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  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) Renewable energy capacity has grown 120% as of 2014, a new report reveals, marking a record year for the renewable power sector with 133 GW global net additions. But Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group says this growth is still not enough and must be further accelerated as we edge toward the global climate talks in Paris. The report ‘Renewable Energy Capacity Statistics 2015’, released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date figures on renewable energy capacity around the world, with over 12,000 data points from more than 200 countries and territories. It presents trends in development of the renewable energy sector, noting that over 100 GW of new renewable power capacity has been added every year since 2011. Authors explain that because more than 164 countries have adopted renewables targets, the market share of renewable energy has gained considerable ground, especially with the rapid incre...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) For at least four years, Greenpeace has been raising public awareness and putting pressure on the world's largest data and cloud computing center providers to fuel their operations with clean, renewable power . In May, Greenpeace released its 2015 “Clicking Clean: A Guide to Building the Green Internet” report, in which it evaluates and ranks the likes of Akamai, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apple, Google and Microsoft in terms of renewable energy investment, use and leadership. Greenpeace is looking to raise public pressure further with the June 10 release of its “Click Clean Scorecard.” Significantly expanding its groundbreaking research, in the supplement Greenpeace assesses and ranks 110 of the world's largest websites and their publishers on their overall and renewable energy use, reporting, disclosure and advocacy. In addition, Greenpeace launched a Google Chrome extension that for the first time enables Web users to see a Click ...

  reprint (by W. Scharnhorst ) A group of Stanford researchers have come up with a nanoscale “designer carbon” material that can be adjusted to make energy storage devices, solar panels, and potentially carbon capture systems more powerful and efficient. The designer carbon that has reached the market in recent years shares the Swiss-cheese-like structure of activated carbon, enhancing its ability to catalyze certain chemical reactions and store electrical charges; but it’s “designed” in the sense that the chemical composition of the material, and the size of the pores, can be manipulated to fit specific uses. The designer carbon tested at Stanford is “both versatile and controllable,” according to Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering and the senior author of the study, which appeared in the latest issue of the journal ACS Central Science . “Producing high-surface-area carbons with controlled chemical composition and morphology is really challenging,” says...