UK’s Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said in an interview yesterday that he favours harnessing both offshore and onshore wind power, and that the UK will not subsidise a new generation of nuclear power stations.
In the USA, Senate Democrats have abandoned plans to pass a broad energy bill this summer.
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), South Korea’s state-run power company, said that it will buy a 20 per cent stake in PT Bayan Resources, Indonesia’s eighth-largest coal producer by output, for $515 million.
Even though China’s electricity generation capacity continues to grow, the China Electricity Council (CEC) has said that the rate of growth is likely to decline if high coal prices continue to eat away at profit margins.
International Power of the UK and GDF-Suez of France are believed to have restarted talks of creating a partnership.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have announced that they will jointly be supporting the Mambilla Hyrdo Power Project in Nigeria.
The European Commission has launched a smart grids initiative, which is intended to upgrade and equip Europe’s electricity network by building intelligence into the existing passive delivery system.
Toshiba, Shaw and Exelon have signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to pursue several nuclear power contracts in Saudi Arabia.
Enel, Italy’s largest utility, has said that it has not yet reached a decision on selling its 73 per cent stake in Bulgaria’s Maritsa East Three coal-fired power plant.
The Vietnam Energy Association has said that the country’s power sector needs to charge consumers more and to rethink its pricing mechanisms in order to attract necessary investment. It estimates that the power sector needs an additional $80 billion of capital investment over the period 2010-15.