Energy Transition: From Brainstorming To Reality

When Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, we didn’t think about the discussions and developments around that innovation. Every day, we are convinced to think about the future of our electricity to use these lightening products in an efficient manner. In the following words, we will share some insights on benefits and risks of energy transition.

According to data published by EIA, the world energy consumption will increase by 40% from 2012 to 2040. This situation makes the energy market more dynamic and open for new innovative systems to cover power demand.

What parameters influence the future of energy?

We count six main parameters for the energy systems of the future:

Energy transition is about creating a future energy panel system. This panel integrates renewable energy resources as a key parameter in the energy portfolio. But the market share for the renewables is still very low (around 10%).

On the other hand, nuclear power plants present effects on human health and are dangerous when an accident occurs. After the Fukushima incident, decision makers for energy strategies focus to use coal, lignite or renewables as main resources.

The 5 main goals for energy transition are:

• Reducing CO2 emissions
• Reducing energy consumption
• Reducing primary energy consumption
• Integrating renewable energy sources
• Developing new energy concepts

These factors can contribute either positively or negatively to the energy ecosystem.

The Benefits Of Energy Transition

1. Diversification: the obligation to focus on new energy solutions. Diversification can be seen as the key resilient parameter for the energy market.
2. Reducement of fuel dependency: no more export gas and solid fuel from other countries that help to reduce the price of energy supply.
3. Environmental benefits: reduction of CO2 emissions and implementation of more green spaces.
4. Employment and Innovation: we create a competitive market that helps create new employment opportunities.
5. Smart Grid and Global Grid: we create a new field for innovation and investment.

The Risks Of Energy Transition

The main risks for energy transition are land use. However, solar panels and earth wind projects need more spaces than other ones. For the same power, land use for renewables is two to three times higher than the land use of a nuclear power plant. We can enumerate some of the risks below:

1. Difficulty to manage renewable intermittency
2. Complexity for frequency control
3. Interesting response time after blackouts for renewables
4. Climate change for solar and wind power location

Case Study: What The German Market Learned From Fukushima

The German market developed a dynamic strategy to reduce nuclear power plants and promote renewable energy systems based on natural gas and biomass.

Since the technical incident in Fukushima, the German energy market experienced a dynamic change in its structure. According to the latest records, we see a shutdown of nuclear power plant share vs. an increasing share from renewable sources between 2015 and 2016. Most of these changes are the integration of biomass gasification and gas power plants.

The results of the Energiewende strategy regarding its objectives are shown in the table below:

Caring about the energy transition is caring about our energy future. We are facing a European energy revolution that serves our community and children better. We must, therefore, analyze the energy market instead of staying more dependent on fuel and conventional resources.

 

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