VIHREÄ SÄHKÖ: VERKOT TULEVAT VASTAAN MUUALLAKIN KUIN SUOMESSA

Europe's electricity industry has warned that unprecedented investments are needed to upgrade ageing electricity grids, or the EU will fail to meet its clean energy targets.

The European Union's plans to curb climate change foresee millions more electric vehicles on European roads by 2030, as well as a massive expansion of renewable energy, and electric heat pumps starting to replace fossil fuel boilers in houses.

Electricity industry association Eurelectric said on Thursday that to support those goals, average annual investments in Europe's electricity grids from now to 2050 need to be at least 84% higher than they were in 2021.

"We want to transform the entire energy system at record speed, replace fossil fuels - oil and gas - with electricity. So we add loads of new generation capacity to the grid, we add electric cars, heat pumps," Eurelectric Secretary General Kristian Ruby said.

"Therefore, you cannot say today what we used to do 10 years ago will be just fine for the next 10 years. It's just not the case," he told Reuters.

The European Commission has said power grid investments of 584 billion euros ($626.3 billion) per year are needed until 2030 to meet green goals.

Much of that is expected to come from private sources or be paid for through grid tariffs. Eurelectric said public funding should target upgrading grids quickly, over other longer-term infrastructure like hydrogen projects that would launch in the 2030s.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told Reuters grid projects will be included in an upcoming list of cross-border infrastructure that will be offered faster permits and access to EU funding.

"If we will not upgrade grid infrastructure very fast, we will not achieve our 2030 targets," she said.

Forty percent of Europe's power distribution grids are over 40 years old. Most are designed around large centralised power plants, and will need upgrading to distribute power from the fleet of local solar panels and wind farms expected to plug in this decade.

EU countries are negotiating power market reforms that could make it easier and faster for grid operators to invest in upgrading networks. However, governments have been struggling to approve the law since June because of a dispute over state aid for power plants. [emp]

SAKSA: YLI PUOLET SÄHKÖSTÄ UUSIUTUVAA

Renewable share of German power use climbs to 52.3% in first half

Renewable energy accounted for 52.3% of Germany's power consumption in the first six months of the year, up 3.1 points from a year earlier, on higher solar production and lower overall electricity usage, data showed on Tuesday. That was up from a renewable share of 49.2% in the first six months of 2022, according to utility group BDEW and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW).

Germany wants green power from solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric generation to account for 80% of its energy mix by 2030, as it abandons nuclear power and aims to cut most of its coal generation and use gas plants mostly for grid back-up. 

The preliminary figures showed higher photovoltaic production in May and June, due to favourable weather. They also reflected far lower power consumption in the first half of 2023 when electricity usage fell 6.5% year-on-year to 262.8 terawatt hours (TWh), BDEW noted in a statement. The data was calculated under a European Union requirement to base the green share on usage rather than production, a method adopted by the Berlin government for its climate targets, BDEW said.

Domestic electricity production fell 10.8% to 265.9 TWh in the six-month period, including production for export, the data showed. Renewables, at 137.5 TWh, represented 51.7% of total output, up from 46.4% in first half 2022, even as green power production volumes decreased by 0.6%. [emp]

RUOTSI: LISÄÄ YDINVOIMAA JA "GREEN"-TAVOITTEISTA LUOPUMISTA

Swedish parliament passes new energy target, easing way for new nuclear power. Sweden's parliament on Tuesday adopted a new energy target, giving the right-wing government the green light to push forward with plans to build new nuclear plants in a country that voted 40 years ago to phase out atomic power.

Hanging the target to "100% fossil-free" electricity, from "100% renewable" is key to the government's plan to meet an expected doubling of electricity demand to around 300 TwH by 2040 and reach net zero emissions by 2045. "This creates the conditions for nuclear power," Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in parliament. "We need more electricity production, we need clean electricity and we need a stable energy system."

Sweden's parties agreed a deal in 2016 that new reactors could be built at existing sites. However, without subsidies, it has been seen as too expensive. The new right-of-centre coalition says new reactors are essential to power the shift to a fossil-free economy and has promised generous loan guarantees. Around 98% of electricity in Sweden is already generated from water, nuclear and wind.

