Factbox: New wind power projects in Europe
27 August 2008 - Czech utility CEZ's plan to invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.62 billion) in a 600 megawatt wind park in Romania is good news for a renewable energy industry seeking new markets. The five biggest countries by wind power capacity account for nearly three-quarters of global capacity, underlining the significance of planned CEZ wind farm which would dwarf current east European projects. Following are details of installed wind power capacity by country and major proposed European wind power projects. (more)

Japan: Electric company to build solar power plant to reduce CO2 emissions
27 August 2008 - Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power Company said on Monday it would build a 3-megawatt solar power generation plant to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through renewable energy. The company plans to begin construction at the site of its former coal-fired plant in the city of Omuta in Fukuoka in the year starting April 2009. Operations are scheduled to begin in the year from April 2010. (more)

Japan: Mitsubishi Electic to invest $550 million to lift solar output
27 August 2008 - Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp plans to invest 60 billion yen ($549 million) to quadruple its solar battery production in four years t meet growing demand for renewable energy. The electronics conglomerate said the company is conducting research on thin-film solar cells, and may shift production to the new technology. Thin-film uses a fraction of the pricey silicon used in conventional solar cells, but is less efficient in converting sunlight into electricity. (more)

New study: Cows seem to know which way is north
27 August 2008 - Cows seem to have a built-in compass. Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. Most cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction, a team of German and Czech researchers reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more)

New Wal-Mart Canada stores go greener
27 August 2008 - Wal-Mart stores in Canada will look to go greener next year, with new outlets opened in 2009 designed to save 30 percent in energy use, the head of the retail giant's Canadian unit said on Tuesday. The company will achieve the energy savings, compared with traditional outlets in 2005, by using waste energy from refrigerators to help heat stores, cutting lighting costs, covering roofs with white membranes to reflect sunlight and lower summer cooling costs, and reducing the size of the buildings. (more)

Romania to have largest onshore wind park in Europe
27 August 2008 - Czech power group CEZ plans to build a 1.1 billion euro ($1.62 billion) wind park in Romania, the largest of its kind in Europe, in a move to offset emissions from dirtier coal-fired power plants. CEZ said the two-stage, 600 megawatt project would be built 17 km (10 miles) from the Black Sea shore, north of the port of Constanta, and would be around twice the size of the next biggest onshore wind farm in Europe. (more)

Study: Deer, cattle align bodies with Earth's magnetic field
27 August 2008 - Grazing cattle and sleeping deer tend to align their bodies along the North-South axis of the Earth's magnetic field, European researchers said on Monday. Researchers found that whether grazing or resting, these animals face either magnetic North or South. And since the direction of the wind and sun varied widely where the images were taken, the researchers believe the Earth's magnetic field to be the polarizing factor. (more)

Tanzania sees 300 cars on hybrid fuel by March 2009
27 August 2008 - Tanzania plans to have about 300 cars running on a hybrid of petrol and compressed natural gas in Dar es Salaam by March 2009, a senior government petroleum official said on Tuesday. It also plans to build three gas filling stations in the same period. The east African economy has proven natural gas deposits of about 3.3 trillion cubic feet and is trying to use it to blunt the effects of high international fuel prices. (more)

US: Consumer confidence bounces
27 August 2008 - US consumer confidence recovered more than expected in August as fears over inflation eased, while financial markets combed through housing data on Tuesday for reasons to hope the worst may be over. The Conference Board said its index measuring consumers' mood jumped to 56.9 this month from July's 51.9 for the highest reading since May, while a decline in inflation expectations should please Federal Reserve officials worried about an unwelcome rise in price pressures this year. (more)