energy

The amount of nuclear energy generated by each country in the world, exposed in this graphic developer

by

The use of nuclear power It is still one of the most controversial issues in the energy debate. It is worldwide due to economic, social factors and concern for something very concrete: Waste management. It seemed like him Huge deployment of renewables would end the debate, but the truth is that there are countries that follow depending greatly on nuclear energy. And this graph reflects it clearly: Three blocks. The graph is the work of Visual Capitalist with data of the ‘Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy’ and the estimate is that nuclear plants generated 2,818 THW of electricity in 2024. Approximately 10% of the electricity generated worldwide during the world during the last year, but beyond the total, which allows us to see is that there are three very even and perfectly identifiable blocks. On the one hand, that of the United States and Canada. Here Canada has ‘little’ to say, and also its centrals generated 3.6% less than the previous year, but The United States is still a giant. It generated 823 TWH that, put in context, represents about 30% of all global nuclear energy. It has 94 operational reactors and that huge amount of electricity accounted for 18% of the national total. In the Asian block we have China standing out With 451 TWH produced, 3.4% more than the previous year, South Korea with 189 TWH and both Japan and India contributing, but with lower productions. And in the European bloc, France and Russia stand out above all, which among them have a much more similar production. The interesting thing here is to see the speed at which the world in a nuclear question moves. Promoting nuclear. Because we have already seen that, although the US generated more electricity with the nuclear, it was a small percentage. If we look at the European block, we have that there are those who grow 4% (Sweden) and who decreases 4% (Spain), But we have a France that increased the production of its centrals by 12.2%. With 57 operational reactors, if there is a country that depends on nuclear energy, that is France. HE esteem that 67% of its electricity comes from nuclear. Countries such as Slovakia, Belgium, Hungary or Bulgaria also depend largely on nuclear energy. In the case of Spain20% of their energy comes from these centrals. But if we look at the Asian block, the thing changes. China impulse Its nuclear generation These last monthsbut Japan did it in 9.3% and India, who wants to consolidate as a new technological core worldwide, generated 13.3% more. In the Middle East highlights United Arab Emirates that, whose four reactors generated 22% of their electricity. Old reactors. In total, I know esteem That there are 416 operational plants worldwide (France has the same as China, a fact that reflects the importance for the neighboring country) and a problem is that most are quite old reactors. Around two thirds of them are over 30 years old and, although the estimated life is usually between 30 and 40 years old, it is easy to prolong it more time with modifications and extensions. New reactors. There are also about 70 reactors Under construction. They are distributed, but most are concentrated in Asia, especially in the two countries that are leading that world nuclear expansion: China and India. New reactors use refrigerants that can operate with more energy safety and efficiency, also generate less waste and have an estimated useful life of more than 50 years thanks to modular designs. As we say, China is one of the countries that is best betting on this energy (despite the impulse that is also giving to renewables), and within its new plants, the fourth generation reactors stand out, like the one used by molten salts or thorium. They are not the only ones, as the US, France and India are also investing in research programs to develop reactors that generate electricity from the thorium (three times more abundant than uranium) Data centers. The truth is that, although sources like RENVOABLE EXPOSEDit seems that We are far from folding both fossil fuels and to nuclear energy. Much of the fault is very demanding data centers in energy terms that even need Punctual gas supply or even coal in demands of demand peaks. In fact, some of the main technological ones such as Amazon, Google or Microsoft announced Plans to create or reactivate nuclear centrals to satisfy the energy need for your data centers for artificial intelligence. And all this while we look at a future in which the norm should be the SMR reactors… And the nuclear fusion still is on the horizon. In Xataka | Europe and Japan are working side by the greatest technical advance of humanity: the nuclear fusion reactor

We thought that sleeping in 90 -minute blocks improved rest and energy when you woke up. Science has its doubts

