On May 25, the Swiss Government decided that it would phase out nuclear power, and seek alternative energy sources.
Iraq has signed a new five-year deal to import natural gas from Iran to ease its electricity woes, an official has said. The agreement deepens Iraqi economic ties with Tehran as US troops prepare to leave at the end of this year.
Global demand for natural gas is expected to balloon in the next two decades according to a recent forecast from ExxonMobil. Rob Gardner, manager of the economics and energy division at the ExxonMobil corporate strategic planning department, predicts gas will become a key area of investment as fuel demand for power generation surges.
UK MPs have criticised the government’s current power market reforms and cast doubt on their ability to deliver enough investment for improved energy infrastructure, in a climate change committee report.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has announced that the country will abandon plans to expand its nuclear power industry, and instead will make renewables a key part of its energy policy.
Electric vehicles may help the UK cope with erratic renewable power generation in the future by recharging when demand is low and supplying the network when demand is high, the National Grid has said.
The accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant will not affect civil nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and China, Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China said. He said that plans to work with China to build two more 340 MW nuclear reactors at the Chashma facility in Punjab province would go ahead as scheduled.
The UK coalition government’s renewable energy review has declared nuclear to be the most cost-effective form of low-carbon power generation in the short-term, while renewables are described as key to decarbonising the UK economy in the medium to long-term.
State-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has softened its push for more nuclear power, saying that it is the people's decision whether to continue nuclear power generation.
German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG is set to report a significant increase in net profit on a one-time gain from the sale of a minority stake in nuclear power venture Areva NP, while its order book is set to benefit from the continuing rebound across its business lines.