23 Nov 2011
The UK is significantly renovating its electric infrastructure (Smart Grid.) The renovation will manage intermittent, renewable energy generation and the future deployment of electric vehicles.
Along with renewables, the UK is envisioning a bigger role for electric transport. To support these technologies, the country needs to upgrade its infrastructure and energy sector. The government budgets £200bn (US$312.8bn) to rebuild the country’s electricity infrastructure, according to the Energy Minister, Charles Hendry.
There are 6 major gas and electricity suppliers, providing 95% of the power for commercial customers. There are other independent operators, but the...
30 Apr 2012
The 2.8GW HidroAysen hydropower project will give Chile the power boost it needs.
What happened
Chile's Supreme Court approved the 2.8GW HidroAysen hydropower project, after it rejected seven appeals, reports Reuters. The US$3.5bn project consists of five hydroelectric dams on two rivers in Patagonia.
President Sebastián Piñera approved the project last year, but plans were put on hold as environmentalists protested its construction, concerned about a negative impact on the region’s ecosystem. The dams will generate over 18TWh per year – 33%...
30 Apr 2012
Brazilian utility, Eletrobras, may help Mozambique realize plans for a 1,500MW hydroelectric dam project.
What happened
Brazilian utility, Eletrobras, plans to construct a 1,500MW hydroelectric dam and two transmission lines in northern Mozambique to the value of US$6bn, reports Bloomberg. Mozambique’s state-owned utility, Electricidade de Moçambique, will partner Eletrobras to build the two 1,500 km (932 m)“high-voltage” power lines. The Wall Street Journal reports that one of the transmission lines will export energy to South Africa. Jose da Costa,...
24 Jan 2012
South Africa’s main electric utility is Eskom. It is a vertically integrated generation, transmission and distribution organization. Eskom is responsible for 95% of the country’s generation and transmission of electricity.
According to the current Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, South Africa is one of the least energy efficient nations in the world. To start to address this, the government has launched a nationwide power-saving campaign, called 49M. The campaign appeals to all 49 million South Africans to conserve electricity. Eskom says the campaign aims to conserve power, save consumers money and reduce the country’s carbon footprint.
South Africa has a low electricity reserve margin of...
30 Apr 2012
Due to delays on large hydropower projects and rising demand, Mozambique will have to wait until the end of the decade for a more reliable power supply.
What happened
Mozambique faces a limited power supply until 2020, due to escalating power demand and delays on major hydroelectric projects, reports Reuters. The proposed hydro projects include:
The1,245MW Cahora Bassa North
The 1,500MW Mphanda Nkuwa
Both are located along the Zambezi River.
Carlos Yum, director for business development for Mozambican utility Electricidad de Mocambique (EDM,) explains that the plants will be completed by around 2019. The two projects also rely on...
15 May 2012
China and EU co-operate on shared energy goals … Endesa rolls out smart microgrid in La Graciosa (Canary Island) … EU DSOs should be incentivized.
China Daily: China seeks to expand green energy ties
Lan Lan of China Daily reports that China and the European Union (EU) will work more closely in the alternative energy industry, in terms of:
Energy saving
Emission cuts
Nuclear technologies – Including uranium enrichment and experimentalfast reactors
New-energy vehicles
Han Wenke, director-general of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission, points out that...
18 Nov 2011
With the completion in October 2010 of the 260km-long, subsea cable between the UK and the Netherlands, the Dutch transmission grid is becoming a key interconnection throughout the EU. IThe Dutch government is spending billions of euros to improve and expand its high voltage grid, planning to add 14GW of power capacity to its grid by 2018, a 50...
The Dutch government liberalized its electricity industry in 1996. The Electricity Act of 1998 saw the end of monopoly positions. From 2007, all electricity customers could choose their supplier.
Metering
In 2007, in order to curb the nation’s energy consumption, the Dutch government announced that all households must have smart meters by 2013. Companies such as Continuon, Nuon and Delta Netwerkbedrijf installed meters in various cities. However, in 2010 the government postponed the...
15 May 2012
Costa Rica’s Reventazón Hydroelectric Dam receives a US$670m loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, bringing the country closer to its 100% renewables by 2021.
What happened
Costa Rica’s biggest, and most intricate...
18 Nov 2011
Brazil has the largest electricity market in Latin America. 97% of its households have access to grid electricity. Energy consumption is expected to rise sharply. This is due to a projected GDP growth between 2010 and 2013, which will exceed the US, Canada. The International Energy Association projects that the rate of energy consumption for...
The country’s higher rate of consumption has resulted in power outages. There will be a further increase in consumption of 5.3% per year, between 2009 and 2019. The growing demand needs a total investment of US$128bn. Some analysts blame the pressured infrastructure onan “unwieldy bureaucracy and political system.” Richard Dubois, infrastructure partner at PwC in São Paulo, says that “there is a chronic lack of planning”.
The National Interconnected...
25 Apr 2012
World Bank loans Kenya Power US$47m ... while 500 communities in Ghana to receive power ... as AECOM wins excellence award for Africa electrical interconnection project ... but Kenya Power’s escalating rates despite profits!
Engineering News: Kenya Power receives $47m World Bank loan for distribution projects
John Muchira of Engineering News reports that the World Bank granted Kenya Power a US$47m loan to improve its power distribution network. The country will construct new 132KV substations and transmission lines to connect the substations in certain regions.
According to Kenya Power MD, Joseph Njoroge, the new projects form part of the government’s Kenya Electricity Expansion Project and...
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