GREEN EARTH Sinivasa Raghotham Around the world, governments and power utilities, struggling against skyhigh oil prices and global warming, are turning to solar power as the next big source. Here are some of the largest projects under implementation or planned.

The Chinese centre One Telecom International Holding Limited has offered to install very low consuming and zero power search LED solar lights at different places in Karachi, especially parks under Pak-China joint venture. A delegation of the company, led by its Deputy General Manager Yu Ping, called on acting City Nazim Nasrin Jalil at her office here on Saturday. The delegation informed acting City Nazim: "The LED solar lights not only consumes very low energy, but also flashes provide sharp lighting and has a life span of 20 years."

IT IS great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away. Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on petrol, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer's travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our petrol tanks. What a way to build our country.

A Silicon Valley start-up says it has developed technology that can deliver solar power in about a year at prices competitive with coal-fired electricity, a milestone that would leapfrog other more established players and turbocharge the fast-growing industry. SUNRGI's "concentrated photovoltaic" system relies on lenses to magnify sunlight 2,000 times, letting it produce as much electricity as standard panels with a far smaller system. Craig Goodman, head of the National Energy Marketers Association, is expected to announce the breakthrough Tuesday.

Electricity from renewable sources may be fairly cheap to make, but it cannot be stored and produced when needed. But the solar industry is moving to solve both problems with a single approach: gather heat from the sun, boil water into steam, spin a turbine and make power. Solar power, the holy grail of renewable energy, has always faced the problem of how to store the energy captured from the sun's rays so that demand for electricity can be met at night or whenever the sun is not shining.

A grass-roots movement to generate power in towns and basements is challenging the energy industry's status quo.

The then advisor to Prime Minister on Power Yasin Malik has said that solar energy is the best solution to the ongoing power crisis in the country.

Tata BP Solar, which specialises in solar photovoltaics, has signed an agreement with Calyon Bank (Credit Agricole CIB) and BNP Paribas to raise a $78 million debt to fund its 128 mw solar cell expans

It will be the California-based firm's largest global facility.