The Murky Grid of Baltic Energy Independence

The Baltic nations are in a strong position to navigate any energy crisis Moscow could attempt to inflict, but there is considerable work still to be done. Renewable energy sources are part of the solution, but there are issues related to hard security and whether the infrastructure will be ready in time.

Energy has been on everyone’s minds as soon as the weather turned cold. If you were online just before the holidays, perhaps you saw the video of a happy family celebrating Christmas 2021 by presenting their young daughter with a hamster. It flashes forward to Christmas 2022 and sees the family using the rodent’s running wheel to power the lights on the Christmas tree. In 2023, the mother resorts to cooking the hamster to provide some meat during the holiday feast. “Happy Anti-Russian Christmas!” – from RT.

This, of course, is Russian propaganda in full swing.

Parts of Ukraine have had power cuts due to Russian missile attacks on energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, it is likely that this will happen more and more over the winter as Russia, unhappy with the lack of success on the battlefield, is trying to win the war by demoralising Ukraine’s civilian population.  But for now, at least, the rest of Europe has been spared man-made power cuts.