“Spain has turned itself into the world’s biggest builder of solar-energy plants, attracting developers from the U.S. and France by guaranteeing prices that weigh down Spanish consumers.

“The government promotes clean fuels by letting generators charge as much as 10 times more for power from the sun or wind than from burning coal. The premium, added to bills of homes and businesses, has spawned a solar-investment boom by utilities, from Florida’s FPL Group Inc. to Electricite de France SA.”

Full article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aCGsB8hGkDIg

“The government’s rescue plan for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC has focused on financial engineering. Soon, the Obama administration and whoever is running GM and Chrysler will have to confront a more-challenging problem: how to sell the cars they want America to buy.”

Full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124147217951984705.html

“James Dehlsen has spent decades trying to build a bigger and better machine to convert a breeze into electricity.

“As much as anyone, he helped create the modern wind-power business, riding waves of interest in alternative energy and weathering downturns when that enthusiasm died down. At this point in the cycle, he doesn’t exactly have the wind at his back.”

Full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113394573975093.html

“The Texas state legislature is expected to soon approve one of the largest subsidy programs for solar-power in the U.S.

“Long a leader in oil and natural gas-based energy, Texas embraced wind power years ago and generates more electricity from wind than any other state. Building on that, the state senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved $500 million over five years for a rebate program to encourage solar-power installations, while a senate committee advanced a bill that would mandate a roughly 60% increase in electricity derived from renewable sources other than wind.”

Full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124042738382344591.html

“Superconductor specialist Zenergy Power said on Monday it had been contracted by Con Edison to build and test a “Smart Grid” device to improve the stability and reliability of New York City’s electrical system.

“The equipment, known as a Fault Current Limiter (FCL), instantly detects and absorbs spikes in power that, left unmanaged, could damage electrical equipment or trigger power outages.”

Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssUtilitiesElectric/idUSBNG43277720090420