Clean Energy
Noun.
Definition: Energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used
Implications
Environmental
Mitigating Climate Change
The widespread adoption of renewable energy will have significant impacts on the environment. It has been put forth by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) that the development of renewable energy will be a key to the mitigation of climate change. This is especially pertinent in light of the fact that fossil fuels provided 85% of the total primary energy in 2008, and the current combustion of fossil fuels accounted for 56.6% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, the widespread switch to renewable energy will have the potential to drastically reduce carbon emissions and slow down global warming. This is especially significant in the case of developing countries in the early stages of industralisation who may emerge to be significant contributors to pollution as exemplified by the case of China.
Reduced Pollution
The World Health Organisation estimates that about 3.3 million people die prematurely every year due to air pollution, while a relatively large portion of the population suffer from breathing ailments, heart disease, lung infections and cancer. This is largely due to the fine particles or microscopic dust from coal or wood fires and unfiltered diesel engines, or air pollution caused by industry, transport, household heating and so on. The development of renewable energy is likely to result in the reduction of pollution dramatically together with widespread shift to the use of renewable energy across all industries.
Although it is unlikely that the use of renewable and alternative energy such as biofuels will completely eradicate the issue of pollution (see Disadvantages of Biofuels), the group submits that the pollution levels are likely to ultimately decrease, therefore effectively reducing pollution of the environment through energy consumption.
Health
Increased Energy Access
Up to 58% of health facilities in some sub-Saharan African countries have no electricity which are critical for health procedures such as emergency care and childbirth. Therefore, it is evident that increased energy access especially to off-grid communities can have a significant improvement on their increase to healthcare facilities as well.
Renewable Energy and Health
Renewable energy use in home design and land use planning supports healthier lifestyles -- for example, both active and passive solar design related to heating/cooling, hot water, lighting and ventilation can support healthier homes. For the workforce, shifting to renewable energy may help reduce certain occupational health risks related to fossil fuel extraction and use, such as respiratory diseases from coal extraction and cancers from diesel exposure.
Economic
Job Creation
The renewable energy industry is thought to be more labor-intensive than fossil fuel technologies, and hence on average, more jobs will be created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that gross global renewable energy employment had increased from 1.3 to more than 3.5 million jobs worldwide between 2004 and 2010, and that a high proportion of jobs are related to fuel-based technologies. They also noted that most studies show a positive future for jobs in renewable energy, up to an increase of 20 million jobs by 2030. The simultaneous loss of jobs in the fossil fuels sector pose an issue, but it is believed that an ultimate net increase will be observed following a wider deployment of renewable energy.
Growth and Innovation
The commercialisation of clean energy is likely to lead to continued growth in the reneable energy sector, especially post-Fukushima. The multitude of possible benefits reaped from the adoption of renewable energy is likely to further drive market gains for renewable energy, which may in turn lead to further innovation and development of new technologies. This is further supported by a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency that solar power generators may produce most of the world’s electricity within 50 years as this optimistic projection indicates the renewable energy sector possibly becoming a key sector in the economy and economic development of various countries.
Future Considerations
Social Acceptance
There are a number of features of renewable energy innovation that bring new aspects to the debate on social acceptance. For one, renewable energy plants tend to be smaller-scale than conventional power plants, increasing the number of siting decisions that need to be taken. In some cases, such as micro-generation in residential buildings, the siting decision becomes in effect an individual investment decision. Secondly, as renewable energy conversion tends to be characterized by lower energy densities, the relative visual impact (per MWh of output) tends to be higher. This is partly reinforced by the fact that resource extraction in the case of fossil or nuclear energy happens below the earth's surface and is thus invisible for everyday life of a citizen, while wind turbines and other renewable plants harness energy in a more visible way. It also means that renewable energy conversion tends to happen closer to where the energy consumer lives (the “backyard”), thereby increasing its visibility and bringing the environmental impact closer to their residence. Hence, the “not in my backyard” argument has been the cause of delay for some projects such as the Cape Wind project in the United States due to aesthetic concerns. Thirdly, given the ubiquitous presence of externalities in the energy sector, most renewable energy technologies do not compete with incumbent technologies on a level playing field, thereby making acceptance of them a choice between short-term costs and long-term benefits. Therefore, the adoption of renewable energy is likely to have issues concerning its social acceptance.
Legal/Political
It has been noted by many academics that the success of adoption of renewable energy is largely dependent on political factors, as exemplified by our extensive case studies. In order for the economic and related implications to be sustainable in the long run, certain law reforms will have to be made in order to regulate the development of renewable energy. In addition, the political stance and national policies will also have a large influence on the sustainability - such as in the contrasting example of China and Germany and the issue of the feed in tariffs. Hence, it has been concluded that strong, stable, transparent and credible national policy is the single most significant driver of private sector investment in renewable energy and the related creation of jobs. This is especially pertinent in the case of developing countries, where the development and adoption of renewable energy will be extremely beneficial in terms of economic development and progress.
Cost
The costs of renewable energy in general may be a cause for concern in the future. Although the costs are relatively cheaper than fossil fuels, it is noted that a significant obstacle is the costs associated with the initial outlay of infrastructure needed to harness various sources of renewable energy such as wind turbines, solar panels etc. However, this can be overcome by strong government policies and government subsidies in the beginning. It is likely that renewable energy will get progressively cheaper through technological change and through mass production and market competition in the future Hence, renewable energy costs will be likely to continue to drop though it may arguably take a considerable amount of time, depending on the success of widespread adoption of the renewable energy in the first place.
Greater Security and Access
Energy efficiency and accelerated deployment of low-carbon technologies can help to reduce energy import dependency which translates into greater energy security. Renewable energy resources and significant potentials for energy efficiency exist virtually everywhere, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Reduced energy intensity, as well as geographical and technological diversification of energy sources, would result in far-reaching energy security and economic benefits.
This can be especially significant for developing countries and rural communities, especially communities that are off-grid or without access to electricity. Other than greater and more widespread access to energy in general which has further ramifications, this also means that developing countries and rural communities can be self-sufficient. Greater energy security will also be observed across the globe and there will likely to be a reduction in vulnerability to events such as political instability of energy producing countries, competition over energy sources -- problems brought about by the uneven distribution of fossil fuel supplies among countries.