gas

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

What began as a patch after the blackout is already the new normality of Spain: more energy through gas

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After the blackout of April 28, which exposed the fragility of the electrical system at times of high renewable penetration, Red Electrica has imposed a new way of operating: A reinforcement system based on greater activation of combined gas cycles. What was born as an emergency measure has become a new normality. Spain returns to gas, not due to lack of renewables, but because – for now – it cannot only trust them. And it will stay for a while … Since the end of April, the system operator maintains a reinforced operating mode to guarantee stability. Such as has confirmed ELECTRICAL TO ELECONOMISTA.es, this measure will remain in force while the technical solutions agreed to avoid new incidents are implemented. The incident report concludes that there was a lack of dynamic control on the network, unexpected disconnections and vulnerabilities in tension regulation. The first changes are already underway: Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 He has started A battery of reforms, from the incentive of storage to the flexibility of access for hybrid facilities. However, the sector coincides: the total implementation will take time. Some urgent measures have a deadline until September, but others – as the reform of adjustment services or changes in the distribution network – will be extended until June 2026. Reinforcement, therefore, is not transitory. Renewable yes, but they are not enough. And this situation occurs in a fairly paradoxical context. Spain is producing more energy than ever: in May the lowest wholesale prices in recent history were recorded –With many hours in negative prices-, thanks to the thrust of wind, solar and hydraulic. So, the question comes back: why does it return to gas? The key is in the foul storage and demand variability. The renewable generation is abundant during the day, but it falls dramatically at dusk, just when consumption remains high by heat waves. No batteries or pumping To store the surplusThe system needs firmness. And that firmness, today, gives it the gas. They have just launched an “antiapages insurance.” The government is aware of the risk. That is why he has formally activated the implementation of capacity markets, a tool that had been studying for years and now accelerates after the blackout. It is a mechanism that remunerates for being available, not only to produce, and that seeks to keep firm technologies operational – like gas or storage – to guarantee the supply even in critical conditions. After the authorization included in Royal Decree-Law 7/2025, the Ministry for Ecological Transition You can give way to the specific resolution that sets two key parameters to activate these mechanisms: the lost load value (Voll), at € 22,879/MWh, and a reliability standard (Lole) of 1.5 hours a year. The objective of the Executive is clear: launch the first auctions before the end of 2025 and ensure that the gas plants that requested their closure (9,000 MW in total) can remain available while a structural solution arrives. And prices rise again. June closed with an important rebound in the wholesale price of electricity, after the historical minimums of April and May. The heat wave, the increase in demand and the greater participation of the combined gas cycles fired the average cost in the market to levels not seen in months. The consumers’ invoice with regulated rate has noticed it: it has been the third consecutive monthly climb, According to the official CNMC simulator data. In addition, in the free market, some marketers are transferring these cost overruns to their customers, even without a contractual clause that allows it. This has motivated A FACUA WARNINGwhich remembers that raising rates unilaterally is illegal if it is not expressly foreseen in the contract. In some cases, surcharges of up to 6 % per year have been notified under the argument of greater technical costs, which could constitute an abusive clause according to consumer defense regulations. Structural challenge. The April blackout uncovered deficiencies that were already there: an excessively centralized system, little storage, few micro -redes and little local reaction capacity to disturbances. The solution does not go through abandonable, but by complementing them. The gas, for now, plays that role. But the challenge is to do so in the future the storage, demand management and a more robust network. That requires difficult time, investment and political decisions. Image | Pexels and Pixabay Xataka | Broady in April, more expensive invoice in May: thus has affected the system reinforcement

Its AI is connected to a clandestine gas plant

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Elon Musk’s last controversy has nothing to do with rockets, nor with his political comments on social networks, but with a potentially illegal installation who is playing with the public health of his neighbors in Memphis. Short. The XAI artificial intelligence startup, founded by Elon Musk, faces a possible federal demand for feeding Your gigantic Memphis Data Center With a gas power plant that, according to the complainants, has been operating without the necessary permits and contaminating the air of the region. The epicenter of the conflict is the Colossus Data Center, where Xai trains his AI models with hundreds of thousands of specialized nvidia chips. To quench the enormous energy demand from its graphics cards, the company installed dozens of natural gas turbines. Now the Southern Environmental Law Center (Selc) threatens to sue the company for “flagrant violations” of the United States Clean Air Law. Aerial photos and thermal cameras. According to the NECC notification, “during the last year, XAI has installed and operated at least 35 combustion turbines and other sources of air pollution in the Colossus facilities without ever having obtained the necessary permissions of preconstruction or operation.” Before “the lack of transparency of XAI and the ambiguous response of the local authorities”, which came to suggest that the turbines were “exempt from permits”, the SELC hired an air photographer to document the facilities. In March there were 35 turbines in operation. In April, at least 33 were full functioning, emitting large amounts of heat. A third recognition flight made on June 15 revealed that, far from being withdrawn, There were still 26 turbines next to Colossus. But there is something else: XAI has installed three larger new turbines. The total generation capacity is now approximately 407 megawatts, just 14 MW less than at its peak of March. The authorities are with XAI. In early May, the Great Memphis Chamber of Commerce He issued a statement trying to calm the waters. They claimed that the turbines were “temporary” and that they would be “paralyzed and removed” in the following two months, once the data center connected to the electricity grid. They also assured that approximately half would remain standing to feed phase II of the Colossus project, until a second substation was ready, at which time they would become just a system of support of the electricity grid. The capital of asthma. The matter acquires a more worrying channel if we take into account that Memphis already suffers one of the worst air qualities in the United States. In 2024 she was designated as the “capital of asthma” of the country for its high rates of visits to emergency and deaths linked to this disease. A 400 MW gas plant has the potential to emit more than 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOX) per year, chemical compounds precursors of the tuxedo. While companies like Xai, OpenAi and Google compete to develop the most powerful AI models, the infrastructure necessary to feed them this bringing to the limit to the electrical networks And, as this case demonstrates, it can push companies to take regulatory shortcuts with an environmental cost. Image | Steve Jones on a Southwings flight for SELC In Xataka | Elon Musk turned an abandoned US factory into the most powerful supercomputer in the world. Nobody thought of the neighbors

