The world’s energy system must be transformed completely

For more than 100,000 years humans derived all their energy from what they hunted, gathered and grazed on or grew for themselves. Their own energy for moving things came from what they ate. Energy for light and heat came from burning the rest. In recent millennia they added energy from the flow of water and, later, air to the repertoire. But, important as water- and windmills were, they did little to change the overall energy picture. Global energy use broadly tracked the size of a population fed by farms and warmed…

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Renewable Power Heads for Its First Decline in Two Decades

Construction of new wind and solar farms is being delayed by factory closures, workers’ needs for social distancing and developers’ financial concerns as they emerge from the coronavirus crisis, according to research from the International Energy Agency. The world is set to add 167 gigawatts of renewable power capacity this year, 13% less than in 2019. It’s a reality check for a sector that’s seen only growth for years and has emerged relatively unscathed from the plunge in energy demand that’s hit the oil and gas business. “The continued decrease in…

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Circular debt: Govt carves out plan to reduce capacity charges

ISLAMABAD: The PTI government has carved out a unique master plan under which synthetic financing would be arranged to slice down capacity charges causing huge surge in circular debt. The circular… SLAMABAD: The PTI government has carved out a unique master plan under which synthetic financing would be arranged to slice down capacity charges causing huge surge in circular debt. The circular debt has now risen to over Rs2.1 trillion. Under the master structure based on synthetic financing, debt payment plans of powerhouses and IPPs will be stretched from 10…

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Plane Crashes in Pakistan With at Least 91 Aboard

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistan International Airlines plane with at least 91 people aboard crashed on Friday in a residential area near the airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, officials said. The plane, Flight 8303, an Airbus A320, was en route from the eastern city of Lahore to Karachi and crashed at 2:37 p.m., officials said. No information about casualties was immediately available, and there were conflicting reports about how many people had been on the plane. Initial news reports said the plane had skidded off the rooftops of several…

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PTI govt to use Covid-19 fund for interest payment

ISLAMABAD:  The federal government on Wednesday allowed diverting Rs10 billion from the coronavirus relief funds to pay interest on loans taken to retire circular debt and approved terms of negotiations for debt restructuring to reduce electricity tariffs. Contrary to prime minister’s desire to reduce power tariffs by renegotiating terms of the deals, official documents suggest that there will be no meaningful relief, and instead, the consumers will be overburdened in the longer run. Headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)…

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