The world's largest solar thermal system for water heating recently opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new one is almost double the size of what was previously the largest solar water heating facility (located in Denmark), and it will generate enough power to heat water for a university of 40 thousand students. The Millennium Energy company was responsible for the design and build of the solar thermal plant and the GREENTecONE, an Austrian solar design company, supplied the solar panels for the project. The 36 thousand square meter rooftop system is the size of five soccer fields and was built at a cost of US$ 14 million. The solar technology is just one of the many features that will make the new US$ 11.5 billion Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University for Women in Riyadh a showcase for environmental innovation. The project is also a signal that countries in the Middle East, which have become wealthy thanks to fossil fuels, are now planning for post-oil future. Plentiful sun shines down on Saudi Arabia, and the solar panels that allow this project to run are massive. Each one covers 10 square meters and weighs 170 kilograms. The panels have a transparent coating to enhance their performance, and they also require a special mounting system to keep them bolted to the roofs when Saudi Arabia's notoriously vicious sandstorms hit Riyadh. Watch for similar projects to appear in Saudi Arabia the coming decade. The Kingdom has set a goal for 10 percent of its energy to come from solar power by 2020. Currently oil is plentiful, and over half of Saudi Arabia's electricity comes from the country's black gold. But with oil pricing at over US$ 100 a barrel, it makes economic sense for Saudi Arabia to reduce their dependency at home and export more of it abroad. With the country expected to grow even more in the coming years, Saudi Arabia could become a global leader in solar power generation. The $14 million renewable solar energy development includes a 36,000 square metre rooftop solar energy system that will cater to the hot water needs of the 40,000 students at the city's Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University for Women. The 10 square metre solar panels have been provided by Austrian firm GREENTecOne. After a six month trial period, each one of the six solar fields has been uncovered and six tanks of 150m3 have been built to store excess solar heat at 110 C.

On April 16 in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, with the delay of 3 weeks, was completed the Baku Crystal Hall construction, where the next 57th Eurovision 2012 will take place in May. The construction of the concert hall with the capacity of 25 thousand seats (source Aliyev Foundation) began last fall, after signing the contract with German construction company Alpine Bau Deutschland AG in August 2011. The main designer of the Crystal Hall is the German GMP Architects, the author of the twin of Baku concert hall - Universiade Sports Center Shenzhen, China. Designers from the Swiss company Nussen also have been involved in the designing. The completion of such a huge building in a short term was made possible by the use of prefabricated structures and probably also Germans used the experience gained in Chinas' Universiade . The difference between the two buildings is small - Azerbaijani version has a closed roof and the facade is not transparent, but made of special metal sheets. According to some sources, the construction of complex cost about US $ 105 million, and for making a way to the complex approximately the same amount of money was spent. The new complex is located just opposite of Guinness record holder in 2010 - the Baku main Flagstaff with 162.0 meters of height. According to Azerbaijani media, a great role in implementing of the project played "Father of the Nations" - Heydar Aliyevs' Foundation. The president of the Foundation is the First lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, and the vice-president is her daughter, Leila Aliyeva. Funding sources of organization is not clear, so the fact turned for country oppositionists into good tool for political struggle. During the construction, Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticized the Baku City Authority for carrying out forced evictions against local residents, in order to allow the demolition of apartments to make way for the construction of the Baku Crystal Hall. One interesting point in this storey: in case of failure to complete this construction on time, the government parallel also organized and funded a major reconstruction of to the Tofiq Bayramov stadium with the cost of US $ 90 million.

As global warming begins to more strongly influence policy and economic decisions, attention is turning to the construction industry and its massive, 3 trillion kilogram annually cement addiction. The cement industry is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, surpassed only by fossil fuel energy sources. 5 to 6 percent of all carbon emissions come from cement production, which can release up to 9 kilogram of CO2 for every 10 kilogram of cement produced. A team, at George Washington University in Ashburn, Virginia, has devised the first technique, called Solar Thermal Electrochemical Production (STEP), to completely eliminate CO2 emissions from the process, and it would even be cheaper than current methods of production. The STEP of cement would harness the energy for two specific areas of production. When limestone is converted into lime, it undergoes a chemical change - at present, decarbonation. The limestone is separated into lime and CO2, with the greenhouse gases as an unfortunate byproduct. Carbon emissions are further increased by the burning of fossil fuels to heat up the limestone to start the decarbonation process. The STEP method eliminates the needs for fossil fuels - the solar thermal heat melts the limestone, which then undergoes an electrolysis process. The electrolysis produces a different chemical output, lime-intact but free of greenhouse gas byproducts. At higher temperatures STEP creates a carbon monoxide (CO) byproduct which researchers believe could be sold to other industrial applications. If this were to be done, the cost of STEP-created cement would stand at around minus US$ 298 per ton, as opposed to the current cost of standard, environmentally destructive production of US$ 70 per ton. With some cement manufacturers already looking into ways to reduce their industry's footprint, STEP could transform an industry responsible for a huge quantity of greenhouse gas emissions each year - if the process can be adapted to large scale commercial use. The scientists are also looking at how the STEP methods could be applied to a diverse range of industrial applications, such as purifying iron and aluminum; producing glass, paper, sugar, and agriculture; cleaning smoke stacks; softening water; and removing phosphates from sewage.

After waves of controversy following the destructive tsunami and subsequent failure of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March of 2011, Japan began ramping down its atomic energy industry and actively pursuing safer, alternative energy sources. As reported Reuters, Electronics firm Kyocera Corporation, heavy machinery maker IHI Corporation and Mizuho Corporate Bank announced about their agreement to launch Japan's biggest solar power project at a cost of US$ 307 million. Mizuho will finance the development, and IHI will lease the land on which Kyocera will provide the solar modules and design of the site. An artist's rendering of the farm shows 290 thousand solar panels arranged on 3.14 million square meters of reclaimed land off of the southern city of Kagoshima. Their 70-megawatt plant will generate about 79 thousand megawatt hours of electricity per year, enough for about 22 thousand households. A special-purpose company (SPC) will be set up to build and run the new plant, with construction starting in July. Further elements of the project, including a start date for commercial operation, will be decided after the government sets prices for a subsidy scheme for renewable energy sources that is also scheduled for launch on July.

The Titanic Belfast is the world's largest Titanic museum, and it is located at the site of the famous ship's construction in Northern Ireland, Belfast. The interactive museum took 3 years to build - the same amount of time it took to build the ship - and it opened just in time, on March 31, for the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic's launch. The Titanic's maiden and fatal voyage was made on April 10, 1912. The White Star Line ocean liner was originally constructed in the Belfast shipyard and the museum celebrates her craftsmanship and the people who built her. Irish Architecture firm TODD Architects is responsible for the design of the icy museum, which is clad in 3 thousand individual silver anodized aluminum shards, requiring sophisticated 3D modeling to complete. The museum's volume is meant to resemble four 27.5 meters high hulls although it eerily looks a bit like an iceberg, which was the cause of the ship's demise. Inside, the museum features 9 interactive galleries that explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the Titanic, as well as the city and people which made her. Visitors can explore how the ship was constructed, her launch, the lavish rooms of the wealthy, third class steerage, the timeline of the disaster, and then details about her watery grave. The building will also house temporary exhibits, a thousand seat banqueting suite, education and community facilities, catering and retail space and a basement car park.