Clean energy investment must reach $4.5 trillion per year by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C according to the International Energy Agency report. That’s a significant amount of investment, though this reflects about 4.5% of the world GDP. While the technology for renewable energy exists and the capacity keeps growing, this energy still poses difficult questions. Renewable energy is still expensive and requires significant initial investments. The respective roles of markets and governments are important to speed up the transition to cleaner energy, and sole market approach may not work or at least not quick enough as required by the climate emergency. On the other hand, the use of renewable energy poses serious questions regarding other planetary boundaries, and electrification of all energy use may not be possible or optimal.
In this episode, I talk with Mario Samano, an Associate professor of Economics at HEC Montreal who works on regulation and market competition in energy markets, including renewable energy and we discuss all these questions regarding renewable energy, where markets can help and where there are their limits. Is energy transition feasible and what market mechanisms and government interventions are needed to achieve the transition?
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00:00 Introduction
01:03 The Importance of Energy and Types of Energy Sources
08:17 Renewable Energy and its Benefits
13:35 Challenges of Intermittency and Feasibility of 100% Renewables
21:51 The Levelized Cost of Electricity and Comparing Energy Sources
29:43 Storage Solutions in Renewable Energy
33:09 Concentrated Solar Power and its Challenges
34:09 Concentrated Solar Power and Energy Storage
36:04 Challenges in the Energy Network Infrastructure
37:02 Transporting Renewable Energy to Cities: The Transmission Line Problem
39:55 Government Intervention and Regulation in the Renewable Energy Industry
51:24 Sustainability of Renewable Energy: Considering Environmental and Social Costs