War quickens renewables' rise: The Reengineer Monitor #68
UK EV sales record, plastic ice rinks - and more!
SPECIAL: Middle East war accelerates the energy transition
It’s become very apparent that the war in the Middle East, started by the US and Israel last month, is catalysing worldwide efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and now this latest geopolitical crisis, it’s hard to ignore the fact that relying on fossil fuels comes with some big supply chain risks. Analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that the UK’s deployment of wind and solar since 2022 has actually noticeably insulated the country from the worst of the current energy price shocks.
Relatedly, other recent calculations suggest that record wind and solar electricity generation in Great Britain has prevented the UK paying £1 billion on gas imports during March of this year.
The i Paper reports that grants worth up to £12,000 to help people install solar panels will be fast-tracked in light of the war.
Globally, nations are accelerating the shift towards electrification and renewables in response to the Middle East war. Southeast Asian countries, for example, are now backing faster electric vehicle (EV) rollouts. “Indonesia aims to have 100 gigawatts of solar power in ‘no later than two years’, up from its current 11 gigawatts, said [President Prabowo Subianto], with earlier plans including battery energy storage system deployments,” reports news site Argus.
The International Energy Agency has said the war will “profoundly transform” energy systems around the world, specifically by accelerating the move towards renewables and nuclear power.
Industry analysts concur – but they make another point. Wood Mackenzie, for instance, stated this week that while the war is expected to cut demand for oil and gas globally, it will likely also boost the burning of coal in the short-term, which means rising emissions. Overall, the energy squeeze is still likely to see costs go up in the near future, the market research firm says.
