If you are reading this article, you most likely have electricity and heat at home and never think of that fact as at all remarkable.

Yet more than two billion people - one in three people on our planet - have no access to modern energy to light and heat the dwellings in which they live. The obstacles to energy access are not technical.

We know how to build power systems, design modern cooking stoves, and meet energy demand efficiently. What is missing is a global commitment to move energy access up the political and development agendas.

Half of the world's population uses solid fuel - such as wood, charcoal, or dung - for cooking. According to the World Health Organization, 1.6 million women and children die each year as a result of indoor smoke inhalation, more than those who lose their lives to malaria.

Add the pollutant emissions from such stoves, together with the deforestation that results from using firewood, and you have several pressing global challenges that can be tackled at once by closing the energy gap.

2030 vision

Efforts to close this gap have so far been insufficient in scale and scope. However, a plan of action now exists, developed in recent months by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC).

The group brings together top UN officials and business executives, including representatives from Edison International, Statoil, Suntech Holdings and Vattenfall.

Through this innovative public-private partnership, we analysed global energy access and recommended in our resulting report that the international community committed itself to universal access to modern energy services by 2030. The report also called for a 40% reduction in global energy intensity by 2030, which, if implemented, would reduce global energy intensity at approximately double the historical rate.

The AGECC is now working on how best to deliver on the plan. This was the focus of the group's last meeting, held in Mexico City in July. It was hosted by the Carlos Slim Foundation, which works in support of implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in policy areas such as health, deforestation, and closing the digital divide.

Sharing the benefits

Mexico will be the location for key UN climate talks later this year, and the AGECC is interacting with the country's energy ministry to ensure a co-ordinated and effective approach.The financial implications of ensuring universal energy access are large, but not overwhelming when weighed against the enormous benefits.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that over the next two decades, ensuring universal access to electricity would require about 10% of total annual investment in the energy sector, which can be mobilised by the private sector.

Universal energy access is a new market opportunity, but one that needs the right support to thrive. Many clean technologies are already available, so we are not talking about investing billions in research. It is a question of transferring the technologies and adapting them to local conditions and needs.

But increasing energy access is not only about supplying better, more efficient cooking stoves or light bulbs. To promote economic development and growth, energy services must also work in the interest of creating wealth and jobs by providing power for businesses and improving healthcare, education and transportation.

In September, world leaders will meet at the UN to assess progress on the MDGs. While there is no goal on energy, it is central to meeting the other MDGs, especially those concerning poverty and hunger, universal education and environmental sustainability.

Governments alone will not be able to deal with all of these challenges. We need a firm commitment from all sides: private businesses, academia, civil society and international organisations and NGOs.

Bloom Energy's flagship solid oxide fuel cell is a cleaner, greener 'power plant in a box.'

After a recent 60 Minutes airing about Bloom Energy, California-based Bloom Energy is receiving a new wave of hype around its flagship SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell).

Both Google and Ebay have purchased the "mini power plants in a box" and are banking on the units as a way to ensure a steady stream of greener, cleaner power. But let's be clear, this is not totally "clean" energy. 

Fuel cells have been around for decades, but until new the solid oxide technology, which dispenses with toxic acids and precious minerals — has remained out of reach due to the high temperatures (800 degrees or more) required to make the fuel cell work. 

But founder K.R. Sridhar discovered a solution while developing a technology to produce oxygen for a NASA mission to Mars. After the mission was abandoned, Sridhar realized that if he inverted his process (consuming rather than producing oxygen) he had the makings of a durable, reliable SOFC. 

Bloom Energy was born, and thanks to backer Kleiner Perkins was able to develop an industrial-scale model that is now being used by Walmart, Google and Ebay. Each 100 kilowatt unit costs about $750,000, but the buyers expect to recoup their investments in five years through energy savings. 

This is certainly a game changer on the clean energy front. Instead of COMBUSTING fuels like coal and natural gas to drive steam turbines (how most of the world's power generation works) the fuel cells work by OXIDIZING the fuel, which is inherintly more efficient, possibly even two times as efficient. 

To be clear, these devices need liquid hydrocarbon fuel (lots of it) like gasoline or propane, though Bloom can also work on biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Also, though founder Mr. Sridhar talks about "sand" as the primary material required, that's a wee bit disingenuous.

Yes the ceramic disks (printed with annode and cathode minerals on each side) are made from a sand-like material, but that most likely is a scandia stabilized zirconia, based on a reading of Bloom's U.S. patent. Scandium oxide is not an abundantly produced mineral -- less than 2,000 kg per year -- and it costs up to $2000 per kilogram. 

So Bloom energy is no global panacea, but if you think about the amount of dirty power that big Fortune 500 companies like Google and Walmart are currently pulling from coal power, Bloom Energy promises a major reduction in CO2 emissions over the long haul.

