This week, we once again bring you a carefully selected list of the ten most important articles published on oEnergetice.cz. If you missed any of them, here is a selection of the articles that attracted the most interest from our readers. Best of luck in the new week!
Germany is fundamentally reassessing its position on nuclear energy. The new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz is moving away from the country’s longstanding anti-nuclear policy and signaling a willingness to work with France, a traditional supporter of nuclear power, on a common European energy policy.
According to German and French officials, Berlin will no longer block Paris’s efforts to secure equal status for nuclear energy alongside renewable sources in EU legislation.
Portugal will ask the European Commission to require France to improve electricity connections with the Iberian Peninsula following last month’s crippling power outage. Portuguese Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said so.
People in Madrid, for example, had to manage without traffic lights, phone services or ATMs. Public transport was also affected. Authorities advised people to avoid driving because the traffic lights were out. Airports in Madrid and Lisbon also warned passengers to expect major delays. Power supplies were gradually restored late at night. The rest of continental Europe’s power system, meanwhile, experienced no disruptions.
The market for turbines used in gas-fired and combined-cycle power plants is facing high demand, driven by ambitious decarbonisation goals, a growing need for flexible generation and potentially higher electricity consumption as data centres expand. Increased demand could mean that gas-fired and combined-cycle power plants are not ready as quickly as the ambitious decarbonisation plans of many countries, including the Czech Republic, require.
In many countries, the transition to low-emissions energy is based on developing renewable sources, complemented by gas-fired and combined-cycle power plants. In this context, gas is often described as a transition fuel that will ensure the stability and sufficient flexibility of the system as countries move away from coal-fired generation towards renewables.
China, the world’s largest CO2 emitter, recorded its biggest drop in power-sector CO2 emissions since 2020 in the first quarter of this year. However, global CO2 emissions from electricity generation remained virtually unchanged due to rising emissions in the US and Europe. The international news agency Reuters reported this, citing data from Ember.
The United States and Europe emitted a total of 801 million tonnes of CO2 from electricity generation in the first quarter of this year. That is 53 million tonnes, or 7%, more than in the same period in 2024.
Hydrogen has attracted considerable attention in recent years because it could offer a technical solution for the seasonal storage of energy from renewable sources. However, there are many uncertainties surrounding hydrogen: long-term storage in underground facilities has not been common practice, and experience is limited. Austrian underground storage operator RAG has now announced the completion of a storage trial at its Rubensdorf / Gampern facility. The company managed to store around half a million cubic metres of hydrogen for several months and then withdraw the gas at a high level of purity.
Many questions remain about using hydrogen in the energy sector as a medium for storing energy generated from renewable sources. One of them concerns the potential for long-term hydrogen storage, as well as the technical and economic challenges of such a solution. There is a particularly marked mismatch for solar power plants between peak generation in summer and strong electricity demand in winter. Hydrogen could offer a way to store energy seasonally, although the economics, as well as the technology, still need to be worked out.
The blackout that hit parts of Spain’s power system on 28 April 2025 did not only cause immediate power outages. Its consequences are now showing up on the bills of households and businesses, too. The grid instability caused by the incident led to exceptional interventions by transmission system operator Red Eléctrica de España (REE), which in turn drove up the so-called regulated components of electricity prices.
Although no official report has yet confirmed the cause of the blackout, one thing is already clear: to maintain grid stability after the outage, REE had to make greater use of so-called Supplementary System Services (SSCC) and Technical Restrictions (RRTT). These measures involve activating reserve generation capacity or adjusting the grid’s operating mode outside the normal market (OMIE). Such interventions are more technically demanding and, above all, more expensive, because they use generation sources that would otherwise not be deployed, often gas-fired power plants with higher operating costs.
Brussels, 22 May (CTK) - A European Commission spokesperson today confirmed that technical-level talks are under way between Czech officials and the Commission in connection with the Dukovany tender. She could not estimate how long they would last. On Tuesday, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Lukáš Vlček and European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné agreed to swiftly begin expert consultations to clarify the legal and technical terms of the planned final agreement on the nuclear tender for the completion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant.
Lea Zuber, a spokesperson for the EU executive, described the talks between Vlček and Séjourné as constructive. “The work is now, let’s say, returning to the technical level. Talks are under way, and it is really difficult to predict a timeframe or any outcome at this point,” Zuber told Czech journalists.
US energy officials are investigating a serious risk that Chinese inverters could pose. According to Reuters, unauthorised communication devices have been found in some of them, two people familiar with the situation said on condition of anonymity. Inverters, most of which are manufactured in China, are used around the world to connect solar and wind power plants to the grid. They are also used in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers. Experts warn of potentially catastrophic consequences this threat could have for the stability and security of power grids.
The situation is particularly concerning because these Chinese devices are used on a massive scale. Inverters are designed to allow remote access for updates and maintenance. Energy companies, however, typically install their own firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China.
Germany’s goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2045 will cost the country 300 billion euros. According to the chief executive of transmission system operator Amprion, the goal should be reconsidered.
Germany’s dual goal of achieving climate neutrality five years before the EU target and becoming energy-independent would increase investment costs without clear benefits, Amprion CEO Christoph Müller said at the Future Energy Forum panel on Wednesday.
Oil prices on global markets are falling following a report of a surprise increase in US crude inventories. North Sea Brent was down around 0.8 percent at about 18:30 CEST, falling back below 65 dollars a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was also down 0.8 percent, trading near 61.5 dollars a barrel.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this afternoon that US crude inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels to 443.2 million barrels last week. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a drop of 1.3 million barrels. According to EIA data, inventories of gasoline and other petroleum products also rose last week.
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Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
