DOE Flunks Again: The latest inspector general’s report finds that the Department of Energy often fails to adjust heating and air conditioning settings to conserve energy, wasting more than $11 million per year. This comes on the heels of another report finding the DOE wastes more than $1 million per year leaving unneeded computer monitors on. — WSJ’s Environmental Capital
Electric Mini E Under Fire: A war of words has erupted between BMW and drivers who volunteered to lease an electric Mini E for a year. Critics say BMW has “botched” the program, trying only to exploit a loophole in the California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate that lets the company get “full credit” for high-efficiency vehicles that will be on the road for only a year. — Detroit News via Hybrid Cars
EDF, First Solar Think Big: France’s state-owned utility, EDF, and First Solar announced a partnership today to build a 100 MW, $128 million solar manufacturing plant that would be the largest in France. NYT’s Green Inc.
Green Jobs Fight: Protests by dozens of factory workers and environmentalists at a Vestas Wind Systems turbine plant on the Isle of Wright led to arrests last night after Vestas erected a fence around the plant, where workers are staging a sit-in as part of a campaign to prevent closure of the facility. — UK Guardian
Shake It Like a Polaroid: Mintpass has developed a battery concept for cameras and other portable electronics called ShakEnergy that uses a spring-loaded coil magnet to charge up an internal nickel metal hydride battery when shaken vigorously. — EnviroGadget via Gas 2.0
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