5 spunti per approfondire (27/2023)

La rubrica settimanale con i consigli di lettura di RivistaEnergia.it, dall’Europa e dal mondo. Forse non le notizie più eclatanti, ma proprio per questo interessanti da approfondire. Settimana 27/2023

“Fast forward to 2031. The EU exhausted its €250bn Green Deal months ago; the US Inflation Reduction Act is also winding down, and things are not going well. Electric vehicle sales have been stymied by global shortages and price spikes in lithium and other minerals. Without enough minerals to stock assembly lines, workers across America’s ‘Battery Belt’ are furloughed, with similar supply problems plaguing Europe. Talks with the new critical minerals producers’ cartel have been halting, partly because China — having acquired large stakes in the mines of member countries — is directing supply to its own battery manufacturers.”

No country can solve critical mineral shortages alone
Articolo – Financial Times

“Mexico’s chamber of mines is warning the halt of Newmont’s Peñasquito gold-silver operation due to a strike by now on its fourth week, will have a significant impact on an already-weak national mining production. The US-based miner has had operations suspended since June 8, a day after nearly 2,000 unionized workers downed tools over a dispute regarding profit-sharing and alleged contract breaches. The temporary halt at what is Mexico’s biggest gold mine in Zacatecas state forced Newmont last week to declare force majeure on deliveries of some metal products from mine.”

Strike at Newmont’s Peñasquito hurting Mexico’s mining sector
Articolo – Mining

“In the 15 years since the American fracking boom unleashed a torrent of abundant, cheap and domestically available natural gas, the country has leaned into the fuel — and hard. Hundreds of new, state-of-the-art gas power plants have come online with tens of billions in Wall Street backing in what’s now the biggest gas-producing nation in the world. Given its reputation for low-cost, clean and stable generation, gas dethroned coal in 2016 as the US’s No. 1 source of electricity. This year, it will make up a record 41% of power production, more than solar, wind, hydro and coal combined. The grid’s newfound reliance on natural gas was for more than a decade hailed as a breakthrough. It’s now one of its biggest vulnerabilities.”

America’s Biggest Power Source Wasn’t Built for Extreme Weather
Articolo – Bloomberg

“The EU should commission independent research into the recently launched joint purchasing gas mechanism amid questions over possible negative consequences on the market. Speaking to ICIS, Doug Wood, gas committee chair at the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET), said market participants have been raising concerns that the mechanism, which is spearheaded by the European Commission, would cement the position of dominant players in certain EU countries. Furthermore, participants are worried about the procurement process involved in securing a platform to support the aggregation and joint purchasing service, Wood said. “If your choice is to go with a central buyer which is a state-owned company you give out a certain amount of confidential information and you rely on them [central buyers] keeping the confidentiality,” he said. “Interestingly, we also don’t know how much this platform has cost [the European Commission]. There are no fees for using it. There is no information regarding the procurement process and how any further amendments may be funded.”

AggregateEU market impact should be independently assessed – EFET
Articolo – ICIS

“Despite nuclear energy’s anticipated role in achieving decarbonization, the EU decision is a bit of an outlier: many climate finance taxonomies either explicitly exclude nuclear power or are ambiguous on whether it is included. The authors reviewed green and sustainable bond frameworks of the 30 global systemically important banks and, as they later highlight, found that none explicitly includes nuclear energy in their sustainable finance taxonomies. This commentary will touch on the role that nuclear energy typically plays in decarbonization modeling, explain what climate finance taxonomies are meant to do, and highlight the general disconnect between the two.”

A Critical Disconnect: Relying on Nuclear Energy in Decarbonization Models While Excluding It from Climate Finance Taxonomies
Ricerca – Center on Global Energy Policy

della stessa rubrica

5 spunti per approfondire (26/2023), 30 giugno
5 spunti per approfondire (25/2023), 23 giugno
5 spunti per approfondire (24/2023), 16 giugno