renewables

The Iran war is making the best possible advertisement for Chinese renewables. And China knows it

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Oil has skyrocketed again. Brent has crossed 90 dollars, WTI is around 87, and the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil transits, has reduced its traffic from 138 ships a day to just two. The most interesting thing here is not the price of crude oil but who wins when that happens. Why is it important. Each shock oil is, for China, a free advertisement on a planetary scale of its energy value proposition. Solar panels, electric cars and batteries do not rise in price when there is a war in the Persian Gulf. Natural gas and gasoline, yes. For countries that have been buying Chinese clean technology for years, this week has been the practical demonstration that they got it right. For those who have not yet done so, it is the best sales argument that China could wish for, and on top of that it has not involved a direct expense. The contrast. The US economy is structurally more vulnerable to the shocks of oil than China. The oil intensity of US GDP, that is, how much oil is needed to generate each dollar of economic activity, is notably higher than that of China, the EU or Russia. When crude oil soars, the blow is felt harder by the American consumer, who fills the tank of his car with gasoline, than by the Chinese consumer, whose fleet of vehicles is already almost 50% electric in new sales. In November 2025, electric cars They exceeded 60% of total sales in China. It is not a country in energy transition: it is a country that has already changed fuel in its largest vehicle fleet. And that is without counting the traffic of motorcycles, all electric for many years in several of its large cities, and with much greater volume than in other countries. Between the lines. China produces more than twice as many solar panels as the world is capable of absorbingand its batteries and electric cars are already reaching Western Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. When oil rises, the economic equation for those exports improves automatically, without your government having to lift a finger. An energy crisis in the Gulf acts as an indirect subsidy to its clean industries: it makes everything China sells more attractive and everything it doesn’t sell more expensive. In figures. The clean energy sector already represents 11.4% of Chinese GDP, according to The analysis published by Carbon Brief last month. Without those industries, China would have grown 3.5% in 2025 instead of the 5% recorded. Electric cars and batteries explain 44% of the economic impact of that sector. China installed 315 GW of solar and 119 GW of wind in 2025, more than the rest of the world combined in both categories. Yes, but. China also imports oil, a lot. It remains one of the world’s largest buyers of crude oil, and the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz complicates its short-term supply. In fact, in recent weeks China has increased its oil imports by almost 16% due to uncertainty. That said, In September it already began to make an unusual collection. What changes the long-term equation is not that China is immune to the shocks oil producers, but each crisis accelerates the internal conversion towards renewables and reinforces the export argument against third countries. It is a temporary pain that finances a structural advantage. Furthermore, this scenario leaves a question in the air: whether the world, by purchasing Chinese clean technology, is ultimately exchanging an energy dependency for a technological dependency. In both the United States and Europe this will end up becoming a question as uncomfortable as it is inevitable. In Xataka | On the roof of the world, China is building the largest solar park on the planet Featured image | Nuno Marques

buys more renewables than Microsoft

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During the blackout last April, Spain was plunged into chaos, but there was a place that continued to function as if nothing had happened: Mercadona. The supermarket chain managed to continue providing service thanks to the fact that its stores have generator sets for situations of this type. It is proof that at Mercadona energy matters a lot, what we did not expect was to see it among the companies that buy the most energy in Europe. Spain in the lead. Expansion echoes a Pexapark group report which details the market for long-term power purchase contracts or PPAs. In 2025, 13,100MW of electricity were sold in Europe through this system, of which Spain sold a third (3,900MW), consolidating the first position for the second consecutive year and quite far from Italy, which is in second place with 1,800MW. The ranking. They are mainly technology and oil companies. In first place we have Amazon with around 700MW, followed by Apple with just over 600MW. In third place is Renfe, then Repsol, Galp, Shell, Energa and the most striking: Mercadona. The last two places go to Microsoft and SNCF. Among the main sellers, Iberdrola stands out in first place with around 1,100MW sold and a lot of distance over the second. Mercadona. The well-known supermarket chain proposed to electrify its establishments and by the end of 2024 it already had a network of 5,000 vehicle charging pointsand they plan to expand it even more. In July 2025 signed a PAA contract with Iberdrolawith a total of 300MW coming from wind and solar energy. Their plans include installing up to 3,500 more charging points in 800 supermarkets. They are not very powerful chargers, but they are the largest network of EV charging stations in Spain. PPA contracts. That Spain is at the forefront of PPA contracts (Power Purchase Agreements) has an explanation: We have more renewable energy than ever, but the system can’t handle it. The solution that the market has found is to sell it through these PPA contracts. These types of agreements ensure energy at a stable price for large clients, such as large pharmaceutical companies or technology companies that want to bring their data centers to Spain. Images | Spades Joe, Pexels. Wikipedia In Xataka | Storing renewable energy is a challenge for the industry. Iron-air batteries want to solve it