Magenn Power's MARS is a Wind Power Anywhere™ solution with distinct advantages over existing Conventional Wind Turbines and Diesel Generating Systems including: global deployment, lower costs, better operational performance, and greater environmental advantages.

MARS is a lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy. This electrical energy is transferred down the 1000-foot tether for immediate use, or to a set of batteries for later use, or to the power grid.

Helium sustains MARS and allows it to ascend to a higher altitude than traditional wind turbines. MARS captures the energy available in the 600 to 1000-foot low level and nocturnal jet streams that exist almost everywhere. MARS rotation also generates the "Magnus effect" which provides additional lift, keeps the MARS stabilized, and positions it within a very controlled and restricted location to adhere to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) & Transport Canada guidelines.

The Advantages of MARS over Conventional Wind Turbines: Wind Power Anywhere™ removes all placement limitations. Coast-line or off-shore locations are not necessary to capture higher speed winds. Reaching winds at 1,000-feet above ground level allow MARS to be installed closer to the grid. MARS is mobile and can be rapidly deployed, deflated, and redeployed without the need for towers or heavy cranes. MARS is bird and bat friendly with lower noise emissions and is capable of operating in a wider range of wind speeds - from 4 mph to greater than 60 mph.

The Advantages of a MARS combined Wind and Diesel Solution over a Diesel Generator-only solution: MARS can complement a diesel generator by offering a combined diesel-wind power solution that delivers power below 20 cents per kWh. This compares to a wide range of 25 cents to 99 cents per kWh for diesel-alone, reflecting the high fuel and transportation costs in remote areas. The MARS combined solution allows lower pollution and green house gas emissions. It also results in lower handling, transporting, and storage costs.

MARS Target Markets: Developing nations where infrastructure is limited or non existent; off-grid combined wind and diesel solutions for island nations, farms, remote areas, cell towers, exploration equipment, backup power & water pumps for natural gas mines; rapid deployment diesel & wind solutions (to include airdrop) to disaster areas for power to emergency and medical equipment, water pumps; on-grid applications for farms, factories, remote communities; and wind farm deployments.

The Magenn Power Air Rotor System (MARS) is an innovative lighter-than-air tethered device that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, efficiently generating clean renewable electrical energy at a lower cost than all competing systems. This electrical energy is transferred down the tether to a transformer at a ground station and then transferred to the electricity power grid. Helium (an inert non-reactive lighter than air gas) sustains the Air Rotor which ascends to an altitude for best winds and its rotation also causes the Magnus effect.

This provides additional lift, keeps the device stabilized, keeps it positioned within a very controlled and restricted location, and causes it to pull up overhead rather than drift downwindAll competing wind generators use bladed two-dimensional disk-like structures and rigid towers. The Magenn Power Air Rotor system is a closed three-dimensional structure (cylinder).

It offers high torque, low starting speeds, and superior overall efficiency thanks to its ability to deploy higher. The closed structure allows Magenn Power to produce wind rotors from very small to very large sizes at a fraction of the cost of current wind generators.The distinct advantages of the Magenn Air Rotor System design are as follows:

• Magenn Air Rotor System is less expensive per unit of actual electrical energy output than competing wind power systems.
• Magenn Power Air Rotor System will deliver time-averaged output much closer to its rated capacity than the capacity factor typical with conventional designs. Magenn efficiency will be 40 to 50 percent. This is hugely important, since doubling capacity factor cuts the cost of each delivered watt by half.
• Wind farms can be placed closer to demand centers, reducing transmission line costs and transmission line loses.
• Conventional wind generators are only operable in wind speeds between 3 meters/sec and 28 meters/sec. Magenn Air Rotors are operable between 1 meter/sec and in excess of 28 meters/sec.
• Magenn Air Rotors can be raised to higher altitudes, thus capitalizing on higher winds aloft. Altitudes from 400-ft to 1,000-ft above ground level are possible, without having to build an expensive tower, or use a crane to perform maintenance.
• Magenn Air Rotors are mobile and can be easily moved to different locations to correspond to changing wind patterns. Mobility is also useful in emergency deployment and disaster relief situations.

These points are mutually inclusive. The advantages above combine to make Magenn the most cost-effective The Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) is a new generation of wind turbines with cost and performance advantages over existing systems.

MARS is a lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy. This electrical energy is transferred down the tether for consumption, or to a set of batteries or the power grid. Helium sustains the Magenn Air Rotor System, which ascends to an altitude as selected by the operator for the best winds.

Its rotation also generates the "Magnus" effect. This aerodynamic phenomenon provides additional lift, keeps the MARS device stabilized, positions MARS within a very controlled and restricted location, and finally, causes MARS to pull up overhead to maximize altitude rather than drift downwind on its tether.

