News round-up, July 19, 2023
Editorial…
“Phoenix has fallen into Hell, while the rest of the planet is immersed in an uncontrollable inferno…
In a bleak and desolate landscape, Phoenix tries to stand as a symbol of resistance—a once-thriving city now plunged into the depths of Hell. The fall season reflects the destructive destiny that awaits the rest of the planet, as an uncontrollable yet expected inferno rages. Phoenix is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave in its weather history, with temperatures exceeding 43 degrees Celsius for 19 consecutive days. This prolonged and unusual heatwave has made the city inhospitable and unbearable for its vulnerable residents. The extreme heat has also strained the city's electricity infrastructure, leading to power outages in certain areas. As a result, people seeking relief have found refuge in air-conditioned community centers and commercial establishments. At the same time, according to Dante's philosophy, the rest of the world is engulfed in flames, exacerbating the already polluted air.
It is fall, and the fate of Phoenix mirrors the devastating near future, or rather the present, that awaits the rest of the planet. This uncontrollable and relentless inferno, compared to the menacing dire wolf in the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood”, continues to unfold. Finally, our collective inability to act with genuine resolve has led to a situation where the questions we should have addressed long ago now seem too late to answer.
Most read…
Germany's power grid is being revolutionized by battery-based energy storage systems known as "Grid Boosters."
The power grid in Germany has always been a top priority and has followed the n-1 principle, which limits the use of power lines to prevent outages. Now, with technological advancements, a groundbreaking solution called Grid Boosters is set to revolutionize the energy industry.
By Germán & Co, Karlstad, Sweden, July 20, 2023
At the COA Spring Gala 2023, Andrés Gluski, the CEO & President of AES and Chairman of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, presented President Lacalle Pou with the prestigious Gold Insigne. This award was given in recognition of President Lacalle Pou's outstanding leadership in successfully transforming Uruguay into a prominent technology and innovation hub, all while upholding a thriving democracy and robust economy.
Image by Germán & Co by ShutterstockHenry Kissinger meets China’s defence minister in surprise visit to Beijing
Ex-US secretary of state’s meeting with Li Shangfu comes amid hopes of improved ties between two countries
The Guardian by Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent, July 18, 2023“The veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger has met China’s defence minister in Beijing.
According to a readout on Tuesday from the Chinese defence ministry, Li Shangfu said “friendly communication” between China and the US had been “destroyed” because “some people in the United States did not meet China halfway”. Kissinger said he was a “friend of China”, according to the readout.
“Neither the United States nor China can afford to treat the other as an adversary. If the two countries go to war, it will not lead to any meaningful results for the two peoples,” the Chinese statement reported Kissinger as saying.
The surprise visit of the 100-year-old former US secretary of state comes as John Kerry, the US climate envoy, is in Beijing to meet Chinese officials to discuss how the two countries can cooperate on confronting the climate crisis. Kerry is the latest in a string of senior US officials who have travelled to China this summer, after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, completed a long-awaited trip in June.
Relations between the two superpowers have been spiralling downwards for months, but there is cautious optimism on both sides that the restarting of official dialogues can build a foundation for improved ties.
Kissinger’s visit, which had not been publicised, is outside the official roster of meetings. It is almost exactly 52 years since his secret visit to Beijing in July 1971, which paved the way for Richard Nixon, the US president at the time, to normalise relations between the US and China. More than half a century on, Kissinger is still seen by many in Beijing as a “friend of China”. In May, state tabloid the Global Times praised Kissinger’s “razor-sharp” mind.
Kissinger has repeatedly warned of “catastrophic” consequences of a conflict between the US and China.
Li has been the subject of US sanctions since 2018, relating to the purchase of combat aircraft from Russia’s main arms exporter, which Beijing cites as a reason for refusing to reopen military-to-military dialogues with Washington. Last month, Li refused to meet his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment.
…”I had the privilege of attending the AmChamChile meeting with former President Lagos and gaining valuable insights into his experience in the negotiations of the Chile-US Trade and Development Agreement. It is truly remarkable to think that two decades have already passed since those negotiations concluded. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to AmChamChile for generously sharing their invaluable insights and knowledge with us. Thank once again.
