "To meet these objectives, we have chosen to make adjustments to our subsidies. Even after these changes, the Government will still spend an estimated RM7.82 billion on fuel and sugar subsidies in 2010. The prices of fuel and sugar in Malaysia will still be among the lowest in the region," it added. The subsidy rationalisation will, according to estimates, allow Malaysia to reduce Government expenditure by more than RM750 million in 2010. "I think the amount itself is relatively small in the sense that the people?s purchasing people may not be that eroded, and may not be that inflationary, and I think this is a good way to consolidate the huge negative in the fiscal position," OSK-DMG economist Enrico Tanuwidjaja told reuters. DBS Bank's Irvin Seah, meanwhile said the hike is a signal that the government will go ahead with its rationalisation plan, especially with fuel subsidies. "There will be some mild impact to headline inflation and we can expect to see overall Malaysian prices going up. "The petrol price hike is an added bonus to lowering the fiscal deficit. We have, anyway expected the fiscal deficit to fall this year on strong GDP growth," he added. Agencies

KUCHING: Malaysia will implement the feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy to enable users to sell excess power to the power grid as early as next year, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui. He said the Renewable Energy Act, which will introduce the FIT mechanism, is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat by year-end. "The FIT is a mechanism that is tried and tested in many advanced countries, notably Germany, as a way to encourage people to use renewable energy such as solar, biomas or wind. "With the FIT, it will be easier for everyone, whether individual consumers or companies to generate renewable energy and sell their excess power back to Tenaga Nasional Berhad or regional utility companies such as Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation and Sabah Electricity Board," he told reporters after the launch of "Green Technology Roadshow 2010" by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan here today. Chin said he believed the incentives to sell excess power derived from renewable energy sources to the grid would encourage more people to adopt renewable energy sources. "I'm quite sure, like in Germany and many other countries, when there is FIT, the solar panel installation and usage will go up. A lot of usage could bring the price of solar panels down," he said. Chin said the cost to install solar panels to generate 1KW of power for homes is RM25,000 and the average usage of a detached house is about 2kW. "With FIT, it is a small step towards greening of this country. Based on the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, we are not doing that good. Our carbon emission rate is among the highest in the world," he said. Earlier, in his speech, Chin said the government planned various programmes to promote the application and development of green technology including the establishment of Green Technology Financing Scheme amounting to RM1.5 billion. He said the scheme launched in January is to attract the private sector, especially the SMEs, to participate in green technology entrepreneurship. "As of last month, the scheme received overwhelming response from the industry. The Malaysia Green Technology Corporation has certified 33 projects out of 44 applications processed. "More than 20 applications are being processed now," he said. Chin was disappointed no project was located in Sarawak. With the government's recognition of green technology, he said it was time for financial and business communities, especially in Sarawak, to utilise the financing scheme to explore the green technology sector and help bring about a more sustainable future to the country. "Two companies from Sarawak have submitted applications. My wish is to officiate a project here soon," he said, adding that the first roadshow was intentionally started in Sarawak to increase awareness in the state. At the launch, Dr Chan, who is also State Minister for Industrial Development, urged local companies to tap into renewable energy research and development) by utilising the Green Technology Financing Scheme. "I hope RandD will reduce the cost of producing renewable energy power," he added. -- BERNAMA