Cable Sabotage in the Baltic

 Two subsea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden and Lithuania were damaged in less then 24 hours on November 17th and 18th, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was sabotage!

The suspected culprit is a Chinese registered bulk carrier - the Yi Peng 3 - which was traveling through the area after departing the Russian port of Ust Liga, West of St. Petersburg on November 15th. 

Reuters news agency have quoted Western intelligence officials from multiple countries as saying that they are confident the Chinese ship caused the cuts to both cables, but they have expressed different views on whether these were accidents or could have been deliberate.

This is not the first time a Chinese vessel has been suspected of damaging subsea infrastructure in this region and it raises concerns of a wider pattern of hybrid warfare. 

My guest in this episode is Eoin McNamara (@McNamara_Eoin) who is a Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki. I spoke to him about recent events, the reactions in the region and the implications for countries like Ireland and the broader EU.



Date of Recording: December 3rd, 2024.


Main picture shows the Chinese ship accused of cutting cables in the Baltic Sea. Insets show (1) alleged patents for anchor like cable cutting devices and (2)map of the 2 cables that were cut in the Baltic. Listen to the podcast at www.pwneilo.com
Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, suspected of involvement in cable severing in the Baltic,
Insert top: Alleged Chinese patents for anchor like cable cutting devices.
Insert bottom: Map showing the two cut cables in the Baltic Sea.


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:


You might also like:


Image Credits:
Podcast thumbnail: stablediffusionweb.com
Main image (above): Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP

#China, #YiPeng3, #Baltic, #BalticSea, #Cablesabotage, #EU, #Ireland, #Russia, #Greyzone, #Grayzone, #FIIA, #newnewpolarbear

2024 Data Centres Ireland Report

Data Centres contribute significantly to Ireland's GDP. The Irish data centre market amounted to over 3 Billion Euros of investment in 2023 with key opportunities to capitalize on future growth being driven by the AI revolution. However, its a competitive industry and while Ireland may have once been the EU pioneer of data centres, planning hurdles and electricity supply issues are forcing global technology companies to reconsider Ireland's role as a data centre hub.

In this episode, we report from the Data Centres Ireland Conference which took place at the RDS in Dublin in mid November. This was the 14th year of the event and it featured over 70 leaders and experts as well as 120 exhibitors showcasing the latest in data centre technology products, services and information.

The Data Centres Ireland Conference is the seminal meeting point for the industry each year and this year's topics included - the challenges facing the future of the data centre industry in Ireland, the role of renewables and energy storage, infrastructure technology trends and the impact of new EU sustainability regulations.

I am grateful to the following industry leaders and experts who graciously shared their insights with us.


Listen here or by searching for Perspectives with Neilo wherever you get your podcasts.



Date of Recording: November 20th & 21st, 2024



Main picture of panel discussion (moderator and 4 guests) on stage at the Data Centres Ireland Conference in Dublin in November, 2024. Inset picture of exhibition floor at the RDS. Listen to our podcast at www.pwneilo.com
Panel Discussion on The Evolving PR Image of Data Centres at the Data Centres Ireland Conference, RDS, Dublin, November 20 - 21, 2024.
Inset picture, exhibition floor. 




DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics discussed in this episode:



#Ireland, #datacenter, #datacenters, #AI, #renewables, #windpower, #solar, #netzero, #EUgreendeal, #energystorage, #energystorageireland, #datacentresireland, #EU, #EED, #CSRD, #IDA, #sustainability

Election 2024 - The Other Important Issues

Ireland's General Election will take place on Friday November 29th, 2024. Overall, 685 candidates are running across 43 constituencies for 174 seats in the next Dail or Parliament. 

Much of the focus and discussion so far has been on what the mainstream media have dubbed 'Auction Politics' as politicians and their parties try to better each other with promises of various benefits if elected. Examples include, free university fees, child care benefits, dropping the USC charge, reducing the VAT rate on hospitality and so on. 

While many of these areas are genuinely important, the relentless competition for votes between the different party candidates means that the conversation around a few core issues (cost of living, housing, healthcare) tends to dominate the media coverage at the expense of other topics.

In this episode, we take a closer look at the three main party's manifestos to see what they have to say about some of the other important issues. Specifically, defending Ireland's democracy, our values and our freedoms, the role of the Media and Press freedom, as well as the party's positions on Foreign Policy, supporting Ukraine, plus their positions on Defense and Security.


Date of Recording: November 26th, 2024.


