Information Services News | ERA Technology Information Services News updated frequently for all your technology news. http://www.era.co.uk/category/news/ ERA Technology Ltd en-gb Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:50:45 +0000 info@era.co.uk Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:50:31 +0000 webmaster@era.co.uk FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com Heathrow is facing "damaging " constraints on its capacity after an increase in traffic led to the airport serving a record 69.4 million passengers in 2011. BAA, owners of the airport, said Heathrow is at 99.2% capacity after there were 476,197 flights in 2011 against an annual limit of 480,000. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9007044/Heathrow-passenger-numbers-hit-record-level.html E6B0E99F-6FA4-413D-96D4-28A687FB85DF Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:07:00 +0000 Just weeks after controversially ditching its solar division, oil giant BP has underscored its commitment to the fast-expanding wind energy sector by announcing plans to build two giant US wind farms, with a combined capacity of 560MW. The wind farms will be located in Pennsylvania and Kansas. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2136761/bp-sempra-team-usd1bn-wind-farm-programme 41E456DA-B42C-48B3-98D6-34017A45DD7D Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:47:23 +0000 Smart meter specialist Landis+Gyr has completed its first acquisition since it was purchased by Technology giant Toshiba, shelling out an undisclosed sum for US-based meter data management software firm Ecologic Analytics. Landis+Gyr has held a stake in the Minnesota-based firm since 2007 and the two companies have worked closely since then on integrating Ecologic's software with the Swiss company's smart meter devices. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2136886/landis-gyr-beefs-smart-grid-capabilities-ecologic-acquisition 34117A7A-3778-44D0-8EA2-7CE5A879C27B Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:41:04 +0000 Lufthansa looks set to conclude its biofuel trial with its first biofuel-powered trans-Atlantic flight. A Boeing 747-400 will leave Frankfurt bound for Washington carrying around 40 tonnes of a biosynthetic fuel mix, which the company estimates will reduce CO2 emissions by 38 tonnes, roughly equivalent to six scheduled flights between Frankfurst and Berlin. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2136915/lufthansa-pilot-trans-atlantic-biofuel-flight 59EDE61E-0A7D-4C2A-A126-EA3012F3046E Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:25:29 +0000 A new method of producing biodiesel from microalgae aims to overcome some of the previous drawbacks of the fuel. Using a novel catalyst, the researchers at the Technical University of Munich were able to produce saturated hydrocarbons suitable for use as high-grade fuels in vehicles. http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/process/news/biodiesel-production-method-could-reduce-fuels-drawbacks/1011385.article 7B188610-48B4-4F2A-B68F-7AAA0F690ABB Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:12:04 +0000 Six water treatment plants on the south coast have installed solar panels in a move that could save operator Portsmouth Water £4000 a year in electricity costs. Each site has fitted 50kW of solar panels, worth a combined £700,000 across its reservoir roofs and adjacent land to produce electricity that will be used on-site to pump and treat water. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2136868/solar-panels-leave-water-company-feeling-flush F0CEFA79-6946-475D-96FF-ABD94E70BCC7 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:32:00 +0000 The German energy giant RWE is to invest about 5 billion euros in renewable energy projects over the next four years, as it looks to almost double its installed capacity and prepare for Germany's nuclear shutdown. According to the company, new projects would include biomass plants and wind farms in the UK and Poland as well as a one billion euro offshore development in the German North Sea. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2136842/rwe-plans-eur5bn-renewable-energy-investment C66B05FB-BCA6-476C-A588-864ECD79DE85 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:19:13 +0000 Due to organisational changes, this will be the last issue of Today's News. Thank you for your interest over the years. http://www.era.co.uk/category/news/ ED09B4DD-9260-4366-99B8-C85DC67EAD34 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:50:31 +0000