The use of domestically produced ethanol as a fuel additive by Americans has reduced wholesale gasoline prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon in 2011, according to research from the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University. The researchers say higher oil and gasoline prices, increased ethanol inclusion, and ethanol having larger discounts to gasoline were the primary factors for the price drop last year.

The United States Department of Energy Fuel Cell Technologies Program has extended the deadline for the Request for Information for topics and criteria for a potential second Hydrogen Prize competition. The Request for Information, originally released on March 20, 2012, is addressed to industry groups related to the technology development areas of production, distribution and utilization. The original deadline was April 20, 2012. The extension is until May 31, 2012.

The city of Phoenix, Arizona is expanding its residential solar financing program with the help of a $25 million commitment from the National Bank of Arizona. The program, said to be the largest city-sponsored residential solar financing program in the United States, is entering its second phase.

Norwegian solar energy company REC announced that they had reached the production milestone of 5 million solar modules during the 13th Solar Expo held on May 9-11 in Verona, Italy. REC, which produces polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules, has had a strong industry presence in Italy since 2009, having installed more than 50 megawatts of capacity in the country.

The United States market for smart grid network management systems used in utilities is projected to grow 21percent annually from 2012-2020, according to a report from Zpryme. From $ 225 million in 2012, the U.S. smart grid network management system market is estimated to reach $1.05 billion in 2020. The cumulative total of smart grid connected devices meanwhile is estimated to grow from 65 million in 2012 to 330 million in 2020.

Scientists from the University of Utah and Harvard have developed a new method of measuring carbon dioxide levels, which could help verify the compliance of countries who have signed treaties to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Using measurements from three carbon dioxide monitoring stations in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah, the method could detect changes in emission levels of 15 percent or more, according to the results of a computer simulation done by the researchers.

Solar photovoltaic developer SPI Solar ended their first quarter of 2012 with a $300,000 loss, a slight recovery when compared with the $1.9 million loss they reported for the same time period in 2011. The company is continuing their expansion into the Greek solar market, announcing just last week that they had entered into agreements with the Taneo Fund, a Greek-state sponsored, privately funded and independently managed fund-of-funds for venture-capital investments.

Researchers at the United States Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are harnessing the piezoelectric ability of harmless viruses to convert mechanical energy into electricity. To demonstrate their findings, the scientists developed a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display when a finger taps on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with the specially engineered viruses.