gas

Spain has become the first European country to break the gas. The only problem is that the invoice says something else

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At first glance it seems a contradiction: we produce more solar and wind energy than ever, and yet The invoice continues. Sometimes it seems that everything returns to the same thing: gas. And, in part, it is true. The gas continues to enter every night to sustain the electrical system when the sun falls. But behind that reality there is another less visible: Spain is getting the structural link between electricity and fossil fuels. Reducing the power of gas. According to an Ember analysisthe influence of gas and coal in electric prices has been reduced by 75% since 2019. In the first half of 2025, the gas only determined the price of light 19% of the time, compared to 75% of six years ago. The result is overwhelming: the wholesale price of electricity in Spain was 32 % lower than the European average. While Germany or Italy have barely reduced the influence of gas by 12%and 13%, respectively, Spain has done it in 75%. It is a much faster jump than in any other large European electric market. Spain stopped the power of gas and coal, becoming one of the cheapest markets in Europe This fall reflects a deep transformation of the system. The country has made renewable energy – more cheap and stable – progressively replace gas and coal in pricing. So why don’t you notice the invoice? The answer, as we will see, has to do with the network, the storage and a blackout that changed the rules of the game. An exponential growth. Since 2019, Spain added more than 40 GW Of new wind and solar capacity, which has allowed the renewables to cover 46 % of the electrical demand in the first half of 2025. In that same period, the generation with gas and coal fell to 20 %, compared to more than 40 % that still register Germany and Italy. This transformation has had a direct effect on the market: gas and coal are barely marked the price of light. “Spain has broken the dire bond between electricity and fossil fuels”, summarize Chris RossloweEmber analyst. However, this technical achievement does not mean that the system is free of shadows. The imperceptible success. Here comes the less encouraging part. The problem is not only how much it costs to generate electricity, but how the system remains stable. After the blackout of April 28, 2025, Ree adopted an “reinforced” operational modeactivating more combined gas cycles to stabilize the network. That strategy avoided new cuts, but had a high cost. The use of gas for network services – as voltage control or frequency regulation – doubled in May 2025 compared to the previous year. These services went from representing 14% of the final price before the blackout at 57% that month, According to Ember. In addition, the missing renewable energy (Curtailment) It tripled after the blackout, moving from 1.8% in the two years prior to 7.2% between May and July 2025. In practice, a part of the clean energy generated is lost because the system cannot manage it. A power with bottlenecks. Despite being a renewable power, Spain only invests 30 cents in electrical networks for each euro allocated to renewables, compared to the 70 cents on average in Europe, As the report explains. And although it is the fourth largest electrical market of the continent, it occupies the 13th position in battery capacity, with just 120 MW installed. In some points of the network, Ree has recognized losses of up to 30% of the renewable generation due to lack of infrastructure. This imbalance prevents the clean energy from fully taking advantage of and forces to resort to gas as support. As we have pointed out in Xatakathe system is still vulnerable and rigid: only one in ten new facilities manages to access the network. After the blackout. The blackout marked a before and after. Although European experts have published A factual report, the official report is not expected until the end of the year. Following that episode, the government approved Royal Decree-Law 7/2025with measures to reinforce the network, encourage storage and make access to hybrid facilities. Although the text was rejected by Congress on July 22, part of its measures are being applied by other ways. Among them, As Ember points outthe incorporation of eight synchronous compensators – devices that stabilize the tension without using fossil fuels – and the impulse of 2,600 MW of new batteries, of which 340 MW already have permission. The Executive also plans to launch capacity auctions before 2026 to keep gas plants operational while structural solutions are displayed. But the message of the sector is clear: it will take time, investment and brave political decisions. The European Energy Laboratory. The Spanish case has become a mirror for the rest of the continent. It has shown that growing in solar and wind reduces the wholesale price and gas dependence, but also that without network and storage investment the benefits do not reach the consumer. In Brussels and in neighboring markets, Spain’s example is closely followed as a transition model: a country that has reduced its fossil dependence without sacrificing competitiveness, but still fights to transfer that advantage to the citizen. In Rosslowe’s words: “Spain has shown the way, but to keep it you need to invest in clean flexibility and modern networks.” Electricity is already cheaper to produce. It is also necessary to pay. Image | Freepik Xataka | In his career for the total domain of the solar panels, a rival has come out: the Spanish Perovskita