Spanish scientists have created a material that swallows 99.5% of light. And it is great news for renewables

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At first glance they look like invisible needles, thin to the extreme and tiny like a thousandth of a human hair. A group of Spanish researchers has created ultra-black nanoneedles that absorb up to 99.5% of the solar radiation they receive, a record figure that not only sets an optical record, but will increase the efficiency of solar thermal plants. Made in Euskadi. The discovery comes from the Thermophysical Properties of Materials group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). There, the researchers have designed a surface composed of copper cobaltate nanoneedles—a mixed oxide of copper and cobalt—with exceptional optical properties. Its ultra-black tone and its resistance to humidity and high temperatures make it ideal for solar tower receivers. According to tests, the material achieves an absorption of 99.5% of sunlight, surpassing black silicon (95%) and carbon nanotubes (99%). “We are looking for ultra-black materials for more efficient solar towers,” noted researcher Íñigo González de Arrieta. A change for solar energy. In concentrating solar thermal power plants (CSP), hundreds of mirrors reflect and concentrate sunlight towards a central tower. There, heat is used to melt salts that retain thermal energy and allow electricity to be generated even when the sun has already set.The key is to take advantage of each photon: if the receiver material reflects part of the light, that energy is lost. And this is where the new nanoneedles come into play. Until now, the most used material was black silicon, with an absorption level of 95%. The new nanoneedles, on the other hand, could raise that figure significantly and, with it, make solar thermal energy, one of the most promising clean sources in countries like Spain, more competitive and profitable. Beyond the blackest black. Carbon nanotubes seemed unbeatable: dark as a vacuum, capable of trapping almost all light. But they had an invisible enemy: the heat and humidity deteriorated them quickly. The copper cobaltate nanoneedles, developed by the Basque team, endure what their predecessors could not. They withstand temperatures above 700 degrees without losing effectiveness and, in addition, they are more stable. In solar towers, that difference can translate into more energy and less maintenance. A real impact. Dr. Renkun Chen, from the University of California, San Diego, is collaborating with the Basque team and the United States Department of Energy to study the feasibility of applying nanoneedles to industrial solar plants. “We observed that these nanoneedles performed better than the carbon nanotubes used until now, and that their performance increased when coated with zinc oxide,” Chen explained.. However, González de Arrieta himself clarifies that there is still some way to go: the next pilot-scale tests will determine if the process is economically viable and if the material can be produced industrially without losing its optical properties. Darker, brighter. Ultrablack nanoneedles are an example of how nanotechnology applied to energy can have a direct impact on global sustainability. The UPV/EHU team plans to continue developing new compounds with better thermal and optical conductivity, designed to withstand the challenges of future solar towers. Promoting this renewable energy offers many advantages: it is totally clean and can also be used when the sun does not shine,” recalled González de Arrieta. And if everything goes as expected, the future of solar energy could be, paradoxically, darker than ever. Image | Flickr Xataka | In the midst of a trade war, there is a battle that China has already won: that the world depends on its new energy

Spain no longer knows what to do with its surplus of renewables. So he is going to build a huge electric bridge with Ireland