Javier Dib
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AES Andes
Image: The Jaguar Land Rover battery plant is expected to generate up to 9,000 jobs in the UK CREDIT: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Editing by Germán & CoJaguar Land Rover’s new £4bn gigafactory to supply half of Britain’s EV battery needs
Government-backed deal expected to create up to 9,000 jobs
The Telegraph by Howard Mustoe, July, 18 2023 Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata group will build one of Europe’s largest gigafactories in the UK, securing half of Britain’s supply of electric vehicle (EV) batteries for the rest of the decade in a £4bn investment.
The Government on Wednesday officially confirmed plans for the gigafactory, Tata’s first outside of India.
The decision comes after months of negotiations between the UK and Tata, which also owns the giant steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales.
The new gigafactory will have an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours and will be capable of supplying other carmakers in the UK and Europe.
The Government said the Tata factory will produce enough electric car batteries to meet half of Britain’s forecast demand by 2030.
The Jaguar Land Rover battery plant is expected to generate up to 9,000 jobs in the South West of England, including 4,000 directly employed by Tata.
The decision secures the future of JLR in the UK and provides a crucial boost to the wider car industry.
Britain’s two biggest car makers, JLR and Nissan, will now have a local supply of cells for new electric cars. Tata’s gigafactory will be 2GWh larger than the planned capacity of Nissan’s expanded plant near Sunderland.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We can be incredibly proud that Britain has been chosen as home to Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside India, securing our place as one of the most attractive places to build electric vehicles.”
The news comes months after the collapse of Britishvolt, which had been hoping to build an electric car battery factory near Blyth.
The startup crumbled into administration before its assets were bought up by an Australian investment company, which pivoted operations away from car batteries.
Concept art of the planned electric car battery factory near Blyth, which was scrapped when Britishvolt went into administration
Attracting investment into battery supplies in the UK is seen as vital to keeping the industry competitive. The Brexit deal means cars built using batteries imported from outside Europe will attract a 10pc tariff if shipped to the Continent.
A looming ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 means establishing a domestic supply chain quickly is also crucial.
The UK beat Spain to host Tata’s plant, following months of negotiations.
The Treasury is reported to have offered up to £500m in subsidies to Tata to secure the plant, although Jaguar Land Rover previously denied it was offered funding to influence the decision.
Tata is also seeking up to £300m for its steelworks in Port Talbot.
Spain had €2bn of EU funds earmarked to boost its domestic electric vehicle sector. However, it had set a limit of €350m for financing new battery plants.
Details of the government support to Tata will be published “in due course” the Department for Business and Trade said.
Darren Jones, chairman of the Business and Trade Committee, said MPs would want to “reflect” on whether the subsidy required to secure battery investment was “scalable to meet the need for future battery manufacturing sites”.
Former Nissan executive Andy Palmer said that the rest of the industry would need help in its transition to electric vehicles.
He said: “If the UK dishes out the bulk of its battery-related support to one brand, then we still face likely car industry armageddon. Support must come in all shapes and sizes for businesses of all shapes and sizes. One gigafactory doesn’t equal success, it equals part of the puzzle.”
Image: Germán & CoCooperate with objective and ethical thinking…
NThe 250MW Netzbooster (Grid Booster) project is being deployed in the hopes of increasing network utilisation across the German transmission system by using battery-based energy storage.Source: Fluence/Editing by Germán & CoGermany's power grid is being revolutionized by battery-based energy storage systems known as "Grid Boosters."
The power grid in Germany has always been a top priority and has followed the n-1 principle, which limits the use of power lines to prevent outages. Now, with technological advancements, a groundbreaking solution called Grid Boosters is set to revolutionize the energy industry.
By Germán & Co, Karlstad, Sweden, July 20, 2023“In order for the power sector to successfully transition to a net-zero emissions future, it is important to adopt flexible and innovative approaches. With increasing countries committing to ambitious decarbonization plans, the power sector will undergo significant changes. The International Energy Agency's "Net Zero by 2050" report highlights the critical role that variable renewables will play in the power generation mix. As electrification becomes a means of decarbonization, power demand will increase, making it essential to prioritize flexible demand and supply technologies. New technologies such as batteries, energy storage, biomass, and thermal plants with carbon capture and storage will be crucial in providing flexibility. Complementary technologies will ensure a constant balance between supply and demand as the share of variable renewable energy sources increases. The emergence of new demand sources provides a significant opportunity to prioritize flexible demand and supply technologies.
