The Edison Electric Institute reports that U.S. electric power output hit a new winter record of 89, 483 gigawatt hours last week.

FORBES: Cold Snap Spurs Winter Electric Record

Although a powerful military could not be sustained over the long haul without a prosperous economic base, it has been unusual, until recently in the case of China, to describe a country's power in terms of its economic output or its dominance of key industrial or trade sectors.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

Reduced flow rates on China's greatest rivers have made hydro plants reduce badly needed power output: many smelters, paper mills and petrochemical plants are no longer sure of getting the huge amounts of water they require.

ECONOMIST: China and water

The Volt's battery needs to be both a sprinter and a marathoner in power output.

FORBES: Magazine Article

If solar power is to make up much of the world's electricity output in future, as supporters of alternative energy hope it will, a lot of land will be needed for the power stations.

ECONOMIST: Solar energy

Western Australia's Alinta is the latest big energy distributor to expand its "green" output, announcing Tuesday it will take power from a 90-megawatt wind farm to be built near Geraldton.

CNN: story.codringtonwindfarm.jpg

About 200 megawatts of Australia's power now comes from wind farms, so the new Alinta and Pacific Hydro projects will massively expand this output.

CNN: story.codringtonwindfarm.jpg

But according to his calculations, during storms such as Monday's, the wave power potential down the 124 miles (200km) length of the Western Isles could match the output of 120 Torness-sized nuclear power stations.

BBC: Could big waves be big news for the Western Isles?