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"Regulatory cooperation at regional, continental and world level is a trend which is set to continue. The International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER), which brings together more than 200 regulators from around the world has proved to be a very valuable platform for the exchange of good regulatory practice and facilitating regulatory cooperation. "

The SERC (State Electricity Regulatory Commission) has released stricter technical regulations, especially for LVRT (Low Voltage Ride Through) reformation. Additionally, 18 industry standards have been released in November 2011 by the National Bureau of Energy. There are two immediate effects of the regulatory changes. Adding a LVRT capability will increase the cost of the Chinese turbines. This, coupled with slower demand, will lead to a squeezing out of the marginal producers who won't be able to afford to fit new equipment. Thus, the domestic wind power manufacturing sector in China is poised for tough times, when consolidation may even change the positioning of the top five players.

"Vietnam is one of the few countries in the Southeast Asian region that has established regulatory bodies in the power sector. In 2004, the Electricity Reform Law was introduced to establish a competitive electricity market in the country. Reforms were initiated in 2012 and agencies such as the Directorate General of Energy (DGE) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) restricted the control and ownership of transmission grid and power generation of Vietnam Electricity (EVN)."

During the inaugural address, P Parvathisem, former president, IIM and former CMD of NALCO and also Hindustan Copper Ltd, said that India remained unaffected by the global meltdown mainly because of various regulatory and control mechanisms and by nature being conservative in our approach. India was expected to grow at about 7 per cent. India witnessed substantial growth, progress in Zinc and Copper production and have to progressively invest in exploration and mining. In case of Aluminium, India was endowed with rich deposits and required R&D efforts for making Alumina. In case of lead, we should strive to develop it in a big way, he said.

"The ISA has just published a Report on the Development of a Regulatory Framework for Mineral exploitation. This is an important step along the way to commercial mining in the Area Wylie Spicer Q.C. Counsel at McInnes Cooper isa.org.jm isa.org.jm isa.org.jm"

"The transition to a more decentralised and intelligent energy system will continue in 2017, driven by the continued regulatory support for renewable energy in a number of key markets. The 3 Ds of energy are driving future investment - increased decentralisation, the need to decarbonise electricity generation, and digitisation to boost the sector's operational efficiency and open up new market opportunities. The highest growth rates will be for solar PV, with investment forecast to increase by 11.5% to €141.6 billion in 2017. China continues to be the largest market in terms of revenue investment, but the fastest growth will come from India, which will see double-digit growth in investment to 2020. New business models that incentivise smarter consumption patterns, and the growth of energy storage technologies, will increasingly reduce the need for peak capacity investment in mature energy markets."

Carrots are more appealing than sticks - and sometimes just as effective. That, at least, is the message that Europe's big telecoms operators have successfully delivered to European policy makers in Brussels. Late last week, Neelie Kroes, EU telecoms commissioner, backed down on her threat to make owners of old-style copper networks - the likes of France Telecom or Telefónica - lower the price at which they grant access to smaller rivals unless investment in high-speed fibre networks is stepped up. Instead, the Dutch politician, who estimates EU broadband investment needs at €270bn, promised regulatory "stability and consistency". True, she plans stricter rules to ensure equal access to networks. But for incumbent telcos, that is like being poked by a twig compared with the big baton of lower access charges.

"The battery energy storage system (BESS) market is poised to enter a period of dynamic growth on a global level. In the markets for utility-scale grid-connected solutions, commercialisation will begin to accelerate after 2017 with the subsequent years bringing huge opportunities for companies that have the technological capabilities to compete. Rapid growth in variable renewable energy generation and new regulatory policies governing performance criteria for their interconnection with the grid are driving the demand for grid-modernisation, with BESS being a key enabler of growth due to its flexibility and versatility. The period of study is 2014 to 2024."

"Engaging with government: finding new ways to communicate and collaborate - Strategies to counter regulatory uncertainty include working to build better government relationships, becoming more vocal in both industry association and through social media, measuring social impact, helping to set the policy agenda, and better leveraging mobile technologies."

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc (K&S) has announced that the company has entered into definitive agreements to acquire substantially all of the assets of Orthodyne Electronics Corporation, a supplier of wedge bonders, and sell the K&S wire business unit to WC Heraeus GmbH, a precious metals and technology group. Under the terms of the Orthodyne agreement, K&S will fund the acquisition of Orthodyne with approximately 7.1 million shares of K&S common stock, plus $80 million in cash. If the transaction is not consummated by October 31, 2008, the purchase price will be approximately 19.6 million shares of K&S common stock and no cash. The deal includes possible earn-out consideration up to an additional $40 million in cash if certain financial objectives are met by Orthodyne over the next three years. The closing of the transaction, which is expected within approximately 60 days, is subject to certain working capital adjustments and closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. "The acquisition of Orthodyne is in line with our stated strategy and positions K&S to capitalize on our strengths in equipment manufacturing and further cement our position as the leading supplier of interconnect solutions," commented Scott Kulicke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of K&S. "Orthodyne is a fast growing, profitable market leader and provides us with deeper penetration into the discrete side of the semiconductor market, particularly in the attractive power management and hybrid module markets."

