5 spunti per approfondire (3/2024)

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 3/2024

“The US and UK’s decision to hit back at Houthi militants after weeks of attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea has only escalated the chaos across the shipping industry, underscoring the threat of an enduring supply-chain crisis as vessels navigate the crucial trade route. On Wednesday, a third commodity carrier in three days was struck, this time by a drone. Senior officials in the shipping industry privately acknowledge that many crew are now frightened at the prospect of transit. Shortly after the US and UK launched airstrikes at Houthi targets in Yemen — marking a step up from the more defensive approach known as Operation Prosperity Guardian — Western navies advised ships to stay away. That guidance was publicly heeded by the owners and operators of at least 2,300 merchant vessels — and some insurers responded by restricting cover.

Airstrikes on Yemen Bring New Level of Chaos to Shipping in the Southern Red Sea
Articolo – Bloomberg

“Bidenomics has many fans. The newest is Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland. In a speech on January 8th he praised the Biden administration’s revival of industrial strategy and the “great force and clarity” of its vision. He noted approvingly the Inflation Reduction Act, a vast package of manufacturing tax breaks, and the chips Act, intended to bring semiconductor-makers to America. Here was a blueprint for an independent Scotland. With oil revenues and borrowing powers, he said, a new nation would plough £2bn a year ($2.5bn, 1% of gdp) into green energy.”

Scottish nationalism’s left turn
Articolo – The Economist

“The Biden administration has begun pumping more than $2 trillion into U.S. factories and infrastructure, investing huge sums to try to strengthen American industry and fight climate change. But the effort is facing a familiar threat: a surge of low-priced products from China. That is drawing the attention of President Biden and his aides, who are considering new protectionist measures to make sure American industry can compete against Beijing. As U.S. factories spin up to produce electric vehicles, semiconductors and solar panels, China is flooding the market with similar goods, often at significantly lower prices than American competitors. A similar influx is also hitting the European market.”

Flush With Investment, New U.S. Factories Face a Familiar Challenge
Articolo – The New York Times

“TotalEnergies SE is ready to buy nuclear power from Electricite de France SA through long-term contracts to help the debt-laden utility fund the construction of new atomic plants, said the oil and gas giant’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne. “I’m ready to sign contracts of 15 to 20 years,” Pouyanne said in a interview on BFM Business television on Friday. “I need it to supply my future clients,” and the company’s power-intensive refineries, he said. EDF, which returned under full state ownership during Europe’s energy crisis last year, has pledged to provide nuclear power at a discount to electricity-hungry manufacturers via long-term contracts in exchange for prepayments. The agreements would include other conditions such as supply curtailment arrangements during periods of peak demand.”

TotalEnergies Seeks Long-Term Nuclear Power Purchase Deal With EDF to Help Fund New Reactors
Articolo – Bloomberg

“Much has been made of the energy trilemma over the last decade, which positions three key drivers of the global energy system – security of supply, sustainability, and access – as the forces that drive energy policy and ultimately markets. The dominant argument in the wake of the Ukraine war and subsequent spikes in gas and power prices was that this three-pronged framework had leaned more heavily in favour of security of supply at the expense of sustainability. This year’s key themes suggest that not only are security and sustainability intractably linked, but that they have now become two sides of the same coin. Perhaps this requires reframing the trilemma as a dilemma, with security/sustainability on the one hand and the price of energy, as well as the important but developmentally separate issue of access, on the other. However it is framed, the scope for tradeoffs between the objectives is limited and undermines growth, competitiveness, public acceptability, sustainable development goals, and energy access.”

Key Themes for the Global Energy Economy in 2024
Ricerca – The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

della stessa rubrica

5 spunti per approfondire (2/2024), 12 gennaio
5 spunti per approfondire (1/2024), 5 gennaio
5 spunti per approfondire (52/2023), 29 dicembre