by

As so many other viral trends In social networks, in recent years a seemingly simple formula has run like gunpowder for improve nighttime rest and wake up fresh like a lettuce: Calculate the dream in 90 -minute blocks To wake up just when one ends those blocks. This technique ensures that, when you wake up just when a complete sleep cycle ends, people They will feel more rested and with greater energy to face the day. However, scientific evidence questions the reliability of this method. The myth of exact 90 minutes cycles A survey of 2024 made by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine He revealed that almost one in ten American adults (9%) had tried this technique to determine what time they had to go to bed and wake up and have even been created Online calculators To make this calculation easier. The basis of this technique is based on Natural sleep cycles that are part of the set of cycles that regulate our body known as Circadian cycles. These cycles are the ones that determine the time of sleeping, of waking up, of eating, etc. According to this technique, a person who wants to wake up at 7:00 in the morning should go to sleep at 22:00 to complete six full -minute sleep cycles, or 23:30 to complete five sleep cycles. The concept is based on the idea that awakening at the end of a complete cycle, in phase V or REM, When the dream is lighterwould avoid the feeling of morning stun that occurs when we wake up in the middle of one of these cycles. Sleep cycles were first identified in the 1950s, when researchers They discovered These patterns called Ultradian cycles. During the night, the alternate brain between different phases: light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep (characterized by the most intense dreams). Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, Medical Director of Sentara Rockingham Memorial Sleep Center, explained in Popular Science that each of these phases fulfills specific functions for physical and mental recovery. However, the popularization of this scientific knowledge has led to excessive simplifications that They do not reflect the real complexity of human sleep. The most important of them: that the sleep cycles last exactly 90 minutes. That is the biggest problem of this theory. Scientific reality dismantles promises Recent studies They have shown that the duration of sleep cycles is not a constant but a variable. That is, its duration varies depending on each personand even the same person You can record more or less long cycless during the same night or vary according to the day. An investigation He analyzed more than 16,000 nights of sleep in 573 different people found that the median duration of sleep cycles was not 90 minutes but 110 minutes, with 75% of the cycles ranging between 95 and 130 minutes. Another study based on 2,312 nights of polysomnography data determined that the average duration of the cycles was 116.9 minuteswith a standard deviation of 39.7 minutes. In other words, establishing the 90 minutes as a basis for calculating sleep cycles not only is not an inaccuracy, but in practice it can be counterproductive since there is also the risk of interrupting the sleep cycle before it ends. Dr. Andrea Matsumura, specialist in Sleep Medicine and founder of Sleep Goddesss Method, said In the article of Popular Science that “factors such as stress, Alcoholdiseases or even bedtime, impact on the sleep cycle, so this method does not really guarantee that you wake up less stunned. “ In addition, the studies identified that as night progresses, sleep cycles They tend to elong in a natural wayso that the former can last between 70 and 100 minutes, while the later range between 90 and 120 minutes. Making it impossible to predict at what point in the cycle You will find yourself when it is time to wake up. On the other hand, in a standard sleep session of a healthy person, it is very unlikely be ahead of a deep phase of sleep since phase 3 of sleep, the deepest and repairinglasts between 20 and 40 minutes and usually occurs in the middle of the sleep session, and then move back to phase 2 which is a relaxing but lighter dream. Therefore, unless you are sleeping very few hoursthe awakening occurs from that lighter phase, and not from a deep phase as the 90 -minute block theory supports, which would leave a greater feeling of stunning. That is, this theory is based on two real facts: that awakening from phase 3 leaves you more stunned and that sleep cycles last around 90 minutes, to set up an alleged infallible technique to wake up as a rosto. The problem is that sleep It is not an exact science And the only thing that really works is Ensure the Descaso Hours that the body needs … and there are not even certainties about How long is needed. In Xataka | I put myself in the hands of some “sleep headphones” in the hope of reconciling sleep. It has come out regular Image | Unspash (Shane, Greg Pupas)

While industrial production collapses in the European Union, in Switzerland is triggered. And it is an energy issue