The United Kingdom needs cheaper heating, so it is replacing gas boilers with Raspberry Pi servers

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The idea is eccentric, but makes sense. The light of the light is in the clouds. Gas boilers are condemned to extinguish. And the demand for computing capacity does not stop growing. The solution: replace the boilers with a cluster of 500 Raspberry Pi to generate heat. Mini -provenors in oil. UK Power Networks, the largest distribution networks in the United Kingdom, is testing to replace Traditional gas boilers with small data centers to the size of a heat pump. They consist of a 500 mini -proven rack Raspberry Pi cm4 either Cm5 submerged in oil. The oil is heated as computers work, and the heat is then distributed by radiators and the water of the house. A distributed cloud. These devices called “Heathub” are actually part of the Thermify distributed computing service. The company has completed a pilot test in Wales, and now hopes to climb the service to 100,000 facilities annually from here to 2030. Thermify believes that low -income families will be interested in Heathub to relieve their economic burden, reducing the electricity bill and avoiding the Aerothermia installation. Thanks to cloud income, the company can offer a cheap and low alternative in carbon emissions. How it works. Within each Heathub container, 500 Raspberry Pi modules work endlessly processing loads for the cloud service clients of Thermify. All this hardware is refrigerated by immersionwhat in this case has a double function, because it allows efficiently to capture the heat generated to use it as heating. The residual heat is transferred to the central and hot water system of the house, as a substitute “plug and play” of the conventional gas boiler. As for how it affects the Internet connection: not to reduce customer bandwidth, each unit has a dedicated network connection. Cheaper invoices. Why was someone to install an foreign data center at home? For the same reason that telephone antennas on the roofs of the buildings are installed: money. In this case, customers pay a fixed monthly fee of 5.60 pounds per month (about 6.60 euros), which reduces their bills by 40% without losing heating capacity. Beyond individual savings, the proposal of Thermify and UKPN makes sense from the environmental point of view: use energy twice, taking advantage of a heat that traditional data centers usually waste. Perhaps the greatest obstacle that thermify is facing is the competition. Other companies Like the French Qarnot and The British Heata either Deep Green They are already working on similar projects, heating from water deposits to public pools. Images | UKPN, Thermify In Xataka | The best way to heat the house: we analyze the spending and energy efficiency of heat pumps and heating

