Energy in Meriad

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Energy in Meriad is nationalized, and is overseen by the Ministry of Energy. In 2014, 62% of Meriad's energy was produced by hydroelectric plants, 15% by gas, 10% by nuclear, 5% by coal, and 8% by other renewable sources, including solar, wind, and tidal power. While the country extracted enough petroleum and natural gas to fulfill 80% of the country's energy requirements, the majority of it was exported or sold for usage in automobiles. The power produced by gas this year was the lowest production rate since 1998, whereas nuclear power production saw a 20% increase. Expansion and subsidization of renewable energy generation facilities, and the increased regulation of petroleum extraction in Meriadni territorial waters, is expected to further decrease the usage of gas as a major source of Meriadni energy. 90% of Meriad's power is expected to be produced by renewable sources by 2025, with the remaining 10% coming mainly from nuclear power.

One of the 291 hydroelectric power stations around Meriad, which produce over 62% of the country's electricity.

In 2015, Meriad was a net exporter of energy by a margin of 8 TWh, whereas the country imported just over 2 TWh in 2014 as a result of record low amounts of snowfall, which limited the country's ability to produce energy from its network of hydroelectric dams. Electricity is distributed by the state-owned company Nordenergi, which by law also owns all of the country's nuclear power stations. Other sources of energy, excluding coal-fired plants, can be owned by private corporations with the proper licensing, although the energy must be sold to Nordenergi at a set rate, which is adjusted depending on the method of generation. As such, only a small portion of the country's power is generated by private entities, as the set price of power makes profitability difficult to attain.

Since 2002, Meriad has used a strategy of indirect taxation as an instrument of environmental policy, including taxes on energy consumption, petroleum extraction, vehicle usage, and carbon dioxide emissions. An opinion poll conducted in 2011 showed that over 70% of Meriadnir approved of these taxes.

Facilities

The upper reservoir of the South Fork Dam, the country's largest pumped-storage hydroelectric facility.

Since 2000, the government has constructed a large number of renewable energy facilities around the country as a part of its commitment to eliminate the usage of fossil fuels for energy. The largest of these projects is the South Fork Pumped-Storage System, a massive pumped-storage hydroelectric facility in a hanging valley between Karelstad and Hjerteskog. The reservoir, which holds over 102 million cubic meters of water when full, has the capacity to generate 1370 MW within 45 seconds of electrical generation being required. During the night, the turbines run in reverse and pump water into the reservoir from Duvnafjördur, 86m below the reservoir, as well as collecting runoff from the surrounding topography.