State-owned utility Vattenfall is looking at building at least two small modular reactors and at extending the life of the country's existing reactors. Critics say nuclear power is expensive, will take too long to build and is unsafe.

The focus on nuclear power is part of a wider shift in environmental policy in a country that has long touted itself as a "green" champion. The coalition plans to cut the bio-fuel mix in petrol and diesel, leading to bigger CO2 emissions, a move that could mean Sweden missing 2030 emissions goals.

Proposals by Sweden to allow countries to prolong subsidies for standby coal power plants have also been met concern in the EU, while Stockholm also wanted Brussels to water-down a landmark law to restore deteriorating natural habitats. 
At home, plans to simplify environmental permitting could speed up the build-out of wind power and allow miners to exploit large deposits of rare earth elements, crucial in electric motor production. [EMP]

SUOMI-RATA KESKEYTETÄÄN - TURUN OIKORATAAN 460 MEUR

Olen vuosien ajan kirjoitellut ratamafiaa vastaan ja osoittanut kaikkien suurten ratahankkeiden (Pisara, Turku, Tampere, Itä, Jäämeri, Tallinna) yhteiskunta-taloudellisenkin kannattamattomuuden. Eilen julkistettu Orpon hallituksen ohjelma sentään keskeyttikin kalleimman oikoratahankkeen. Ohjelman mukaan "Suomi-radan valmistelu keskeytetään. Jäljellä olevat varat palautetaan omistajille." 

Sen sijaan Orpon lemmikki hyväksyttiin seuraavin sanoin: "Valtio toteuttaa Turun tunnin juna -hankkeen, joka käsittää Espoo–Salo-oikoradan rakentamisen ja Salo–Kupittaa-yhteysvälin parantamisen. Rakentaminen käynnistyy Espoo–Lohja ja Salo–Kupittaa-yhteysväleillä. Rakentamisvaihetta varten valtio varautuu osana investointi-ohjelmaa pääomittamaan rahoitusta kokoavaa yhtiötä, jonka osakkaina voivat valtion lisäksi olla kunnat."

Ja "Itäradan hankeyhtiön toiminta jatkuu."

Seuraavassa taulukossa näytän eri ratahankkeille esitetyt investointirahat:

Rata	Investointi (MEUR)
Suomi-rata Helsinki-Tampere	0
Lentoradan suunnittelu	43
Turun Tunnin juna -yhtiön pääomittaminen (Espoo–Lohja & Turku–Salo)	460
Espoon kaupunkirata	179
Rantaradan kehittäminen	80
Pääradan kehittäminen Helsinki–Tampere, Liminka–Oulu-kaksoisraide, Tornio–Kolari -radan sähköistäminen	535
Karjalanradan kehittäminen Luumäki–Imatra 2. vaihe	215

SAKSA VASTUSTAA YDINVOIMAN LUKEMISTA UUSIUTUVAKSI / PÄÄSTÖTTÖMÄKSI

The European Union is negotiating more ambitious targets to expand renewable energy this decade, but the talks have been deadlocked by a dispute over whether countries can meet the goals using "low-carbon hydrogen" produced from nuclear power.

Oh Thursday, ministers from the seven countries - Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain - wrote to Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency and represents countries in EU policy negotiations, calling for the targets to be kept free of non-renewable energy sources.

"Taking into account low-carbon hydrogen and low-carbon fuels in the 2030 (renewable energy) targets would decrease the ambition and slow down renewables deployment, which in turn would jeopardize the achievement of the climate targets," the ministers said in the letter, seen by Reuters.

They said this decade will be decisive for limiting climate change - and that renewable power and hydrogen will be the main drivers of the emissions cuts needed to do this.

"Additional renewable energy capacity can be installed within short timeframes and at comparatively competitive costs," the letter said.

Nuclear energy is low-carbon, but not renewable. The fuel source divides EU countries, with Austria and Luxembourg firmly opposed, while others including Germany are phasing out their reactors and countries including Denmark and Ireland are nuclear-free.

France, which has historically relied on nuclear energy for 70% of its power, is leading the push to open up the EU renewable energy targets.