Stop importing gas and turning your subsoil into the new energy strength

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While Europe monitored its gas deposits at the beginning of September –at 76%, a breath to the winter that is coming-, at the other end of the Chinese world he wrote another story. Far from the preventive mentality, the Asian giant is extracting gas at an unprecedented rate. It is not just about filling warehouses, but about rewriting the rules of your energy safety. The awakening of a gas giant. China was already a power in energy matters: storing oil and An undisputed leader in renewables. But now a new identity is carved: being a gas axis. In just twenty years, Beijing has achieved what few believed possible: turning from an almost absolute dependence on imports towards unstoppable rising domestic production. According to analyst John Kempinternal gas production has not stopped growing at a rate close to 10% per year since the beginning of the century. The provinces of the Northwest –xinjiang, Shaanxi, Interior Mongolia– They have registered Even more vigorous increases, 13%, while the Sichuan basin, more mature, maintains a remarkable 9%. Three main levers. The first bet has been the riskiest: getting where few arrive. The big state companies –Sinopec, Cnooc and Petrochina– They have reoriented their efforts towards wells up to 10,000 meters deep and the development of the complex shale gas in Sichuan. . It is not just a technical issue; It is a political strategy with a clear objective: to reduce the dependence of foreign gas, although that means drilling in hostile geological formations and a high cost. The second lever has been geographical. Secondary regions on the Chinese energy map, such as Xinjiang or Interior Mongolia, They have become the new gas engine in the country. With the determined support of Beijing, these areas now concentrate conventional and unconventional gas projects, backed by a logistics network that connects them with the east consumption centers. The third play has been geopolitical. China and Russia They signed a memorandum For the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, an infrastructure that could inject up to 50,000 million cubic meters per year from Yamal to northern China. Although the price and calendar details are still on the table, the message is clear: Beijing ensures long -term supply, at probably lowered prices, and shields against the volatility of the global LNG market. The numbers do not lie. Official data collected by the Xinhua agency They reflect this turn. Between January and June 2025, China produced 130.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 5.8% more than in the same period of the previous year. In June alone, production reached 21.2 billion cubic meters, with a growth of 4.6% year -on -year. The International Energy Agency (AIE) Recognize that gas Win weight in the Chinese energy mix for its flexibility and lower emissions against coal, although it warns that the country must redouble efforts to meet its climatic goals. Meanwhile, liquefied natural gas imports (LNG) sink. According to the data of the KPLer consultant collected by BloombergLNG Chinese purchases will fall in September 22% year -on -year, up to 5.4 million tons. It is the eleventh consecutive month of descents. Reuters anticipates That total imports of 2025 could be reduced between 6% and 11%, weighed by a faster internal demand, the increase in local production and the largest flows by gas pipeline from Russia and Central Asia. Infrastructure for Independence. China is not only extracting more gas; also has woven a colossal network submarinto consolidate its autonomy. The Asian giant already exceeds 10,000 kilometers of underwater pipes, a web that connects gas platforms, wind farms and refineries with the terrestrial network. Emblematic projects such as the Bay of Hohai or the Deep field No. 1 symbolize this new energy border. These pipes transport gas and raw, and in the future they are called to carry hydrogen. The goal is not just technical; It is strategic: to ensure national supply and reduce exposure to international fluctuations. Forecasts The IEA provides that Chinese gas consumption reach its peak by 2035, before stabilizing with electrification and renewables. In the short term, the demand will remain moderate: the lazy industrial growth and the impulse of domestic production could maintain the imports of minimums also in 2026. Meanwhile, investments in deep perforations, the offshore network and the Russian gas pipelines consolidate China as self -sufficient actor and strong negotiator against traditional producers such as the US, Qatar or Australia. The new board. Europe keeps gas to survive winter. China, on the other hand, cava deeper to not need it. In just two decades, the country has gone from depending on metaneous cargoes to negotiate from abundance. If the plans are fulfilled – more national production, pipes until 2030 and Power of Siberia 2 operation in the next decade -, the global map of natural gas could definitely turn to Asia. And the old continent, which today breathes relieved with its full reserves, could soon discover that the next energy crisis will not be decided in Moscow or in Doha, but among Beijing’s offices. Image | Freepik Xataka | The new maritime record of China is shaped like a floating gas plant: 376 meters long and Africa destination

95% of plastics are manufactured with oil and gas. Japan has gotten a bacterium in place

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The world is flooded with plastic. There are microplastics even in our testicles. And the vast majority of them are manufactured from fossil fuels, which aggravates our dependence on these non -renewable resources. In Japan, a bioingenier team from the University of Kobe has found a promising solution. From Pet to PDCA. 95% of the plastics that we use in our day to day are manufactured from oil and gas (98%, if we add coal). In containers, textiles and to the interior of the cars we find a plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate or PET. The objective is to find a high performance alternative to the PET using renewable and biodegradable sources. Exists. It is called pyridineodycarboxylic acid (PDCA) and is a environment -respecting monomer that, when it is polymerized, has comparable physical properties or even superior to those of the PET. The problem, until now, had been to produce large -scale PDCA. Traditional methods to synthesize it are not very efficient and generate unwanted by -products. The solution: a bacterium. The novelty of Japanese research, published in the magazine Metabolic Engineeringis that it uses the cellular metabolism of the bacteria Escherichia coli To produce PDCA from glucose. Unlike the previous bioproduction methods, this makes the bacteria assimilate nitrogen and build the compound from beginning to end, eliminating the problem of by -products. While the existing bioproduction methods They had encountered limitations regarding the quantity and purity of the final compound, bioreactors based on this bacterium are capable of making a clean PDCA synthesis at more than seven times higher concentrations. And with abundant and cheap raw material. E. coli as factory operators. The process has not been exempt from difficulties. The largest bottleneck was to prevent one of the enzymes introduced into the bacteria to produce hydrogen peroxide, a highly reactive compound that deactivated the enzyme itself. The researchers managed to overcome this obstacle by refining the crops and adding a compound capable of eliminating hydrogen peroxide. Now they look for a more profitable solution for large -scale production. The future of bioplastic. Despite the pending challenge, this progress feels the foundations of large -scale plastic microbial synthesis. The practical implementation of bioreactors for the production of high performance PDCA is not only possible, but is a step closer to becoming a reality at an industrial scale. Image | USDA In Xataka | Scientists already investigate a solution to climate change and famines: eat us plastic

