Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie, who has sailed non-stop around the world and crossed the Pacific in a solar-powered boat made of recycled aluminium beer cans, is off on his next solo adventure at sea.

Visitors to Thalheim in eastern Germany enter a grey landscape of abandoned industrial buildings, the remnants of the communist-era chemicals industry.

In a cityscape dotted by energy guzzling high-rises, the municipal corporation has decided to set the precedent for going green.

Kenichi Horie, who has crossed the Pacific in a solar-powered boat made of recycled aluminium, is getting ready for his next solo sea adventure. The 69-year-old Japanese sailor will set out March 16 on what he says will be the world's longest voyage in a wave-powered boat. Speaking through a translator at the Hawaii Yacht Club, Mr. Horie said he would travel more than 6,400 km from Honolulu to Japan aboard a 3-tonne yacht called the Suntory Mermaid II at a speed of up to 5 knots. The boat made of recycled aluminium relies on the energy of waves to move two fins at its bow and propel it forward. Mr. Horie said it is a sturdy vessel, designed to right itself if it capsizes. But it is equipped with an engine and an 11-m sail mast for emergencies. The journey, which would take a diesel-powered boat about 10 days to complete, is expected to take him about 2.5 months. He will take along rice, canned food and microwaveable meals. And beer. Solar panels atop the catamaran will power the microwave, and Mr. Horie will have a satellite phone and access to e-mail. "With so many people supporting me, even by myself, I won't feel lonesome,' Mr. Horie said. To pass the time, he said, he would also take books and a radio. "I still think he's crazy for doing this,' said Howie Mednick, vice commodore of the Hawaii Yacht Club. But he called the voyage "historical' and "amazing.' A spokesman promoting the voyage said the sailor hoped the shipping industry would eventually adopt the clean wave technology. The journey would not be Mr. Horie's first time travelling the seas using green technology. In 1992, he powered a boat by pedalling, travelling from Hawaii to Okinawa. And in 1996, he sailed nearly 16,000 km from Ecuador to Tokyo aboard a solar-powered boat made largely from recycled aluminium beer cans.

On February 22nd, at an event featuring film stars, astronauts and technology gurus, Acciona, a Spanish conglomerate, is due to inaugurate a new power plant a few miles from Las Vegas. In fact, the plant has been running since last June. But the technology it uses, known as "concentrating solar power' (CSP), is hot right now, as the Hollywood luminaries might put it. Acciona's new plant, called "Nevada Solar One', can generate up to 64 megawatts (MW)

Spurred by environmental concerns, the West Bengal Government is set to make it mandatory to have rainwater harvesting and solar power facilities in buildings. "Global warming and climate change are threatening us. We must, therefore, have greenhouse concepts like solar power and rainwater harvesting in new buildings. I am talking to my urban development minister to include these in the Municipal Act so that it becomes mandatory for all,' Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today. Inaugurating the 'Realty Expo 2008' of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), he described paucity of housing as a national problem and said his government was stressing on construction of housing projects both by the government, private players and through public-private partnership (PPP). With the PPP model having been successfully implemented in the state's housing sector, the government now wanted the private players to take up construction of related infrastructure like roads, bridges and flyovers, he said. Pointing out that Rs 15 crore had been collected towards construction workers' welfare after the government made it mandatory for real estate developers to contribute to it, the Chief Minister appealed to private developers for greater contribution towards the welfare fund.

