I recently had a similar discussion with my graduate students in MatSE 597 (Organic/Hybrid Optoelectronic & Photovoltaic Devices), a course that discusses renewable energy, sustainability, and energy transition. We agreed that meeting the energy transition is a complex challenge that requires a multifaceted approach. Though the following factors may not be exhaustive, they are crucial for the transition to renewable energy:
The energy transition is not a simple task. It faces many multifaceted challenges, including technological, environmental, societal, economic, and geopolitical issues. Here, I will comment briefly on the technological and geopolitical aspects to give you a sense of the complexity we are dealing with.
The biggest challenge to solar technology is that it cannot be a standalone solution; it needs complementary storage technologies like batteries to be fully accessible 24/7. Solar installations also require significant land, often in farming communities. Mining for materials to sustain solar and battery technologies opens a new set of challenges. There are many ramifications in terms of challenges that solar power or panels face during their lifespan, including disposal or recycling of this technology.
We have many opportunities and lessons from our past actions and inactions to make the transition more just and sustainable. Deploying some of the renewable technologies can be region-, location-, or geography-dependent. For example, solar energy is highly efficient in hot climates, predominantly found in the global south, while wind energy is more suitable for regions with high natural wind speeds.
Global cooperation and collective action are crucial for investing in renewable energy infrastructures and driving technology innovation and R&D geared toward making the transition just and sustainable. Our past actions have shown that raw materials and minerals mining and processing can negatively impact deprived, rural, local, or Indigenous communities. This past knowledge gives us an opportunity to do better this time. However, this will require the involvement of communities themselves, the right policies, governments, and political will.
These opportunities could open the door for research diversification and inter-/multi-disciplinary team collaboration. Investing money and time into innovation and R&D of new technology for renewable energy harvesting, conversion, and storage is vital. It is also crucial to ensure that communities appreciate the efforts and technologies that could potentially replace or be in the mix with existing fossil fuel-based assets and gadgets.
Therefore, I see a considerable impact not only on how the community of researchers should approach research from an interdisciplinary and community-engagement perspective but also on how renewable technology companies and industries approach their R&D portfolios. Topical research must also involve pre- and post-technology development and deployment assessment. Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of their research''s carbon footprint, developing new and efficient work methods, and embedding sustainability in their processes.
The danger here is friction between the global south and global north and imminent fracture on the geopolitical front. Global warming and climate change are universal threats and must be confronted together. Working together voluntarily and collectively as equals, knowing our strengths and weaknesses, is the right way forward. Otherwise, countries in the global south may resist the push toward a green energy transition, becoming immediate and/or future polluters of the planet, which contrasts with the desired outcome.
On the technological side, though it may be insignificant, there is a risk that we may fail to fully realize the technological dream and deploy all renewable energy sources in time to mitigate global warming. Finally, in the quest for these technologies, we may end up worsening environmental pollution levels, health hazards, living standards, and well-being of different communities globally.
Almost everything, from solving energy crises in major geographical locations through global cooperation and collective action to protecting our collective environment through equal treatment, climate justice, and mitigating global warming. A collective, well-coordinated effort can help us achieve our renewable energy and climate goals, creating a more sustainable and equitable energy landscape for future generations.
Nutifafa Yao Doumon is an assistant professor and Virginia S. & Philip L. Walker Jr. Faculty Fellow in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. With a background in physics, nanoscience, and leadership, his main interest focuses on materials for solar technologies. He conducts research into Optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices, looking at stability testing and chemical characterization of the active layer, indoor/outdoor testing of organic/perovskite photovoltaic modules, and characterization of degradation and failure modes/mechanisms.
The pace of deployment of some clean energy technologies – such as solar PV and electric vehicles – shows what can be achieved with sufficient ambition and policy action, but faster change is urgently needed across most components of the energy system to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, according to the IEA''s latest evaluation of global progress.
The transition to clean energy is occurring at different speeds across regions and sectors, however. For example, nearly 95% of global electric car sales in 2022 took place in China, the United States and Europe. Stronger international cooperation is needed to spread progress on electric cars and other key technologies to all regions, particularly emerging and developing economies.
"The clean energy economy is rapidly taking shape, but even faster progress is needed in most areas to meet international energy and climate goals," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "This update of Tracking Clean Energy Progress highlights some very promising developments, underlining both the need and the potential for greater action globally. The extraordinary growth of key technologies like solar and electric cars shows what is possible."
Although many sectors are not yet fully on track for international climate goals, the new analysis identifies crucial advances over the past year. For the first time ever, announced manufacturing capacity for electric vehicle batteries has reached levels sufficient to fulfil expected demand requirements in 2030 in the IEA''s scenario for achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This is backed by the momentum from major industrial strategies such as the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the European Union''s Green Deal Industrial Plan.
Policy is advancing in many regions. Earlier this year, for example, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to establish a legal and regulatory framework for carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and Namibia released a hydrogen strategy in late 2022.
While progress can be observed across all of the 50-plus components of the energy system evaluated in Tracking Clean Energy Progress, the majority are not yet on a path consistent with net zero emissions by 2050. Stronger policy support and greater investment are needed across a wide range of different technologies, in all regions of the world, to enable a broader and faster shift towards clean energy to keep net zero emissions by 2050 within reach.
Electricity is taking on an ever-more central role in the lives of consumers and, for an increasing number of households, it promises to become the energy source on which they rely for all their everyday needs: mobility, cooking, lighting, heating and cooling. The reliability and affordability of electricity is set to become even more critical to all aspects of people''s lives and well-being.
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