It is not a production crisis, it is a crisis of priorities: the European electric labyrinth

While the great powers of the world They are disputing strategic places for the extraction of essential minerals in technology, Like lithiumEurope is freeing a silent but equally criticism battle: electricity.

The conflict. He Iberian Peninsula Blag and from Heathbrow Airport He has exposed the weaknesses of energy systems in Europe: Interconnection problems, lack of energy backup and deficiencies in networks. Although if it seemed little, energy expert Richard Milne for Financial Times He added that it is not a lack of capacity, but of how existing electricity is assigned.

Exemplifying. Because to understand what the analyst refers to a good comparison. In his article, Richard Milne He explained that the Nordic countries – recognized by its high interconnection and Your ability to generate Large amounts of clean energy – are the perfect scenario to analyze how poorly equipped are European countries in a context where the demand for electricity continues to increase.

On the one hand, the case of Norway where a data center for Tiktok has been prioritized in front of a strategic ammunition plant by virtue of the principle “first to arrive, first to be treated.” On the other hand, Sweden has supported steel projects to emerging battery companies for a national electricity supply share. After Northvolt’s bankruptcycritical voices have been raised that question whether to continue allocating large amounts of energy to green steel projects is sustainable. For its part, Greenland has abundant hydroelectric resources, but its leaders face a dilemma: to attract industries that generate employment or prioritize lower social impact projects, such as data centers?

There are more cases. The situation is not exclusive to the Nordic countries. In Spain after the blackout, the difficulty of the “Energy Island” was evidenced, where The lack of interconnection It complicates the export of energy to other countries. In addition, the system lacks Storage infrastructure and Gridorming technology to stabilize the network. Instead, the situation in France is paradoxical. The production of renewables has grown so much that it has forced nuclear power plants To operate to the idle to avoid an excess of supply. This decision has caused Energy distribution problems.

First to arrive, first to be treated. Richard Milne He has argued That the root of this European energy crisis is the result of uncoordinated climatic policies and a long -term lack of strategic vision. Instead of establishing clear priorities on which sectors they should receive electricity, governments have opted for a simplistic and disorderly approach.

The answer from the Executive. The energy analyst has made special emphasis in which on the political level the answers have been disordered and uncoordinated. In the column he has detailed that while Norway has allocated its energy resources to the electrification of gas and oil plants, Sweden has opted for emerging battery companies. For its part, Greenland has discussed whether to prioritize high employment industries or projects with less social impact. However, until now there has been a concerted effort to establish a common strategic framework at European level that defines clear priorities over the use of green electricity.

Forecasts. To avoid falling into a structural energy crisis, Europe needs strategic rethinking. Is it possible to establish a common criterion to decide which sectors should be prioritized? How can it be guaranteed that green energy really contributes to climatic objectives without compromising industrial development? As He has warned The energy analyst, Europe must initiate a serious and coordinated debate on the strategic uses of electricity, defining priorities based not only on economic criteria, but also on its environmental and social impact.

Image | Pexels

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