Smart meter installations around the country seem to be going on at a quick pace, so much so that the U.S.

The X Prize Foundation, already promoting competitions around alternative fuel vehicles and new technology for oil clean ups , is now turning its attention to another form of environmental challenge: cookstoves. More specifically, it is teaming with the Government of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi to create a global competition to fix a problem which is said to contribute to a killer of more than one million people each year .

The Microsoft Hohm personalized energy service offering up to this point has not had much to worry about from rival Google’s PowerMeter system . That has now changed, as Google announced on Monday that PowerMeter now offers personalized energy savings recommendations for those wanting to save more energy and show off what has been saved. The expanded PowerMeter functionality, according to Google , gives one recommended energy savings suggestions such as using weather stripping and replacing inefficient energy sucking appliances

Exelon, one of the country’s largest electric utilities, announced yesterday it is expanding its portfolio of renewable energy projects via a $900 million acquisition of John Deere Renewables , which is the wind energy division of Deere & Company. This purchase will make Exelon one of the United States’ largest wind energy providers. Exeleon, when the transaction closes by the end of the year, will pick up 735 megawatts of installed, operating wind capacity—enough to power 160,000 to 220,000 households—spread across 36 projects in eight states.

Live in Southern California? If so, Southern California Edison (SCE) would like to provide you with an experience in smart energy. The SCE Smart Energy Experience is a 2,260 exhibit space in Irwindale, CA, designed to look like a typical Southern California home, with a special green twist

We’ve covered the roll out of a number of different green modular home designs from Blu Homes over the last year, including the Element and the Evolution . Now the Massachusetts-based company has announced the release of the first home in their mkDesigns line, the Glidehouse. This prefabricated green home–previously offered only within limited markets on the West Coast–is now available nationwide

Fuel cell technology holds great potential for clean energy generation with both residential and commercial applications. Presently, the two biggest obstacles to such technology impacting our lives have been the cost of the catalysts involved, as well as the toxic/flammable nature of the two most commonly used fuel sources: hydrogen and methanol. But a research team at the UK’s Heriot-Watt University believes that another fuel source for fuel cells may be capable of overcoming both of these hurdles: urine.

Like most electric vehicles, this one covers less than 100 miles on a charge.

The United States government has been making moves recently towards greening its operations , and that’s a trend that seems to be continuing with the Armed Services. According to a recent release , the U.S. Army has received a mobile trailer-mounted WindTamer turbine and renewable energy storage unit, destined for testing and further development at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. According to the WindTamer Corporation , this portable combination turbine and storage unit will be used for demonstration purposes for the U.S

The Plug In and Out (which comes to us via Yanko Design ) is a unique concept for an electrical plug designed to help us remember to unplug our electronics. Beyond that, the details are a little fuzzy, so perhaps there’s something that’s been lost in translation.