The world still uses a lot of fossil energy. The share has fluctuated around 80% over the past 30 years. The question is of course how this will develop in the years to come. Unfortunately, the figures that I could consult only reached until 2015. The question is, of course, whether the downward trend of the last year will continue.In any case, the challenge is great.
The World Economic Forum report delves deeper into this. Global access to electricity has improved considerably in recent years. The number of people who do not yet have access to electricity is now less than a billion. Affordability is a concern however, particularly in countries that focus on renewable energy. The price for electricity for consumers in Germany is already 34 cents, in the Netherlands it is 22 cents (per…). The feared rise in costs and a fall in purchasing power due to the use of renewable energy appears to have played an important role in recent elections in the Netherlands. It is worrysome that the energy transition is also stagnating internationally. The deployment of coal-fired power stations in Asia is slowing down sustainability, while energy productivity improvements are also slower than predicted, namely only 1.8% instead of the 3% required to comply with the Paris climate agreements.
Last week I was on vacation in The Gambia and it is unbelievable to see that there is so little use of sustainable energy. The wind was strong, but I only saw two wind turbines, which unfortunately weren’t turned on. There were hardly any solar panels. Not even at our hotel. All in all, great opportunities, lots of sun, a constant wind … and an electricity grid that regularly fails.
Putting all this together, it isn’t a pretty picture. At CCS, we are working hard to contribute to breaking this trend and, in addition to the Netherlands, we are particularly interested in the great oppertunities that lie on the African continent.
About this article
12 April 2019 / Author: Dr. Ir. René Cornelissen