Portrait pictures of the leaders of Ireland's main political parties (L to R) Micheal Martin, Fianna Fail, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein, Simon Harris, Fine Gael
The leaders of Ireland's main political parties (L to R) Micheal Martin, Fianna Fail, Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein, Simon Harris, Fine Gael

DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics discussed in this episode:

  • All of the manifestos referred to in this podcast are available on the party's websites


Audio transition: Sound Soul by Diamond_Tunes, Pixabay

#GE24, #FiannaFail, #FineGael, #SinnFein, #Defenddemocracy, #AuctionPolitics, #CriticalThinking, #ETNC, #MERICS, #RSF, #Russia, #China, #Taiwan, #Vote, #Ukraine, #ForeignPolicy, #PressFreedom, #Security, #Defence, #Defense

Shining a Light on China's Gray Zone

Earlier in August, we reported on China's Maritime Aggression against the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea and also on how China's aggression was uniting nations in the region. In the intervening months, this aggression has increased in frequency and severity and expanded further afield to include Vietnam and Japan.

In late October, I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Powell (@GordianKnotRay) who is the Director of SeaLight, a project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University in California. We spoke about the background to the current tensions in the Indo Pacific, the origins and validity of China's so-called 'Nine Dash Line', the role of China's maritime militia and deep sea research ships, why what happens in the region matters to the rest of the world and much more.

Date of Recording: October 23rd, 2024.



Since our interview in late October, Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law two new acts on November 8th which outline the waters and territories that fall within Manila's jurisdiction. These acts are entitled the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and according to President Marcos, they emphasize the importance of the Philippines maritime and archipelagic identity and align Philippines domestic law with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to uphold the rules based international order.

On November 10th, just two days after the Philippines announcement, Beijing released a new map establishing what it calls its territorial sea baselines adjacent to Huangyan Dao - China's name for Scarborough Shoal - outlining its control over this area which lies within Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to Chinese state media outlet, The Global Times, China has also ramped up the presence of its large coastguard vessels in the region which it says are capable of longer patrols and stricter Chinese law enforcement.

China's actions in the South China Sea in the past as well as these recent announcements further demonstrate that the Chinese Communist Party does not adhere to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or recognize the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which denied Beijing's claims to this area.


Picture of a region in the West Philippine Sea where a single Philippine Coast Guard Vessel is surrounded by several Chinese ships. An insert map shows the extent of China's massive claim in this region.
[Main] Multiple Chinese Coast Guard and Militia ships surround a Philippines Coast Guard vessel in the West Philippine Sea (pic courtesy PCG). [Insert] Map shows the extent of China claim in this region (Facebook Online Maps Blog).



DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • China releases baselines of territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao, 'countermeasure to Philippines' introduction of two laws infringing on China's territorial integrity': analyst - Zhang Han, Global Times (Nov 10th, 2024)


Photo Credit: Courtesy of Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) - link

Image Credit: Facebook Online Maps Blog - link


#Taiwan, #Philippines, #SouthChinaSea, #SecondThomasShoal, #China, #CCP, #ChinaCoastGuard, #SierraMadre, #SCS, #Ninedashline, #BRPSierraMadre, #UNCLOS, #CabbageTactics, #LittleBlueMen, #SouthChinaSeaDispute, #SouthChinaSeaConflict, #Russianspyship, #IrishSea, #scarboroughshoal

Taiwan in NorCal



Date of Recording: November 4th, 2024.

Earlier in May and June of 2024, we reported from Taipei on the massive street protests which became known as the Bluebird Movement. These protests were the largest Taiwan had seen in the decade since the 2014 Sunflower Movement.

The protests voiced the public's concern with the new amendments to the law governing the Legislative Yuan's (Taiwan's parliament) power and in particular, new investigative powers including the power to subject public officials to fines or jail time if they refused to attend hearings or provide information when asked to do so by legislators.

Many feared that these new powers would allow private individuals, government officials, corporate executives, military staff and others to be targeted and persecuted by the Kuomingtang (KMT) and their smaller ally, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) under the auspices of legislative questioning.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) subsequently took a case to Taiwan's Constitutional Court contesting these new legislative powers and in late October, the Court struck down most of the expanded powers sought by the KMT.

In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we report from a November 4th gathering of the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California (TAFNC) where we spoke to a number of the attendees as well as to the special guest Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) of the DPP about the recent political events in Taiwan as well as how the outcome of the US presidential election may affect US-Taiwan relations moving forward.

[Special thanks to Cooper Wong for translation during Director Wang's interview, to Leona Chen for organizing the interviews and everyone who helped make this episode possible.]

Since recording the interviews, Donald Trump has secured a second term as U.S. President and has already begun making announcements on cabinet positions.

In addition, Taiwan news media are reporting that consensus has been reached between political parties on the national budget for 2025, but as many of them also point out, this is unlikely to mark an end of contention between the KMT and DPP moving forward.


