Page 92 - UKRRptFeb24

import an additional 80,000 tons of thermal coal from Poland. The total fuel volume contracted by the company increased to 357,000 tons.
The dispatcher center of Ukrenergo fixed a new record for electricity consumption on January 10 and called on both the population and business to use electricity extremely rationally. “Today is a new consumption record, especially in the morning. Our control center is making efforts throughout the day to balance the operation of the energy system,” the company wrote in its Telegram channel. They once again called on both household consumers and businesses to consume electricity sparingly in order to help the energy system operate in difficult weather conditions without loads.
Russian and Chinese companies have cemented a corporate takeover of Kazakhstan’s national uranium operator; Russia owns some 26% of Kazakh uranium deposits, and has rights to a further 22% of annual production; China National Uranium Corporation (CNUC) and its confrères hold rights to almost 60% of future Kazakh production ... Elsewhere, CNUC and China General Nuclear Power Group own stakes in uranium mines in Niger and Namibia, as does Russia’s Rosatom.
The supply chain for uranium runs from Kazakhstan through Russia, which together account for 40% of US supply — and Putin controls half of the world’s enrichment capacity. Even
more concerning: in plain sight, Russia and China have cornered the market for
U3O8.
The implications for US, Canadian, and EU nuclear utilities are profound. After 2028... Western nuclear utilities will have to replace approximately 18,144,000 kilograms of uranium concentrates annually that are currently sourced from Kazakhstan... By then, annual uranium demand in the US, Canada, and EU will be running close to 42,637,760 kilograms. However, annual production in countries not aligned with or dominated by China and Russia will amount to only 21,772,416 kilograms.
China, seeking self-sufficiency in energy production, has secured the resources that ensure an industrial transformation that will eliminate its need to import 14mn barrels per day of oil. Russia, already avoiding sanctions on Rosatom, has American utilities — and the US Congress — over a barrel. Vladimir Putin holds the whip hand over the cost of American nuclear power — and, potentially, whether US nuclear power plants can keep the lights on at all. That is, of course, unless and until replacement mining and enrichment capacity is built in the West.
9.1.10 Renewables sector news
The state still has debts to RES producers of electricity. In 2023, the State Enterprise Guaranteed Buyer paid ₴30.35B to producers of green electricity. In 2023, the state paid 60.05%, 2022 - 55.3%, and 2021 - 99.07%. Last year, the company bought 7.94 million MWh of electricity from RES. Of this volume, 72% is from solar, 11.9% is from wind, 13.2% is from bioenergy, and 3% is from hydropower.
The state reduced its debts to green power generators by 15%. The state
92 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com