In a desperate attempt to avoid the blackout, Ree tried to start a gas center seven minutes before the disaster

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The Official reports on the blackout They reveal the maneuvers to counterreloj that the network operator did to try to stabilize the system while rushing into the collapse. T-7 minutes. In the moments of maximum tension (never better) prior to the historic blackout that left the Iberian Peninsula without light on April 28, Red Electric took a desperate measure: he ordered the start of a combined gas cycle center to try to stabilize an electrical system that crumbled at times. The call to the owner of the plant, registered in official reportsthere was just seven minutes before the system collapsed completely at 12:33 at noon. However, the thermal power plant never coupled then The zero of tension It occurred first. It was not a typical morning. That April 28 were the perfect conditions to test the network: a relatively low energy demand, and a very high solar radiation that caused a massive predominance of photovoltaic generation. With a network dominated by the electronics of investors instead of the heavy turbines of the conventional generation, the tension already issued warning signals. At 11:00 in the morning, after a voltage climb, the transformers of two Adif substations in Zaragoza were fired. But the situation became critical from 12:00, with the appearance of strong frequency oscillations that put the stability of the entire network in check. The oscillations. At 12:03, a first 0.6 Hz oscillation was detected, an unusual phenomenon that lasted for almost five minutes, forcing Red Eléctrica to take emergency measures. Among them, reduce electricity exchanges with France and Portugal. It didn’t help much. At 12:19, a new 0.2 Hz oscillation shook the system. Given the seriousness of the situation and the need to “attach more conventional generation” to control the tension, Red Electrico contacted at 12:26 with the head of a combined cycle center in Andalusia to start urgently. The choice was not accidental. The group that could be attached faster in the southern zone was sought, one of the most affected by instability. The chosen central, which had decoupled at 9:00 in the morning, was “hot”, which allowed it a shorter start time: an hour and a half. The goal was to be fully operational at 2:00 p.m. Unfortunately, the system did not have that time. Just seven minutes after the starter order was given, at 12:33, a succession of waterfall generation, mainly due to surgeens, caused the total collapse of the peninsular electrical system. The measure, a last resort to avoid the greatest blackout in the recent history of Spain, “never consummated by the zero of tension.” Image | HRAD (CC by-SA 3.0) In Xataka | Many plants disconnected from the network when the blackout began. The problem is that some renewable did it before

While Europe desperately seeks alternative to Russian gas, a Spanish province has already found it: Burgos

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A few days after summer begins, Europe has an eye on winter. Not because he wants to omit a hot summer, but for a real concern: gas reserves are almost empty. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced That community leaders will discuss new measures, including the possible definitive closure of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. So, while in the high spheres geopolitical strategies are designed, a solution is consolidated in a small town of Burgos: biomass. And they found the key. In Doña Santos, a Burgos town of just over a hundred inhabitants, is the headquarters of children of Tomás Martín, a family business that has been linked to the use of wood. However, it was not until 2011, which under the Burpellet brand, They started producing pellet to take advantage of the waste of the sawmill. Ten years later, they expanded their activity with a second floor in Huerta del Rey, which today has a capacity of 150,000 tons per year – the equivalent of five million bags – consolidating itself as the largest national producer and one of the main European referents in biomass. Heat in unstable times. While electricity prices and fossil fuels are in a roller coaster, the pellet has found its balance. According to Avebiom (Spanish Biomass Energy Valuation Association), the Pellet It is maintained As one of the most competitive energy options, with an average cost of 7 cents per kWh, below natural gas, heating diesel and well below electricity. In other words, a 15KG bag would come to € 5.04, a 2.6% decrease compared to the previous quarter. The global energy storm. Only this year, Europe must spend 10,000 million euros more than in 2024 to replenish its gas reserves, pressured by a colder winter and strong global competition, According to the Financial Times. And although prices remain above 2024, they have remained surprisingly stable in recent weeks. According to Bloomberg, China who was one Of the great global buyers of LNGhas reduced its imports for the fourth consecutive month, weighed by a weaker economy, tariff tensions with the United States and a rebound from internal sources. However, nothing is guaranteed because in the months of July and August extreme temperatures are expected on the horizon, which could change the board. In addition, countries like Egypt could enter the market strong They have explained In Bloomberg. Geopolitical pressure, an unstable global market and the delay in the transition to technologies such as hydrogen convert energy supply into a topic of higher priority for Brussels. A good path. Despite the thrust of the LNG and the promises of green hydrogen, immediate solutions do not always come from new technologies. Sometimes they are already working, far from the spotlights. In places like Mrs. Santos. While Brussels projects the energy future of the continent, in the forests of Burgos there is already an answer working: stoves, boilers and heated buildings with compacted wood chips. It does not sound as modern as hydrogen, but it is clean, efficient and local. Image | Rawpixel Xataka | After two years of vertiginous increases, the price of pellets has done something unpublished: start going down

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