by

In the midst of the European energy storm, Switzerland seems to live in a bubble of prosperity. In a recent publicationthe geopolitical analyst Velina Tchakarova showed how the Swiss industry continues to grow in front of the European Union. And the data does not deceive anyone: in the first quarter of this year the industrial production of the Helvetic increased 8.5% year -on -yearwhile in Germany recorded last June A 1.9%collapse, the worst data in years. The contrast is even more evident in the long term: since 2011, Swiss industrial production It has grown almost 40%in front of the German stagnation. The Swiss road. True to its neutrality, but knowing how to position itself, the Swiss industry is dominated by sectors of high added value and low relative energy consumption, like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. But here is the most revealing: that low energy consumption is not only efficiency, but also outsourcing (a sophisticated strategy of Green offshoring). An EBP consultant study for the Federal Environmental Office (BAFU) shows that two thirds of the environmental footprint of Switzerland They are generated outside their borders. The report Umwelt Schweiz 2022 Confirm this pattern: the country reduces its internal impact at the expense of moving it abroad. There are different examples that illustrate it well: the Roche company announced in May A new biopharmaceutical plant in Shanghai, the Lonza company operating in Guangzhou Or, the most striking case, Siegfried managing a global network with headquarters in different countries that allows you to distribute phases of the chain outside the Helvetic territory. Together, these movements illustrate how the Swiss industrial “miracle” retains the added value at home while displacing the most polluting and expensive part abroad. To this is added an electrical system less vulnerable to gas: the Hydroelectricity and the nuclear They represent a good part of their mix. The Labyrinth of the EU. At this time you are going through an industrial decline: Eurostat reported that in June the production fell 1.0% in the EU as a whole and 1.3% in the eurozone. The setback It was coming last yearwhen the manufacturing volume was 2% lower than in 2022. And Ing Think analysts They warn that European industrial production It remains 5% below two years ago, a prolonged stagnation signal. To this fall is added a perfect storm: high energy costsCO₂ and an internal debate about its energy model. France, With a reactor -based systemleads the block that defends nuclear energy as a backbone of the transition. Spain and Portugal, with solar and wind abundance, demand otherwise: more interconnections and networks To take advantage of renewable surplus. In addition, it is added The tireless search by the EU of looking for another output to stock up that it is not Russia in terms of gas. While Switzerland transfers its heaviest loads to Asia, Europe is enclosed in its own rules, paying CO₂ rights that further increase its energy intensive industries. Switzerland outsourizes, Europe internalizes. Switzerland harvest added value, Europe assumes added costs. The awkward contrast. Here the paradox emerges. Switzerland exhibits an expansion industry, favorable environmental statistics and a more stable electricity supply. Everything seems to indicate that it has found the perfect formula to prosper in the midst of European chaos. For its part, the European Union is paying the price If pioneer: its factories face much higher energy costs, their energy intensive industries lose competitiveness and their governments carry the pressure of meet strict climatic objectives. But Swiss success relies on a small print. The report itself Umwelt Schweiz 2022 He admits that two thirds of the country’s environmental footprint are generated outside their borders. That is, Switzerland retains at home the added value of its pharmaceutical and technological industry, while the energy cost and pollution are transferred to other places. That apparently virtuous model implies a strategic risk: to depend on global supply chains and expose themselves to political vulnerabilities in Asia. In climatic terms, the question is inevitable: are global emissions really reduced when Switzerland “is cleaned” at the cost of others getting more? Or, in other words, isn’t its industrial miracle with another way to outsource the environmental invoice? Forecasts On paper, Switzerland seems greener and more prosperous. But the true story is told in the chimneys of China and in the closed factories of Germany. The Helvetic miracle works, to a large extent, because the energy and climatic invoice is paid by others. While industrial production collapses in the European Union, in Switzerland is triggered. However, that balance, sustained in global chains and in others, could be broken when geopolitics tightens. The real unknown is not how much the Swiss miracle can last, but who is willing to pay his invoice. Image | Freepik and Unspash Xataka | Nuclear fever in the middle of AI: Uranium rises like foam while stumble

