The rise of solar PV and other renewables presents a whole new world for electricity grid operators; a new report shows how PV is already providing solutions, and how it will be key to meeting Europe’s ambitious energy and environmental goals.                                                                              &n

In August 2009, President Obama announced a $2.4 billion grant program designed to create an electric vehicle battery industry in the United States. Three years on, the factories funded by those grants are sitting idle or operating well below their originally intended capacity.

The problem is simple. People aren't buying enough electric cars, and most of those that are being sold contain batteries made by established battery makers in Asia.

It's still early days for electric vehicles, but the idle factories point to the difficulty of starting a new high-tech industry from scratch.