By: HAMISH MACDONELL AND STEPHEN MCGINTY

CONSTRUCTION work began on Europe's biggest wind farm yesterday, amid increasing concern that Scotland may not be able to cope with many more developments of such a size and scale.

Alistair Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, cut the first turf on the Whitelee wind farm at Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow, hailing the 140-turbine development as a "major contribution" to Britain's commitment to renewable energy.

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 26, 2006

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An ambitious multidisciplinary research initiative into alternative, sustainable energy resources is being launched by the Weizmann Institute of Science, with the goal of significantly advancing the search for solutions to the world's most pressing energy problems. The Rehovot institute plans to raise significant funds for its Initiative for Research in Sustainable and Alternative Energy, which will support innovative scientific projects in the field.

"Developing alternative means of producing energy is a necessary step for dealing with the continuing energy crisis," says institute president Prof. Ilan Chet. "Creating fresh, sustainable methods of producing energy in the required amounts will only be possible if we can gain the knowledge to invent completely new technologies.

By JERRY HARKAVY, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 28, 4:52 PM ET

WISCASSET, Maine - A $250,000 demonstration project that produces hydrogen energy to provide backup lighting and warmth at the Chewonki Foundation's environmental education center was hailed at its unveiling Monday as the first of its kind in the nation.

The nonprofit foundation teamed up with the Portland-based Hydrogen Energy Center to develop the system that was touted as an example of the kind of cutting-edge technology that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and help ease global warming.

Ben Webster, UK Times
DRIVERS are to be offered a new fuel made from crops grown in Britain that will be less harmful to the environment - but there will be no need for them to modify their engines.

Sugar beet grown in East Anglia will be fermented to produce butanol, which will be blended with petrol and sold at more than 1,200 filling stations.

The Government plans to accelerate the introduction of butanol and other biofuels by setting oil companies tough targets for producing renewable fuels that have much less impact on the environment.

Gail Kinsey Hill, Portland Oregonian
Projects to power a few thousand homes are springing up in the Columbia River Gorge
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When alternative-energy enthusiasts ponder the potential of wind generation, they generally envision huge, 100-turbine projects capable of producing power for tens of thousands of homes.

But there's a new, more modest player on the block. It's called community wind, and if pent-up interest is any indication, it's destined for a small but determined place on the Northwest's energy grid.

Charles Komanoff, Orion
...But wind energy is never far from my mind these days. As Earth's climate begins to warp under the accumulating effluent from fossil fuels, the increasing viability of commercial-scale wind power is one of the few encouraging developments.

Encouraging to me, at least. As it turns out, there is much disagreement over where big windmills belong, and whether they belong at all.

Monte Reel, Washington Post
Alternative-Fuel Strategy, Rooted in Ethanol From Sugar Cane, Seen as Model
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SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Record oil prices have made the world's energy landscape a darkly foreboding place this year, inhospitable to optimism and celebration. Except in Brazil.

It has been something of a banner year here, full of milestones. The government predicts that for the first time in its history, Brazil will achieve energy equilibrium, exporting as much oil as it imports. The production of sugar cane-based ethanol is expected to reach an all-time high. And just three years after the introduction here of flex-fuel vehicles -- cars that run on either ethanol or gasoline -- several major automakers predict that such vehicles will represent 100 percent of their production by the end of the year, eliminating gas-only models.

By Jessica Jaganathan Wed Aug 16, 9:08 PM ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singaporean Kom Mam Sun ran his Nissan truck on biodiesel fuel for two years to test his business idea of turning used cooking oil from restaurants into fuel for vehicles.

The experiment was such a success that the 32-year-old entrepreneur opened his first biodiesel plant in June and has already made S$50,000 ($31,600) in profits.

Lester Brown, Fortune
The growing myth that corn is a cure-all for our energy woes is leading us toward a potentially dangerous global fight for food. While crop-based ethanol -the latest craze in alternative energy - promises a guilt-free way to keep our gas tanks full, the reality is that overuse of our agricultural resources could have consequences even more drastic than, say, being deprived of our SUVs. It could leave much of the world hungry.

Charles Abbott and Lisa Haarlander (Reuters), Planet Ark
US ethanol manufacturers, foodmakers and livestock feeders are consuming so much corn (maize) that stockpiles could be depleted by 2008, unless plantings expand sharply, analysts said on Friday.

In its first forecast of the fall harvest, the USDepartment of Agriculture estimated on Friday the corn crop at 10.976 billion bushels (278.8 million tonnes), the third-largest crop ever.