The course is interactive and includes a series of practical questions and scenarios. The free module covers the role of an energy manager, developing an energy policy and investment in energy efficiency including calculating payback periods, said the EI.

It has been written by qualified energy management practitioners and EI members and the full paid course will be available from July 2013.

The supplier is chipping into a £7million pot of investment into 4energy along with existing investors the Environmental Technologies Fund, Carbon Trust and Catapult Venture Managers.

4energy claims it can cut the cooling needs for electronic data centre and telecoms equipment by up to 50%. Its software lets firms analyse their thermal footprints and change air-flows and temperature gradients, as in what rate and direction the temperature of buildings changes.

Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas said: “Data centre and telecoms energy usage is increasing rapidly and this investment will enable us to help our customers to manage their energy more efficiently.”

Project developers RWE npower renewables and SSE renewables can now canter on with building the Galloper wind farm’s 140 turbines. It could generate enough electricity to power as many as 500,000 homes a year when completed in 2017.

The firms claim the project could create £18-20 million worth of investment in Suffolk and roughly 600 jobs across the country.

However SSE says it is yet to make a final decision on building the project. Jim Smith, Managing Director of Renewables at SSE said: “We very much welcome this decision which provides important reassurance about DECC’s commitment to offshore wind… Despite the strength of the Galloper project, before making a final investment decision we will apply SSE’s traditional rigour in assessing the financial viability and returns from the project.”

He said this will include looking for ways to drive down the cost of offshore wind and making sure long-term policy support is “in place and available”.

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesperson said: “Galloper wind farm will provide large amounts of clean energy, support jobs and generate major investment in Suffolk… This development will enhance our energy security and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

That’s according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest review of German energy policies following the nation’s ambitious aim to switch from nuclear power and fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The IEA warned the Government must rein in its retail electricity prices or risk a backlash from consumers.

Maria van der Hoeven, IEA Executive Director said: “The fact that German electricity prices are among the highest in Europe, despite relatively low wholesale prices, must serve as a warning signal.

“The German Government should maintain its policy course based on a predictable and stable regulatory framework while actively seeking means to reduce the costs. Sudden changes can undermine investor confidence and will drive up costs in the long term. Any form of retroactive tariff cuts – even if applied for only a short period – must be avoided.”

Among the recommendations, the IEA has called for the development of suitable mechanisms to manage the cost of renewable energy capacity and more investment in new gas-fired generation and cost-effective electricity storage.

Following a review of Finland’s energy policies, the IEA praised the role of renewables in the country and the Government’s commitment towards a sustainable future.

Makani Power will be part of Google X, the secretive research and development arm of the search engine giant, which previously invested $15 million (£9.94m) in the renewable firm.

Makani’s airborne wind turbine (AWT) (pictured) works like any conventional one. Air moving across the turbine blades forces them to rotate, driving a generator to produce electricity. On a conventional turbine blade, the tip is the most effective part and is responsible for most of the energy produced. Makani’s AWT mounts small turbine and generator pairs on a “wing” that itself acts like the top of a traditional turbine blade.

In a statement on its website, Makani Power said: “We are happy to announce that Makani Power is being acquired by Google. This formalises a long and productive relationship between our two companies and will provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels. We look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google X to make airborne wind a cost-effective reality.”

The firm has just successfully completed tests on a 30kW prototype to see if its control system lets it launch, hover, generate power and land without human intervention. Makani aims for fully working models to generate 600kW of energy.

Research commissioned by comparison website Gocompare.com found that on average customers who are in credit to utility suppliers are owed £78.50, while one in five have a credit balance of £100 or more.

This means utility providers are profiting from nearly a whopping £1billion in overpaid bills, which was put down to people paying by direct debit (DD).

Jeremy Cryer from Gocompare.com said: “Paying utility bills by direct debit can be a good way of saving money as most suppliers offer discounts to customers paying in this way. However, the method suppliers use to calculate DD payments can lead to customers paying way more than they need to. By overpaying bills you are effectively giving a free loan to your utility supplier, when your money could be working harder for you.”

Suppliers calculate the amount you pay based on an estimate of your annual consumption, he said, then usually divide this into 12 equal payments and charged monthly.

Mr Cryer went on: “While DDs can help your household budgeting by smoothing out seasonal variations in energy usage, if the estimation of usage has been set too high, a sizeable surplus can quickly build up.”

