5 spunti per approfondire (14/2024)

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 14/2024

“The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended nine subcontracting companies working at mines run by Eurasian Resources Group, as the cobalt and copper producer faces fresh complications in the country. The government first announced the ban on March 14, alleging that the firms aren’t controlled by Congolese nationals as required by law. The regulator said Tuesday the sanctions are still in place, after meeting with Kazakhstan-backed ERG last week. ERG “must appoint real companies with real Congolese shareholders,” Miguel Kashal Katemb, director general of the Regulatory Authority for Subcontracting in the Private Sector, said by phone.”

Congo Suspends ERG Subcontractors at Major Cobalt Mine
Articolo – Bloomberg

“Some 70 percent of respondents from several European countries see the energy transition as everyone’s responsibility and believe all citizens should be actively involved, according to a new survey by the EU project EnergyProspects. More than 60 percent of the 10,000 people surveyed have reduced energy consumption in recent years due to the energy crisis, leading them to lower room temperatures, a more conscious use household appliances, and to adopt environmentally-friendly mobility options like walking, cycling and public transport. While the main motivation is reduction of energy costs, the survey found that environmental concerns also play an important role for many.”

European survey finds strong support for energy transition, plus pessimism and frustration with political leadership
Articolo – Clean Energy Wire

“Little more than rusty, melted metal and piles of ash are left in a control room in this sprawling electric generating station that Russia attacked last month — destroying equipment and igniting a massive fire that shut down the entire plant indefinitely. Ukraine’s electric grid is such a high-value target for Russian missile strikes that revealing the name or location of this facility, run by DTEK, the country’s largest private energy producer, could put the plant and its employees at risk by allowing Russian forces to assess the extent of damage to the facility to plan future strikes, DTEK and Energy Ministry officials said. Last month’s strikes, which simultaneously hit numerous energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, obliterated 80 percent of capacity at DTEK’s thermal power plants. Even with the right supplies, it could take many months if not longer to fix the damage.”

At energy plant bombed by Russia, Ukrainian workers, and a cat, toil on
Articolo – Washington Post

“An alliance of 14 pro-nuclear EU member states said the EU needs an additional 50 GW of nuclear power by 2050 to meet energy transition targets, requiring the construction of more than 30 new reactors. The additional 50 GW of nuclear capacity is estimated to cost between €5 and €11 billion per GW, a range that “shows a great deal of uncertainty and a big difference in the assumptions”, energy economist Professor Jaques Percebois told Euractiv. When costs are expressed in terms of electricity production (measured in kWh, GWh), they take into account the total cost of generating unit of power: investment in construction, operation (day-to-day running, maintenance, etc.) and fuel (loading, life cycle, etc.).”

The cost of Europe’s new nuclear power plants
Articolo – Euractiv

“It took the shock of war for Europeans to realize that the stable flow of affordable energy we have all become accustomed to is not a natural right. Plugging your phone into the wall socket to charge, filling up your car at the petrol station, the sight of power stations with their steam clouds: these are things most Europeans took for granted (even if the bills remind us that none of this comes for free). The collective effort to secure a sufficient supply of fossil fuels and electricity to meet the needs of households and industry was an abstract notion to most of us, all but invisible. This changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine. Gas pipelines were shut off and even blown up. The flow of energy and power was no longer a given. Factories faced with huge energy bills feared closure. Securing affordable heating for homes rapidly became the number one political priority. It sparked a European energy panic, and a domestic cost-of-living crisis that plunged many into poverty.”

Energy diplomacy. Europe’s new strategic mission
Report – Brussels Institute for Geopolitics

della stessa rubrica

5 spunti per approfondire (13/2024), 29 marzo
5 spunti per approfondire (12/2024), 22 marzo
5 spunti per approfondire (11/2024), 15 marzo