Jaén revives his mining past for energy transition

by

Spain reappears on the board of critical minerals In full geopolitical struggle Between the United States and China. The Government has published in the BOE The definitive admission of the “Menipe” research permit, which will allow the Australian company Osmond Resources – through its local subsidiary Green Mineral Resources SL – to explore strategic resources in the province of Jaén. Opening the way. The project Orion EU Critical Minerals Project It will cover a total 756 grids (228 km²) among the municipalities of Aldeaquemada, Santisteban del Puerto, Castellar and Montizón. According to the company itselfthe work will focus on a fossilized paleoplace with high heavy mineral content. Surface trials would have revealed “unusually high” concentrations: more than 15% in rutilo and about 10% in Circón, in addition to significant levels of rare earths (neodymium, proseodimium and disposium), essential elements to manufacture permanent magnets used in wind turbines, electric cars and batteries. A long process. It is not to arrive and kiss the saint. According to the technical memory of the PI “Orion”, the investigation is conceived as a three -year plan divided into progressive phases. During the first exercise it is planned to collect historical information, develop geological cartography at 1: 10,000 scale, perform aerial geophysical prospects and take between 80 and 90 samples in streams, in addition to running up to five surveys with witness in areas such as Avellanar. In a second stage, the works will focus on surface geophysics – electrical and magnetotheluric toomography – on the development of a hydrogeological model and on another ten additional polls. Finally, a technical-economic evaluation of the set of results is made, with the possibility of extension if the deadlines were insufficient. The technical document describes mineralized layers between 0.3 and 4 meters (average of 2.5 m), rich in zircon, rutilo, ilmenite and monacite. Besides, According to Osmond Resourcesthe first drilling program includes 15 polls in Avellanar and other objective zones. The company claims to have a listing machine ready and plans to incorporate more teams in October of this year, When the risk of fire goes down. Very quoted materials. The minerals under investigation are in the European list of critical and strategic raw materials. Rare earths such as neodymium or disposium are essential to manufacture permanent magnets used in wind turbines, electric cars and batteries. Rutilo is used in pigments and alloys. The zircon and hafnio have applications in ceramics and nuclear reactors. According to the European Commissionthe new Critical RAW Materials Act set by 2030 that at least 10% of critical subjects are extracted in community territory, 40% are processed in the EU and 25% is recycledwith the aim of reducing the dependence of a single country supplier to a maximum of 65%. Within that framework, projects such as Jaén fit fully into the industrial autonomy strategy of the block. An hUb Mining in boom? The chosen area is not new to mining. The region of Linares – La Carolina was, During the nineteenth and twentieth centuriesone of the most important leading districts in Europe. In the 50s and 60s even Torio and Uranium were sought, without success. Today, that past resurfaces with new protagonists. In addition, Jaén’s case is not isolated. The community concentrates near the 90% of the value of national metal mining and is reactivating dozens of research permits. Even, In Xatakawe have talked about “El Dorado Andaluz”, a region where the global demand for strategic metals and the European bet for new supply chains are crossed. It is not an exploitation license. For the moment. The current permit only authorizes investigation and the Board opened a period of public allegations in the Environmental Processing of Pi “Orion”and it is foreseeable that objections linked to water and biodiversity arise. In Jaén, social sensitivity towards energy projects has already been evident: the massive installation of solar plants has reached courts To stop different photovoltaic projects. Experience in other territories also invites caution. In Matamulas (Ciudad Real), the strong neighborhood and environmental response paralyzed rare earth despite the high geological potential. Jaén can investigate. If the polls confirm the potential and if the project exceeds environmental and social tests, Andalusia could become the European test bank for a new mining of critical minerals. Time will say if Jaén goes from being a line in the BOE to a key actor in Europe’s mineral autonomy. Image | Unspash and Unspash Xataka | Atacama Salar is the key on which the electric car industry pivot. And is starting to dry

The United States needs nuclear energy for AI and already knows where to find it: in dismantled atomic bombs