Customers should review their accounts to reclaim their “hard-earned cash,” he added.

Reports claim angry residents in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh set fire to a fire station and held power company employees hostage for several hours. The power cuts left people without air conditioning or fans and in some cases without water as electric pumps failed.

Home to around 190 million people, Uttar Pradesh is believed to be one of India’s most populous state and one of the poorest. It only has 8,000MW of electricity available against a demand of around 11,000MW, forcing authorities to schedule power cuts.

A neighbourhood in the capital city of Lucknow lost electricity for more than 50 hours, leading to people protesting outside the home of a local lawmaker, reports claim.

The lack of power supplies has failed to meet demand as temperatures peaked above 46°C. Western states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra also saw temperatures as high as 48°C, expected to continue throughout the week.

Earlier this year people also protested over energy price hikes and another was staged urging the Government to switch to renewables. Last year India also battled its worst ever electricity crisis, with a two-day blackout affecting more than 600 million people.

Rights to explore and develop blocks in the Libra field, which is expected to produce around 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil over 35 years, will be on offer in the first bidding round in October.

Brazil’s national petroleum agency ANP discovered Libra in May 2010 and estimated it holds between 26-42 billion barrels of oil. Of that, production could recover between 8-12 billion barrels or an amount equivalent to three to five months of world oil demand.

The sale, which will be held a month earlier than planned, will be the first under new “production sharing rules” that increase state control and Government participation. The nation’s state-run energy giant Petrobras will own at least 30% of the field and act as the operator.

Winning bids will be determined by the amount of oil companies agree to give to the Brazilian Government from the field, according to reports.

Earlier this month a Brazilian energy firm announced the first discovery of oil offshore Namibia and the ANP granted permission for Chevron to restart production at an offshore oil field in Brazil following a spill two years ago.

Arriving late at night to the small, bustling town of Fethiye on the southern coast of Turkey last week, it was only when the dawn came that I saw them: hundreds, even thousands of solar panels.

Gazing from the hillside view of my apartment, virtually every building or block of flats below (apart from the dozen or so silver-roofed mosques) was crowned by the somewhat ugly combo of a solar panel and a big metal drum or two.

It was as if a plague of square-eyed insects had descended on the town. I was intrigued. Back in Britain, despite the originally generous solar power Feed-in Tariff which the Government offers people to get solar panels, they are still a relative rarity. Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong places but I’ve never seen a whole town adorned by the things.

While I looked on, one man even risked a several-story-high plunge by ascending his red tiled rooftop to paint it white – presumably so it reflected more of the sun’s rays towards the device. There were clearly different brands competing for customers, going by the variety of names printed on the water drums.

It makes sense in a place where electricity prices are much higher, relatively speaking, when compared with average incomes. Turkish electricity prices are certainly lower than the UK’s while gas prices are around half as much, according to Eurostat. But as for income, the EU fact body’s most recent stats for Turkey (2006) show the median net income was 2,372 euros. The UK’s for that year was 19,403 euros.

Quizzing a burly but friendly taxi driver later that week, I wondered whether it was a government scheme which had seen so many people plump for ‘Solar Enerji’.

But no, it was the people who wanted cheaper water heating, he told me: “It’s free hot water. It would be crazy not to.”

From the sounds of it the powers that be actively prevent people from using solar power for electricity.

“We can only use them for hot water,” he said dismissively, suggesting the authorities want to keep cash flowing in from electricity prices, throwing in: “This Government sucks.”

Whether or not that’s the Turkish Government’s official line on solar power, it certainly puts the UK’s much-maligned energy officials into perspective. It seems the Turkish delight in solar panels stretches only as far as they are allowed to.

It’s part of an extra investment programme which is also meant to protect bathing water quality at tourist beaches and maintain nearly six million metres of sewers.

The firm said the plans will be funded from efficiency savings in its current five year programme. Last year South West Water’s profits before tax increased by 7.5% to £152.1 million.

Chief Executive Chris Loughlin said: “Last year saw everything from near drought conditions to the wettest summer and winter for 100 years… Now is the right time to go further and share the benefits of our good financial performance with our customers by investing more where it is most needed.

“This year we will be introducing WaterCare, our new social tariff, which will discount bills for around 10,000 customers on the lowest incomes.”

He added: “Investing now in our network and treatment works protecting bathing water quality will help minimise the risk of these vital beaches losing their status and serious knock-on damage to the region’s number one industry – tourism.”