THE MOST OBVIOUS HURDLE IS THAT THE SOURCES FOR POWER SUPPLY (ELECTRICITY GENERATION) VARY ENORMOUSLY BETWEEN COUNTRIES, FOR EXAMPLE FRANCE RELIES PRIMARILY ON NUCLEAR (71.7%), WHEREAS GERMANY HAS A BROADER MIX: 27% WIND, 24% COAL, 12% NUCLEAR, 12% NATURAL GAS, 10% SOLAR, 9.3% BIOMASS, 3.7% HYDROELECTRICITY. BUT AS IMPORTANTLY 63.7% OF THIS IS IMPORTED, ABOVE ALL FROM RUSSIA. MEANWHILE POLAND GENERATES 83% FROM FOSSIL FUELS, WITH COAL ACCOUNTING FOR 72%.
For all that the EU, and particularly Germany, has ‘talked the talk’ on energy transition, there has been little in the way of ‘walking the walk’. As with so many of the weaknesses exposed by the pandemic and latterly the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been far too much ‘virtue signalling’ and above all linear, as opposed to systemic thinking. Chest beating and moralizing rhetoric may be useful in political terms, but achieves nothing in pragmatic terms, above all in terms of understanding the inordinately complex supply chains that are involved, and then formulating a plan of action that is attuned to economic realities.
Be that as it may, while there is a very extensive and well-developed network for exporting electricity across Europe, above all fossil fuel-generated power, a quantum leap in technology is still required for storing wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy sourced power, in order to ensure greater reliability of supply above all in relation to fluctuations in demand. Just as importantly, perhaps the most under-discussed point is that a key challenge (apart from competition from Asian demand) to reducing gas pipeline imports from Russia to zero, will require a hefty investment in transcontinental infrastructure. While there are numerous east-west pipelines, the south- north network will need to be heavily expanded, if Russian gas supplies are to be replaced by flows from North and West Africa, and will take a number of years to put in place.
25 | ADMISI - The Ghost In The Machine | Q3 Edition 2022
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