Challenges to Energy Security - Is a demonization of conventional energy production under current global trends beneficial?: Difference between revisions

Challenges to Energy Security - Is a demonization of conventional energy production under current global trends beneficial? (view source)

Revision as of 19:45, 16 January 2010

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Reworked Conclusion, added perspective. Minor additions concerning coal.

Henning Strate

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 Only recently have environmentalists been successful in temporarily halting the construction of one of the most advanced coal power plants in the world at Datteln, Germany.<ref>Guardian Weekly 10232009. „German battle over coal power goes to court“, http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=1303&catID=17 . Last access 12/07/2009.</ref> It is, however, highly questionable whether such actions will have any effect on the environment other than seriously hampering that countries performance as one of the leading industrial nations, while at the same time China launches new plants with similar power but much less energy efficiency every week on the average.<ref>The New York Times 06112006. „Pollution from Chinese Coal Casts a Global Shadow“, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11chinacoal.html . Last access 12/07/2009.</ref>
-This comes at a time where the demand for modernization and replacement of electricity production capacities amounts to about 350 Billion Euros in Europe alone.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 15.</ref>
+This comes at a time where the demand for modernization and replacement of electricity production capacities amounts to about 350 Billion Euros in Europe alone.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 15.</ref> In fact the only result of blocking new coal power plants is that the lifetimes of older plants are extended. In the case of the old blocks of the  giant coal power plant and Niederaußem, Germany the utility RWE has already announced should their attempts at replacing them with new blocks fail then they would simply resume operations regardless of the implications concerning CO2-emissions. The economic equation behind this looks similar at all the other many places where there is demand for modernization.
 Despite the positive growth rates in renewable energy production it is unlikely that before 2050 a transition to a renewable and low-carbon economy will be realized. Even a study by Greenpeace suggests that for such a transition to happen in Germany it would still take a 40% share of coal power plants for base load capacity by 2030.<ref>Greenpeace e.V., Klimaschutz: Plan B – Nationales Energiekonzept bis 2020. Hamburg 2007 p.154. [GER] </ref>
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 Both the negative image of coal due to environmental awareness and the unclear situation in the energy sector in general have therefore caused a recent revitalization of nuclear construction. However, there are institutional and financial difficulties involved which limit the rapid developement and deployment of nuclear facilities. The European Pressurized Reactor currently under construction in Finland is largely exceeding its preliminary budget and if it will ever be finished is unclear at the moment.<ref>Spiegel Online International 10152009. „Nuclear Renaissance Stalls“, http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,655409,00.html . Last access 12/07/2009.</ref> Additionally the building of nuclear reactors in most western countries involves activities and proceedings by numerous government agencies and institutions which does not neccessarily limit large scale nuclear programs but requires a broad consensus in society.<ref>Bodansky, David. Nuclear Energy: Principles, Practices and Prospects. New York 2008. p.603.</ref> While the outlook of the nuclear industry is still bright, with EU-supported Generation-IV-reactors in development<ref>Commission of the European Communites: „An Energy Policy for Europe“, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/doc/01_energy_policy_for_europe_en.pdf , Last access 12/07/2009.</ref> and Thorium as a replacement for the conventionally Uranium-fueled nuclear reactors there still remains the issue of waste disposal, which ultimately makes today's nuclear power a flawed concept both as a vehicle towards an economy based on renewable energies or if standards of intergenerational justice are applied.
-Coal-fired power generation then remains one of the most risk-free and profitable ways of providing large industries and households with electricity. The downturn of coal power is of course the fact that about 100 Kilograms of Carbon-Dioxide per Gigajoule is emitted.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 132.</ref> The IEA however suggests that worldwide developments will make coal to have the fastest growing share in worldwide energy consumption by 2030. Also Germany has the second largest reserves of lignite coal, amounting almost to one-fifth of world production and in a wider perspective it is the 30 member states of the OECD that combine 50% of world coal reserves, while they only possess 8% of worlds crude oil and 10,6% of gas.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 133.</ref> These obvious advantages in both energy security and availability make coal a viable resource for power generation. If the currently planned process of capturing and storing the emitted Carbon-Dioxide is realized then coal power could pave the way for an economy fully based on renewables without resorting to large-scale nuclear technology or endangering energy security for the sake of CO2 reduction targets.