A Microsoft Data Center in Mexico collided with the reality of the electricity network. Your solution: use gas generators

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Artificial intelligence has become daily, but behind each consultation to tools such as Chatgpt either COPILOT There are real buildings that consume a lot of energy and require reliable infrastructure. In that framework, Microsoft announced May 7, 2024 The beginning of operations of its “Central Mexico” data centers region, with several locations in the Querétaro Metropolitan Area. The deployment, however, coexists with very specific tensions: According to the companyat least one of those centers, that of Columbus, cannot benefit from the advantages of the electricity network until mid -2027 and obtained permission to temporarily operate with gas generators. It should be remembered that the proximity of these infrastructure to users is essential: it reduces latency, improves the quality of the service and allows to meet data residence requirements. But that technical advantage depends on something elementary: having an electricity grid capable of sustaining permanent operations and constant cooling. Microsoft stressed the magnitude of its project in the North American country. The new region aims to offer local access to Azure, Microsoft 365Dynamics 365, among other services. The firm also presented the initiative as an “avant -garde” infrastructure aimed at accelerating innovation in the region. The Achilles heel of deployment: energy In a request to the Ministry of Environment delivered in 2023Microsoft acknowledged that, although the data center would connect within the planned deadlines, due to the construction deadlines included in its contract with the Federal Electricity Commission, the energization of the connection would not be ready until the Second quarter of 2027. To save that void, The use of seven generators was approved capable of covering 70% of the demand of the center of Columbus for 12 hours a day, for at least four months. According to Rest of World, Mexico already has about a hundred data centers, with investments that exceed 7,000 million dollars from 2020 by Microsoft, Aws and Google. Querétaro has established itself as the main attraction pole, with 15 facilities that concentrate about 80% of the sector’s energy demand, about 200 MW. The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness projects thatby 2030, the network will face a deficit of 48,000 MWh, more than half of what it produced in 2023. With more than 70 new centers planned in the next five years, the mismatch between installed capacity and electric transmission becomes an obvious threat. The American company has set ambitious environmental goals: Being negative carbon in 2030, eliminating all its historical emissions in 2050 and supplying 100% with renewable energy contracts in 2025. In contrast, in Columbus is the provisional measure of operating with gas generators until it can be fully connected to the network in 2027. What It is not clear is whether these equipment were usedif they remain in operation or what intermediate solution the company will apply in the coming years. Microsoft, for now, has not specified with which energy sources Opera Colón. The launch of the Central Mexico region was presented as a decisive step to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and attract foreign investment. But energy reality introduces a decisive nuance: the infrastructure necessary to sustain that deployment does not advance at the same rate as the technological ambition. The tension between promises of sustainability and limitations of the network is a reminder that the cloud, far from being ethereal, rests on concrete foundations, cables and megawatts that define, in a way, how far artificial intelligence and other services can go. Images | Microsoft (1, 2) In Xataka | This nuclear reactor is different from everyone else. It has been expressly designed for data centers

