The news about the price of electricity and the records it broke every day would have undoubtedly become the soap opera of the summer, were it not for the fact that soap operas used to target generally shallow news that were artificially prolonged to fill space in the media. On this occasion, instead, we are talking about something that is not only sadly real, but also affects us all, and not only in the bill that the electricity company sends us, but much further.
What really happens to electricity? Basically a perfect storm. On the one hand, an exit from the pandemic that already places us at levels of economic activity relatively close to those of before March 2020, with the consequent increase in energy consumption. On the other, a energy tissue not yet sufficiently decarbonized, in which gas is a fundamental element.
The old women coal plants they are being dismantled at a forced marches not only because of their emissions, but because are no longer economically viable, and nuclear are not seen as a recommended option (except for those who receive their salary from them). This is because absolutely no one wants to have them near their home and, above all, because in an increasingly unstable world and with a drastic increase in climate catastrophes, they are a potential time bomb.
In this context, gas, which in Europe comes mainly from Russia or, in the case of southern countries like Spain, from Algeria, has become enormously more expensive, and threatens fluctuations in its supply.
Relying on countries like Russia or Algeria doesn’t seem like the best situation for anyone, and some countries like the UK have justifiably gone into panic mode: gas prices have risen 420% year-on-year, Russia threatens by not exporting more than the gas they do not need, and the United Kingdom, already outside Europe and geographically at the end of the journey, can be left with only the remains of the gas that the rest of Europe does not consume.
Relying on countries like Russia or Algeria does not seem like the best of situations for anyone
Due to the electricity auction system, in which the energy awarded is paid at the most expensive price, gas is the one who is setting the prices. A such a system is completely counterproductive, because in fact, it encourages production companies not to innovate and to artificially maintain their plants with more expensive production systems in order to maintain those artificially inflated prices.
But gas poses an additional problem: in addition to being used in power plants, it is used to heat many homes, so the scares that some are taking with the electricity bill can multiply by a very significant factor as soon as the rigors of winter begin and the heaters have to be turned on. As they would say in Game of Thrones, “winter is coming”, and this year could mean a crisis that leaves many mired in severe energy poverty.
The remedy, I am afraid, is not to play a “Take away this tax here”, but bet long term.
The only possibility of avoiding this situation continues to put us more and more in the hands of the supply of an expensive raw material, of unstable price, in the hands of few countries and with the very important environmental problem of the production of methane (a gas with a greenhouse effect). much more important than carbon dioxide) is to invest much more in renewables, to the point of creating an overcapacity based on both centralized installations – solar farms – and decentralized – on house roofs.
The myths that claim renewables cannot meet demand due to their discontinuous natureSince there are times when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow, they lose their meaning when sufficient capacity is planned and when storage infrastructures are designed, in the form of perfectly proven technologies.
Countries like the United States are betting that the sun will generate 50% of energy in 2050 and equip themselves with the necessary capacity to do so, and wind accounted for 42% of all new energy installations this past year.
The United Kingdom, which is betting heavily on floating offshore wind, already generates 54GW with it, more than the total installed power in Spain in thermal power plants powered by fossil fuels. And in Spain? It will be by coast …
The bet is not only environmental: it is a question of costs and balanceEven for oil-producing countries like the United States. The only valid alternative is to bet on the energy that is cheaper to produce and that, in addition, does not pollute. And for Spain, which does not produce oil and yet, if it has abundant sun, wind and coast, there is nothing that makes more sense.
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Reference-www.elespanol.com