• Figure 3 is a ‘box’ or ‘spread’ chart
• Spread charts show the distribution of a dataset – in this case the different economic/regional clusters’ average Energy Architecture Performance scores
• The silver bars are the spread of data from minimum, median to the maximum value
• The blue boxes show the quartiles
• Quartiles are a set of values that divide the data set into four equal groups, each representing a fourth of the sample
• The upper quartile represents the split of the highest 25% of data – the top performers
• The lower quartile represents the split of the lowest 25% of data – the bottom performers

See Definitions section for further explanation of the graph structure and economic/regional clusters

Two Simple Rules to Build a Global Energy Architecture for the 21st Century

Although the issues are well defined, formidable challenges remain. Even when the best minds are engaged in drafting clear roadmaps – for example, in the Forum’s New Energy Architecture: Enabling an Effective Transition – governments must still define priorities and juggle conflicting interests to ensure that their energy models achieve economic growth, environmental sustainability and energy security for all.

It is clear that there is no single solution to this equation. But it is equally obvious to me that renewable energy is a vital and indispensable part of the answer. I believe that renewables are uniquely positioned to respond to some of these new challenges. Here are a few reasons why.

The first and most widely known aspect of renewable energy is its infinite and non-GHG emitting nature. For this reason alone, we should increase the share of renewable and non-polluting energies in our energy mix.

Second, and no less important, as local and geographically well distributed sources of energy, renewables increase a country’s energy independence and security in two important ways. By replacing fossil fuel imports, renewables strengthen a country’s balance of payments. They also bring price stability to electricity markets by making power generation less dependent on the volatile prices of fossil fuels, over which importing countries have no control. I believe that energy security and price stability will become increasingly important considerations for policy-makers in a world still riven by geopolitical tensions over access to the finite reserves of fossil fuel resources. 

Third, we know that renewables generate economic wealth and regional development. A European study by Ernst & Young showed that in countries with no fossil resources, investing in a wind farm had an impact on GDP 3.5 times greater than a similar investment in a combined cycle gas turbine plant, while the wind farm created 1.6 times more jobs in the EU27.

Furthermore, the development of renewables brings with it an opportunity to create a new industrial cluster defined by its high technological content, skilled jobs, significant export opportunities and a long and promising future. 

In addition, renewables are economically efficient and are becoming increasingly competitive compared with traditional power sources. The cost of renewable energy has plummeted in recent years. Wind turbine prices, for example, have dropped 30% in the past four years and PV solar power has reduced its installation costs by 50% in the past five years. In many parts of the world, renewable energy is expected to compete head-to-head with fossil fuel-based energies. According to McKinsey (Global Solar Initiative), on-shore wind will become competitive with gas and coal in 2015. And this does not take into account negative externalities, which make renewables compare even more favourably to conventional sources.

Renewables are also the logical choice for fast-growing, energy-hungry economies because they are quick to assemble, highly predictable, easy to integrate and have no adverse impact on the environment. Furthermore, they are an efficient solution for countries whose priority is to extend energy access and security, and to increase their energy independence. This is because renewable energy power plants can be built in a short time and can become operational in less than two years. Compare this to an average of almost five years for the development of a conventional fossil fuel power plant. 

Renewable energy plants have the added advantage of being scalable: they can be configured in different sizes without necessarily requiring a minimum size to make a project profitable. Given that 19% of the world’s population does not have access to electricity, wind and solar represent an important solution to this pressing need. This is particularly true for rural communities that are not connected to an electricity grid.

Finally, renewable energy plants are “reversible”. If, in a few decades, new, more efficient, more competitive or more manageable energy technologies were to be developed, removing renewable energy plants throughout the world, changing their location or even transforming them into alternative uses, is a perfectly possible scenario with little or no long-term negative consequences. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about most other conventional energy sources and their associated generation technologies.

However, structural change in a country’s energy system is not easy to bring about. Energy policy requires long-term political commitment and also the strength to resist the enormous economic and social pressures of the entrenched interests of incumbents. The introduction of new technologies, such as renewables, has a disruptive effect on the energy industry status quo, where it is not unusual to find direct public intervention or integrated monopolies.

This is one reason why any society wanting to build its energy architecture for the 21st century needs to follow some very basic rules before starting on the road to a cleaner and more sustainable energy model. 

The first rule is the simplest but also the most difficult to accomplish: the necessary changes to a country’s energy model must be a common goal that enjoys multiparty support and the approval of a majority of the population. It is also necessary to explain how the change will happen and be very transparent on the costs and benefits of the new policy.

The second rule is as challenging as the first one: governments must develop a long-term strategy accompanied by a clear set of policies and instruments. This policy has to be flexible enough to adapt to short-term economic changes (such as the current economic crisis) without sacrificing its long-term objectives.

There are, of course, many more rules and much more advice on how to proceed. Very recently, the IEA listed many of them in great detail in its report Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2013. All of them are logical and build on lessons learned from past errors. No doubt, we will avoid repeating many of them and this will clear the way for swifter and cheaper ways of adopting a cleaner energy system.

But all of these efforts will be in vain unless the two important rules that I have just mentioned are followed very strictly. It is to be expected that entrenched interests will do their utmost to maintain the status quo and prioritize short-term private gain over longer-term social and economic benefits.

That is why, as with the introduction of many other disruptive technologies, the key resides in winning political and social support for change.