Korea pushes green IT

South Korea will spend more than 4.2 trillion won (R29 billion) over the next five years to develop green technology solutions to reduce energy consumption, reports The Korea Times.

The green products will include low-power devices in personal computers, televisions, displays and servers. The country also plans to build a next-generation Internet network that is about 10 times faster than current broadband services.

Government officials claim the project will create 52 000 new jobs by 2013 and reduce the country's carbon emissions by 18 million tons of CO2.

Dan Reicher, the Google director of climate and energy initiatives, says geothermal energy is a largely untapped form of renewable energy, states Cnet.

At the announcement of the Clean Energy Prize winners, organised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Reicher revealed that Google will release PowerMeter, its Web-based home energy-monitoring software that is now in private beta.

The software can monitor homes' appliance energy consumption, but over time Google will add features to let consumers take advantage of cheaper, off-peak electricity rates and demand-response programmes.

The Australian Federal Government has committed AU$4.5 billion (R29.5 billion) to clean energy in the 2009 budget, which it claims will reduce carbon emissions and boost employment, says ABC News.

Under the plan, which includes AU$1 billion (R6.54 billion) in existing funds, the government aims to have 20% of Australia's electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020.

The government will contribute AU$387.7 million (R2.54 billion) over the next five years to fund climate change infrastructure, including computing, marine observing systems, terrestrial ecosystem observations and the replacement of the Marine National Facility.