by

The rivalry between China and the United States is not only freed in markets or The tariffs. It is also played In the field of energy. And, in full rise of artificial intelligence, Donald Trump has decided that the way to ensure abundant and stable electricity for military bases, laboratories and data centers will be through nuclear energy. His plan is as ambitious as controversial. An explosive plan. The Trump administration has sought to quadruple the nuclear production of the country. To do this, the White House wants the new reactors not to depend solely on fresh uranium, but also on recycled fuel from radioactive waste and the military plutonium surplus dismantled eyelets. As Washington Post explainedit is an “national security imperative.” The idea is simple: guarantee a stable supply for the most sensitive infrastructure, from military bases to AI data centers, without depending on the electricity or imported fuels. The recycling now an ally. THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT has identified in its inventories All uranium and useful plutonium to reconvert it in fuel. Among them is the plutonium from dismantled weapons, one of the most dangerous materials on the planet. To make it possible, startups like oklo and curio They work in piroprocessinga method that introduces fuel bars spent on molten salts and uses electricity to separate the usable components. Unlike the chemical processes used in the past, these companies ensure that the technique is safer, more economical and less polluting. In addition, Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, founder of Openai, has announced an investment of almost 1.7 billion dollars in an advanced fuel center in Oak Ridge (Tennessee), the same land where uranium was enriched The Manhattan project Eight decades ago. Only the tip of the iceberg. A couple of months ago, in one of the executive orders signed by Trump forced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) To complete any reactor license in 18 months, when until now the process could take more than a decade. The White House also ordered to rewrite the rules of radiation exposure, considered “excessively cautious.” The official statement issued in May established specific deadlines: The Army must operate a reactor at a national base before September 2028, and the energy department will have to inaugurate at least one advanced reactor in any of its facilities in 30 months to supply AI data centers. To this is added the release of 20 tons of Haleu (high -rehearsal low enrichment uranium) for new reactors and the intention of signing 20 international nuclear cooperation agreements in the current congress. The depth of the matter. Despite political and business enthusiasm, the scientific community contrasts with reality. Ross Matzkin-Bridger, exassor of the Department of Energy, He pointed out that it is “The same technologies that developed and rejected decades ago”, with the same background problems. The MIT physicist and former secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, It was more blunt: recycling plutonium of arms not only makes nuclear energy more expensive, but also “threatens to create material that can be used in pumps.” Along the same lines, Matthew Bunn, from Harvard, considers it unrealistic to think that public opinion accepts reprocessing plants that would also require their own waste deposit. And Frank von Hippel, from Princeton, recalled that the US has already abandoned civil recycling at the time of Jimmy Carter, after India used that technology To manufacture your first bomb. Not everything is warnings. For the White House, nuclear recycling is a strategic tool. The official statement insists that AI data centers and military facilities need “Dense energy sources, safe and resistant. ” Also, defenders such as Bradley Williams, from the National Laboratory of Idaho, They argue that using recycled plutonium It could become a need to guarantee sufficient fuel. And startups ensure that new processes include safeguards that prevent reuse of that material for military purposes. The weight of waste. The matter is even broader because the country already accumulates about 90,000 metric tons of fuel spent, stored in containers in active and dismantled plants, According to The Washington Post. Recycling part of that material would relieve a dilemma that has been resolved decades. Meanwhile, the private sector tries to position itself. Oklo signed a contract with Switchdata centers operator, to build modular reactors that contribute up to 12 GW before 2044. The company promises to open its first reactor, Aurorain 2027, although the agreement is not binding and the NRC rejected its previous application in 2022. The idea of ​​recycling is not unique. More countries have found in this method in a way to find a more source without depending on other countries as the case of Francewhich does so through subsidies and strict security measures. For its part, Japan accumulate delays and cost overruns In its Rokkash Plant, which has not yet produced fuels after decades of development. At the opposite end, United Kingdom decided to abandon the idea of ​​recycling. With about 140 tons of stored civil plutonium, he has chosen to immobilize him in a solid and stable way to bury him in a deep geological warehouse in Sellafield. Something similar occurs in Spain, which has reactivated his plan For a deep geological warehouse, planned for 2073, and in the meantime use containers such as Hi-Storm FW for intermediate storage. The contrast is evident: while some countries try to give new life to waste, others bury them forever. Everyone looks for the same: prevent nuclear legacy from becoming an eternal problem. Forecasts. The United States is committed to resuscitating old nuclear recycling technologies to sustain its energy safety and the AI ​​career. The defenders see it as a historical opportunity to reduce foreign dependence and give new use to forgotten materials. Critics fear that the same failures and risks of half a century are repeated. The experience invites prudence: the last reactors connected in the USA, In the Vogtle (Georgia) plantthey arrived seven years late and 17,000 million dollars of extra cost. Image | Oklo and Kelly Michals Xataka | 60 years … Read more

India needs more crops and solar energy than any other country. So you are installing solar panels in height

by

When a solar energy company offered Harpal Dagar a fixed pay for 25 years in exchange for installing solar panels on their cultivation fields, he thought it could be a scam. Today he says that his income has tripled and sleeps quieter. “Too good to be true.” That was what this Indian farmer thought when the company Sun Master proposed to install elevated solar panels on its land on the outskirts of Delhi. I could continue working the land and, in return, would receive an annual payment for 25 years. According to a report of BBC NewsDagar had lost entire crops because of the Monzones, so he accepted the installation of the panels to have fixed income. “Today I think it was the best decision I have made,” he told the British environment. Harvest food and energy at the same time. The systems that combine agriculture with solar energy generation in the same land have a name: agrovoltaic. And in the most populous country in the world they are emerging as the most promising solution to produce clean energy without sacrificing the land necessary to feed the population. The agrovoltaic part of a simple idea: take advantage of the vertical space. Instead of choosing between a crop field or a solar park, They both haveonly that photovoltaic panels are mounted on high structures, at a height of at least three and a half meters so that tractors and other agricultural machinery can pass below. India cannot do without cultivation soil. In India more than 55% of the population It depends on agriculture. As the country approaches the 1.7 billion people in 2050, it will have to produce about 350 million tons of grain At the same time, India has pledged to meet ambitious climatic objectives that will require dedicating solar and wind energy between 55,000 and 77,000 square kilometers of land. According to a report from Mongabay Indiaagrovoltaic would resolve this paradox of “food security vs. access to energy”. Not everything that shines is gold. Sun Master pays Harpal Dagar about $ 500 per hectare per year, plus a monthly salary of 170 dollars for the maintenance of the panels. Dagar cultiva turmeric, which benefits from the microclimate created by the solar panels. Its shadow protects the cultivation of extreme heat and decreases water evaporation, reducing irrigation needs. It is not always beneficial. Depending on their disposition, solar panels reduce between 15 and 30% the light that reaches plants. This makes basic cultures that need a lot of sun, such as wheat, rice or soybeans, are not viable. Anand Jain, another farmer who has experienced with the system, says he succeeded with strawberries and tomatoes, but “the cauliflower did not work so well.” The green leafy vegetablesginger and some flowers have also benefited. The slow takeoff from agrovoltaic. The adoption of agrovoltaic in India is being slow, especially compared to China, which has 12 times more projects in operation. Incompatibility with some crops is one of the problems, but there is an even greater financial problem: raising panels more than three meters from the ground has a price. The installation of an agrovoltaic system is between 20 and 30% more expensive than that of a conventional solar park. Small farmers cannot afford these systems, so they depend on companies with capital that want to rent their land with a 25 -year contract. Technology will solve some challenges. For companies to be willing to assume that risk, more efficient and profitable systems are already being developed. “Farm-Forward” solar panels with More space between panel ranks to maximize the entry of light and further facilitate the step of machinery. And new software to simulate how much light and heat receives each sheet, how it affects photosynthesis and, ultimately, what performance of the harvest. The potential is simply gigantic. A GIZ technical report He estimates that agrovoltaic in India can point to a capacity of between 3,156 and 13,803 gigawatts. To put it in perspective, the total installed capacity of photovoltaic energy worldwide is 2 GW. In Xataka | One of the most arid areas in China is reverde. The reason: a plant with seven million solar panels

