Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition


Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition
by Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen

Main Points:

  •  “Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition” explores why certain countries like Germany and Denmark were so successful in sustaining a renewable energy transition, while other countries like the US, France, and UK have not. 
    • The answer: a mix of policies (feed-in tariffs), pro-renewable agricultural cooperatives, private ownership of renewables by communities of citizens. Whereas the US made renewables highly politicized.
    • So when did renewable energy become so politicized in the US? The 1980’s. The graph in the infographic shows that the pre-Reagan and post-Reagan divide in Congressional votes on legislation pertaining to renewable adoption. The gap grows pretty wide before 1981 vs. after 1981. 
    • J. Uprelainen posits that certain external shocks create windows of opportunity for renewables to penetrate the status quo (called "carbon lock-in") and present countries with the ability to change policies and sow seeds for a renewable industry. The most prominent example of this is the 1973/1979 oil crisis which set in motion a chain of events for the development of alternatives and renewables. This can also lead to heavy politicization, as it did for virtually every country 10 years after renewable energy adoption. The only difference is that some countries (Denmark and Germany) fostered this environment by continually offering incentives, whereas some countries (US) were blocked by change in administration policies and a heavy industry/fossil fuel industry opposition. Other countries (France, UK, and Finland) stalled and lagged behind because they either adopted nuclear power, were already coal/NG abundant, or moved towards biomass and were influenced by Russian superpowers. 
  • India's Energy Poverty
    • 1.2 billion people, but 400 million without household electricity
    • 2001-2011: Household electrification increased from 55 to 67%
    • Kerosene: primary lighting fuel for 31% of the population
    • Solar remains at 0.4%
    • 800 million people rely on firewood, dung, and crop residue for cooking
  • Geographic Distribution
    • Northeastern- Uttar Pradesh has a population of 200 million people but less than half of the population have access to electricity. The biggest state in India is the one where thehe governance of energy is the worst.
    • Southwestern India has 95% electrification rates
  • Causes of Energy Poverty
    • Remote rural communities means high cost of grid extension
    • Power sector problems: lack of investment and dysfunctional policies of state boards
    • Governance failure: electricity reforms stalled
  • Eradicating Energy Poverty
    • Grid Extension- US in the 1930's had New Deal projects where the grid was extended in rural communities. In the short run it had little impact on productivity, but became very important in the long term.
    • Distributed Energy Generation- make mini-power plants within the villages. The extreme example of this is a solar lantern. Solar home system.
    • Microgrid- building a small electric grid within a village. Households play a monthly fee and get electricity in return.
    • Biomass is getting replaced by liquified petroleum gas (LPG). 
  • Role of Renewable Energy
    • Used to be very expensive, but over the past 20 years wind power has become cheaper than it once had been. 
    • Solar- even more drastic scenario- people thought it was expensive, but reduction of cost due to Chinese mass manufacture has changed everything. 



Watch Johannes Urpelainen's talk at Yale University on combatting energy poverty in India!

Read the Columbia Energy Policy Presentation based on Urpelainen's book!

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