An Australian subsidiary of CLP Holdings Ltd, the larger of Hong Kong's two power utilities, has agreed with Melbourne-based Solar Systems to develop the world's largest solar power station. TRUenergy will contribute an initial A$7 million ($6.5 million) to develop a 2-megawatt heliostat concentrated photovoltaic pilot plant, subsequently investing up to A$285 million to build the remaining stages of the 154 megawatt project in northern Victoria, Australia, CLP said. The Australian and Victorian governments have also committed to fund development of the HK$2.9 billion ($371 million) project, which will be capable of powering 45,000 homes. Work will begin in 2009. CLP's shares were up 3.8 percent in mid-morning trade, outperforming a flat Hong Kong market. TRUenergy has taken a 20 percent stakeholding in Solar Systems, a private company that has been developing solar technology for 17 years. CLP also entered into a 10-year agreement with Solar Systems to deploy photovoltaic technology in the Asia Pacific region, including China. The Hong Kong-based firm has hit a target of generating 5 percent of its capacity from renewable energy by the end of 2007, three years ahead of schedule, it said. Its latest solar development agreements will make an important contribution to a new target of sourcing 20 percent of its power from non-carbon-emitting generation technologies by 2020, it added. (US$1=A$1.082=HK$7.8) (Reporting by Judy Hua; Editing by Edmund Klamann) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

Japan's Sharp Corp will team up with Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd and Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd to develop large lithium-ion batteries that can store solar energy for houses, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday. The deal will help Sharp, the world's largest producer of solar cells, expand its solar power system business while enabling Japanese homebuilder Daiwa House add value to its homes with energy-saving technologies, the Nikkei said. Sharp plans to invest around 600 million yen ($5.56 million) in large lithium-ion battery developer Eliiy Power Co Ltd in March, the Nikkei said. Currently, Daiwa House and Dai Nippon Printing, provider of electrode materials used in lithium-ion batteries, each hold stakes worth about 600 million yen in Eliiy Power, a spokesman for Eliiy Power said. While existing household solar power systems can convert sunlight to energy, they cannot store power for later use. Homes thus rely on other forms of power on cloudy days or at night, a Daiwa House spokesman said. But with large lithium-ion batteries, with up to 40 times the storage capacity of existing smaller batteries used in mobile phones and laptop computers, homes can have power even when the sun is not out, the Eliiy Power spokesman said. Eliiy Power plans to build a factory to produce large lithium-ion batteries in the business year 2009/10, the Nikkei reported. A Sharp spokeswoman said the firm is looking into storage batteries for households, but nothing has been determined. Daiwa House and Dai Nippon Printing spokesmen declined to confirm the Nikkei report. The Eliiy Power spokesman said the company is considering bringing another partner into its lithium-ion venture, but did not provide details. Shares of Sharp rose 1.7 percent to 2,135 yen as of the morning close on Tuesday. Daiwa House shares climbed 1.5 percent to 1,121 yen, while shares of Dai Nippon Printing fell 0.6 percent to 1,699 yen. (Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

An Australian subsidiary of CLP Holdings Ltd, the larger of Hong Kong's two power utilities, has agreed with Melbourne-based Solar Systems to develop the world's largest solar power station. TRUenergy will contribute an initial A$7 million ($6.5 million) to develop a 2-megawatt heliostat concentrated photovoltaic pilot plant, subsequently investing up to A$285 million to build the remaining stages of the 154 megawatt project in northern Victoria, Australia, CLP said. The Australian and Victorian governments have also committed to fund development of the HK$2.9 billion ($371 million) project, which will be capable of powering 45,000 homes. Work will begin in 2009. CLP's shares were up 3.8 percent in mid-morning trade, outperforming a flat Hong Kong market. TRUenergy has taken a 20 percent stakeholding in Solar Systems, a private company that has been developing solar technology for 17 years. CLP also entered into a 10-year agreement with Solar Systems to deploy photovoltaic technology in the Asia Pacific region, including China. The Hong Kong-based firm has hit a target of generating 5 percent of its capacity from renewable energy by the end of 2007, three years ahead of schedule, it said. Its latest solar development agreements will make an important contribution to a new target of sourcing 20 percent of its power from non-carbon-emitting generation technologies by 2020, it added. (US$1=A$1.082=HK$7.8) (Reporting by Judy Hua; Editing by Edmund Klamann) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

Entrepreneurs and NGOs find innovative models to take solar energy to rural homes in the country. As dusk slowly lapses into night, it is time for millions to call it a day. For, before the night falls, farmers with their cattle have to be at home, children have to finish studies, housewives have to finish the household chores, as life comes to a standstill once it is dark.