Welcome to Grid Brief. Here’s what we’re looking at today: the solar industry is struggling in Europe, Brazil relies on diesel power to weather a drought, Germany’s biggest utility warns of gas supply risks, and more.

Green Industry Struggles In Europe

Europe has ambitious climate goals, but the continent’s bid to create a domestic renewable energy industry is flagging under the pressure of high energy costs and supply chain issues.

Solar industry representatives gathered in Madrid to hash out the European difficulties earlier this week, according to reporting from Reuters.

"You cannot manufacture in Europe," a regional president for Chinese solar energy firm Trina Solar said. “Europe isn't profitable.”

"The European Commission and European governments [are weighing] tougher action on imports while aiming to boost clean tech manufacturing in Europe and reduce the reliance on China for products needed for the green transition,” reports Reuters.

This will be difficult: China supplies 90% of the ingots and wafers the continent uses for its solar panels. And Chinese solars panels are a third the cost of European panels.

"Europe had a solar panel industry, but now it is in Asia," Juan Barandiaran of renewable energy equipment maker Gamesa Electric said. "It is very difficult to create it from scratch."

Diesel Saves Brazil From Blackouts

Brazil has been firing up diesel power plants as a drought saps its hydropower.

“Two power plants that burn the fuel will enter into operation to guarantee enough electricity in Rondonia and Acre states during hours of peak demand, as recommended by country’s grid operator,” reports Bloomberg.

The Brazilian government has been stockpiling diesel fuel since midsummer to secure its supply. Fifty Brazilian cities have declared the drought a state of emergency.

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RWE: No “buffer in the gas system”

The CEO of Germany’s biggest utility, RWE, told the press that gas supply disruptions still pose a big risk for the country.

“We don't have any buffer in the gas system,” RWE’s chief executive officer Markus Krebber said. “If there is very cold winter or supply disruptions it can lead to very critical situations - and as a result to shortages and significantly higher prices,” according to RWE’s top executive.

Krebber recommended that Germany speed up building more LNG import infrastructure to neutralize supply risks, according to reporting by Oilprice.com. 

Conversation Starters

• The UAE is getting into wind energy. “The United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters, launched on Thursday the UAE Wind Program with a project that added utility-scale wind power to its grid for the first time, the developer Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar said. The program was kickstarted with a 103.5 megawatt (MW) project developed by Masdar with material science and aerodynamics to make wind power possible in the country,” reports Oilprice.com. “The UAE Wind Program is expected to power over 23,000 UAE homes a year and eliminate 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to removing over 26,000 cars from the road annually, Masdar said.”

• Bangladesh receives its first uranium shipment from Russia. “Bangladesh received the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant on Thursday, making it the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear power,” reports Reuters.

  “The south Asian country is building the first of two nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russian state-owned atomic company Rosatom. Ninety percent of the project is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years with a 10-year grace period.”

• Sweden moves to change its cap on nuclear reactors. “A bill to amend Sweden's legislation on nuclear power has been introduced by the country's government in parliament. It aims to remove the current law limiting the number of reactors in operation to ten, as well as allowing reactors to be built on new sites, rather than just existing ones,” reports World Nuclear News. "The proposals mean that the provision in the Environmental Code which states that the government may only authorise a new nuclear power reactor if it replaces a permanently closed reactor and is built on a site where one of the existing reactors is located is removed," the government said. "It must be possible to allow more than ten reactors in operation at the same time and in other locations than before. A consequential change is proposed in a provision in the Act on Nuclear Activities which contains a reference to the prohibitions in the Environmental Code."

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