Comments on: Europe must choose a green future https://energytransition.org/2018/04/europe-must-choose-a-green-future/ The Global Energiewende Mon, 14 May 2018 13:19:55 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 By: James Wimberley https://energytransition.org/2018/04/europe-must-choose-a-green-future/#comment-6673 Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:52:42 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=17154#comment-6673 “For the past 100 years, geopolitical strength has depended on countries possessing or having access to energy resources. In the future, it will rely on gaining competitive advantage from the best environmental technologies.”
This is dangerous rubbish. Every country has access to enough renewable energy resources to power itself, though for many trade will be cheaper (as with Denmark’s wind and Norway’s hydro). The costs of the equipment are almost all upfront, and there is no significant long-term dependence on the suppliers. Being the dominant supplier of cheap pv panels gives China zero long-term geopolitical leverage over its customers. If Denmark tried to force Brazil say to do something by withholding spare parts for wind turbines, Brazil could easily find other suppliers or make its own, at modest extra cost.

The energy transition does not replace one form of leverage by another: it gets rid of it. Hooray.

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