The Advantages of MARS over Conventional Wind Turbines are:

1.       low cost electricity - under 15 cents per kWh

2.       bird and bat friendly

3.       lower noise

4.       wide range of wind speeds - 2 to more than 28 meters/second

5.       higher altitudes - from 200 to 1,000 feet above ground level are possible without expensive towers or cranes

6.       fewer limits on placement location - coast line placement is not necessary

7.       ability to install closer to the power grid

8.       mobile

9.       ideal for off grid applications or where power is not reliable.

Initial MARS Target Markets include:

1.       developing and island nations where infrastructure is limited or non existent

2.       rapid deployment (to include airdrop) to disaster areas for power to emergency and medical equipment, water pumps, and relief efforts (ex. Katrina, Tsunami)

3.       off grid for cottages and remote uses such as cell towers and exploration equipment)

4.       and military applications.

Energy giants including Centrica, National Grid, E.ON and EDF Energy are becoming increasingly "frustrated" that too few young people want to become engineers or scientists, which they say will stifle the UK's chances of capitalising on the growth of alternative energy sources, such as wind or solar power.

A survey of 2,000 A level and university students by Centrica, revealed that 55pc would not consider a career in science, technology or energy. Media and entertainment jobs were more desirable, the study showed.  Centrica said the results were a "huge concern" because an estimated 70pc of the UK's current nuclear workforce could be retired by 2025.

Sam Laidlaw, chief executive, said: "The Government plans for 400,000 jobs to be created in UK green industries by 2015. Yet, unless we convince young people of the exciting and rewarding careers available in energy today, the UK will lack the skills to take advantage of the green agenda."

He added: "Ensuring we have the expertise and skills needed to meet the challenges it brings is the responsibility of the industry, the education sector and parents. Working together, we must act urgently to address this impending skills gap as we seek to lead the transition to a low-carbon future."

National Grid agreed the Government should step up efforts to tackle skills shortages in science, technology, engineering and maths. Jon Butterworth, operations director, said: "I am personally worried about the quality and quantity of young people studying … engineering." He added: "National Grid would like to see industry and Government working consistently on a campaign to inspire people to acquire the skills needed to be part of a low-carbon future.

We need to counter stereotypical images that engineering is boring or geeky. We need young people to want to get involved." A number of energy companies contacted agreed. An EDF Energy spokesman said: "It's crucial that we make science, technology and engineering appealing again so the future workforce has the skills needed.

A large part of EDF Energy's recruitment challenge will be in the search for a wide range of engineering, nuclear science and technology skills." Dave Newborough, head of HR at E.ON, said: "We have a huge engineering skills challenge over the coming years." A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We need to keep pace with businesses' demands so qualifications remain strong and we equip young people with the skills the economy needs."

A device thought to be the largest tidal turbine of its type to be built in the world has been described by its developer as "simple and robust".Atlantis Resources unveiled its AK-1000 at Invergordon ahead of it being shipped to a European Marine Energy Centre test site off Eday, Orkney.

Chief executive Tim Cornelius said it was designed to survive in a harsh marine environment.The device stands 22.5m (73ft) tall and weighs 1,300 tonnes.It has two sets of blades on a single unit to harness ebb and flood tides and could generate one megawatt of power - enough electricity for about 1,000 homes.

Atlantis said it was the largest bladed turbine of its type because of its rotor diameter of 18m (59ft).Mr Cornelius told BBC Scotland that the focus of the marine industry at the moment was making the Pentland Firth a huge success in terms of generating electricity from renewable energy devices.

The Crown Estate has selected developers to start the process.Mr Cornelius said: "It is one of the harshest environments on the planet."In order to get a robust turbine we have had to make what we call ultimately the dumbest, simple but most robust turbine you could possibly put in such a harsh environment.

"The AK-1000's two sets of blades have also been designed to move slowly underwater and Atlantis said they would not pose a threat to sea life.Mr Cornelius said: "The turbines turn at six to eight revolutions per minute so are incredibly slow turning and will have zero impact on the surrounding environment.

"Following final assembly at a yard in Evanton, the AK-1000 has been moved to nearby docks at Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth.Atlantis, which has bases in London and Singapore, has been leading a plan to use tidal energy to power a computer data centre in the far north of Scotland.Earlier this year, the corporation said it remained committed to the project.

The computer data centre would provide services for a number of companies and be powered by tidal energy rather than depend on electricity supplied to the National Grid. Atlantis did not apply for the first round of leases for renewable energy sites in the Pentland Firth that were granted by the Crown Estate in March.

But Mr Cornelius said the company proposed bidding when other locations were made available. Two years of planning have gone into the data facility and tidal scheme. The Crown Estate leased 10 sites on the seabed around Orkney and the Pentland Firth to seven companies.