Satellite data show that changes in the sun are contributing to global warming but to a smaller extent than human activity, a space scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington told a group of petroleum geologists Wednesday. "The sun is playing a role that you can detect, but it's not the dominant role," Judith Lean told a crowded session at the 2008 convention of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in San Antonio.

The Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) is making great strides in the field of utilization of solar energy to replace traditional electricity-fueled water heating systems in the state. Nearly 5 megawatts (MW) of energy is produced using this non-conventional source of energy. In 250 villages that are not connected by grid electricity, solar panels are providing hot water. The practice is also growing in areas around Thane and not without reason.

An Ireland-based renewable energy firm has given Euro 62m (US$100m) in funding to a solar energy specialist. NTR has invested the money in the US-based firm Stirling Energy Systems (SES) after reaching an agreement that will give NTR a controlling interest. The funding will allow SES to begin work on two major solar farms in southern California and increase its production of its SunCatcher solar energy generators. The SunCatcher technology uses large mirrored dishes to direct sunlight onto an engine capable of turning the energy into electricity.

THE only hurdle to the large-scale use of solar energy is the state of the technology. In terms of dollar-per-watt of electricity, traditional fossil fuels are still much more efficient. But that is rapidly changing, and what was at $3-$4 per watt even a few years ago is at the $2 per watt level, with the use of so-called

THE Chennai Corporation, as part of its cost-cutting measures, has planned to install more solar-powered streetlights in narrow streets and slum areas in the city According to May . or M Subramanian, the Corporation spent nearly Rs 18 crore a year for powering streetlights. By introducing solar-powered lights, the Corporation could reduce its expenditure, he added. The Mayor on Saturday inaugurated 60 solar-powered streetlights of 18 watts capacity, built at a cost of Rs 11 lakh, at a slum dwellings near Tod Hunter Nagar in Ward-139.

Patrick Getreide is an entrepreneur with a big ambition: to build the world's greenest office block. Energy Plus, his projected 70,000 square metre Paris block, will be carbon neutral and generate more electricity than it uses, saving tenants

The UK government has set a target for every new home to be "zero-carbon' by 2016. Given that it intends the industry to be building 240,000 new homes a year by that date, it is an ambitious target

Credit Suisse-backed private equity firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners will focus on investments in wind, solar and biofuels, with deal sizes averaging about $100 million, its managing partners said Wednesday. John Cavalier, former head of Credit Suisse's renewable energy investment banking practice, and Neil Auerbach, Hudson's founder, said in an interview that the firm was focused on companies with commercialized technology, or those that are on the verge of commercialization.

People have seen a change in their quality of life, thanks to the solar lighting system. "My son stays up later than all of us, studying through the night," says Guddi Devi, a resident of Dabkan- Kartikeya Singh, Alwar It is a simple device but it has shrunk the nights in Rajasthan's countryside. Over the past decade, thousands of families in the state's remote villages, unconnected with the grid, have installed solar lighting systems at their homes, which harness solar energy to generate electricity.

M.T.A. to Tap Solar Power for Electricity at Some Buildings By WILLIAM NEUMAN Published: April 15, 2008 The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Monday that it would install solar panels on about a dozen bus depots, warehouses and other facilities with large roofs as part of a push to make its operations more environmentally friendly.