Two Indian companies have been awarded the prestigious International Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy – considered the “green oscars.” Husk Power Systems and Abellon CleanEnergy Ltd were honored for their innovative clean energy solutions that have made a lasting impact in India.

Husk Power Systems has made its mark by producing energy out of rice husks. There are about 60 gasification plants (pictured above) that generate electricity for more than 25,000 households in the state of Bihar. Abellon makes more than 65,000 tons of biomass pellets every year that are used to power industry in the state of Gujarat – and the pellets also provide an outlet for farm waste, too.

Both companies have proven that local clean-energy infrastructure can be an effective way to combat climate change. Congrats!

Gita Wirjawan heads up the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. He talked to GLOBAL IDEAS about the impact of climate change on his country and how Indonesia deals with the challenge.

The debate over biofuels isn’t new: for years, experts and environmentalists have argued about the use of biofuels as an eco-friendly solution to fossil fuels. On one hand, creating clean-burning ethanol from plants is a good solution to the greenhouse gas problem. But on the other hand, growing crops for biofuels requires a lot of land – and cutting down forests to create eco-friendly power seems like a contradiction, especially if producing biofuels leads to rising food prices.

The Guardian recently featured an article about British companies acquiring land in Africa solely for producing biofuels. According to the article, about 3.2 hectares of land in various African countries have been earmarked as fuel plantations.

We’d like to hear your thoughts: are biofuels a good replacement for fossil fuels, or are they the wrong solution to the search for clean energy?

In Africa’s Sahel region people are trying to push back the frontiers of the Sahara desert – or at least halt its continuing expansion into what used to be arable lands. Deforestation and ensuing soil erosion are a major cause for desertification. Replanting trees may stem the trend – and help local inhabitants earn their living. One example is this project initiated by the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO):

We found this interesting story from The Guardian today: the small German town of Norderstedt in the northern part of the country is getting a new mosque with a unique feature – wind turbines.

In fact, the minarets themselves (where the muezzin calls to prayer are usually sounded) will house glass rotors, about 22 meters high in the sky. The entire project will cost about 2.5 million Euros and include a mosque and cultural center with shops and offices in Norderstedt. It’s all part of architect Selcuk Ünyilmaz’s design to provide the 200-person congregation with a place of worship that’s progressive and eco-friendly.

Tell us what you think of these plans!