The Federal Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that the government has set a target to electrify 7,000 villages within next five years through solar energy which cannot be electrified through grid. The minister said that Pakistan is facing the same issues in developing and utilising its renewable as many other countries in similar situation.

The dramatic growth in wind turbines around the British Isles may lead to huge spikes in power prices by 2030 and threaten the viability of backup plants needed for calm periods, according to Poyry Energy Consulting.

Global investment in clean energy and climate-friendly technologies leapt in the last three months but full-year levels won't recover until 2010 or 2011, analysts said on Wednesday.

Falling energy demand and more expensive debt have hurt large renewable projects for example in wind and solar power. Recession has cut risk appetite, curbing funding for clean technology start-ups.

In recent years the legion of supporters of renewable energy has expanded to include labor unions concerned about jobs, as well as national security and energy independence experts such as George Schultz and James Woolsey.

Bangladesh Solar Energy Society placed yesterday a 14-point proposal including easy term loan for self-financed renewable energy projects before the government for the expansion of the sector amid increasing power crisis.

Secretary of the society Prof Saiful Haque placed the proposals at a press conference at Renewable Energy Research Centre at Dhaka University.

Federal Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf has said Pakistan has set high targets for itself such as renewable energies including 5 percent of the electricity generation on grid by year 2030, and the replacement of 10 percent diesel with bio-diesel by year 2025.

Hoping to speed up the development of renewable energy resources on federal lands, the U.S. Interior Department designated about 670,000 acres of land on Monday as potential areas for solar energy production.

Demand for renewables has created a boom for land previously considered worthless in sunny deserts and wind-swept