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Spain shines with sun and wind, but is drowning in its own green electricity. Solar and wind farms break generation recordsbut a good part of that energy is wasted due to lack of network, storage and connections with Europe. While the country operates in “reinforced mode”has found a possible solution to dispose of its renewable surplus. An electric bridge. On this path of releasing its excess energy, Spain has found in Ireland the best matches to connect. Irish Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Darragh O’Brien, advertisement After a meeting with the Spanish Secretary of State Joan Groizard, both countries are working on the construction of an underwater electrical interconnector between Ireland and Spain. Speaking to RTÉ NewsIrish Minister Darragh O’Brien announced that the project will seek to be co-financed with European funds and be completed in the mid-2030s. It will not be a minor project: the cable, he explained, will allow the buying and selling of electricity between both countries, balancing generation peaks. O’Brien acknowledged that, for now, “Spain is more likely to export energy to Ireland,” because the country usually has a surplus of renewable power that it cannot always take advantage of. We’re going to a wedding. The idea of ​​joining Spain and Ireland with an electric cable may sound eccentric, but it responds to continental logic: countries that produce green energy need to sell it, and those that are isolated need to receive it. In this context, our country is a clear example of the first group. The country has one of the largest renewable capacities in Europe —more than 40GW new since 2019—, but its level of international interconnection it barely reaches 2.8%well below the European target of 15% set for 2030. On the other hand, Ireland belongs to the second group. Its system depends almost entirely on the United Kingdom and France, and the country is, along with Spain and Finland, among the most exposed to blackouts due to lack of interconnections. according to a study by the consulting firm Ember. The analysis warns that 55% of the European electricity system has limits on importing electricity, which increases the risk of supply failures. How will the new cable work? It will be a high-voltage underwater interconnector (HVDC), the same system already used to move clean electricity over long distances between countries. The project is inspired by the Celtic Interconnectorthe Ireland-France link that will open in 2027, and will allow gigawatts of renewable energy to be transported under the Atlantic. There is still no closed route, but the Bay of Biscay appears as the most likely option: there it is already another cable advances between Spain and France, co-financed by the European Investment Bank. The political objective is clear: integrate the networks of the European periphery into an interconnected continental system, less vulnerable to blackouts and more efficient in the use of green energy. Furthermore, both countries recently led a meeting in Luxembourg of the “Friends of Renewables” group, together with 15 Member States and the European Commission. At that meeting, the new European Electricity Grids Package was presented, considered “one of the key pillars to facilitate affordable, safe and clean renewable energy.” Everything starts from the cables. The challenge is not only in producing more, but in transporting and storing energy. Spain invest only 30 cents in the network For every euro allocated to renewables, half of the European average. In this way, the cable with Ireland would fit into a map of projects that aims to break the energy isolation of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the Bay of Biscay link, are underway the Navarra–Landes and Aragón–Marsillón connections with France, a third interconnection with Morocco and new links between islands and the continent. If all these cables materialize, Spain will go from being “an energy island” to becoming an energy node between Europe and Africa, capable of exporting its renewable surpluses at competitive prices. The next great leap in European energy could start here: an electrical wire under the sea that connects the Spanish sun with Irish houses. Image | Jules Verne Times Two Xataka | When an undersea cable breaks in Africa, there is only one solution: call the only ship that has been repairing them for more than a decade

When a mine turned off all its coal fueled engines, it continued to operate 84 hours thanks to something: the renewables