TenneT and Fluence Energy GmbH Collaborate to Simplify Energy Transmission Grid in Germany
In BAYREUTH, Germany and ERLANGEN, Germany on July 11, 2023, the transmission grid operator TenneT and Fluence Energy GmbH (Fluence), a subsidiary of Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNC) today sealed their cooperations on two Netzboosters (Grid Boosters) with a contract signing at Fluence’s technology centre in Erlangen on July 11, 2023,
This collaboration aims to simplify the energy transmission grid by introducing two Netzboosters, also known as Grid Boosters, powered by Fluence's cutting-edge energy storage technology. The Grid Boosters will utilize Fluence Ultrastack, an advanced energy storage product specifically designed to meet the demanding asset availability requirements of critical infrastructure. By incorporating battery-based energy storage systems, these Grid Boosters will significantly reduce system costs for consumers. How, you might ask? By minimizing the need for interventions in the grid and reducing the necessity for grid expansion measures.
TenneT will strategically integrate the two Grid Boosters into the transmission grid at Audorf Süd in Schleswig-Holstein and Ottenhofen in Bavaria, Germany. This strategic placement will enable TenneT to seamlessly integrate more electricity from renewable energy generation sources. The existing grid can now operate with a higher transmission load, allowing for increased capacity in handling renewable energy.
Mode of Operation of the Grid Booster
As the energy transition gains momentum, there is an increasing imbalance between energy production and consumption. This necessitates the expansion of energy grids to transport power generated in decentralized locations, often across long distances. However, traditional grid expansion alone is not sufficient to overcome the challenges faced by the transmission grid. Innovation is required, and one such concept is the Grid Booster.
Historically, the high-voltage grid in Germany has operated on the n-1 principle, which means that power lines are not fully utilized in order to ensure safe system operation in the event of a power failure. Moving forward, Grid Boosters, among other resources, will fulfill this role by allowing the existing lines to almost reach their full capacity. By doing so, the need for proactive grid interventions is greatly reduced.
TenneT's Grid Boosters are pilot projects outlined in the 2019 grid development plan for electricity. The initial stage involves testing the concept on a smaller scale with two 100 MW/100 MWh energy storage systems at the Audorf Süd and Ottenhofen substations. In the second phase of the grid development plan for 2037/2045, it is projected that the German grid will feature up to 54.5 GW of large energy storage systems by 2045 through scenario C2045. The successful implementation of TenneT's Grid Boosters will lay the foundation for future large-scale projects where storage is utilized as a transmission asset.
Ultimately, these Grid Boosters offer immense potential for secure and flexible grid operation, enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of the energy system. By leveraging innovations like Grid Boosters alongside traditional grid expansion, the challenges of transmitting energy over long distances can be effectively addressed, further facilitating the ongoing energy transition.
The project builds on more than 15 years of energy storage deployments by the Fluence team. Ultrastack was tailored to the specific requirements of TenneT’s Grid Boosters and was developed and tested in Fluence’s technology centre in Erlangen. Fluence expects the need for storage solutions to grow rapidly, as the massive expansion of renewable energy sources will increase grid congestion and consequently require more grid reinforcement and relief interventions.
“Fluence, through its advanced product capabilities and extensive energy market experience, is well positioned to be a long-term partner to TSOs in Germany and globally,” said Markus Meyer, Managing Director at Fluence. “TenneT’s Grid Boosters will be the seventh and eighth storage-as-transmission projects Fluence is deploying. Our team is developing the complex applications required for these types of projects in our Erlangen lab and research facility and we continue to invest strongly in our German presence.”
Seaboard: pioneers in power generation in the country…
…“More than 32 years ago, back in January 1990, Seaboard began operations as the first independent power producer (IPP) in the Dominican Republic. They became pioneers in the electricity market by way of the commercial operations of Estrella del Norte, a 40MW floating power generation plant and the first of three built for Seaboard by Wärtsilä.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, far left, stands alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Central Asian heads of state at the Russia-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Oct. 14, 2022. (Kazakhstan's President Press Office/AP)/Editing by Germán & CoIn Central Asia, a hidden pipeline supplies Russia with banned tech
Moscow looks south for partners willing to help it circumvent bans on Chinese drones and German electronics
WP by Joby Warrick, July 18, 2023 On the shipping label, the Chinese drones were billed as heavy-duty cropdusters, the kind used by orchards and big farms. But the identity of the buyer — a Russian company that purchased a truckload of the aircraft in early May at nearly $14,000 each — hinted at other possible uses.
