Despite Mongolia’s nearly limitless supplies of coal, Ulaanbaatar recently approved plans to set up the country’s first commercial wind farm. The decision is fueling a public debate that aims to strike the right balance between Mongolia’s near-term and long-term economic development interests.
This year, according to the whitewater-rafting guide, the water was too high, it was too dangerous. The group of beginners he was guiding down one of Kyrgyzstan’s most accessible rivers couldn’t handle the rapids ahead. Downstream, reservoirs were overflowing, causing authorities to lament the loss of precious water in summertime when it isn’t needed to make electricity.
Armenian leaders are ecstatic that Russia is getting involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Metsamor. Environmentalists and technical experts are far less enthused, saying that a new Metsamor unit poses considerable risks.
Natural gas sales and transit agreements signed by Turkey and Azerbaijan on June 7 appear to give a long-awaited green light for Azerbaijani gas sales to Europe-bound pipeline projects. While energy executives have welcomed the news, a source at Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR tells EurasiaNet.org that the two sides failed to reach a comprehensive gas agreement.
After years of jostling among the regional giants, the United States and Russia, officials in Georgia seem intent on recruiting a new player for the regional geopolitical game -- Iran.
Baku may still sport all the signs of energy wealth, but, after an almost decade-long boom, the International Monetary Fund is cautioning that Azerbaijan’s oil sector no longer has enough muscle to power economic growth alone.
Azerbaijan and Turkey are close to resolving a two-year gas-pricing dispute that has soured relations between the two strategic partners and which has stalled development of the Nabucco pipeline.
Russian leaders are hoping that the launch of the country’s first major Caspian Sea off-shore energy development project will re-invigorate the Kremlin’s overall oil-and-gas strategy for the region.
It is being touted as a project that could beat the long-delayed Nabucco pipeline to the finish line. Even so, the recently unveiled Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Black Sea liquefied natural gas export route appears to be long on promises and short on financing.