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For 84 hours in a row, a remote gold mine in Australia He completely turned off Its gas and diesel engines and worked only with wind, sun and batteries. It is not a laboratory experiment, but a real underground operation. History comes in a golden context – it never just said. “Gold Historical records brand Above 3,600 dollars an ounce, promoted by the search for refuge in the face of geopolitical and monetary uncertainty. This climbing and the renewed appetite for the bullion become a backdrop of the “clean gold” story. Turning off the past. The Bellevue underground mine, in Western Australia, affirms than the installation Off-Grid 84 consecutive hours worked in August with the “off engine” – that is, without thermal generation -, demonstrating that 100% renewable is possible for remote industries. A great infrastructure. The milestone has been possible Thanks to the remarkable installation which contains: 24 MW of wind energy distributed in four wind turbines, 27 MW of in situ photovoltaic plot and a 15 MW/30 MWh storage system. The support is made up of 9 MW of diesel and 15 MW of gas, which act as support when the renewable resource or battery does not cover the demand. Zenith Energy, the company that operates the plant under a long -term energy purchase agreement, details that the hybrid micorred It reaches about 90 MW installed, with synchronous capacitors and a micorred controller designed so that the mine can completely disconnect from fossil fuels at times of greater renewable generation. A meteoric progression. The ascending curve is clear: in July 2024, renewable participation was only 14%. In June of this year he had already climbed to 64%, in July to 78%and in August he reached 88%, According to Reneweconomy. Since the start -up of wind turbines between May and June 2025, the mine It has operated regularly With more than 90% renewable energies for full days of 24 hours, with several days at 100%. It is not an isolated episode. In June 2025, shortly after the entry into operation of wind turbines, the mine managed to operate 58 hours in a row, renewable 100%, According to Stockhead. In this way, both milestones reinforce the idea that using renewable is technically viable even in energy intensive industries and isolated from the network. A new market: Green Oro. Bellevue is trying to sell part of its production with a premium through the ABC Refinery refinery and the Single Mine Origin program, aimed at jewelry buyers and central banks with ESG sensitivity. “Bellevue states that he now produces and sells ‘green gold’ after reaching the goal of zero net emissions,” They detail in stockhead. In addition, it includes smart ventilation systems on demand (VOD) that reduce electricity consumption up to 30 %, and tests with underground electrical machinery. The nuances. The “net zero” label cannot be taken lightly. The status was reached in scope 1 and 2, that is, direct emissions and electrical consumption, but does not include scope 3 (refined, transport and use of gold). In addition, a part of neutrality is achieved by buying carbon credits, As the company admitted. In addition, from International Energy Forum (IEF) warn that mining It still has great challenges in water, waste and safety, beyond clean energy. Making it sustainable implies transforming the entire chain, not just electricity. The double brightness of gold. In times of uncertainty, gold is again a financial refuge. But Bellevue Gold wants it to also be an energy transition symbol. The gold we buy in the form of a jewel or ingot could come from a mine that, for whole days, feeds only on wind and sun. The question is whether this case will be the spark that transforms all mining or if it will remain a brilliant exception in the middle of the Australian desert. Image | Zenithenergy and Unspash Xataka |

Saudi Arabia hugs renewables for the most unexpected: reinforce their oil power

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The oil market faces an unexpected turn: the threat to large exporters does not come from the capitals that lead electrification, such as Oslo or Shenzhen, but from the heart of the industry, Saudi Arabia. In a column published in Bloomberg Opinionanalyst David Fickling summarized it with a disturbing metaphor: “The murderer calls from within.” Domestic appetite by crude is stopped. Since the beginning of the century, the consumption of oil in Saudi Arabia had shot. According to Bloombergdoubled to 2.3 million barrels per day, with between a quarter and a third destined to feed electric and fuel power plants to combat abrasive summers. However, this trend has begun to be reversed. The official plan is to almost completely eliminate the burning of crude in electricity generation from here to 2030. As explained by Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser, replacing that oil with renewables equivalent, in terms of export, to drill new wells. The International Energy Agency even warns that this change could represent the greatest drop in oil demand in the world in the next five years. The commitment to renewables. Behind this turn is the massive deployment of solar energy. Fickling energy expert has pointed out That Acwa Power, the largest Saudi developer, plans to reach 78 renewable gigawatts in 2030, enough to cover all the electricity that the country generates today with oil. Since 2024 It has already connected Almost 5 GW in new solar plants and has another 15 GW on the way. Logic is simple: in Saudi Arabia, solar electricity costs less than half than the conventional network. In addition, panels are easier to install than oil infrastructure, a land in which the kingdom was always strong. However, enthusiasm is not exempt from doubts. The Kpler consultant Calculate thatof the 130 GW announced by the Government, only 11.6 GW will really be online in 2030, which would prolong the use of crude oil in the electricity grid. The Saudi impulse is not limited to the plot. The country You have already connected the battery system Storage, Bisha Bess (500 MW/2,000 MWh), operated by Saudi Electric Company with Byd Chinese technology. This allows to integrate intermittent renewables into the network and gives infrastructure flexibility. To this is added a plan to produce lithium in 2027 and uranium enrichment and enrichment projects To boost nuclear energy. It clashes with megaprojects. This energy advance contrasts with vision problems 2030 in its most spectacular version. The Saudi Public Investment Fund cut 8,000 million dollars to the neom megaprojectquestioning the viability of initiatives such as The Line or the Trojena Ski Station. A high -risk geopolitical play. The Saudi movement has implications beyond its energy balance. While the kingdom has driven OPEC+ to increase production in a saturated market, with the aim of pressing the American fracking and recovering market share. This has tensioned the seams of the poster: United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan or Iraq produce above their installments, and Russia has shown an open disagreement with the Saudi strategy. In the international market prices also suffer. According to ReutersSaudi Arabia could cut official sales prices (OSP) for Asia in October: Arab Light would be reduced between 40 and 70 cents per barrel, up to 2.50–2,80 dollars on the Oman/Dubai reference, and other degrees would fall between 40 and 60 cents. The combination of lower demand, abundance of Russian crude and a greater flow of American oil presses interest in Saudi crude. The Saudi paradox. What seemed like the Achilles heel of Saudi Arabia – his voracious internal crude consumption – has become his most surprising strategic weapon. When betting on solar energy, battery storage and, to a lesser extent, the nuclear, the kingdom seeks to maintain its role as a dominant supplier in the global market. But this same play threatens to undermine the OPEC foundations and enlarge a fiscal deficit that is already forcing to cut pharaonic projects such as Neom. Saudi Arabia Libra two battles at the same time: one to continue reigning in oil and another to reinvent itself in the post-hydrocarbons era. The open question is if you can win both. Image | Unspash Xataka | To the surprise of absolutely no one, Saudi Arabia has begun to make cuts in its impossible city: Neom

