Introduction to Energy Mix Challenges
Olivia Oddi
The global shift to clean energy is crucial but full of challenges. Join Olivia Oddi as she unpacks the toughest obstacles, from phasing out fossil fuels to land use issues, helping you understand what’s at stake and why action matters.
The global shift to clean energy is crucial but full of challenges. Join Olivia Oddi as she unpacks the toughest obstacles, from phasing out fossil fuels to land use issues, helping you understand what’s at stake and why action matters.
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Introduction to Energy Mix Challenges
11 mins 47 secs
Key learning objectives:
Identify why there are challenges with decarbonising the energy mix
Understand the challenge of facing out fossil fuels
Outline the challenges associated with land use
Overview:
Transitioning to a cleaner energy mix is crucial for mitigating climate change, but it comes with significant obstacles. Moving away from coal, oil, and gas requires large-scale infrastructure changes, substantial investment, and policy shifts. Fossil fuels have powered industrialisation for over a century, and global demand remains high. Despite efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage, coal demand has stayed near record levels. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind require vast amounts of land, making land availability a major challenge. Even nuclear power, which has a smaller footprint, faces obstacles related to building new transmission infrastructure such as power lines and pipelines.
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Summary
Why is decarbonising the energy mix so challenging?
Transitioning to a cleaner energy mix is crucial for mitigating climate change, but it comes with significant obstacles. Moving away from coal, oil, and gas requires large-scale infrastructure changes, substantial investment, and policy shifts. The energy transition isn't just about adopting renewables like solar, wind, and hydropower, it also involves modernising energy systems, ensuring stability, and balancing economic and environmental concerns.
What makes phasing out fossil fuels difficult?
Fossil fuels have powered industrialisation for over a century, and global demand remains high. Despite efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage, coal demand has stayed near record levels, particularly during the 2022-23 global energy crisis when soaring gas prices led to increased coal consumption. Some of the key barriers to phasing out fossil fuels include:
- Persistent demand: Even as renewables grow, coal, oil, and gas continue to play a dominant role in the energy mix. While coal use is expected to decline after 2030, oil and gas are projected to remain significant for decades
- Limited clean energy investment: Oil and gas companies currently invest very little in clean energy - only 1% of global clean energy investment comes from these companies. To meet climate goals, they need to shift around 50% of their capital expenditure to clean energy projects by 2030
- Emerging economy challenges: Many developing countries rely on coal due to limited alternatives. They face financial and technological barriers to transitioning, as well as broader socio-economic issues like poverty and water scarcity
- Emission reduction targets: The oil and gas sector must cut emissions by 60% by 2030 to align with the 1.5°C climate target. However, fewer than half of fossil fuel companies have committed to reducing emissions
What are the challenges associated with land use for new energy infrastructure?
Renewable energy sources like solar and wind require vast amounts of land, making land availability a major challenge. Even nuclear power, which has a smaller footprint, faces obstacles related to building new transmission infrastructure such as power lines and pipelines. Some of the key land-use challenges include:
- Land scarcity: Identifying suitable land is difficult. In Germany, only 9% of land is considered suitable for wind energy, and in Italy, less than 1% is available for solar projects without restrictions. Meeting Europe’s renewable energy targets will require an area nearly the size of Belgium by 2040
- Regulatory constraints: In some countries, strict regulations limit where energy projects can be built
- Rising land prices: Competition for land has driven prices up significantly, making financial planning more complex for developers. Between 2011-20, land prices in Germany and the US rose nearly 10% annually
- Public opposition: Community resistance to energy projects is growing. In the US, 10% of planned solar capacity was cancelled in 2021 due to local protests
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Olivia Oddi
Olivia Oddi, a Nuclear Safety Department employee at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has over 30 years of experience in managing nuclear safety activities. With 25 years of experience, she has worked closely with colleagues in the Nuclear Safety Department on fundraising, project management, and environmental remediation for decommissioning nuclear power plants.
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