The following information was released by the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor:

The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research has awarded more than $250,000 in fellowships to 54 graduate students and researchers in its ongoing effort to support young scholars and innovative social science research.

The Philip Converse and Warren Miller Fellowship in American Political Behavior was given to Elizabeth Mann and John Jackson, a team affiliated with the Department of Political Science and ISR's Center for Political Studies. Mann is examining the evolution of partisanship among the U.S. electorate and what factors explain changes and stability in individual and aggregate partisanship over time.

Meridian Energy, the next state-owned electricity firm set to be listed, is arguably the jewel of the Government's assets. But with a book value of more than $5 billion, Jason Krupp explores whether it will be too big for retail investors to digest.

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The float of Mighty River Power unleashed frenzy in the market this year as investors, advisers, spin doctors and the media endlessly debated the merits of participating in the biggest state-owned asset sale in years.

Some of that hubbub has started to die down with the part-float completed, and 113,000 retail investors now owning a little slice of the North Island electricity firm.

AUGUSTA -- Gov. Paul LePage is withholding support for a compromise bill being worked out by the Legislature's Energy Committee that's aimed at expanding Maine's natural gas infrastructure, boosting funding for energy efficiency, directly lowering businesses' electricity costs and making it more affordable for residents to abandon oil heat.

LePage won't support the bill unless it also requires wind developers prove their projects will lower electricity costs in order to receive state approval and raises the 100-megawatt limit energy generation facilities must meet so they can count toward the state's renewable energy goals, according to Patrick Woodcock, who directs LePage's energy office.

The following information was released by the Environmental Law Institute:

The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) is pleased to announce that it will present the 2013 Environmental Achievement Award to George P. Shultz and Thomas F. Steyer to recognize their outstanding leadership to reduce climate change and advance clean energy. The Award will be presented to Shultz and Steyer at ELIs annual dinner on Tuesday evening, October 22 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Working together across party lines, George Shultz and Tom Steyer have provided an outstanding example of bipartisan leadership to help overcome the challenges of global climate change stated ELI President John Cruden. Shultz and Steyer have created a broad coalition of business, labor, health, environmental, and community groups that supports Californias leadership in clean energy policy to create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and improve public health. Following in their lead can help America and the world achieve a healthy environment, prosperous economies, and vibrant communities for future generations.

GENEVA, May 24 -- Publication No. WO/2013/073017 was published on May 23.

Title of the invention: "WIND POWER GENERATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME." Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. (JP) and Akira Yasugi (JP). Inventors: Akira Yasugi (JP). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "The objective of the present invention is to reduce a decrease in the amount of power supply resulting from gusts when an output limiting operation is being executed. Provided is a wind power generation system that, in the case of an output limiting operation being performed having the reduction of grid frequency as the objective, increases the output of other operating wind turbines when at least one wind turbine has paralleled off in response to wind conditions." The patent was filed on Nov. 16, 2011 under Application No. PCT/JP2011/076383. *For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit:

 Stringent regulations aimed at minimizing vehicle emissions have spurred the global emission control catalyst market. The market will also grow in tandem with the automotive and energy segments in Asia-Pacific, as rising vehicle sales and escalating demand for power add to the need for emission control catalysts.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.chemicals.frost.com), Global Market for Emission Control Catalysts, finds that the market earned revenue of more than $6.70 billion in 2012 and estimates this to reach $14.22 billion in 2019.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, May 24 -- ' Mindanao does not need new power plants to solve the power crisis in Mindanao, a former official of the state-run National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) in Mindanao said Friday.

Nestled in the shadow of the iconic Blue Ridge Mountains some 190 miles west of the state capital of Raleigh, the unassuming town of Lenoir, North Carolina, is a living monument to the accelerated pace of technological change that has characterised American industry during the past quarter of a century.

Once a flourishing factory town serving the US furniture industry, the cacophony of noise emanating from Lenoir's carpentry mills has long since been replaced by the barely audible hum generated by row after row of servers housed inside Google's $1.2bn data centre.

Constructed in 2007 and home to 110 employees and contractors, the 215-acre facility - one of six such server farms in the US - houses computer systems and associated components that support Google Search, Gmail, Google+ and YouTube.

Georgia's National Energy Regulatory Commission has extended to June 1 2014 the authority of temporary special management at gas distribution company KazTransGas-Tbilisi (former Tbilgaz), the regulator reported.

