Energy strategies in black and white

We are witnessing in this period a rewrite of Europe’s energy map. This process, started about 10 years ago, follows two large approaches, the media persuasive projects (we are witnessing a suffocation with such projects) and the real projects. Increasingly more countries understood the success of this approach and are playing it, based on an unlimited resource: politicians and politruks. These social categories, reaching important public positions, have proven to be the best modality to promote and disseminate the energy projects cleverly placed in the media, by those who want the real projects to be achieved.  Enthusiastic about the opportunities they have identified, the politicians are wiping their sleeves and getting on with it, becoming the perfect tools for building the future, true, Energy Europe. Analyzing a recent report of ENTSOG (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas), in the section of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Development Plan for 2017-2026, the following statement drew my attention: “The report comes at a time when, on the one hand, the first large projects that have been initiated have entered well in the construction phase – TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline), and on the other hand, South Eastern Europe is facing the uncertainty created by a large number of initiatives on regional projects for the formation of vertical (south-north) and horizontal (east-west) corridors”. Torpedoing some projects and putting others on the table has lately become possible, easy and cheap through the “SPA of politicians”, who are eager to show the electorate the many projects they support, sometimes being in the position of making the games of others, often unconsciously. If we follow ENTSOG report, we can only wonder about the large inventory of projects launched in southern Europe. Here, we find in Southern Europe 131 projects, of which 20 FID (Final Investment Decision) projects and 110 non-FID (without the existence of a Final Investment Decision) projects.

The south-eastern European region hosts so many new transmission projects that their achievement would bring capacities 3-4 times greater than the market needs. Summarizing the capacities of these projects, they are much higher than those planned in the infrastructure in other regions of Europe.

Besides ENTSOG report, a large number of reports and syntheses have been drawn up lately by various cooperation agencies, many lists of plans and intentions.  There are so many projects that inventorying, tracking their evolution and their impact on markets is almost impossible. A question that comes to mind: Who benefits from the placement on the market of so many rival projects?

Translation from Romanian by Romaniascout.