Gas reserves advance faster than expected

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Europe enters September with an unexpected energy mattress: gas deposits are already 76% of its capacity. Just a few months ago analysts doubted that the continent reached the legal threshold of 80% before November. Today, it not only seems safe, but it is even forecast that reservations could touch 90% if the weather accompanies. Short. According to Bloomberggas injections during spring and summer have been constant, thanks to a calmer market. The result is a level of reservations that, at least at least, the ghost of another energy crisis moves Like 2022-2023. Volatility has been reduced and European prices are maintained below those registered in August of the last two years. The Europe Infrastructure Gas (GIE) confirms that European storage was 76 %, equivalent to about 85 BCM, a level of less than 92 % last year, but aligned with the average of the last decade. A paradigm shift. First of all, Community regulations flexible. According to a June article by Bloombergthe EU will allow up to 2027 deviations of ± 10 percentage points compared to the objective of 90%, also extend in two months the deadline to complete it. This reduces the seasonal pressure of buying in summer at all costs, which in previous years fed speculation. For its part, the global LNG market played in favor of Europe. As an analysis of Ron Bousso for Reuters points outthe fall in Asian demand released cargoes that flowed towards the continent. China, traditionally one of the largest buyers, reduced its imports due to an increase in internal production and commercial tensions with the United States. In fact, Beijing It is promoting Massively the extraction of shale gas and deep perforations, which points to a lower dependence on external LNG in the coming years. Finally, the international offer grew. Bousso has pointed out that the worldwide capacity of LNG will expand from 550 BCM in 2024 to almost 890 BCM in 2030, led by the United States. Only in the first seven months of this year, their exports rose 22 % compared to the previous year, thanks to new plants on the Gulf coast. Germany, the weak link. However, the photo is not uniform. Germany, the largest European consumer, remains the most vulnerable link. A report from the anadolu agency points out that German reserves They are 67%, well below neighbors such as France or Belgium. The installation of Rehden – the largest in Europe – barely reaches 23 % filling, According to Bloomberg. The German delay has history: last winter left his deposits at 7%which forced to spend billions in their recharge. Berlin insists that his four floating terminals of LNG mitigate the risk, but the opposition warns of problems if a particularly cold winter arrives. The Russian unknown. The war in Ukraine continues to weigh on the energy board. Although Russian gas imports have been drastically reduced, LNG cargoes still arrive, sometimes under interposed flags. However, the European Commission presented in June a plan To gradually eliminate all Russian gas and oil imports before 2027, prohibiting new contracts since 2026 and ending existing ones no later than 2027. According to EurostatRussia’s quota in EU gas imports collapsed from 45% in 2021 to less than 20% in 2025, replaced by US flows, Norway and Algeria. The United States enters the equation. That turn has reinforced Washington’s dependence. A July of Reuters report explained that Brussels studies grouping the demand for European companies to negotiate joint purchases of American LNG, within the Aggregateeu mechanism. Under the objective of ensuring sufficient volumes and fulfilling the commitment to acquire up to 250,000 million dollars annually in American energy over the next three years. The Plan evidences EU’s strategy to replace Kremlin with Washington, although analysts cited by Reuters warn that the objective could be too ambitious and leave Europe vulnerable to political swings on the other side of the Atlantic. Forecasts The immediate panorama is more serene: traders expect a winter without shocks if the weather does not give surprises. But in the medium term, the dilemmas persist. As Ainvest has pointed outthe EU has added 70 BCM of new regasification capacity since 2022, but many terminals work at low capacity. There is the risk of assets stranded if the demand remains stagnant and the transition to renewables is accelerated. The possible output is in conversion: several projects seek to adapt gas infrastructure to hydrogen transport, within the decarbonization strategy. More robust reserves. Before a calmer market, at least for now. The continent has gone from the Russian dependence on a more diversified framework, with the US as a key partner and China releasing pressure in global markets. However, vulnerabilities persist: Germany as weak link, overcapacity in LNG infrastructures and the unknown of a climate that could alter the most optimistic forecasts. The 2022 nightmare seems distant, but the European energy transition remains a race against time. Image | Unspash Xataka | Natural gas has become essential in the AI ​​era, and this chart exposes countries with the largest reserves