Last month France, Poland, the Czech Republic and six other pro-nuclear EU countries warned that excluding nuclear from the targets would slow development of hydrogen fuel, which Europe is betting on to decarbonise heavy industry.

An EU diplomat said frustration was growing among some countries over France's push for nuclear at a late stage in the negotiations, and a separate row in which Germany is stalling an EU law on car emissions after it had already been agreed.

Such moves by Europe's two biggest economies "paint the picture of the big member states playing by different rules than the small ones," the diplomat said.

The seven countries said they were open to discussing low-carbon fuels' contribution in other EU laws, including on gas networks - but that renewable goals should only be met by wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. [EMP]

TUNNIN JUNA KESTÄÄ PUOLITOISTA TUNTIA!

Olen vuosien varrella moneen kertaan kirjoittanut järjettömistä ratahankeista ja kumonnut niiden propagandassa hehkutettuja väitteitä. Nyt vihdoin Turun Tunnin Juna Oy myöntää, että tunnista puhuminen on valetta. Sen mukaan nopea kaukojuna, joka ei pysähdy välillä missään, vie aikaa 1h 18min. Sen sijaan tavallisempi kaukojuna , joka pysähtyy matkalla 3 kertaa, vie optimistisesti 1h 26min, mikä on vain 26 min vähemmän kuin nykyinen juna Helsinki-Kupittaa.

Pohjoismaat joutuvat tuomaan sähköä jo 2025?

The Nordic region’s shrinking power surplus means it could switch from being a net exporter to a net importer between 2025-2027 in certain weather conditions, said Swedish TSO Svenska Kraftnat (SvK).

The TSO’s report, published late on Tuesday, showed the region’s annual power surplus would drop from 38 TWh in 2023 to 13 TWh in 2027.

In the case of a very wet and mild year, the Nordic region could produce 20-30 TWh more power than in a very dry and cold year and these variables mean the region could become a net importer, said the TSO.

SvK expected the power demand in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to rise from 410 TWh in 2023 to 517 TWh in 2027, mostly due to more electrolysis needed for the green transition. Meanwhile, new power production capacity was likely to grow at a much slower rate, it said. [EMP]

St1: Otaniemen geolämpölaitos epäonnistui

Fortum irrottautuu hankkeesta. Fortum ei pidä 6,4 kilometrin syvyistä lämpökaivoa taloudellisesti kannattavana, koska lämpökaivosta ei saatukaan pumpattua ylös riittävän lämmintä vettä. Alun perin tarkoituksena oli syöttää vesi suoraan kaukolämpöverkkoon, mutta kokeissa osoittautui, että ylös tulee vain kädenlämpöistä vettä. Ja Investointi tekniikkaan on moninkertainen suhteessa vaihtoehtoisiin tapoihin, kuten teollisuuden hukkalämpöön.

Mitäpä kirjoitinkaan 05.09.2019, ST1 Geolämpövoimala - VESI KARKAA & KYLMÄTASKU?

USA: PUURAKENTEINEN 122 HUONEEN HOTELLI PALOI

The fire that consumed the 122-room hotel project occurred the evening of April 12, when no construction workers were on site. A fast-developing blaze consumed a hotel under construction in Camarillo, Calif. The fire, which was reported shortly after 7 p.m., is believed to have started on the third floor of an uncompleted four-story hotel.

AFRIKAN SUURIN VESIVOIMALAITOS AVATTU ETIOPIASSA

Ethiopia has begun generating electricity at its new 5,000 MW roller-compacted concrete gravity-type dam on the Nile River. The first 375 MW went to the national grid on Feb. 20. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed switched on the first of the 13 installed turbines at the $4.8-billion hydropower plant—also known as Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, ታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ in Amharic—as he sought to allay fears the facility could impact the Nile’s flow to downriver countries Sudan and Egypt.

This is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa. The 145-m-high, 1,780-m-long dam with 74 billion m3 reservoir could take up to seven years to fill. [ENR]

Vertailun vuoksi: Juuri avautuvan ydinvoimalaitoksen Olkiluoto 3 teho on 1,600 MW.