The drones’ potential military value, ironically, had been noted by Russia’s government, which last year seized four aircraft of the same model in eastern Ukraine and claimed that Kyiv was planning to use them for chemical warfare. The sturdy all-weather quadcopters are built to carry payloads of nearly 70 pounds and are designed to glide at treetop level trailing a fog of liquid chemicals.
Whatever their intended use, the drones were on the final leg of a trek across Central Asia when they were intercepted by customs officers near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. To U.S. officials recounting the events weeks later, the episode was unusual: More often than not, they said, such goods pass into Russia uninterrupted.
The seizure of the drones was hailed as a rare victory in a whack-a-mole effort to halt the flow of banned hardware and electronics pouring into Russia in support of its war effort in Ukraine. Blocked from procuring military goods from Western countries, Moscow has increasingly looked for help from the former Soviet states of Central Asia, some of which are historically and financially bound to Russia but also trade extensively with Europe and China.
Biden administration officials say they are particularly concerned about the role played by Kyrgyzstan, the country from which the drone shipment originated. The mountainous, landlocked country of 6.7 million people was once the southern frontier of the Soviet empire, and it is now home to numerous businesses that have become a conduit for Western and Asian goods that Russia can’t legally obtain elsewhere, officials said in interviews.
Many Russian drones contain Western parts and technology, U.S. officials say
Following the Kremlin’s Ukraine invasion — and with greater intensity in recent months — Kyrgyzstan witnessed a striking expansion of import-export companies that do business mainly with Russia. The firms are profiting from soaring sales of sanctioned Chinese and European goods — from drones and aircraft parts to rifle scopes and advanced bomb circuitry — most of which are flown or shipped overland to companies in Russia, said a senior U.S. official with detailed knowledge about the transactions.
After months of fruitless visits to the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek by a stream of U.S. and European diplomats, the Biden administration is preparing new economic measures to pressure the country to halt the trade, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The actions, which in the past have included sanctions or a “blacklisting” of companies accused of violations, could come as early as this week, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatically sensitive deliberations.
“Kyrgyzstan, while small relative to other countries, is a clear example of every factor at play at once to create an unacceptably [sanctions] evasion-friendly environment,” the senior official said.
Publicly accessible trade documents offer hints about the scale of the Kyrgyz shadow bazaar. Records show the overall volume of Kyrgyzstan’s exports to Russia skyrocketed in 2022, rising by 250 percent over the previous year, before the invasion of Ukraine. For some items, such as rifle scopes, there was no previous record of Kyrgyzstan ever exporting such goods to Russia.
Trade documents also suggest a high level of coordination with Moscow’s procurement efforts. Records from early this year show Kyrgyz companies making bulk purchases of sensitive electronics — including hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of specialized semiconductors and voltage amplifiers — from Chinese and South Korean companies in February and March. A nearly identical quantity of the same types of electronics was exported from Kyrgyzstan to Russia over the same period, the documents show.
The Russian firms that received the goods were in most cases known suppliers to Russia’s defense industry, the senior U.S. official said. The apparent choreography of the third-party transactions was seen as the work of Russia’s intelligence services, which U.S. officials say are now directly involved, along with a range of war profiteers, in schemes aimed at circumventing economic sanctions.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Kyrgyz Embassy in Washington, responding to a request for comment, said in a statement that the country’s leaders were committed to adhering to international regulations and cracking down on contraband and other illicit trade. The statement attributed the surge in trade with Moscow in part to improvements in electronic systems for tracking the flow of goods across the country’s borders.
While the embassy acknowledged previous reports about sanctions violations, it said critics failed to take into account the “real economic context.”
“Kyrgyzstan and Russia are the members of Eurasian Economic Union and, in general, Russia is one of our main trading partners,” it said. “More than a million of our citizens work in Russia.”
Current and former U.S. officials acknowledged Kyrgyzstan’s geopolitical and economic difficulties, while noting that some of the country’s neighbors appear to be making a more sincere effort to enforce the sanctions, even in the face of enormous pressure from Moscow.
“Geography, proximity and influence matter,” said Juan Zarate, who served under the George W. Bush administration as the Treasury Department’s inaugural assistant secretary for combating terrorist financing and financial crimes. In countries such as Kyrgyzstan, he said, there must be “political will to cut preexisting relationships, along with the courage and capacity to enforce sanctions” — even when such actions run the risk of “upsetting a dangerous neighbor.”