They are Russian gas stations

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Petroleum prices will rebound again in recent weeks. Brent rose 2.7% and the West Texas intermediate 1.1% this week, According to Reuters. Behind this volatility are the low, presumable expectations, of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. This uncertainty is immediately reflected in the markets, which already discourage tougher sanctions against Moscow and a long war. In fact, while Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were gathered in Alaska, thousands of kilometers, Ukrainian drones reached a Russian refinery. Suggesting that war is no longer freed in Donbás. Now hits where Kremlin hurts most: oil. Shortage in front of the bombings. In Russia, wholesale gasoline prices have shot at record levels. In a Financial Times report It is detailed That the most common fuel, the A95, reached 82,300 rubles per ton in the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange, 55% more than at the beginning of the year. The climb responds to a double pressure: the seasonal rebound in demand and damage to the Russian energy infrastructure caused by Ukrainian attacks with drones. The population begins to suffer consequences. The drivers are already evidencing it: long lines, empty suppliers and rationing in regions such as Zabaikalsky, Crimea and the East end. According to the Moscow TimesRussia has lost about 13% of its refining capacity since the beginning of August, after attacks that forced the closure of at least four refineries. In Vladivostok, motorists wait up to two hours to refuel. “The suppliers are covered with posters of ‘out of service’,” said a driver to the local press. Scarcity also has a historic echo. In some areas they have introduced “coupons” of fuel, a rationing mechanism that evokes the memories of the last years of the USSR. Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, suffers supply cuts. Sergei Aksyonov, regional chief designated by Moscow, has admitted to FT “Interruptions in some stations” and requested patience “until the end of the special military operation.” However, despite trying to contain the crisis with subsidies and prohibiting the export of gasoline on July 28, domestic demand remains without satisfying. The drone offensive. According to the countryUkraine has launched in August a systematic offensive against the Russian oil industry, hitting refineries and distribution centers to hundreds and even thousands of kilometers from the border. On August 10, Ukrainian drones reached a Lukoil installation in the Republic of Komi, more than 2,000 kilometers, a record record. The attack stopped for days the production of one of Rosneft’s key refineries in Saratov. These attacks are not new, but now they are more frequent and coordinated. The Financial Times He has stressed that unlike 2023 – when the damages were repaired quickly – in 2024 the campaign aims to leave several plants simultaneously for longer. The strategic objective, As the country explainedIt is double: show the Kremlin that it is vulnerable in its own territory and hit its main source of income, hydrocarbons, in the middle of the peace negotiations. The chaos of the drones. Kyiv’s weapon are swarms of low and long -range drones, produced by mass. As my partner has detailed in XatakaUkraine manufactured 2.2 million drones in 2024 and wants to double that figure in 2025. But the battlefield has also become an electronic chaos: up to 60 drones can fly at just a kilometer in front, interfering mutually. Sometimes, Ukrainian countermeasures themselves against Russian drones leave their devices inoperative. In others, operators connect unwittingly to enemy transmissions. Even so, the strategic message is clear: drones allow Ukraine to hit away and erode the Russian war economy. The forecasts. Analysts expect that gasoline prices in Russia will continue high at least until September, According to the Financial Times. Although a generalized national crisis is not anticipated – because the low demand after summer and part of the damaged capacity can be recovered – it is expected that the problems in remote and poorly connected regions are expected. Moscow could resort to imports from refined products from Belarus to cover part of the deficit. However, Ukraine seems determined to maintain his campaign. “There will be more,” warned the Ukrainian General Staff after an attack on the Syzran refinery in Samara. A war laboratory. Beyond the economic, the conflict reveals two long -range trends. On the one hand, the war in Ukraine has become a military innovation laboratory, where drones resistant to interference, platforms with artificial intelligence and new electronic warfters are rehearsed, As we have pointed in Xataka. These lessons learned will mark the armies of the future. On the other hand, within Russia, the appearance of rationing by coupons connects the current war with collective memories of Soviet scarcity, an uncomfortable reminder that the costs of the invasion also reach everyday life. A new front. The war in Ukraine has displaced its most visible forehead: it is no longer only in the trenches of Donbás, but in the tails of Russian gas stations. While Putin insists that Moscow maintains the military initiative, citizens face rations, queues and rising prices. History suggests that shortage hits stronger than any projectile. The tsaries learned him at the beginning of the 20th century, when popular discontent undermined his power. Today, more than a century later, Kremlin see how the internal front can become its greatest vulnerability: if drones continue to attack refineries, the price will not only pay the economy, but also the population. Image | Unspash and National Police of Ukraine Xataka | Less oil ships are scrolled, and there is only one reasonable explanation: Russia’s ghost fleet

Adif has in his hands the great “obrón” of Valencia. Now it also has a gas leak and desperate neighbors

