Gwynt y Mor wind farm already making the grade
Port Of Mostyn, England (UPI) Sep 3, 2014 -
German energy company RWE said Wednesday half of the turbines at what will be the second-largest offshore wind farm are operational.
More than half of the 160 turbines planned for the Gwynt y Mor wind farm off the coast of North Wales are in service. The second half could possibly be in service in time for a final commissioning at the end of the year.
Project Director Toby Edmond ...
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Russia's Putin follows China's Xi to Mongolia
Ulan Bator (AFP) Sept 03, 2014 -
Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the signing of a series of agreements with Mongolia on a whistle-stop visit Wednesday, just two weeks after a trip by Xi Jinping from its other giant neighbour China.
Putin is currently embroiled in the crisis in Ukraine, which has strained his relations with the West to breaking point, and is on the lookout for new markets in the face of threatened s ...
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India, Australia set to sign nuclear deal as Abbott visits
Mumbai (AFP) Sept 03, 2014 -
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is set to arrive in India on Thursday to sign a long-awaited deal to sell uranium to his energy-starved hosts and strengthen bilateral ties.
Abbott is expected to meet with new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior ministers during a two-day visit aimed at boosting trade.
"We expect significant outcomes from the visit to further enhance our ...
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EU fines Samsung, Philips and Infineon over smartcard chip cartel
Brussels (AFP) Sept 03, 2014 -
The European Union fined Infineon, Philips and Samsung a total of 138 million euros (181 million dollars) on Wednesday for fixing the prices of smartcard chips, in its latest anti-trust case against technology firms.
The German, Dutch and South Korean companies "colluded" between 2003 and 2005 to form the cartel on the chips, which are widely used in mobile phones, bank cards and passports, ...
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Ride-sharing could cut cabs' road time by 30 percent
Boston MA (SPX) Sep 04, 2014 -
Cellphone apps that find users car rides in real time are exploding in popularity: The car-service company Uber was recently valued at $18 billion, and even as it faces legal wrangles, a number of companies that provide similar services with licensed taxi cabs have sprung up.
What if the taxi-service app on your cellphone had a button on it that let you indicate that you were willing to sh ...
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China to need more than 6,000 new planes by 2033: Boeing
Beijing (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
China will need more than 6,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years, US manufacturer Boeing forecast Thursday - an increase of almost 500 on its equivalent prediction last year.
Flight demand in the world's most populous country and second-largest economy is increasing and diversifying, Boeing said in its new Current Market Outlook for the country.
Chinese new aircraft demand will reach ...
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China to help build Argentina's fourth nuclear plant
Buenos Aires (AFP) Sept 03, 2014 -
China will take part in the construction of Argentina's fourth nuclear power plant, Buenos Aires announced Wednesday.
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will pour $2 billion into technical support and logistics to build Atucha III, the government said on its website following the signing of a deal in Beijing.
Two of Argentina's three current plants - Atucha and Atucha II - a ...
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Suspended sentences for Greenpeace nuclear protesters
Colmar, France (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
A French court Thursday slapped two-month suspended prison sentences on 55 Greenpeace activists who launched an audacious break-in at France's oldest nuclear power plant to highlight weaknesses at atomic installations.
Only three of the 55 defendants turned up in court in the eastern French city of Colmar to face trial over the March 18 protest at the Fessenheim power plant near the border ...
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Zimbabwe launches $500-mln power units to ease energy woes
Kariba, Zimbabwe (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
Energy-starved Zimbabwe on Thursday launched a $533-million project with China to scale up electricity generation at one of its major power plants in a bid to ease perennial energy woes.
China's Sino Hydro will build two additional units at the Kariba Power Station, 365 kilometres (230 miles) north of the capital, expected to add 300 megawatts to the national grid on completion in 2017.
...
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China General Nuclear plans $2 bn Hong Kong IPO
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
China General Nuclear Power, the country's largest nuclear power producer, has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong reportedly worth $2 billion.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, China International Capital Corp. and ABC International - the investment arm of Agricultural Bank of China - are all joint sponsors of the listing which still needs approval.
The Shenzhen-based comp ...
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Tesla, Panasonic to build battery plant in Nevada
Los Angeles (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
US electric automaker Tesla Motors is to build a new multi-billion-dollar "Gigafactory" in Nevada, the western US state's senator Harry Reid announced Thursday.
The plant, plans for which were announced in July with Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, will produce lithium-ion batteries for Tesla's cars. The location of the plant had not been previously confirmed.
"Later this afternoon ...
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BoJ holds off fresh stimulus despite slowdown
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
The Bank of Japan's chief on Thursday stuck by his rosy view of the economy despite mounting evidence that an April sales tax hike has stalled growth.
Haruhiko Kuroda's upbeat take on the world's number three economy has appeared increasingly at odds with the official data, but he brushed off questions about the apparent gap after a meeting where policymakers held fire on launching more stim ...
