Lieuwe reflects: how is the energy transition going now?

The middle of summer … the time to take a break. Time for reflection and a fresh look ahead. How are we doing? How is the energy transition going?

At GreenTrust, we have programmed ourselves to accelerate the energy transition. And acceleration is not exactly how the energy transition is typified today. The development of wind and solar parks is stagnating, grid congestion is throwing a spanner in the works, and politics is…yes…a bit out of shape, shall we say. This is not good for our motivation. We want to accelerate, not slow down! Right?

With the energy transition, we want to switch to energy systems based on renewable sources. The goal is to be completely climate neutral by 2050. And then just hope that the effects of climate change are somewhat contained. Because how is our climate doing right now? The latest reporting from the IPCC does not lie “Extreme temperatures and precipitation have become more intense and more frequent worldwide,” says Sonia Seneviratne, an IPCC climate scientist. And it’s showing. For example, a heat record of a whopping 50.5 degrees was set in late July in Silopi, Turkey. An “all time high” of 41.8 degrees was also set in Japan. And a little closer, in Scandinavia, it is unprecedentedly hot this summer.

All this warming is also causing more extreme precipitation. Last Tuesday, 35.5 inches of precipitation fell in Hong Kong, a feat never seen before. The monsoon in Pakistan is unusually intense with 73% more rainfall compared to July last year. Furthermore, every year we see more forest fires due to drought. In Canada, for example, things have gone badly wrong this year and it is still be careful in southern France. According to Copernicus (EU Climate Observatory), the concentration of smoke and greenhouse gases this summer, in the northern hemisphere, is among the highest ever recorded.

So yes, the climate is changing rapidly. Bad news? Or rather a reason to keep moving forward.

Let’s put this in a broader perspective. The energy transition is more than finding solutions to climate change. The energy transition is a fundamental change in how we deal with energy in society. It is also about affordability, energy independence, air quality, biodiversity, and so on. The energy transition is a system change. And a system change can be erratic, uncertain and chaotic. That is exactly what is needed for change.

Renewable generation has grown rapidly in recent decades, especially solar energy. It is evident that the energy system is not yet ready for this. This can be seen, for example, in the volatility in energy markets and grid congestion. The entire society is “suffering” from this. Whereas in the past the energy transition was mainly driven by climate objectives, we now see that the energy transition is becoming more tangible for more people. There is more urgency, solutions are needed today. And that’s good news! Ultimately also for the climate.

Thus, the system is actually changing. Integration of renewable energy into the entire energy system is in full swing. More and more parties know how to find each other. Most of the requests we get today are about linking (existing) generation to local industry or other activity. We are working on direct lines, charging plazas and also complete energy hubs. Changing energy together, that’s what GreenTrust stands for!

So, are we accelerating the energy transition? Yes!