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With two years behind him and others three years projected aheadValencia is living one of his great works in the surroundings of its central parc, next to the Joaquín Sorolla station to convert the most important mobility node in the city. It is, in words that They are read on the project website“The project of greatest urban impact in the city.” The reforms are large and very draft. Form summarya New high -speed rail access To connect Madrid-Valencia with the Mediterranean corridor, both north and south of the city. The conventional and high -speed rail lines are buried (up to 9 kilometers of tunnels are created) and will result in a new central station that maintains the exterior facade but that changes completely inside, becoming a large intermodal step of high -speed trains, conventional lines, subway and bus. There will also be space to reform the lines dedicated to merchandise transport. In numbers, Valencia hopes to recover with the work a total of 230,000 square meters, largely dedicated to green areas and to join the adjoining neighborhoods, now separated by the train tracks. It is estimated that only the rail transformation will cost 665 million eurosassuming Adif and Renfe more than 50% of the cost of it. The work is currently in one of its phases with more activity. The known as “Playa de Roads”, the enormous space used by trains that reach the station and that right now is the great border that separates both sides from the work, will begin to be buried from the excavation of a tunnel of 1.2 kilometers long. This new stage, however, has arrived with an unpleasant surprise. A gas leak and various problems Two years after the works began, the neighbors are beginning to suffer the consequences of them. Beyond the usual inconveniences of this type of projects, the alarm jumped when the Excavations Adif caused a gas leak located on Olta Street, perpendicular to the García Lorca boulevard. The leak has been “controlled” and has been because during the excavations a gas pipe has been damaged to the point that has been drilled. Adif sources have explained to the newspaper Levant that there has been no risk for people and that the emergency protocol has been activated, with immediate notice to firefighters, police and emergencies. During the day of the incident He has worked to restore the service and forced to confine a community of neighbors adjacent to the works for security. However, the gas leak is “the drop that has filled the glass”, in the words of the neighbors who They have offered their testimonies to the local newspaper. They ensure that in addition to the transfer of vehicles and the impossibility of opening sales because “the land house” is filled with activities, the inconvenience is being recurring. Those affected that the cuts of light and water are usual but that, in addition, some homes have crazy. The latter is a serious problem and Valencian works are not the first that cause cracking problems in homes as a result of excavations. In Madrid, for example, the residents of the A-5 They know the cuts of light and water well as a consequence of the underground of the road but in San Fernando de Henares, next to the capital, The neighbors have denounced years ago That the expansion works of the Metro line are cracking their homes. To the point that 73 homes have been demolished and another 600 have presented cracks and serious structural problems. Photo | Valencia Central Park In Xataka | Madrid faces a capital challenge with the underground of the A-5: living with a hell in the face of the promise of future success

The countries with the greatest natural gas reserves, gathered in this graphic developer

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Natural gas has become a bridge fuel on the road to decarbonization. Emits less dioxide that coal or oil when used to generate electricity, and in a world that is hitting the Volantazo to renewable energiesgas has established itself as a vital element. Reason? Is being used to feed the voracious data centers And, in addition, it is A geopolitical element. And there, countries with the largest natural gas reserves have a lot to say. And that mixture between natural and geopolitical resources can be seen perfectly in this graph elaborated by Visual Capitalist: The powers. Russia, Iran and Qatar are the indisputable powers when we talk about natural gas reserves. The United States stays close, but the first three, according to these data from the US Energy Information AdministrationThey represent 51% of those world reserves. And the first ten countries, which are represented in the graphic, accumulate 83% of the total natural gas. Russia is the clear clear, with twice more than Qatar and almost tripling the reserves of the United States. The closest is Iran, Another oil power. Protagonist role. And who controls gas, controls a large percentage of the world energy cake. It is estimated that, currently, natural gas represents 23% of the global energy mix. This depends on the country, of course, but one of the largest whales is the United States and there represents 40% of the electricity generation. The reasons are the amount of and efficiency, being your Great advantage which is the most ‘dispatchable’ energy source. It can be activated and deactivated easily and, in a matter of minutes, operates with a capacity greater than 80% to satisfy demand peaks. In addition, what we have already commented: its emissions Co₂ are approximately 50% lower than coal and 30% lower than oil. Trend. The graph represents the status of reservations in 2023, but with more recent data, we see that it is still an essential fuel: Natural gas meant 33% of the increase in world energy supply. The demand for natural gas in 2024 increased 2.5%. Electric generation from natural gas also grew by 2.5%. Natural gas production increased 1.2%. And world trade by gas pipeline and LNG increased by 3.3%, being the first time it grows from 2021. Geopolitics. And that only a few countries have such an essential fuel for the rest, it implies that it is a source of economic, diplomatic power and, in times of crisis, also a weapon. In Europe we have witnessed this from two different fronts. Before 2022, near the 40% of European natural gas was Russian. The invasion of Ukraine caused a series of cuts in the supply and Russia He used it as a weapon in the contest‘drying’ the countries of the European Union that supported Ukraine. This has led the EU to rethink your energy safetydiversifying energy sources and investing in infrastructure such as those of the Green Hydrogen Corridor. And, in this situation, the US has gained weight becoming the largest gas exporter to Europe, using this resource in the Tariff trade war. Artificial intelligence. Beyond politics, this ability to satisfy demand peaks is something that is erecting natural gas as the most important fuel today. Data centers require something called “operational reliability”, or what is the same: they cannot stop working and They cannot depend on renewable energieswhich may have intermittent periods of activity, be their only energy source. In addition, at certain times of computational demand peaks, They need a huge amount of immediate energyand that is where natural gas can meet that demand. The energy need for these is such Data macrocentros that there are companies that are choosing to take over nuclear energy plants to meet your needs. Gas for a while. The natural gas is a complex scenario because, although we want to get rid of it in favor of renewable energies, factors such as its energy advantage and strategic pacts favor that it is rope for a while. The projections indicate That the energy demand of data centers only in the United States will grow from 180-290 twh from 2024 to 515-720 TWH in 2030. In the rest of the world, It will pass of the 415 TWH to 945 TWH in 2030. Globally, other analysis They point to an increase in that 50% demand by 2027 and up to 165% by 2030. Beyond the needs of the data centers, it is wait An increase of 32% in the world demand for natural gas by 2050, being Africa and Asia the main driving regions of this growing demand due to electrification and industrialization needs. These estimates can go to the fret if a Unexpected increase in renewables Thanks to new technologies or more efficient solutionss, or if the panorama of the data centers changes, but what is evident is that the Camino to decarbonization You will have to live with natural gas. In Xataka | If Europe is beating solar energy records this summer, why has the price of light shot?

