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Zaporizhzhya NPP subjected to missile attacks near perimeter
Ukraine Update
Monitoring staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 5 January reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, coinciding with reports of a drone attack on the plant’s training centre, marking yet another threat to nuclear safety at Europe’s largest NPP, said IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi releasing the Agency’s latest Update, number 269.
The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya team stationed at ZNPP reported hearing the explosions close to the perimeter
of the site at approximately 12:45 and 15:45. As yet the IAEA has not yet been able to confirm any impact. The IAEA team also reported hearing machine gun fire coming from the site on multiple occasions. The IAEA is also aware of reports of an alleged attack by a drone at the ZNPP training centre on the same day, just outside of the site’s perimeter. However reports state that there were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment. But the ISAMZ team has reported that the intensity of military activity in the vicinity of Europe’s largest NPP – including multiple
Autumn hurricanes disrupt US energy infrastructure USA Grid disruption
The US Energy Information Administration reports that in 2024 the Atlantic hurricane season, which ran from 1 June 1 to 30 November, exhibited above average activity with more named storms and hurricanes than usual, including several that disrupted the USA’s energy infrastructure, primarily on the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. Energy impacts from hurricanes during the season were most notable in electricity markets, although Hurricanes Francine, Helene, and Rafael forced some oil and natural gas production from fields in the Gulf of Mexico to be shut down. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) reported 18 named storms in 2024 (winds of 39 mph or more). Eleven of those storms had wind speeds of 74 mph or more, classifying them as hurricanes, and five of those intensified to major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). Five hurricanes made landfall in the continental USA (Beryl, Debby, Francine, Helene, and Milton), with two storms (Helene and Milton) making landfall as major hurricanes. An average hurricane season has 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes, according to NOAA.
Major damage
Hurricanes Milton and Helene, major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5) that made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 26 and October 9, respectively, caused major power outages and damage to electricity infrastructure on their paths through Florida to the Appalachian mountains in states such as Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, as well as disruptions to petroleum product supply chains in Florida. Three other named storms (Beryl, Debby and Francine) made landfall in the United States
explosions at various distances from the site – has increased over the last 24 hours. “An attack on any nuclear power plant is completely unacceptable,” director general Grossi stated. “In light of the increased military activity at ZNPP, I once again call for maximum restraint to avert the clear danger to its safety, and for the strict adherence to the five concrete principles established by the IAEA at the United Nations Security Council to protect the facility, and the seven indispensible pillars of nuclear safety during an armed conflict also defined by the IAEA”.
earlier in the hurricane season as either Category 1 or 2 hurricanes. Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Atlantic Basin category 5 hurricane on record on July 1, before weakening to Category 1 and making landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast, a major hub for the US energy industry, on July 8. Owing to the weakening, Hurricane Beryl resulted in minimal effects on the US Gulf Coast oil and natural gas industry. Hurricane Debby, which made landfall on August 5 in the Big Bend area of western Florida, also had minimal effects on those industries.
Impacts on the oil and natural gas industry
The paths of the major hurricanes, Milton and Helene, took them away from the most prolific oil- and natural gas-producing areas near Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, but oil and natural gas companies evacuated some platforms and shut in some production from fields in the Gulf of Mexico as a precautionary measure. Hurricane Rafael in November weakened significantly before reaching the oil and natural gas production hub in the Gulf of Mexico, allowing offshore producers to quickly return to normal operations.
It is estimated that unplanned outages of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico due to the storms averaged 295 000 barrels per day in September and 110 000 b/d in November, accounting for 16% and 5%, respectively, of total crude oil production from federal Gulf of Mexico waters in those months. Unplanned outages of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico due to storms averaged 0.20 billion cubic feet per day in September and 0.07 Bcf/d in November, accounting for 11% and 3%, respectively, of total natural gas production from federal Gulf of Mexico waters in those months. No widespread storm-related outages were registered in October.
6 | January/February 2025|
www.modernpowersystems.com
New record for perovskite solar cell China Solar power
JinkoSolar Holding Co, one of the largest solar module manufacturers in the world, has announced the achievement of a significant breakthrough in the development of its N-type TOPCon- based perovskite tandem solar cell. Independently tested by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the cell achieved a conversion efficiency of 33.84%, overtaking JinkoSolar’s previous record of 33.24%. This marks the 27th time JinkoSolar has set a world record for efficiency and power output for PV products. The record-breaking tandem solar cell utilises JinkoSolar’s N-type high- efficiency monocrystalline TOPCon solar cell as the lower cell, enhanced, says its maker, by significant advancements across multiple key technologies. Innovations such as full-area passivated contact technology, perovskite interfacial defect passivation technology, and bulk defect passivation technology have contributed to the enhanced efficiency of this perovskite cell. The results once again break the conversion efficiency limit of single-junction crystalline silicon cells. This achievement, says JinkoSolar, also highlights the compatibility of TOPCon as a mainstream solar cell technology with the next-generation perovskite/ silicon tandem cell technology, paving the way for new possibilities in the future development of the photovoltaic industry.
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