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Ultrasensitive Biosensor from Molybdenite Semiconductor Outshines Graphene
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
Move over, graphene. An atomically thin, two-dimensional, ultrasensitive semiconductor material for biosensing developed by researchers at UC Santa Barbara promises to push the boundaries of biosensing technology in many fields, from health care to environmental protection to forensic industries.
Based on molybdenum disulfide or molybdenite (MoS2), the biosensor material - used commonly as ...
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ACCESS II Confirms Jet Biofuel Burns Cleaner
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
Flying high above the California desert, NASA researchers recently took to the skies for the second year in a row with a DC-8 and other aircraft to study the effects on emissions and contrail formation of burning alternative fuels in jet engines.
This follow-up set of Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions flight tests, known as ACCESS II, repeated a similar series of t ...
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Ethanol fireplaces: the underestimated risk
Munich, Germany (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
Ethanol fireplaces are becoming more and more popular. However, they are not only highly combustible - in the past, severe accents have occurred repeatedly with decorative fireplaces. The devices also pollute the air in the rooms. This has been proven by a recent Fraunhofer study. Wood-burning ovens are also on the testing block.
Go to the DIY-market in the morning, buy the fireplace, and ...
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New synthesis method may shape future of nanostructures, clean energy
College Park MD (SPX) Sep 03, 2014 -
A team of University of Maryland physicists has published new nanoscience advances that they and other scientists say make possible new nanostructures and nanotechnologies with huge potential applications ranging from clean energy and quantum computing advances to new sensor development.
Published in Nature Communications the Maryland scientists' primary discovery is a fundamentally new sy ...
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Breakthrough for Carbon Nanotube Solar Cells
Evanston IL (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
Lighter, more flexible, and cheaper than conventional solar-cell materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have long shown promise for photovoltaics. But research stalled when CNTs proved to be inefficient, converting far less sunlight into power than other methods.
Now a research team led by Mark Hersam, professor of materials science and engineering and the Bette and Neison Harris Chair of Teac ...
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Changing temperature powers sensors in hard-to-reach places
Seattle WA (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
A centuries-old clock built for a king is the inspiration for a group of computer scientists and electrical engineers who hope to harvest power from the air.
The clock, powered by changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure, was invented in the early 17th century by a Dutch builder. Three centuries later, Swiss engineer Jean Leon Reutter built on that idea and created the Atmos mechani ...
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Wind energy cuts the electricity bill
Leioa, Spain (SPX) Sep 05, 2014 -
The promoting of renewable energy is at the heart of the current debate on energy policy. From an economic perspective, the question focusses on determining the cost of the feed-in tariff systems. Firstly, whether the incentives are as expensive as has been maintained in the most recent regulatory modifications, and secondly, whether the effect is similar with respect to all renewable technologi ...
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EDF says to re-start UK nuclear reactors by end-2014
London (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
EDF Energy said on Thursday that four of its nuclear reactors, closed in northern England last month after the discovery of a crack, should resume operations by the end of the year.
The group, the British unit of French giant EDF, had decided on August 11 to shut down two reactors at each of the Heysham and Hartlepool nuclear plants as a precaution after a "defect" at Heysham 1 Reactor 1 was ...
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China holds eight for media coverage extortion
Shanghai (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
Chinese police have detained eight people including the editor of a well-known business newspaper's website for blackmailing dozens of listed companies over coverage, state media reported Thursday.
Those held in the "huge" extortion case include the editor and deputy editor of the 21st Century Business Herald's site and employees of two public relations firms, the official Xinhua news agency ...
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EU court rules against France over nitrates water pollution
Luxembourg (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that France had failed to adequately prevent water pollution by nitrates and ordered the government to implement regulation or face penalties.
The European Commission took the French government to court for failing to prevent water pollution in vulnerable zones, including some of France's iconic shoreline.
Synthetic nitrate fertilisers are ...
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Dalai Lama cancels South Africa trip amid visa row
Johannesburg (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
The Dalai Lama has cancelled a trip to South Africa for a summit of Nobel peace laureates, an aide said Thursday, reporting that Pretoria had denied him a visa in a bid to avoid angering China.
The government "conveyed by phone to me they will not be able to grant the visa for the reason that it would disturb relations between China and South Africa," Nangsa Choedon told AFP.
The apparen ...
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Two miners injured, eight trapped after Bosnia quake
Sarajevo (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
Two miners were injured and eight others trapped on Thursday inside a Bosnian coal mine after an earthquake triggered a gas explosion and caved in two tunnels.
The 3.5-magnitude quake, which hit at 4:30 pm (1430 GMT), had its epicentre 53 kilometres (33 miles) northwest of Sarajevo, national BHRT television reported.
Esad Civic, manager at the Raspotocje mine in Zenica, said two undergro ...
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Hong Kong students plan strike for democracy
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 04, 2014 -
Hong Kong students announced plans Thursday to hold a week long strike in response to Beijing's refusal to grant the semi-autonomous city full universal suffrage.
The move came as a major financial backer of the pro-democracy group that has vowed to take over the city's streets said the axing of his long-running newspaper column was politically motivated.
Activists in the former British ...
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