Operations & maintenance
ince the start of Russia’s offensive against Ukraine at the end of February 2022, energy – among other commodities – has fast been weaponised by Vladimir Putin and his generals. Attacks against Ukraine’s energy and water infrastructure, financial and economic moves intended to push up the price of oil and gas, threats to cut supply, and even attacks carried out against supply routes like the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which many have blamed on Russia, have become commonplace. Russia’s actions haven’t only been targeted at its enemy across the border, so-called ‘unfriendly countries’ have been hit too, with the Baltic nations – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – preparing for blackouts ahead of expected Russian attacks on their energy grids, and Moldova disconnecting power lines as a safety measure during Russian
Power to act S
bombardment on Ukraine’s energy system. As a result, Europe has faced massively inflated wholesale energy prices, pushed higher by competition to secure gas supplies ahead of the colder months. However, while much of the focus has been on gas, renewables have been the source of hope that some European countries might be able to mitigate the impact of the conflict. Of course, it isn’t just the war that has pushed up gas prices – rising costs have been with us for many months now. The events in Eastern Europe have amplified that trend, though. At the same time, reliance on renewable power has also grown. In 2020, renewables became the UK’s primary power source. By the end of winter 2021, they accounted for 41.5% of the energy mix, followed by gas at 37.2% and nuclear at 17.7% according to the
As the energy crisis rumbles on, renewables are proving increasingly important as nations search for alternatives to Russian oil and gas. However, the green energy sector has also found itself to be a target for cyber criminals and, worse still, state actors. Is enough being done to protect the sector and its customers? Andrew Tunnicliffe speaks with Ana Kosareva, an energy consultant with Ørsted and former chair of WindEurope’s Cybersecurity Task Force, about the threat landscape.
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-technology.com
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GrAl; Jones Design/
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