The Competition Tribunal on Friday announced that it had approved the sale of vertically integrated assets by South African steel producer Highveld Steel & Vanadium to Swiss firm Duferco Investment Partners. The deal formed part of the European competition regulatory body's conditions of the 2007 Highveld Steel acquisition by Evraz. Duferco's subsidiary, Vanchem Vanadium Products, would acquire Highveld Steel's Vanchem operations, as well as its 50% stake in South Africa Japan Vanadium and 350 ordinary shares in the Mapochs mine, which produced titaniferous magnetitic ore for Highveld Steel, and ore fines for Vanchem.

South African steel producer Highveld Steel & Vanadium on Friday announced that the disposal of vertically integrated assets Vanchem and its 50% stake in South Africa Japan Vanadium (SAJV), to Swiss firm Duferco Investment Partners, would be effective from August 29. The producer said in a statement to shareholders, that it had received approval from the European competition authorities, the South African competition authorities and the South African Reserve Bank, as well as the consent of the other shareholders of SAJV. The Competition Tribunal earlier this month announced that it had approved the sale of the assets, which formed part of the European competition regulatory body's conditions of the 2007 Highveld Steel acquisition by Evraz.

DOE announced on September 8 that it will award $6.6 million in competitive grants for 15 state-level projects, nine of which focus on developing policy and regulations to support gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity, and six of which focus on developing advanced building codes. Of these awards, $4 million will go to the gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity projects, which will develop policy and regulatory frameworks that will enable gigawatt-scale clean energy, either through renewable energy or demand-side reductions. Although no cost share was mandated, state partners will contribute up to $1.8 million for these projects. The six advanced building codes projects will receive $2.6 million, which will assist states in developing and implementing residential, commercial, or overarching building codes. Along with its financial assistance, DOE will support these projects with ongoing technical assistance.

Wisconsin regulatory officials, utility companies and environmentalists agree that more line capacity is needed to transport electricity generated by the growing number of wind farms. But they're not sure ITC's plan for giant-sized lines is the answer. Michael Vickerman, executive director of the Madison environmental group, Renew Wisconsin, said he has "reservations" about the need for 765-kilovolt lines. Smaller transmission upgrades can accommodate new wind generation, he said. Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairman Eric Callisto also has questions. "I don't want to close any doors to what they have proposed but I have lots of grave concerns about the cost," he said. ITC is proposing "very large lines" that would require "very large right-of-ways," Callisto said. A right-of-way is the legal permission to use a property owner's land or the area above it.

Until November it was virtually impossible for a private developer of renewable energy power plants to become an independent power producer (IPP) in Mexico. Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution precluded private investment stating that electricity generation for public use is an activity to be undertaken exclusively by the Government. Mexico's enactment of a new law for the use of Renewable Energy and the Financing of the Energy Transition ( Ley para el Aprovechamiento de Energías Renovables y el Financiamiento de la Transición Energética ) substantially improves the legal framework for private investment in renewable energy projects. The law regulates renewable energy electricity generation for purposes other than providing public electricity services. The law states that the use of renewable energy for electricity generation is possible for private use and any excess energy can be sold, but only based on regulations and approvals by Mexico's energy regulatory body, CRE .

The benefits for the market are obvious. Regional, ownership unbundled transmission/ infrastructure companies have a natural incentive to maximise the offering of capacity to the market, as this is the sole mechanism through which they achieve their revenues. They will be happy to invest to meet market demand. With their large scale and regional approach they can pass through the benefits of synergies and eliminate unnecessary interfaces. Finally, as they do not have any potential conflict of interest with supply or production interests, regulation can be lighter, decreasing the regulatory and administrative burden and increasing efficiency even further. Time will tell, but it seems that the ITO option has its greatest potential for those companies that can not afford to sell their transmission networks under the current economic conditions or that are opportunity constrained and have no suitable investment potential. In any event, the conclusion must be that, whereas full ownership unbundling has not been directly achieved through the Third Package, it would appear that the scene has been set for a market structure that will move gradually but inevitably into the direction originally envisaged in the Commission proposals. So was it worth it? For you to judge.

Aurubis AG and Luvata Group have agreed a closing date for the sale of Luvata's rolled copper and brass products division (RPD). Aurubis originally expected the deal to close in August, however, delays in seeking regulatory approval has caused the date to slip to 1st September. Aurubis has received clearance from the US and Turkish regulatory authorities but is awaiting a response from the European Union's antitrust body. The early May agreement stated that Aurubis will pay the Net Working Capital of Luvata RPD at the time of closing, anticipated to be between EUR200 - 250M. The final price is subject to copper price movements and stock levels at Luvata RPD.

"He concludes that standard macroeconomic factors alone (growth, interest rates, global growth, and global financial market volatility) fail to fully explain the recent investment deceleration. He further concludes that while the importance of structural factors in explaining the recent weakening of aggregate investment is not entirely clear, at the micro level, panel data analysis suggests that improving the business environment by reducing costs of doing business, deepening the financial system, and developing infrastructure, could stimulate corporate investment." The IMF's (2013a) recent staff report on India argues that several causes of weaker growth seem to be of a supply-side nature. The following key factors are listed as possible contributors to the recent investment slowdown: Rising policy uncertainty. In particular, high profile tax policy decisions announced in the 2012/13 Budget have reduced foreign investors' interest in India, while the increasing difficulty of obtaining land use and environmental permits have raised regulatory uncertainty for infrastructure and other large-scale projects. Delayed project approvals and implementation. As a reaction to high-profile governance scandals, project approvals, clearances, and implementation have slowed sharply. Supply bottlenecks are particularly pronounced in mining and power, with attendant consequences for the broader economy, especially manufacturing.