A new report from ExxonMobil predicts that nearly half of the world’s cars will either be hybrids or powered by alternative fuels by 2040. While hybrids now account for just about 1 percent of all vehicles worldwide, the oil giant forecasts that hybrids and alternative energy vehicles will move to the mainstream as governments increasingly push for better fuel efficiency. The ExxonMobil report, “The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040,” predicts that overall energy demand will remain flat in developed nations over the next three decades, but demand in developing nations such as China and India will increase nearly 60 percent from 2010 to 2040. The report also predicts a worldwide boom in shale gas production and forecasts that 30 percent of the world’s electricity will be produced from natural gas, while demand for coal will peak ...

Image credit: Land Rover Our Planet, used under Creative Commons license. When I wrote about the new UK Carbon Reporting Framework which connects potential project funders with CO2-cutting initiatives, I noted that they were not calling it offsets. In fact, since the heady days of 2007 when protesters were occupying offset companies' ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Penny Higgins/CC BY SA This is perhaps not the final word on so-called wind turbine syndrome, but it is one of them. New research published in Environmental Research Letters looked into the effect of low frequency noise from wind turbines on people living near wind... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Jason/CC BY-ND Germany's strong push in renewable energy over recent years is paying off. According to Der Spiegel (via Mongabay), Germany now produces 20.8% of its electricity from renewable sources. That's an increase of 15 percentage points since 2000, with an an increas... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Solar power tech innovator Solyndra has announced it will be filing for bankruptcy. 1,100 full time and temporary employees are being laid-off immediately, the company said in a press statement. The company promoted an innovative solar power approach based off of modular lightweight rooftop panels composed of cylinders ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Earlier this month Renewable Energy World reported that large-scale energy storage is making renewables more viable. Certainly with the world's first 24/7 solar power plant coming online and pumped hydro providing viable storage for renewables in some regions, there seems to be a recent surge of interest in not just how we ma... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Screen grab via YouTube This just seems too easy: Japanese researchers say that they've discovered a simple way to make wind turbines up to three times as efficient. By placing a 'wind lens' around the turbine blades, they claim that wind power could become cheaper than nuclear. Watch: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image via SunRun Ever wonder about the timeline of solar technology? This infographic starts us out in 1839 and brings us up to 2010, nothing the major advances and milestones for solar tech. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Bernd/CC BY-SA Japan's post-Fukushima energy rethink continues, with the legislature approving a new bill establishing a strong feed-in tariff for renewable energy. As Wi... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Solar power lease provider Sungevity has just partnered with Citigroup to create a renewable energy tax equity fund that will back more than $50 million in residential projects. The funding will support Sungevity's partnership with Lowe's as well as expansion plans underway on the East Coast. Based in Oakland, Cali., Sungevity now offers its solar power leases to homeowners in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger