The US administration is willing to offer guarantees to private investors keen to invest in Pakistan

Europe looks set to build slightly more wind capacity this year than in 2008, despite weakening electricity demand due to the economic crisis, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said on Friday.

About 8,600 megawatts of new wind energy capacity will be installed in the European Union's 27 nations in 2009, 1 percent higher than the 8,484 megawatts installed last year, EWEA estimated.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said that the US offer to assist Pakistan in the energy sector should not be associated with Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.

Chemical maker DuPont said on Thursday that it would invest $120 million to boost production of a popular solar cell product.

The move is part of a broader push by the chemical industry to supply solar cell producers with technologies to make the renewable energy source more efficient.

DuPont hopes sales of all its solar products will exceed $1 billion by 2012, it said on Thursday.

Australia passed laws on Thursday mandating the generation of 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy, which could unleash up to $22 billion in investments to the sector.

The renewable energy laws set a statutory target of 9,500 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from renewable electricity sources in 2010, increasing to 45,000 GWh in 2020.

The Obama administration

MUMBAI: Here comes a ray of hope for Mumbai's 39 lakh power consumers, upset at inflating bills every year, and a warning for warring distributors Reliance Infrastructure, Tata Power and BEST.

The government has signed an agreement with World Bank to improve the power system in Haryana. The bank will finance the Haryana Power System Improvement Project.

The development objective of the project is to improve the availability, efficiency and accountability of electricity supply in Haryana through strengthening the transmission and distribution system.

Thermal Power Plants Bear Extra Load As Hydel Plants Run At About 40% Capacity

Subhash Narayan NEW DELHI

AFTER ravaging the farm sector, poor rainfall now threatens to bring hydel power plants to a complete halt as most of them are running at about 40% capacity, or plant load factor, and are perilously close to a complete shutdown for want of adequate water in their reservoirs.

Congo must improve governance in its energy sector to attract investment and exploit its full potential, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Monday.

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