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Tokyo Electric Power Co. will build a solar power plant in the US state of California through its subsidiary Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., according to a report.

It plans to begin operations at the 1000 kilowatt plant by 2010 on a site yet to be selected, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Eurus, already engaged in wind power generation in the United States, wants to take advantage of incentives expected to be provided by the new US government to boost solar power generation nationwide, Nikkei said.

Tokyo Electric is one of four Japanese corporate giants moving into the US renewable energy market with solar and wind power technologies, the daily said.

Petroleum wholesaler Showa Shell Sekiyu KK will start selling solar cells in the United States in June at the earliest after establishing a sales network there, the report said.

The unit of Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell will ship cells from a plant now under construction in Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan.

Sanyo Electric Co. is set to expand the solar cell production capacity of its Mexican plant, which assembles products for the North American market, by 150 percent to 50,000 kilowatts, the daily said.

In anticipation of growing US demand, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will raise its domestic production capacity for wind turbines by about 30 percent to 1.6 million kilowatts possibly by March 2010, Nikkei said.

The 787-billion-dollar US economic stimulus package, which was passed on Tuesday, earmarks 38 billion dollars for investments in the environmental and energy sectors.

It also provides 20 billion dollars in tax incentives to spur private-sector investment in this area.

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Japan Airlines (JAL) on Friday carried out the world’s first successful test flight of a Boeing aeroplane run on biofuel made primarily of a non-food energy crop called camelina.

In a joint project with the United States’ Boeing and engine maker Pratt and Whitney, JAL — Asia’s largest carrier — conducted a demonstration flight of about 90 minutes.

One engine on the Boeing 747-300 aircraft, which took off from Tokyo’s Haneda airport, was powered by biofuel mixed with conventional kerosene jet oil, the company said.

“No modifications to the aircraft or engine were required for biofuel,” JAL said in a statement.

“Today is an extremely important day for Japan Airlines, for aviation, and for the environment,” said JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu. “The demonstration flight brings us ever closer to finding a greener alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuel.”

“When biofuels are produced in sufficient amounts to make them commercially viable, we hope to be one of the first airlines in the world to start powering our aircraft using them,” he said.

The biofuel used in the flight is “a mixture of three second-generation biofuel feedstocks” of camelina, jatropha and algae, the airline said.

“Second-generation feedstocks do not compete with natural food or water resources and do not contribute to deforestation practices,” the company said.

The JAL flight was Boeing’s fourth project using biofuel.

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Get ready for a supercar that could reach a top speed of 155mph without harming the environment, for it runs on wind energy.

Designed in California, the environmentally friendly Formula AE car will initially use a solar-powered battery to move, but later depend upon the airflow around it to power a turbine.

The high performance car will take less than four seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.

The car is expected to cost around 100,000 pounds when it hits the market.

The two-seater’s bodywork boasts paper-thin solar panelling that could fully charge the battery in just 1.5 hours.

However, this time will be reduced to just six minutes with a new prototype battery.

A full battery would enable the drivers to cover more than 200 miles or to race around a track for at least an hour.

An advanced alternating current induction motor with a power output of 212 kilowatts will propel the Formula AE.

In fact, the chassis will be constructed from lightweight aluminium and super strong steel in a Formula 1-style monocoque shell. Rory Handel and Maxx Bricklinas from Beverly Hills, California designed the sleek motor of the car, and they expect the prototype to be completed in August.

“The Formula AE car embraces a rarely thought of alternative source of energy,” the Telegraph quoted a RORMaxx spokesman as saying.

He said: “The target market would be the sports car, track day, eco-concerned auto-enthusiast. In addition, those enthusiasts who support and would want to promote the future development of revolutionary green technologies.”

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