Europe is going through an energy crisis. Gas prices have shot up by 250 per cent this year, as the region’s reserves hit a 10-year low ahead of the winter season. Yesterday, in the United Kingdom, energy giants, BP and Esso, closed some of their gas stations due to truck shortages. And then, there’s Russia, because what’s an energy crisis without that country, huh? All Russian gas flowing through Ukraine was halted sometime in January, thus completely cutting off supplies to southern Europe.
It gets worse; the wind turbines are at a standstill due to an unexpected wind drought in the region… bloody energy transition! Some energy firms have already gone out of business across Europe, and many more are at risk.
Pundits say Europe might have to cut down its demand. And if things do not get better, the region could face blackouts.
Why is this happening?
Common answers you will find are, “renewable energy has its limitations”, “we do not have enough storage”, and “there is an over-reliance on fossil fuels”. While all these are correct, addressing them does not entirely mitigate this potential crisis. Instead, these factors should support decision-making, planning, and the clean energy transition process itself.
Renewables will always face challenges with harnessing technologies and storage limitations, both of which have land-use problems. Unless all land and sea are used to deploy solar panels/wind turbines and batteries, the limitations of renewables will live among men forever.
On the over-reliance on fossil fuels, yes! Why does everyone leave the chat when someone says “nuclear energy”? I struggle to understand it. Perhaps it’s Russia again.
The real problem is the planning! Our determination to rely solely on renewables might be a bit farfetched…
Because you really cannot accurately predict the weather or changes in the climate.
Maybe it is time to slow down a little and plan better. We will always need a reliable energy source for baseload capacity to sustain industrial activities, heating (for the West), and cooling (for the tropics). Imagine what will happen when governments start aggressively phasing out automobile combustion engines. Will we recharge our EVs from the same grid?
I believe Africa can learn from this. While solar energy might appear to be a more reliable option for the continent, we must be careful. Developing economies cannot be forced to adopt the West’s policies, at least not at the same rate. So while we should transition aggressively, we must plan realistically and sustainably.