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But five new projects coming on line between now and 2014 are likely to turn the country into a consistent net exporter. "By 2014 we will more than double our copper production. We will go from 210,000 tonnes (in 2009) to 475,000 in 2014," Paulo Camillo Penna, head of mining industry association Ibram, told Reuters in an interview.

We see very significant growth in our copper production, it could more than double in five to six years. By 2012 it will be in excess of 400,000 tonnes," Ron Vance, senior vice president of corporate development, said in an interview.

He also said India's copper output was seen at 12 million tonnes in five to seven years.

China plans to spend 30 billion yuan (US$4.48bn) over the next five years to explore for minerals in 21 provinces to reduce its reliance on imported mineral products.

This is, in fact, the crux of the argument: It isn't enough to simply establish clear rules in a trading center. Governments can only successfully combat speculators if they coordinate their efforts worldwide and remove the cloak of secrecy from their commodities transactions. As long as this fails to happen, the price of copper will remain unpredictable and industry will be at the mercy of speculators. Companies will no longer be able to assume that copper will be expensive when it's scarce and cheap when it's available in abundance. Speculation destroys the basic signaling function that prices have in a market economy, says Heiner Flassbeck, chief economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Although a lot of money moves around as a result of price distortions, speculation doesn't create any real value, says Flassbeck. "The only thing that's created is an illusion of value." Making Life Difficult for Everyone In the end, the popular assessment that speculators are the purest of capitalists is by no means correct. In truth, they are the biggest enemies of the market, because they undermine its central mechanism, the efficient balancing of supply and demand. In doing so, they make life difficult for everyone: for industry, which can no longer predict how expensive its raw materials will be; for consumers, who are forced to bear the costs; and, finally, for copper producers, who face more risk when planning ahead. When the executives at CODELCO in Santiago make investment decisions today, it will be another three to five years before the results become visible. That's how long it takes to develop a new mine or expand an existing mine. The company plans to invest about $15 billion by 2015, but its executives have never been so uncertain about whether their predictions are correct. One thing is clear: Production costs will continue to rise. Now that deposits near the surface, which are easier to mine, are becoming depleted, mining companies are forced to dig deeper and deeper pits.

The price of copper has jumped to the highest level in five weeks after the huge earthquake in Chile.

Production at some of the largest mines resumed on Sunday, although Chile's mining minister said it could take two days for production to resume.

China plans to invest more than 500 billion yuan in constructing a system of UHV AC and UHV DC grids in the coming five years, according to Liu Zhenya, general manager of the UHV Grid Extension Project. According to Liu, the total length of China’s UHV transmission lines will reach 40,000 kilometers.

State Grid Corp of China, which operates the bulk of the country's power transmission networks, envisages building an "informationised, automatic and interactive" grid with ultra high voltage (UHV) power lines over the next five years.

Low-Voltage Cables "Transmission and Distribution Electrical Engineering" breaks down transmission and distribution cables into five separate categories. The most basic category is "low voltage." This includes cables used for telephone wires, as well as fire-retarded and resistant cables. These cables have the lowest maximum voltage of the four groups, ranging from 50 to 1,000 volts. Medium-Voltage Cables Medium-voltage cables --- which have a maximum capacity ranging from three to 7.2 kilovolts --- are the next class of transmission and distribution lines. These cables are typically used for solid dielectric and MI/MIND purposes. High-Voltage Cables The third class of transmission and distribution cables is high voltage. These power lines can carry a maximum voltage capacity of 10 to 150 kilovolts. While these cables can be used for the same purposes as low- and medium-voltage cables, their higher threshold makes them less cost-efficient than lower-grade wires. The main purposes of high-voltage wires include oil-filled cables, as well as gas-pressure or gas-insulated ducts. Very High-Voltage Cables Like medium- and high-voltage cables, very high-voltage lines are used for solid dielectric, oil-filled and gas-insulated ducts, but in situations where a higher maximum voltage is required. These cables have a maximum capacity of 150 to 300 kilovolts. Because of their very high-voltage capacity, these are typically transmission lines and not distribution lines.

China, the world’s largest energy consumer, intends to generate 11.4 per cent of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2015, up from 8 per cent today, under the terms of the next five-year plan. That shift is equivalent to moving the whole of Italy off fossil fuels.

The Chilean Agency for Energy Efficiency is developing an energy efficiency labeling system for new vehicles due out in 2011 and will be mandatory starting in September.  (Diario Financiero, 12/16/10)

Scientists at the University of Costa Rica are developing solar cells sensitized with dyes from local plants.  Benefits of the cells include its cheaper production price, flexibility and thinness, and ability to produce power with very little light.  However they are not yet as efficient as the present day silicon solar cells. (El Financiero CR, 12/14/10) Mitsubishi Motors will release the first electric car in Costa Rica, called iMiEV.  The car is 100% electric, automatic, is powered by a lithium-ion battery, has room for five people and will cost $61,500.  According to the company, Costa Rica was chosen for car’s release in the Americas due to its environmental record and goal to become carbon neutral by 2021. (El Financiero CR, 12/14/10)