Picture shows DPP Policy Chair, Wang Yi-chuan giving his speech at the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California on November 4th, 2024
Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) gives a speech at the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California on November 4th, 2024

DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:


#Taiwan, #DPP, #KMT, #TPP, #CCP, #JointSword, #PLA, #Incursions


Hydrogen Powered Data Centers



In today's digital age, data centers have become the backbone of our interconnected world. From streaming our favorite shows to conducting complex financial transactions, these high-powered facilities are the engines driving our digital revolution. But as our reliance on technology grows, so does the energy consumption of these data centers.

This increasing energy consumption is driving data center operators and tech entrepreneurs to explore new ways to power these energy-hungry facilities more efficiently and sustainably.

As we heard in our previous episode from the Open Compute Global Summit in San Jose, data centers consume large amounts of electricity and this increasing trend is being driven by new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), there are currently more than 8,000 data centers globally and in 2022, they are estimated to have consumed around 460 TWh of electricity - about 2% of global demand, and they predict that this demand could double before the end of the decade.

While its still early days for AI and ML, the emerging capabilities and potential benefits have created an urgency for tech companies to continue to innovate in this important global race.

From a sustainability perspective, many data center owners and operators have also committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030, so the increasing electricity demands of AI and ML place an additional urgency on achieving a successful transition to sustainable power sources.

In 2023, renewable energy sources accounted for an average of 30% of the world's electricity supply, and as many national power grids also face demand constraints, data center operators are looking to off-grid sources for alternatives.

One option for data centers is to generate and store power onsite with solar or wind turbines plus battery storage, however, given the space requirements of solar and wind this may not always be feasible and many operators resort to purchasing renewal energy offsets (Renewable Energy Certificates or Power Purchase Agreements).

More recently we've seen announcements particularly from hyperscalers of power purchase agreements for nuclear power, but also their intent to investigate Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fuel strategy roadmaps. However, many commentators agree that the construction timeline for SMRs is likely to stretch to the end of the decade before they break ground.

A third less controversial option is the hydrogen powered data center. While some data center providers have deployed hydrogen fuel cells as backup power supplies and others are conducting trials, Edge Cloud Link (ECL) based in Mountain View, California has combined fuel cells using green hydrogen derived from renewable energy with battery energy storage and a highly reliable power architecture to deliver an off-grid sustainably powered data center.

ECL say their mission is to deliver a fully sustainable green data center to market via disruptive engineering, design and deployment of emerging technologies that have never been combined.  They claim that the resulting efficiency culminates in a lower-cost alternative with zero carbon emissions.

We went along to chat with the founder and CEO of ECL, Yuval Bachar about ECL's vision and the technology and performance of their hydrogen powered data center. 




DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • The truth about hydrogen - DW Planet A - YouTube


#Datacenters, #Datacentre, #Hydrogen, #ECL, #Greenhydrogen, #Nuclear, #SMR, #AI, #ML 

2024 OCP Global Summit Report

 It's an exciting time for data centers not only because of the new technology developments in AI and ML, but also because of the parallel advancements in sustainability in the drive to net zero emissions.

In this episode we report from this year's Open Compute Global Summit in San Jose, California. The Open Compute Project (OCP) was initiated in 2011 and its mission is to apply the benefits of open source and open collaboration to data center technology and to support the growing demands on compute infrastructure.

OCP believes that sharing ideas and specifications for servers, networking, AI and general data center technology is the key to driving innovation and reducing complexity.

This year's summit contained many interesting topics and announcements including the Open Systems for AI strategic initiative, Sustainability (including Green Concrete), the opening of the Open Chiplet Economy in OCP Marketplace and lots more (see the links in the Dive Deeper section below).

I spoke with Rob Coyle, Director of Technical Programs at the Open Compute Project Foundation about OCP's mission and some of the exciting announcements and topics at this year's summit as well as to Andy Gill, VP of Hyperscale for Rittal about his company's products and the impact of the recent advances in AI technology.

Both Rob and Andy also shared their insights regarding the upcoming OCP EMEA Summit which will take place in Dublin, Ireland on April 29th and 30th, 2025.

Date of Recording: October 15th to 17th, 2024.



George Tchaparian, CEO of the Open Compute Project Foundation presenting his keynote address at the 2024 OCP Global Summit in San Jose
George Tchaparian, CEO of the Open Compute Project Foundation presenting his keynote address at the 2024 OCP Global Summit in San Jose


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • Additional Data Centre resources


#OpenCompute, #OpenComputeProject, #AI, #datacenter, #OCP, #GreenConcrete, #NetZero

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