Solid waste disposal sites are not often seen as opportunities for energy solutions. The waste that is disposed in open dumps and landfills generates methane and other gases as it decomposes, causing concerns about explosions, odours, and, increasingly, about the contribution of methane to global climate change. However, the liability of landfill gas (LFG) can be turned into an asset.

Renewable Energy Credits/Green Certificates (RECs) is a policy instrument which provides evidence that an electricity generator has produced a certain quantum of power from a renewable energy source.

Alok Jha, green technology correspondent guardian.co.uk,

Lighting the way ... a solar panel in China's Olympic village. Photograph: Dan Chung

China is the world's leading producer of energy from renewable sources and is on the way to overtaking developed countries in creating clean technologies, according to a report by the Climate Group.

Published today, the group's report, China's Clean Revolution, shows that supportive government policies investing billions of dollars in energy efficiency and renewables are driving huge levels of innovation in China.

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are a market based instrument to promote renewable energy power and facilitate renewable energy portfolio obligations. Tradable RECs have been used extensively as a successful market-based policy instrument to promote renewables in Australia, Japan, the US, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy of India has announced a scheme on Generation Based Incentive (GBI) for grid connected wind power projects. The announcement comes after a very good response from an incentive scheme for solar power generation.

The Renewables Obligation is part of the country's programme to tackle climate change and to encourage a more sustainable approach to energy consumption.

Vast farms of solar panels in the Sahara could provide clean electricity for the whole of Europe, according to EU scientists working on a plan to pool the region's renewable energy.

Harnessing the power of the desert sun is at the centre of an ambitious scheme. The plan is to build a Euro 450 billion European supergrid that would allow countries across the continent to share electricity from abundant green sources such as wind en ergy in the UK and Denmark, and geothermal energy from Iceland and Italy.

India unveils strategy to counter climate change INDIA released its much-anticipated action plan to mitigate and adapt to climate change on June 30, almost a year after it was announced. Coming a week ahead of the G-8 summit, the plan was welcomed by both industry and environment groups, though not without some reservations. The action plan

Fergus Auld, first secretary, Climate Change and Energy, in the British High Commission, India, speaks to Mario D

Senior energy adviser to US Department of State, Dr Griffin M Thomson has suggested setting up of economically viable eco-friendly projects in the Northeast to become self-reliant in the field of energy. Talking exclusively with The Assam Tribune here today Dr Thomson, who is closely associated with several big projects in the US, said his government is ready to extend all technical support to the region for initiating any energy project. " This region has tremendous hydropower potential, but before extending any technological support we must get a proper report in this regard.

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