International
Ukraine is committed to cogeneration and private production to face the winter
Less than two years after a first campaign of Russian attacks on the electricity system deprived millions of Ukrainians of constant energy supply for months, Ukraine has become accustomed to blackouts again this summer and is working in a hurry to avoid a second winter in the dark by boosting cogeneration and encouraging private production.
In addition to repairing the damaged infrastructures as soon as possible, and trusting that the new air defenses received will serve to protect them from possible additional attacks, the Ukrainian authorities are installing hundreds of cogeneration plants throughout the country to decentralize production and involve gas companies in the task.
“They are parallel processes,” Yuri Boiko, advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denís Shmigal, and member of the Supervisory Board of the national electricity company, Ukrenergo, tells EFE.
Boiko points out that, if it receives a sufficient boost, cogeneration will mitigate the effects of the electricity deficit on the population: “The more cogeneration is installed, the less charge the central energy system will have.”
The prime minister’s adviser warns, however, that the impact on the situation will depend on the number of cogeneration units that will be enabled in the coming months.
Part of these already functioning mini-power plants have been donated by Ukraine’s foreign partners.
The United States cooperation agency has delivered 91 cogeneration plants that will be installed in 32 cities throughout Ukraine and will provide a production capacity of 56.5 megawatts that will allow part of its critical infrastructures to operate.
The first 18 were installed at the beginning of this month and already generate electricity and thermal energy for Ukraine.
Unlike thermal power plants, which in Ukraine have been massively bombed by Russia to destroy 80% of the generation capacity by this method that the country had, cogeneration plants take advantage of the heat that is released when it comes to producing electricity and supply it to other infrastructures.
The cogeneration units that Ukraine is installing are of a relatively small size and can be moved relatively easily.
This allows them to be mounted next to buildings that can provide heating with the thermal energy they produce when generating electricity.
While conventional power plants are very difficult to defend from bombing, due to their large dimensions and the impossibility of changing their place, cogeneration units can be distributed throughout the territory, reducing the risk of concentrated blows to the generation capacity.
“In Ukraine, a few power plants and a dozen substations are still responsible for half of the electricity generation and transmission. Obviously, five or ten centrals are easy targets for the enemy. When we have hundreds of small power plants, it will be almost impossible to attack them with missiles,” said the head of the Parliament’s Energy Committee, Andrí Gerus, in a recent interview.
As revealed by President Volodymyr Zelensky during the conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine held in June in Berlin, where the Ukrainian electricity sector obtained numerous commitments of Western public and private aid, Kiev aspires to install 1 gigawatt of electricity production capacity by cogeneration this year.
In its eight massive attacks this year against Ukrainian power plants, Russia has destroyed about 9 gigawatts of the generation capacity that Ukraine had.
The Ukrainian gas and oil company Ukrainafta announced this month an ambitious project valued at one billion dollars to install, within three years, more than gigawatts of electricity production capacity through cogeneration from natural gas.
The company also develops wind and solar energy projects to contribute to the recovery of part of the electricity sector.
Another vector to produce more energy and relieve the burden on the power plants and substations that are being repaired is the promotion of own generation between companies, institutions and individuals.
On June 20, Zelenski ordered the authorities to install solar panels, accumulators and smart meters in all schools and hospitals.
The Ukrainian Parliament approved new tax exemptions for the purchase and imports of generators, batteries and solar panels with the idea of promoting the installation of their own generation capacities among citizens and reducing their dependence on a centralized system that remains in the crosshairs of Russian commanders.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine announced earlier this month the arrival in the country of about six thousand solar panels manufactured by the Italian company Enel and paid for by the European Commission that will serve to guarantee the uninterrupted supply of electricity to hospitals in five regions of the country.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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