This is the recipe with which they want to turn around the energy map

by

Against all forecast –And in the middle of Trump was in the White House– California is demonstrating that the sun can with the night. The recipe has no technological mystery: a lot of photovoltaic, many batteries and an increasingly fine demand management. The result is that natural gas, for decades the king of the evening peak, yields ground quickly. The key is in batteries. And the state of California is more than clear. The solar generation has increased in this half year by 18% compared to the same period last year and the discharge of batteries grew by 63%, allowing to cover up to a third of the maximum night demand, According to Ember. That cocktail allowed to cover the maximum night demand, a space that until nothing dominated the combined cycles of gas. The impact has been fulminant: the production of gas plants fell 25% in one year and 43% in just two. During the summer, in 41 of the last 49 days, the Californian network was able to meet the entire demand exclusively with solar, wind and hydro, sometimes for more than nine consecutive hours. In several days, the renewable supply exceeded 140% of the demand, with surpluses exported to neighboring states, As explained by Professor Mark Jacobson in an interview with Bruce McCabe. The kitchen of success. The key to the Californian turn can be summarized in a word: capacity. In just four years the state went from having 0.6 GW of batteries at a network scale (2020) to 11.7 GW in 2024, almost half of the entire National Park. That year it installed more storage (3.8 GW) than large -scale solar (2.5 GW), a milestone that reflects the change of priorities, as they have detailed in an Ember report. However, we are not talking only about the hardware of the matter. The Caiso operator He opened the door that the batteries arbitrate intra -diagram prices – cargar when the energy is abundant and cheap, sell in expensive hours – participate in regulation services and reserve part of their capacity for the so -called “critical hours” in the afternoon. In 2024, even with more moderate price peaks, its role in the Net-Peak was consolidated, displacing the gas turbines that used to dominate that section. Two factors that have helped. On the one hand, solar roofs already produce the equivalent of 13% of the electricity sold in the state, reducing the daytime demand of the network and, when combined with domestic batteries, also the nocturnal. On the other hand, the Demand-Side Grid-Sport (DSGS) program has given rise to one of the world’s largest power plants in the world, with more than 200 MW operations and 720 MW of customer batteries. In the summer of 2024 it was activated 16 times during heat waves and tested its stabilizer effect. However, its future is uncertain: the state budget deficit and a cut of 18 million dollars put both DSGS and the Microredes Deba program at risk, warns PV Magazine. The impact on prices. The most immediate result for consumers is that prices have relaxed. The renewables sank the wholesale cost: the spot fell 53 % year -on -year and many noon sections recorded negative prices, damping thanks to the fact that the batteries already absorb 15 % of the demand in those hours. According to Jacobsoncomplete electrification can save between 60% and 65% of the annual energy invoice compared to the current fossil -based model. All pink color? No, California still faces challenges. Demand response programs depend on public budgets that are not guaranteed. As Jacobson has pointed out In a study published in Standfordthe network needs to continue improving its flexibility: move hydroelectric to the night, accelerate marine wind and strengthen demand management are essential steps. Spain: The other face of the currency. While California wins the gas battle, Spain lives the opposite paradox: it produces more renewable than ever, but cannot only trust them. After the blackout of April 28, 2025, Red Eléctrica activated a reinforced operational mode which prioritizes combined cycles. The problem is not the lack of sun or wind, but storage and flexibility. Without enough batteries or hydraulic pumping, the network lacks mattress to transfer the noon surplus at night peak. The Government knows and has reacted with an “antiaps insurance”: Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 He opened the door to capacity markets that remunerate firm technologies for being available. The objective is to maintain 9,000 MW of combined cycles that were at risk of closing. But those are temporary crutches. Structural solutions – batteries, hydraulic storage, micro -redes and demand management – will take at least until 2026 to deploy. Two roads, the same lesson. Mark Jacobson He foresees California will reach 80% renewable between 2026 and 2028 and 100% between 2030 and 2033. Ember He estimates that in 2025 A batteria GW will be installed for every 1.7 GW of solar, further accelerating gas replacement. The moral is clear: California demonstrates that miracles or futuristic technologies are not needed: with solar, wind, hydro and batteries enough to bend gas. Spain, on the other hand, remembers that the transition is not improvised: without sufficient storage or management, renewables cannot sustain the network alone. The road is clear; The question is who will travel faster. Image | Rawpixel Xataka | 99% of the Internet travels through submarine cables. Now there is a much more ambitious plan in progress: join the electricity grid

