Alternative Energy Daily News - April 4, 2007

• Although March is shaping up as a good month for hybrid sales with a record 31,652 units sold just by Toyota and Honda, it was the best month ever for Toyota and its hybrid sedans.

• Speaking of Toyota, after doubling U.S. sales of its Prius hybrid in March, the company is offering new discounts worth as much as $2,000 to counter dwindling tax credits and to meet rising sales targets.

• The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioral change can substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector, which accounts for 30%-40% of global energy use.

• New market research by McGraw-Hill Construction finds that approximately 0.3% of all homes in the U.S. are "green," incorporating elements in three of five environmental building categories.

• Suppliers of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are in the midst of a multiyear investment boom, with an eye toward producing electricity as cheaply as the entrenched standard: fossil-fuel power generation.