+Coal-fired power generation then remains one of the most risk-free and profitable ways of providing large industries and households with electricity. The downturn of coal power is of course the fact that about 100 Kilograms of Carbon-Dioxide per Gigajoule is emitted.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 132.</ref> The IEA however suggests that worldwide developments will make coal to have the fastest growing share in worldwide energy consumption by 2030. Also Germany has the second largest reserves of lignite coal, amounting almost to one-fifth of world production and in a wider perspective it is the 30 member states of the OECD that combine 50% of world coal reserves, while they only possess 8% of worlds crude oil and 10,6% of gas.<ref>Petermann, Jürgen. Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert. Hamburg 2008. p. 133.</ref> These obvious advantages in both energy security and availability make coal a viable resource for power generation. If the currently planned process of capturing and storing the emitted Carbon-Dioxide is realized then coal power could pave the way for an economy fully based on renewables without resorting to large-scale nuclear technology or endangering energy security for the sake of CO2 reduction targets. The IEA World Energy Outlook 2009 identifies Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for coal power plants as an integral component in reducing emissions in the energy sector and meeting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) demands of a maximum cap on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.<ref>IEA World Energy Outlook 2009. p. 69.</ref>
 ==Conclusion==
-In summing it up both Globalisation and the challenges to the environment on this planet are much too complex phenomena where logical answers should not be blockaded by ideological barriers. Because a secure and affordable energy supply is the cornerstone of any industrial nation it is also necessary to use a pragmatic approach to decision making. With a growing world population and a huge demand for energy in the coming decades it would be unwise to brush viable options aside. Similar to what the Danish researcher Björn Lomborg in his book „Cool It“ suggests, I am convinced that the industrial nations will be able to shape the world in a much more ecologically friendly way by spending more resources on innovations and refinements of existing and new technologies of power generation than any solar panel in Germany ever will.
+In summing it up both Globalisation and the challenges to the environment on this planet are much too complex phenomena where logical answers should not be blockaded by ideological barriers. Because a secure and affordable energy supply is the cornerstone of any industrial nation it is also necessary to use a pragmatic approach to decision making. With a growing world population and a huge demand for energy in the coming decades it would be unwise to brush viable options aside. The way for the G20 nations towards an economic state fully based and fuelled by renewables, if ever realized, is a stony road. For Europe, faced with demographic change and slow economic growth unparalleled in the world, it is imperative to remain leader in the fields of research and industry, because only with economic power also comes the political influence to shape world politics in a favourable way. The Copenhagen Climate Conference of 2009 has clearly shown that China is viewing the western world as having reached its zenith and that the romantic CO2-reduction agenda of a recession-ridden Europe is not enough to sway a Chinese nation boasting an impressive 8% economic growth-rate. If European nations wish to retain their historical position on this planet and use it to counter climate change and resource depletion then it is not enough to mourn at the sight of an SUV or the building of a coal-fired power plant and resort to buying  battery-powered cars or install solar panels instead, both of dubious environmental quality. What is a prudent way to face the challenges of the 21st century (keeping in mind lessons learnt from Copenhagen) is for Europe to initiate a technological and industrial offensive, explicitly investing a fixed part of national income into research and development. Similar to what the Danish researcher Björn Lomborg in his book „Cool It“ suggests, I am convinced that the industrial nations will be able to shape the world in a much more ecologically friendly way by spending more resources on innovations and refinements of existing and new technologies of power generation than any solar panel in Germany ever will.  After all it is both the status and efficiency of novel technologies and long-standing technologies as a key factor determining the world’s energy demand, fuel use, CO2-emissions and investment choices in the years to come<ref>IEA World Energy Outlook 2009. p. 68.</ref>. It is therefore in the interest of Europe to support an energy mix that promotes technological progress in both conventional and renewable power generation as an incentive for other nations on Earth and to guarantee a secure and affordable energy supply which does not endanger the competitiveness of energy-intensive products (steel, machinery, cars among them) for the export-oriented European economy, the very framework of European wealth and importance in the world.
 == Notes ==
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 * International Energy Agency. ''World Energy Outlook 2007''. Paris 2007.
 * International Energy Agency. ''World Energy Outlook 2008''. Paris 2008.
+* International Energy Agency. ''World Energy Outlook 2009''. Paris 2009.
 * Lomborg, Björn. ''Cool It''. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Ltd., 2009. ISBN 978-0462099262.
 * Petermann, Jürgen. ''Sichere Energie im 21. Jahrhundert''. Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe Verlag GMBH, 2008. ISBN 978-3-455-50081-3.