According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, plans to introduce an additional levy to electricity bills will reduce Ireland’s competitiveness. The Irish government and the energy regulator defended the decision to introduce the levy, which could lead to a rise of up to 5 per cent in electricity prices.
Hyperion Power Generation, from New Mexico, USA, has said that it has commercialised small modular nuclear reactors for power generation for use by small island states in the Pacific.
Germany’s Federal Cabinet has adopted a national renewable energy action plan presented by the country’s Environment Minister, Norbert Röttgen.
In Maharashtra state, India, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has granted an extension to the tariff fixed for bagasse-based cogeneration projects up until March 2011.
It has been reported that about $80 billion worth of investment is needed in Saudi Arabia by 2018 to meet rising power demands in the country.
Brazil’s state-controlled power company Eletrobras plans to invest up to $500 million in transmission projects in the USA starting in 2011, according to Eletrobras CEO Jose Antonio Muniz Lopez.
Ethiopia has announced the completion of construction of electricity transmission lines to enable the country to supply electricity to neighbouring countries.
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.
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.