The renewables were supposed to lower the electricity bill in Spain. At the moment it continues to go up

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Before the blackout of April 28, the numbers in the production of solar energy reached amazing levels: Spain was 100% renewable. After the situation, Spain shines again exceeding 10,500 GWh of generation in July with solar and wind energy. However, not everything is good news because an energy paradox appears to solve: why has electricity not been cheaper? A green record that does not show in the pocket. According to provisional Red Electricity data (REE) published by the energy analyst Pedro Catuelin July more than 10,500 GWH per month were reached combining solar and wind generation. The graph disseminated by Catuel in its social networks makes it clear: Spain is producing more clean energy than ever. But while the sun shines and the wind blows, the cost of electricity rises again. In mid -July, the average price of light stood at € 164.06/MWh, According to Ree figures collected in Xataka. Getting down to € 102.85/MWh the day after that figure, but only for an hour was really affordable. And there is the paradox: with more renewable than ever, The price should lowerbut it doesn’t. If there are more renewable, why do we pay more? The answer is technical, structural and political at the same time. As we have already explained in Xatakaduring the noon – when the solar generation is maximum – there is a surplus of energy and the price collapses. However, when the sun falls and there is still demand, the system needs firm support. And that support today does not give the renewables: gas enters. And with him, the bill was the one who shot the price. To this time dependence is added another problem: the lack of storage. A good part of the renewable energy generated cannot be saved or transferred efficiently and ends up losing. Electric Red has confirmed that in some points of the network up to 30 % of the renewable generation due to infrastructure saturation has been wasted. And as if this were not enough, since January it has re -applied the complete VAT of 21 % to electricity, after years of reduced by the energy crisis. This, added to the increase in natural gas in international markets, has further increased the invoice, As the Nordy marketer has alerted in his analysis of the rise in light in 2025. There is a turn of events. It is true that VAT has risen and there is an obvious lack of storage. However, since July 15, Spain It has been three weeks without generating electricity from coal. It is the first time that happens in more than 140 years, where this source was also functioning as a support element. According to The Energy newspaper has detailedthe latest thermal plants – Boño, Soto de Ribera and Los Barrios, all of EDP – have been out of operation. Only Alcudia (in the Balearic Islands), as a timely reserve. Generation structure with/without CO2 eq emissions. (GWh) | Source: Red Electrica España So will prices go down? The intention is, but the execution encounters politics. Royal Decree-Law 7/2025, which collected key measures to avoid future blackouts and reinforce the network, was rejected in Congress On July 22, with 183 votes against. The standard included self -consumption incentives, more control over electricity and an impulse to energy storage. Without that legal framework, the Spanish electrical system remains vulnerable and rigid. There is a clear saturation: only 1 in 10 new facilities manages to access the network, although there is unused technical capacity. In the medium term, the government expects to launch capacity auctions before the end of the year, to keep gas plants as support as batteries and other technologies. But this, as the employers of the sector warn, will take time. The route map is more than clear. And the road is quite long: more storage, intelligent networks, decentralization, demand management. The challenge is not only to generate more renewable energy, but make it useful when it is most needed. And that requires investment, infrastructure and political decisions. Meanwhile, the paradox continues: we have cheap energy at noon, but we cannot use it at night. The invoice, as always, does not expect. Image | HPGRESEN Xataka | Spain was supposed to have a “antiapagones” plan. It has encountered an insurmountable obstacle: politics

