A new study shows that Facebook is one of the top sources of news in some Arab nations, thanks in part to a growing use of social media — and a distrust of traditional media sources.
It’s got dry, sunny climate and an addiction to fossil fuels, and it’s set to become a hot spot for renewable energy development, especially solar. It’s the Middle East, where countries such as Saudi Arabia subsidize electricity generation by using their own oil and where natural gas is the main source of power for United Arab Emirates.
Eco labels have worked well in some cases, such as organic food, but will they work for renewable energy? The wind energy industry thinks so and proposed a program Wednesday to encourage companies to invest in wind and display their eco-friendly cred.
Global investments in renewable energy have risen dramatically over the last decade, but governments need to step up support for clean energy innovation. That’s one of the findings in a report out this morning from the International Energy Agency.
There’s hundreds of software tools and companies to choose from when it comes to helping organizations manage energy consumption, carbon emissions and water use. But a report out this morning from researchers Groom Energy singles out the top 10 companies providing these important tools.
Whether natural gas is friend or foe to renewable energy development has been hotly debated. For Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, the world isn’t paying enough attention to the impact that natural gas production and pricing will have on renewable energy.
It’s a driverless pod that runs on a battery pack along tracks guided by magnets in the ground. Getting a ride on the car was an apt introduction to the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates.
In Cancun, Mexico, amidst the second week of the U.N.’s climate negotiations, Hara announced that it has scored a mother of a deal to help state-run utility Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority save $3 billion over 10 years.
Bad news from Masdar City, the would-be self-contained clean energy and zero-carbon city of 40,000 future residents being built from scratch by Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. According to recent reports, the $22 billion project’s completion date has been pushed back from 2016 to the 2020-2025 timeframe. In addition, Masdar City’s self-contained aspect might be out the window — reports indicate that planners are now looking to bring renewable energy from outside the city itself to power its needs. For a project that’s been derided for both being utopian and dystopian (the New York Times recently decried Masdar as a walled enclave for the super-rich), it isn’t a good sign.
Tesla Motors’ shares ended their first day of trading up 40.5 percent over their $17 offering price, at $23.89. The electric car maker saw most of its gains late in the day, when the stock surged as high as $25.