In Europe, gas and disused coal plants have unexpected suitors: technology companies

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The climatic commitments that It has acquired Europe They have condemned in the short or medium term the future of gas and coal power plants disseminated by the old continent. Many of them no longer serve, but, surprisingly, the rise of the artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to save them. This does not mean at all that they will burn gas and coal again; The option on the table is to convert them in data centers. Microsoft and Amazon are, According to Reuterstwo of the large technology companies that are interested in transforming these old power plants into modern data centers equipped to the last one. In fact, its managers are already negotiating with the French energy company Engie, the German RWE and the Italian in the possibility of using their facilities for this purpose. For energy companies this option is very attractive because it allows them to kill two birds. On the one hand, the transformation of their old electric power plants into data centers guarantees them in income with which they did not count so far. And, in addition, the energy companies that I have mentioned in the previous paragraph and some others are negotiating with the technology companies the possibility of give them the supply of electricity that require your data centers. A priori seems like a fissure plan. An agreement in which everyone wins “You have all the necessary pieces, such as water infrastructure and heat recovery.” This Bobby Hollis statementVice President of Energy in Microsoft, repairs something very important: the old gas and coal centrals that are no longer operational have the water supply and the heat management infrastructure that data centers need. Presumably it will not be necessary to undertake a large adaptation to transform these facilities into operational data centers. Agility when putting up these data centers and moderation of costs is what makes them so attractive to large technology On the other hand, Lindsay Mcquade, director of Energy for the EMEA area (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at Amazon, Trust in that the permits that technology companies need to operate these converted data centers are available long before the new facilities. After all, most of Infrastructure are already installed In these buildings from the beginning. In fact, agility when pointing out these data centers and moderation of start -up costs is what makes them so attractive to large technological ones. In Europe and the United Kingdom since 2005 they have closed no less than 190 coal and lignite centralsand another 153 will follow this same path before the year 2038. It is evident that the possibility of reusing all these buildings transforming them into data centers for AI is very attractive. However, there is a challenge that is not yet resolved and that can condition this plan. It is not clear that the electrical infrastructure of some countries is capable of delivering The energy required by these facilities without previously undertaking a large -scale development. In this scenario renewable energies and nuclear will have the last word. Image | Marcin Jozwiak More information | Reuters In Xataka | We have a serious problem with air conditioning: it consumes much more electricity than data centers

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