Kyrgyz officials declined to comment on the reported attempt to export Chinese drones to Russia, although the events were described in local news accounts in both Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Kazakhstan, where the aircraft were confiscated two months ago.
The batch of Chinese DJI Agras T-30 cropduster drones had been acquired by a Kyrgyz firm, with plans to resell them to a company in Russia. The 14 drones were being shipped overland through Kazakhstan when they were flagged by customs officials for lacking the proper export paperwork. The aircraft ultimately were impounded by the Kazakhs and never reached the Russian border, according to Kazakh media accounts. Officials at the Kazakh Embassy in Washington declined to comment about the incident.
The same Chinese manufacturer, DJI, produces similar drones for use by law-enforcement agencies, including in the United States, where the company’s models remain popular despite bans or curbs on federal use of the aircraft since 2017. DJI suspended sales of its drones to Ukraine and Russia after the February 2022 invasion, perhaps explaining why the Russian purchaser of the T-30s used an indirect route in trying to acquire them.
Both Ukraine and Russia have fully embraced the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, for a wide range of military missions, including assaults on military and civilian targets with self-detonating drones, as well as the use of lightweight “hobby” UAVs to drop small munitions on troop positions and vehicles. Both sides rely on drones for surveillance and artillery spotting. Moscow has expanded its arsenal with hundreds of powerful attack drones purchased from Iran, and it has recently begun work on a Russian assembly line to manufacture Iranian-designed UAVs.
Iran seeks billions in Russian technology as payment for drones
There is no record of Agras T-30 drones being deployed on a battlefield, although the aircraft possesses military utility because of its 66-pound payload capacity, which could be used for dropping bombs or moving weapons, said Charles Rollet, a researcher for IPVM, a publication that monitors the global surveillance industry. While relatively noisy compared to traditional military reconnaissance drones, the T-30 can fly at altitudes of up 14,000 feet and operate in all weather, day or night, according to the manufacturer’s website. It is equipped with an array of sophisticated sensors, including cameras, radar and a searchlight for illuminating objects on the ground.
After the Russian military seized the four T-30s from Ukraine last year during fighting near the eastern city of Kherson, Kremlin officials suggested in Russian media reports that Kyiv intended to use them in chemical attacks against Russian troops. There is no evidence that Ukraine has used or possesses chemical weapons.
U.S. intelligence officials have long worried, however, that Russia might resort to using its known stockpile of chemical agents to halt advancing Ukrainian troops.
Russian forces appear to have used noxious gases — believed to be variations of tear gas — against Ukrainians in at least two incidents since the invasion, according to intercepted Russian communications revealed in top-secret documents leaked on Discord and obtained by The Washington Post, as well as battlefield video broadcast by Russian news media.
Britain and the United States have officially registered their concerns about the incidents, which, if confirmed, would constitute a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, of which Russia is a signatory. Investigators have previously accused Moscow of using banned chemical weapons in assassination attempts and for providing cover to its ally Syria after that country’s use of deadly nerve agents against its own citizens.
Although the T-30 drones never reached their intended destination, U.S. officials say it is inevitable that Russia will try again to obtain unmanned aerial technology it lacks, perhaps using other partners and methods, or different kinds of aircraft.
U.S. officials acknowledge that, in most cases, countries that are determined to obtain banned goods eventually succeed, although rigorous enforcement of trade embargoes can eventually drive up costs of doing business.
“The Russians are motivated to obtain the supplies of weapons and technology they need to sustain their military and war in Ukraine, and they will do whatever is necessary,” said Zarate, the former Treasury official and now co-managing partner of K2 Integrity, a risk advisory company.
Zarate likened sanctions enforcement to weeding an unruly garden: a “long, complicated effort, with emphasis on continuous enforcement, crackdowns on evasion, and demonstration that the Russian economy will continue to be isolated and risky for anyone electing to do business with Russia.”
Image: NYT/Editing by Germán & CoTrump’s Conspirators Are Facing the Music, Finally
NYT by *Norman Eisen and Ryan Goodman, July 18, 2023*Mr. Eisen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Goodman is a law professor at New York University.We’ve reached a turning point in the effort to ensure there are consequences for those who deliberately attempt to undermine our democracy: Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, charged 16 Republican leaders in her state on Tuesday for their role as fake electors working to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The charges, coming on the heels of news that the special counsel Jack Smith has informed Donald Trump that he’s a target of the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Capitol riot, mean we are witnessing a new and necessary phase in this quest for accountability, one in which the federal and state wheels of justice work to hold people accountable not only for the violence on Jan. 6, but also for what got us there: the alleged scheme to interfere with the transfer of power.