China already has a robot that installs 1,000 solar panels per day. It is your weapon to continue dominating renewables

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The world is converting deserts into photovoltaic oasis. In recent years, we have stepped on the accelerator to achieve ambitious objectives of decarbonization (That the amount of energy consumed by AI are slowing down) And they are being built ‘Solar farms‘Absolutely demential. Many are in Chinacountry that has taken renewables seriously, and to build at the rhythm they needhuman labor is not enough. That’s where robots come into play, and they already have one that places 1,000 panels up to date. Saturn. Sunpure is a company that is dedicated to the integration of robots in the photovoltaic industry. We have already talked about them because the key point of a solar farm is not so much the amount of panels it has, but If these are clean. For example, they have a solar energy fed robot that is responsible for Keep panel ranks clean to optimize your energy generation. But they also have the Saturn. Presented A few weeks ago, this robot has a head that allows to raise a pallet of solar panels and an arm capable of taking those panels and placing them in the rails. Precision. Those responsible claim that it takes less than five seconds to calculate the position in which the panel should go, it fixes it with an accuracy of about five millimeters and the four -meter arm allows to operate with both large panels and very large guide structures. Its autonomy is 72 hours and claim that it is between three and four times more efficient than a human by being able to place between 600 and 1,000 panels per day. He is already working in some solar plants and seeing it in action is a hypnotic: Essential. This integration of robotics into photovoltaic farms is striking, but much less is new or original. In Spain we have Robots-Jardineros that take care of the plants, but we are also installing panels with Sunpure saturn robots similar. In the United States, more of the same. There they have maximum, A robot that also works tirelesslyraising and installing panels of up to 40 kilos in trial fields that, according to its creators, will be essential for the future of world energy. Reason does not lack, since the estimate is that 15,000 solar modules per hour are being installed in the US with a weight of 225,000 tons and the objective is to increase that rhythm by 2035 to 50,000 panels per hour. 24/7. The problem? We want more renewable energies, but there are difficulties in finding labor. That’s where this type of robots come into play. In the United States, 90% of solar energy companies have admitted complications When finding qualified personnel for the installation of these farms. With robots that have autonomy for several days, they work tirelessly thanks to sensors that allow operating in any condition of light and protection against water and dust, humans are relegated to “simple” observers, controlling that the machine does its work correctly. Dominate the market. Beyond having robots, whether the first or not, that China is investing in automating the placement of panels to increase the rhythm, responds to a clear declaration of intentions: that of Continue dominating the market with iron fist. The Asian giant has established itself as the greatest power in green energy, with investments of more than 625,000 million dollars in clean energy in 2024 (three times more than what was invested, and that were very focused on it), and that energy already represents 10% of its GDP. In addition to direct implications, it is something that implies that 90% of the Global Polisilicio Production80% of Lithium batteries and about 70% of the magnets of Rare earthall key both renewable and electric car is under its control. And this huge industrial infrastructure is allowing that China handles very interior prices for technology and has become the great supplier of the world in energy matters. And, in the end, it translates into the fact that it produces so cheap that the rest of the countries buy them instead of competing with their own developments. In Xataka | The tractors have competition in the field: El Solix, a solar robot that spreads herbicides, is the test

