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Energy

India shivers as grid crashes

Lucknow, India: The State of Uttar Pradesh is shivering and in darkness with six power plants tripping in succession hours after a sharp rise in electricity demand due to the unusually harsh winter.

Power demand rose to a level not seen since May 2011 level when the problems was peak heat in the summer. The overall power outages were more than 2,500MW.

This spells trouble for the ruling Samajwadi Party saddled with an election promise of providing free power to the rural areas and initiating measures to improve the power distribution network. Perhaps they should have considered wind and hydro for the winter months.

Electricity bosses said said the availability of coal has been one of the limiting factors behind the recent power shortage. They said the state government is in the process of initiating a project of purchasing power under a scheme called as Case-1 bidding.
The scheme would see power utility purchasing of around 6000MW from different sources for 25 years beginning 2016. But the process is in the evaluation stage.

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People

Bollywood star’s off-grid home

India is one of the world’s most off-grid countries – mainly because so many of its inhabitants were never on the grid in the first place.  As hundreds of millions struggle to get connected, Bollywood actress Gul Panag will throw open the doors of her weekend home, one of the first in India to be built to eco standards.

Indians say it’s a leg up for the green home movement, and in that upwardly mobile culture, want to move away from just the symbolic rain-water-harvesting-and-solar- panel installation design to an expensively laid out vision, capped by a system of evaluation, rating and certification.

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Navajo go solar

Navajo Nation gets half a million from stimulus funds for solar power – others could do the same

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Energy

Wireless power

Cellular base stations are one of the biggest users of off-grid power – but only when there is no alternative

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$1800 12V solar system

Sharp Electronics have analysed the minimum household power requirement and come up with a reliable $2000 system that provides and stores enough solar power to keep you going.

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Energy

Planning refused

Bob Robarts and wind turbine
One man & his turbine

A Welsh family have had their dreams of living off wind power blown away by a ruling from the National Parks Authority which refused to allow Bob and Daisy Robarts a small wind turbine at their Crosswell home.

095334892x-02-_scthumbzzz_-5684596“How to Get Planning Permission” – buy it from Amazon UK

The Robarts highlights our campaign to change planning laws in the UK and speed the introduction of green energy can be introduced.

The three metre turbine and 11 metre high mast in a nearby field would provide all the electricity needed for their home and office. Despite letters of support from

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