The charges in Michigan will surely meet criticism on all sides. Some will say the case is not broad or bold enough, that Mr. Trump and the other alleged national ringleaders should have been charged as well. Others will say Ms. Nessel cast too wide a net, pulling in low-level party functionaries who did not know better. We think those critiques are misconceived. Ms. Nessel got it just right, prosecuting crimes firmly within her jurisdiction, while opening the way for federal authorities to net even bigger fish.
Ms. Nessel brought the same eight counts against all 16 defendants. The offenses include conspiracy to commit forgery, since the defendants are accused of signing documents stating they were the qualified electors (they were not), and publishing forged documents by circulating these materials to federal and state authorities. On paper, the penalties for the offenses range from five to 14 years, but sentencing in this case would presumably be lower than that maximum.
Until now there have been no charges centered on the fake electors plot. For that reason alone, Michigan’s action brings a sense of needed accountability for those who fanned the rioters’ passions leading up to Jan. 6 by spinning a false narrative about a stolen election.
Michigan saw some of the most outrageous fake electoral certificates to emerge during the period leading up to the Capitol riot. Unlike the fake certificates in Pennsylvania and New Mexico, the Michigan documents did not include a disclaimer that they were to be used only in the case of litigation. What’s more, the documents contained more outright false statements than simply declaring that the signers were the lawful electors of the winning candidate.
For example, they state that the electors “convened and organized in the State Capitol,” when, according to the attorney general, they were hidden away in the basement of the state Republican headquarters. (It seems likely that the fake electors included this lie because Michigan law requires presidential electors to meet in the Capitol — a requirement and legal problem that a Trump campaign legal adviser, Kenneth Chesebro, had flagged in his confidential memorandum setting out the scheme.)
In proving these cases, establishing intent will be key. Here, there are several indicators that the defendants may have been aware of the illicit nature of their gathering. According to congressional testimony from the state Republican Party’s chairwoman at the time, Laura Cox, the group originally planned to meet inside the Capitol and hide overnight, so they could vote in the building the following day. Ms. Cox said she told a lawyer working with the Trump campaign and supposedly organizing the fake electors “in no uncertain terms that that was insane and inappropriate,” and “a very, very bad idea and potentially illegal.”
As she put it, Ms. Cox was “very uncomfortable” with facilitating a meeting of the fake elector group, and said so at the time in accord with her lawyers’ opinion. Ms. Cox even urged the group to draft a significantly more measured document simply “stating that if perhaps something were to happen in the courts, they were willing and able to serve as electors from Michigan for Donald Trump.” Her advice was not followed.
At the time the fake electors met to allegedly forge their documents, they should have been aware that state officials had certified the election results for Joe Biden — it was national and state news. By that point, there was no prospect of changing that outcome through either litigation or legislative action. On the day prosecutors say the fake electors met, two of the most powerful Republicans in the state acknowledged as much. Mike Shirkey, the majority leader in the State Senate, and Lee Chatfield, the House speaker, both issued statements declaring the presidential race over. Mr. Shirkey said that Michigan’s “Democratic slate of electors should be able to proceed with their duty” without the threat of harassment or violence.
The fake electors were told they were not allowed to bring their phones into the meeting at the Republican headquarters that day, according to testimony one of them gave congressional investigators. They were instructed to maintain secrecy and not to share any details about what was occurring. That secrecy suggests that they knew what they were doing was wrong.
Michigan’s former secretary of state, Terri Lynn Land, who had been designated a Trump elector, declined to participate in the proceedings, saying, according to Ms. Cox’s testimony, she was not comfortable doing so.
With these facts, it would have been unthinkable for the state attorney general to choose not to prosecute the Michigan 16. Ms. Nessel’s office has regularly brought prosecutions, some of them against her fellow Democrats, centered on false documents in connection with elections. The case of the fake electors is far more egregious than most of those other cases: The defendants here were politically engaged individuals who should have been aware of the election results, as well as the flat rejection by the courts and Michigan Legislature of the Trump campaign’s claims of voter fraud.