Clean energy investment already bends fossil fuels

by

There is an old narrative that states that the energy transition is a chimera, and that clean energies can barely be a complement to a system that will necessarily remain anchored in fossil fuels. But the data tell a very different story. We are living energy transformation faster in historyand money is the clearest proof of it. Short. World energy investment for all 2025 is estimated at 3.3 billion dollars. According to the International Energy Agency2.2 of those billion are destined for clean energy technologies and infrastructure. Two thirds of the investment. Just a decade ago, this proportion was unthinkable. It is invested in energies without emissions almost double what is invested in fossil fuelsa reality that shows that financial markets have chosen a clear side. The star king. The greater transformative force This transition is photovoltaic solar energy, with a global investment of 450,000 million dollars planned by 2025. This leadership is not accidental. Solar panels have gone from being the option for becoming the most economical way to generate electricity in much of the planet. Each dollar invested solar technology generates 2.5 times more energy that a decade ago. In 2015, the investment ratio between clean energy and fossil fuels was 2 to 1. in 2024, That relationship reached 10 to 1in large part thanks to the collapse of the prices of the photovoltaic components. An imminent sorpasso. The growing domain of renewables is not only reflected in investment, but also in their role in the Mix. In 2025, renewables They will overcome coal as the first source of electricity in the world. Coal will fall below 33% in the energy mix for the first time in a century, and renewables providing more than a third of the global generation. For now, it is not a homogeneous change. The bulk of the investment is concentrated in developed economies and in China, which in 2024 mobilized more than 625,000 million dollars in clean energy. Emerging markets and developing economies barely represent around 15% of world expenditure on clean energy. But the projection is global: starting from a very low base, the investment in these other regions has grown 50% since 2020. The beginning of the end for fossil fuels. The formula is simple: as the renewables become cheaper and more efficient, they move to fossil fuels. A few months ago, United Kingdom closed its last coal central. Its emissions have already fallen more than 50% compared to 1990. In 2025, for the first time, coal generated less than half of Poland’s electricity. Although the path to total decarbonization still has enormous challenges (such as the modernization of electrical networks, which remain a bottleneck, As we have seen clear in Spain), Renewables have reached a turning point, at least in the face of investors. The combination of solar, wind and battery storage is increasingly cheaper and reliable. The adoption, which was slow at the beginning, is now an exponential curve. Image | IEA (CC by 4.0) In Xataka | Forget the industrial revolution: the fastest energy change in human history is happening now

