The New Global Energy Economy - just in time for the holidays
Dec 8, 2021
(Guelph Solar team is helping to build a carbon-free economy one installation at a time. Photo credit: Mark Hamilton)
"Sometimes we need a spark of light and hope as the dark days of winter descend. Here is a path we are on together – for those who like podcasts check the link below." Steve Dyck, President, Guelph Solar.
By Mark Hamilton.
Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition) began in 2010 with the unprecedented goal of transitioning the country away from fossil fuel and nuclear energy and replacing it with wind, solar and biomass renewables. A decade later, Germany has the world’s first major renewable energy economy and is leading the way in a global energy transition that a decade ago would have seemed impossible.
“The shift is unstoppable,” says Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist for Carbon Tracker*. “Ultimately, the way humanity is going to solve the problem (climate change) is we’re going to decarbonize electricity, we have solutions for that, we’re going to electrify whatever we can, and new solutions are materializing every day.”
“A new global energy economy is emerging,” says Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency**. “The market size for clean energy manufacturers and industries in the future will be bigger than the market size of the oil industry today.”
(Guelph Solar team is helping to build a carbon-free economy one installation at a time. Photo credit: Mark Hamilton)
“Ontario homeowners and business owners can contribute locally to the global energy transition,” says Steve Dyck, President of Guelph Solar. The company is known for creating sustainable employment for men and women, voluntarily paying living wages and contributing to local community-building efforts. “With each Guelph Solar installation, we’re helping build a carbon-free economy, contributing to a healthier environment and a more just society.”
Under the new global energy economy, energy is no longer centralized and dominated by superpowers, oligarchs and global corporations. Kingsmill Bond says, “Countries that have always been completely dependent on importing fossil fuels suddenly have options for domestic, eternal, clean energy. Powerful justice is driving this energy transition. Africa has the potential to become an incredible renewable energy superpower.”
Steve Dyck of Guelph Solar agrees. "The sun shines for everyone. It’s a very democratic power system.”
*Carbon Tracker is a UK-based NGO that focuses on “the impact of the energy transition on financial markets, domestic politics and geopolitics.”
**Based in Paris, International Energy Agency (IEA) are analysts and policy advisors on fossil fuel and sustainable energy strategies for its member states including Canada.
Listen to the Volts podcast by David Roberts with guest Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist
https://www.volts.wtf/p/volts-podcast-the-good-news-about
Learn more about Germany’s Energiewende:
