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50 metres of Nord Stream pipeline destroyed


Denmark Ukraine fallout At least 50 metres of the underwater Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea is thought to have been destroyed by a series of explosions in late September. Video film shot by the Norwegian robotics company Blueye Robotics, and recently published by Swedish newspaper Expressen, appears to show a huge rupture in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was constructed to bring Russian gas to Germany. Danish police believe “powerful explosions” blew four holes in the pipeline and its twin, the as yet uncommissioned Nord Stream 2, in the Danish exclusive economic zone. Nord Stream 2 was still awaiting clearance for use when Russia invaded Ukraine in February.


Although the cause has not yet been officially identified, political leaders in Europe and the United States have suggested that the incident


was an act of sabotage, and much of the speculation about responsibility has focused on Russia, whose state-controlled energy company, Gazprom, is the main owner of the pipelines. Western leaders have stopped short of directly accusing Russia but the EU has previously accused Russia of using its gas supplies as a weapon against the West over its support for Ukraine. The Kremlin has responded by accusing Western investigators of seeking to blame Russia for the damage. ‘Elementary logic’ shows damaging the pipeline was not in the Russian interest, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on 18 October.


German, Danish, and Swedish authorities have all been investigating the incident but Swedish prosecutors reportedly rejected a joint investigation out of fears of sharing sensitive information related to national security. Russia previously demanded to be involved


ZNPP 750 kV connection disrupted


Ukraine Infrastructure Zaporizhzhya NPP in Ukraine again lost its connection via its last remaining operating 750 kV power line on 17 October, but is continuing to import electricity from the grid through a back-up system, said International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi in his latest bulletin, Ukraine Update 119. The IAEA team of experts present at the ZNPP site have been informed by senior operating staff that the 750 kV line was disconnected by the automatic sub-voltage protection at around 4am local time. Ukraine’s national nuclear operator Energoatom said that this was caused by shelling of a sub-station, which forms part of the grid’s electrical transmission system, located far from the plant itself. It was the third


time the ZNPP’s connection via this power line had been lost in ten days, underlining the plant’s fragile power situation during the current military conflict in Ukraine. The IAEA experts reported to Agency headquarters that the plant – which needs electricity for reactor cooling and other essential safety functions – now receives external electricity through the switchyard of the nearby thermal power station, a back-up arrangement that was restored during the previous week. Ukraine said that the shelling of the sub-station, which is also connected to the South Ukraine NPP, did not impact that power stations operation.


IAEA also reports that a decision had been made not to continue start-up operations of ZNPP reactor unit 5.


RWE to restart three lignite units Germany Coal power


RWE announced on 29 September that it is to restart three lignite firing units that were previously on standby under the country’s policy to cut down on the use of fossil-fired electricity generation. The restart, which will take place in the coming days, is in response to orders from the German government, RWE said. The three units – Neurath C and Niederaussem E and F – have capacities of 292 MW, 295 MW and 299 MW respectively. Under the present plan they will be deployed until 30 June next year.


in any investigations, saying the damage was in international waters, but Denmark and Sweden refused.


The Nord Stream 1 pipeline has not transported any gas since August when Russia closed it down, saying it needed maintenance. It stretches 1200km from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany. ● The German government shelved the Nord Stream 2 project in February, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Nord Stream 1 appears to be part of a wider Russian strategy of using its control of the gas supply to punish Europe for opposing the war. The pipeline has not moved gas into Europe for weeks. It has been closed, with Russia citing maintenance reasons. Europe widely interprets the shut-off as a threat that Russia could cut off Ukraine’s allies from its gas supplies as winter approaches.


IAEA DG in meeting with Putin


Ukraine Nuclear safety On 11 October IAEA director general Rafael Grossi met with Russian president Vladimir Putin as part of the IAEA’s efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during the current military conflict in Ukraine, stressing the urgent need to establish a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya NPP. A few days before, the DG met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and they will meet again there following the discussions with president Putin in St Petersburg.


In recent weeks, Mr Grossi has been engaged in intense consultations with both Ukraine and the Russian Federation to agree and implement such a protection zone as soon as possible, in view of shelling at or near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in recent weeks and months.


All three had been listed as reserve power plants, and had been originally expected to shut down permanently by next fall. The plants were identified in May to be brought on line, along with idle or due-to-close lignite, hard coal and oil-fired capacity operated by RWE and other utility companies in case gas supply was disrupted – an eventuality that has since become a reality owing to the war in Ukraine. It is anticipated that Germany could need up to 80 GW in mid-winter to meet electricity demand.


4 | October 2022 | www.modernpowersystems.com


“The situation in the region around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and elsewhere has become increasingly dangerous, precarious and challenging, with frequent military attacks that can also threaten nuclear safety and security,” Mr Grossi said. “The stakes are high. We must do everything in our power to help ensure that a nuclear accident does not happen during this tragic conflict, as it could cause even more hardship and suffering in Ukraine and beyond,” he said.


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