Recently, in this column, I said this, “I don’t think there’s been a study, and I can’t prove it, but I think the Internet is one of the greatest energy saving inventions ever created.”

Well, now there IS a study to back up my claim. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA (tm)) thinks the Internet saves energy too; and it’s substantial.

The just-released study commissioned by the CEA and conducted by TIAX LLC of Cambridge, Massachusetts, shows that using electronics to telecommute saves the equivalent of 9 to 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – the same amount of energy used by roughly 1 million US households every year.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China could become the world's top wind power market in three to five years but will grow faster if it reforms its subsidy system, executives of major wind turbine maker Vestas said on Friday.

Chief Executive Ditlev Engel, in China to open the second and third in a series of seven plants due to come on line by the first quarter of 2008, said he was convinced Vestas could compete with cheaper local rivals on quality.

But the company, the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, made its $80 million investment with an eye on both Chinese and export markets. Turbines not sold in China could be integrated into Vestas' global supply chain, he added.

The unit’s modulating burner and condensing flue provide residential hot water with an impressive 97% thermal efficiency using natural gas or liquid propane. Auxiliary hookups for a heating coil can be used in forced-air or radiant heating systems. The new Phoenix Solar has a second heat-exchange coil inside the tank for fluid from solar thermal panels.

OYARZUN, SPAIN—Onity has launched Intellity, its latest innovation in energy management solutions for the lodging industry. Intellity is an intelligent energy saving device that reads the magnetic stripe on Onity hotel-specific keycards to identify and differentiate guest and staff keycards, while disconnecting electrical equipment when guests are out of the room. Because it differentiates between guest and staff cards, it also can prevent hotel housekeeping staff from using certain electrical equipment, such as the television, while cleaning the room. Onity, a leading provider of electronic locking solutions, is part of UTC Fire & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Sometimes the news makes you want to crawl under your bed and hide. Other times there’s great hope and I'm ready to dance and cheer. These related stories for the week beginning September 9, 2007:

--- In an unprecedented occurrence for a tropical cyclone, Humberto leaped from tropical depression status with 35-mph winds to a hurricane with 85-mph winds in 18 hours. The storm crashed into the Texas coast with little warning. Refineries in Humberto’s way shut down and oil on the futures market went over $80 a barrel for the first time.

"To put this development in perspective — no tropical cyclone in the historical record has ever reached this intensity at a faster rate near landfall," said senior hurricane specialist James Franklin of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Imagine you’re looking for treasure on a small island in the middle of an ocean. The highest elevation on the island is just above sea level, which is rising because of global warming. (You’d rather not see that happen.)

The hole you’ve dug is deeper than the surface of the ocean around your little island. Should the skies turn cloudy and a storm come in, the ocean could come pouring into your hole. You’d be in deep trouble in your hole in the middle of the ocean. But you have a second revelation, you’ve invented an energy storage device. 

TORONTO - In an effort to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions,  The Hospital for Sick Children Atrium in Toronto is installing a new solar panel system on the roof. The solar energy system will supplement the hospital's hot water system, providing an environmentally friendly method to reduce energy costs and increase savings for the hospital. Ninety-two collectors, also know as solar panels, are being installed on SickKids' roof, along with 480 gallons of storage volume. The collectors are fixed to the roof on pre-engineered racks that are bolted to the roof below.

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced a $1.2 million partnership with Habitat for Humanity International to install solar electric systems on every Habitat-built home throughout PG&E's northern and central California service territory in 2007. The first such partnership of its kind is part of PG&E's commitment to provide affordable, renewable energy in the communities it serves.

WASHINGTON - In a landmark settlement filed today, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a coal-fired electric utility, has agreed to pay an $11.4 million penalty to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act's acid rain program, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

As part of today's settlement, the U.S. is seeking court-approval for the highest fine ever under the Clean Air Act's acid rain program. The Commonwealth of Kentucky joined in today's consent decree.

The settlement requires that the company take steps to reduce approximately 400 tons of harmful emissions each year and offset another approximately 20,000 tons of emissions released from its Clark County, Ky. facility without a permit.