To be sure, some critics of the case may still think that the Michigan attorney general should have gone after Mr. Trump and his top lieutenants, who helped organize the false electors. But prosecutors have a responsibility first to pursue those individuals within their jurisdiction. By focusing solely on the figures who undertook their acts in Michigan, Ms. Nessel is wisely insulating her case against charges that she overreached, exceeding her jurisdiction.
Of course, broader prosecutions may still be justified. Reporting indicates that the district attorney for Fulton County, Ga., Fani Willis, may be considering a different kind of wide-ranging case, involving state RICO crimes. Unlike the Michigan prosecution, her case may focus on Mr. Trump’s direct efforts to pressure state election officials — efforts that were caught on tape — and Rudy Giuliani’s attempt to provide false statements of election fraud to state officials.
If broad-based indictments ultimately emerge out of Georgia, and are supported by the facts and appropriate law, then we would welcome it. That is part of the genius of American democracy: The states, which are responsible for running our elections, are laboratories of both democracy and of accountability.
Ms. Nessel’s case also leaves a clear lane for Mr. Smith, the special counsel. She has avoided charging high-level national individuals whom Mr. Smith is apparently investigating. If anything, her case provides greater foundation for Mr. Smith to act, and he now seems to be following through. If Ms. Nessel can move against these individuals in Michigan, Mr. Smith can and should do the same against the ringleaders. Together, they can hold both the foot soldiers and their organizers accountable for their actions leading up to the Capitol riot.
Labourers work next to electricity pylons in Mumbai, India, October 13, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/Global power demand growth to rebound in 2024 after slowdown, IEA says
The IEA data also suggests that renewable energy will play a crucial role in meeting the projected growth in energy consumption for both this year and next. In fact, renewable sources are predicted to surpass one third of the world's total power supply, marking a significant milestone. This demonstrates the increasing prominence of renewable energy in the global energy landscape.
Reuters by Forrest Crellin, EDITING BY GERMÁN & CO, July 19, 2023PARIS, July 19 (Reuters) - An ongoing energy crisis and an economic downturn is expected to slow global power demand growth in 2023, but a probable rebound in 2024 means more renewable capacity needs to be developed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.
The global growth rate for energy consumption is set to slow to slightly less than 2% in 2023, down from 2.3% in 2022, which was also down from the five-year pre-COVID 19 average of 2.4%.
For 2024, the rate is expected to rise to 3.3%, as the economic outlook improves, the IEA data showed.
The Paris-based agency predicted renewable energy would cover the expected growth this year and next and power from renewable sources would exceed one third of the total global power supply for the first time next year.
However, hydropower has declined, falling about 2% in 2020-2022 compared to 1990-2016 figures, which represents about 240 terawatt-hours, or the annual consumption of Spain.
"Anticipating challenges on hydropower related to climate change, and planning accordingly, will be crucial for the efficient and sustainable use of hydro resources," the IEA said.
The renewable growth should help to cut global emissions, as emissions increases in China and India are expected to be offset by declines in other countries where renewable deployment is growing and natural gas continues to replace coal, the IEA said.
The European Union alone accounts for 40% of the total decline in emissions from power generation, the IEA data showed.
In the first half this year, the EU recorded a 6% decline in power demand as energy-intensive industries, including aluminum, steel, paper, and chemical industries, cut their use in response to high prices. A relatively mild winter also had a more limited impact on reducing demand, the IEA said.
Wholesale electricity prices, have fallen significantly from records hit last year as a result of the disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but average prices in Europe are still more than double their 2019 levels, India's are up 80%, and Japan's more than 30%.
Prices in the United States, however, have retreated almost to 2019 levels. The country's demand is expected to decline by 1.7% in 2023 due to slowing economic growth, and to rebound in 2024 to 2%, down from the 2.6% recorded in 2022.
In China, demand is expected to grow 5.3% in 2023 and 5.1% in 2024, after a moderate 3.7% rise in 2022, the IEA data showed. Increased use of cooling to cope with summer heatwaves is expected to drive the demand growth there this year.
India's consumption is expected to rise by 6.8% in 2023 and 6.1% in 2024 - when it is expected to surpass that of Japan and Korea combined - but down from the 8.4% rise recorded in 2022.
The growth is expected to come from increased use of household appliances, a rise in electrical machinery usage, an increase in electric vehicles, and greater demand for cooling.