Global Challenges of the Energy Mix in 2022
Restrictions on Russian oil exports, the uncertainty surrounding the Iranian nuclear deal, as well as OPEC lagging behind its schedule for increasing production have all combined to push oil prices higher than $100 per barrel. European coal prices remain above $200 per tonne, while gas prices have not fallen below $1,000 per thousand cubic metres even though winter has long been over. What’s next? How likely is the possibility of a shortage of raw materials and petroleum products on the market as a whole? The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest route to deliver raw materials from deposits in the Arctic and Siberia to Asia. Will cargo traffic via the NSR reach 80 million tonnes by 2024? What successes have the nuclear icebreaker fleet and port infrastructure achieved on the coast of the Arctic Ocean? The threat to Europe’s energy balance has softened the position of the Greens with respect to nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants, albeit with some reservations, have been included in the EU Taxonomy, a set of documents that rank the energy sectors in terms of their contribution to sustainable development. Will Europe increase the capacity of nuclear power plants in the coming years? Will there be a boom in the construction of small modular reactors? Hydropower also remains out of favour. The EU Taxonomy included only one category of hydroelectric power plant – those that are not equipped with an artificial reservoir, i.e. ones that are built in the mountains and are predominant in the EU. European officials attribute this to the presence of CO2 emissions from reservoirs. How justified is this position? Or is it a desire to ignore hydroelectric power plants outside of Europe, in particular in Russia, China, and Latin America?