A perfect storm is hitting wind energy in almost everyone. Less in China

by

Wind energy has gone from being the great hope of Europe to be in the shadow of photovoltaic solar. Deserted auctions, paralyzed projects waiting for permits and bottlenecks in network connections are an increasingly common reality for the sector both in the old continent and in the United States. But in the midst of this perfect storm, an exception called China is able to completely distort global statistics. Wind in the West. Europe installed 16.4 GW of wind capacity in 2024, a figure lower than the expected Windeurope It attributes endless administrative delays and increasingly complicated financial conditions, especially for inflation in the supply chain. Projects Judicially blockeddeserted auctions … Nothing that the United States is not experiencing on the other side of the Atlantic. A few weeks ago, the US government canceled an investment of 679 million dollars to adapt the ports to the offshore wind industry, an infrastructure without which the huge components of marine wind turbines cannot be assembled or transported. Before, the Trump administration had paralyzed the construction of almost finished wind farms For the alleged espionage from China. Meanwhile, in China. If wind energy facilities grew 13% in 2024 it was almost exclusively thanks to Chinese demand. Excluding China from the equation, The market contracted 16%. Only Chinese manufacturers continue to beat orders records, and there are no signs that this will change this year. According to a Bloomberg reportChina monopolizes approximately 75% of all new offshore wind energy facilities in 2025. The Asian country dominates the world production of components and enjoys greater investments thanks to the agility of permits and financial support of the Communist Party, which establishes very low interest rates for these companies. A two -speed transition. The result is an energy transition that advances at radically different rhythms. While Europe and the United States collide with economic reality and government changes, China meets its objectives and almost completely dominate the supply chain. We are living The fastest energy change in historybut not all countries can advance at the same speed. This imbalance is also one of the reasons why Solar energy has eaten the ground to wind in pioneer regions in the sector, such as Europe. The installation of panels (most manufactured in China) is cheaper and more simple, both at the logistics level and permits, than the wind turbine industry that once Europe led. Image | Siemens Gamesa In Xataka | One of the most arid areas in China is reverde. The reason: a plant with seven million solar panels

They will change how we consume energy at home

by

The gas counters we have at home are about to retire. Appliances that until now needed a technician’s visit to write down consumption – and that in most cases they have already overcome their useful life – will be replaced by intelligent others. The Government has set date: between 2028 and 2032, eight million homes must adapt to this transformation. The measure promises more transparency and control, but also an inevitable increase in the invoice. Let’s go in parts. Because talking about More increases in the invoice It is a headache. The draft of the Order of the Ministry for Ecological Transition Mark a demanding calendar: In 2028 it will have to have been renewed 20% of the devices, in 2030 half and in 2032, eight out of ten. Only 2% can be fought, and with justification. And it is not a thing of a few: the measure will affect almost all homes, anyone who consumes less than 50,000 kWh per year. How will it affect your pocket? The change will not be free. Today a home pays about 58 cents per month for the rent of its gas counter; With the new intelligent the figure will go to 1.10 euros, According to the CNMC. In practice they are between 46 and 52 more cents every month, about six euros a year, According to the ministry draft. It is not the first time that happens. In 2017 the rental already dropped from 1.25 to 0.58 euros, and now rises again. The Government defends that the additional cost is lower than continuing to install analog counters and that, in the medium term, it will be compensated with savings: up to 800 million in 25 years, 586 million retail consumption of gas and 229 million for less CO₂ emissions. A new way of consuming energy at home. Beyond the invoice, the new devices will transform the relationship of homes with energy. The new intelligent counters will allow remote and real -time reading, which will avoid visiting technicians and there will be no more invoices based on estimated consumption. Everything will be digitized, so each consumer can consult their consumption through a website or application, as already happens with electricity. In addition, you will have immediate information will facilitate reducing consumption and better plan the use of energy. Finally, and more importantly, teams will include manipulations and automatic notices detection functions. In the words of Joan Batalla, president of Sedigas, cited by Forbesit is “a decisive step towards the digitalization of the gas system, with direct benefits for consumers in terms of control of their consumption, safety, energy efficiency and service quality.” The pulse between Sedigas and the Government. The employer of the sector, thirsty, He has presented allegations to the ministerial draft. Although he supports the measure, he has put several challenges on the table. First, the cost since they estimate that the substitution will involve 200 million euros that are currently not recognized in the regulatory framework. Second, they ask that the monthly rate not only apply to homes, but to the entire Park of Digital Accountants, also in large consumption. They have also contemplated that a more flexible calendar is necessary, with reviews every three years to adjust to the availability of equipment and the reality of the deployment. Finally, they have requested more forceful measures against equipment manipulation, with deterrent mechanisms and advanced detection systems. The Ministry, however, defends its calendar and has suggested the possibility of sanctions, since the draft mentions “Potential penalties” for users who do not allow the replacement of their accountant. The new star of the house. The accountant who has gone unnoticed in a corner of the kitchen or the portal is about to become a key piece of the energy transition. For homes, it will mean paying a few euros more a year, but also having much more precise control over its consumption. For distributors, a logistics and economic challenge of 200 million. And for the country, the opportunity to modernize the gasist system and move towards a more efficient and sustainable model. As Forbes has summarized“With a balanced regulatory framework, Spain can be placed at the European avant -garde in digitalization of energy consumption.” The challenge will be, now, to distribute who pays that invoice. Image | Unspash Xataka | Emptied Spain has been filled with solar mills and panels, but waste energy for a simple reason: there are no cables

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.