Renewables have stopped their emissions ahead of time

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China has achieved what until recently seemed unattainable: reduce its CO₂ emissions while continuing to expand its energy capacity. An unexpected turn to The biggest issuer in the world. Short. A Brief Carbon report He has revealed that CO2 emissions in China decreased 1.6% year -on -year in the first quarter of 2025 and 1% in the last 12 months. Investment in renewables. China hoped to start reduce your emissions in 2030. But The strong growth of renewables “Leolar, wind and nuclear,” is advancing the times. And most interesting: this fall in emissions is not due to a crisis, but to a real transformation of the energy system. For the first time, the growth of clean energy has reduced China’s fossil fuel energy to the growing demand for electricity In data. To dimension the rhythm of change, Carbon Brief He has highlighted that only in March of this year 23 GW of solar energy and 13 GW of wind were installed, breaking all the previous records. The new installed capacity not only covered the growing energy demand, but allowed to reduce the use of coal. Other factors in early fall. The decrease in CO2 before planned has not been only due to an expansion of renewable Focused on internal production. Can this be only temporary? As have indicated The data, the emissions are only 1% of the peak, so any economic activity or change of energy policy can change this situation. In fact, there are precedents of temporary falls in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2022, all driven by crisis or economic decelerations. In addition, the Asian country Keep maintaining A strong investment in coal plants for your “electrostate.” The big question now is whether this fall can be maintained and becoming a structural trend, or if it will be just a respite before new increases. Uncertainties. Next June It enters into force A new renewable energy price policy. With this rule, guaranteed rates disappear that were linked to coal and new projects must directly negotiate their contracts in the market. In the short term, an impulse is expected in the installation figures, but in the long term the measure could generate instability if there are no clear incentives that maintain rhythm. Forecasts According to Carbon Brief analysisthe long -term trajectory will depend on two key factors: the next five -year plan that China is developing and the economic response of the commercial warfare, now in a momentary truce. In short, the challenge is political and structural. If the decisions taken in the coming years manage to consolidate this trend, China will not only fulfill its climatic commitments, but also lead the global energy transformation. Image | Unspash and Unspash Xataka | This researcher is convinced to know the measure with the greatest transformative potential today: make cities a good place to live

The fear of renewables

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The current energy model is again on the table after the blackout of April 28 in Spain. After a few weeks where the Spanish nation was covering 100% of your demand with renewable and exporting the remaining energyon the other side of the Pyrenees, France was observing with concern how their nuclear They have had to run into idle. And not because of a technical problem, but for an increasingly uncomfortable reality: the southern renewable boom is challenging northern nuclear hegemony. France resisting. While much of Europe has taken an address towards a system focused on clean energy, France redouble your commitment to nuclear energy With a production 70%. However, this scenario is not a technical preference, but a strategic ambition since the Gallic country seeks to be the battery of Europe. A centralized, controlled and export model. However, the renewable advance of countries such as Spain complicates that plan. In contrast. Spain, With a commitment determined by renewablesNot only has it reduced its dependence, but it begins to question the profitability of the French nuclear model. In April, he covered more than 60% of his demand with clean energy and exported a significant part to Francejust at the moment when several Gauling reactors were standing. As has explained for the avant -garde Eloy Sanz, professor at the University of King Juan Carlos I: “The debate is not just technical, it is deeply geopolitical.” And he added: “France wants to maintain its energy leadership position in Europe, but photovoltaic and wind are gaining ground and do so with increasingly low costs.” A silent competition. This conflict is not always perceived at first glance, but it is deep. In Brussels, the fight revolves around which technologies should receive public aid. Paris pressed for nuclear Be considered “green” and can opt for European funds, while countries like Spain are promoting a transition based on renewables, storage and intelligent demand management. The problems are at home. The France Academy of Sciences itself has criticized The new government energy plan (PPE3), describing it as “unrealistic” and “disconnected of reality. ”In addition, the controversy is not less: The French Nuclear Investment Planwhich includes up to 300,000 million euros To prolong and build new reactors, it has caused an internal political crisis, According to Le Point. France’s resistance is not born from fortress, but from the urgency of defending an increasingly discussed position. Maintain the position. France resists, yes. But it does not do it from the strength, but from the need to protect an increasingly questioned position. The renewable revolution in southern Europe is not just a promise of the future: it is already a reality that Tension pricesnetworks and policies. Energy leadership in Europe is in dispute, and this time, Spain arrives with a viable, exportable and increasingly difficult proposal to ignore. Image | François Goglins Xataka | The production of renewables in Europe is so strong that it is forcing nuclear power plants to work

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