Government of the Northern Ireland has issued the following press release:

Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, today officially switched–on the new hydro electricity power generator at All Children’s Integrated Primary School in Newcastle.

GENEVA, May 24 -- Publication No. WO/2013/073559 was published on May 23.

Title of the invention: "WIND POWER GENERATION DEVICE AND METHOD, AND PROGRAM." Applicants: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. (JP). Inventors: Yoshikatsu Ikawa (JP), Shinji Arinaga (JP), Hisanobu Shinoda (JP), Masato Goto (JP), Masahiro Yoshioka (JP) and Yohei Nakamoto (JP). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "The purpose of the invention is to suppress active power drop and reactive power consumption when a power system returns to normal after the occurrence of a low voltage event of the power system.

Two groups have bid for Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s project to procure electricity through thermal power generation.

One of the two groups comprises Chubu Electric Power Co. and TEPCO, while the other is consisted of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. and Electric Power Development Co. , better known as J-Power. The tender closed on Friday.

Cyclone Power Technologies (OTCQB: CYPW), developer of the all-fuel, clean-tech Cyclone Engine, and McGill University of Quebec, Canada announced that the two groups have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop alternative solid fuel combustion systems for micro-sized power units.

Cyclone has identified a key business line for its external combustion technology in providing universal portable power for next generation battery charging, as well as mechanical shaft power for autonomous robots, exoskeletons and bio-medical systems. Cyclone views this as a long-term opportunity in a massive growth industry with substantial global impact.

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice called: Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License.

GENEVA, May 24 -- Publication No. WO/2013/074823 was published on May 23.

Title of the invention: "SOLAR RECEIVER WITH DUAL-EXPOSURE HEAT ABSORPTION PANEL." Applicants: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP INC. (US). Inventors: David T. Wasyluk (US), David L. Kraft (US), Justin A. Persinger (US), Jason M. Marshall (US) and Melvin J. Albrecht (US). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "A dual-exposure heat absorption panel is disclosed, which can be used in a solar receiver design. Generally, the heat absorption panel includes a tube panel through which a heat transfer fluid is flowed to absorb solar energy from heliostats that are focused on the tube panel. A structural support frame surrounds the tube panel. A stiffener structure runs across the exposed faces of the tube panel. The headers and other support structures on the periphery are protected by use of a heat shield." The patent was filed on Nov. 15, 2012 under Application No. PCT/US2012/065332. *For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit:

Vashi, May 24 -- The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has chalked out an ambitious project of constructing solar power plant at Morbe dam in an attempt to reduce the power crisis faced by Navi Mumbaikars.

GENEVA, May 24 -- Publication No. WO/2013/072756 was published on May 23.

Title of the invention: "A WIND TURBINE WITH A PITCH REGULATION AND FURLING OUT OF WIND." Applicants: INTERMEK S.R.L. (IT). Inventors: Marco Barbarin (IT) and Guglielmo Fausto (IT). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "Electric energy eolian generator, made of relatively limited sizes, particularly for installations on inhabited environments, adapted to operate also under conditions of strong wind. Generator comprising a rotating rotor (6) supported by a support structure (7) and adapted to support the rotating vanes (60) and the electric energy generator (42, 43), connected mechanically to the vanes (60) and actuated in rotation by the rotation of the same vanes, for generating the electric energy.

Georgia's National Energy Regulatory Commission has extended to June 1 2014 the authority of temporary special management at gas distribution company KazTransGas-Tbilisi (former Tbilgaz), the regulator reported.

(PRWEB) May 23, 2013

Worldwide Power Products (WPP), a power-generation equipment provider to industrial clients worldwide, today announced it has licensed the rights to sell Hythane Company's OptiBlend[TM] solution, which enables traditional diesel engines to burn a mixture of natural gas anddiesel. WPP will offer OptiBlend-equipped diesel engines and generator sets for sale and rental and will also sell retrofitting services to owners of existing diesel generators. WPP's service technicians will be certified to install the conversion kits both at the WWP facility and in the field.

Pune: Some years ahead, you may dump your 'outdated' smartphones and instead use advanced cognitive radio. Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (Diat), India's premier defence research institute, is working on developing an intelligent communication system called cognitive radio. Diat officials claimed that the next generation communication system will overtake today's smartphones.