Editing Renewable energy (section)

== Debates ==
{{Main|Renewable energy debate||Green job|Intermittent power source}}
{{Further|Climate change mitigation#Overviews, strategies and comparisons of measures}}
=== Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy ===
[[File:2011-05-10_18-57-46_Switzerland_-_Wil_crop.jpg|thumb|The [[Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant]] in Switzerland]]
{{Excerpt|Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy}}

=== Geopolitics ===
{{See also|Russia in the European energy sector}}
[[File:TREC-Map-en.jpg|thumb|A concept of a [[super grid]]]]
The [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] impact of the growing use of renewable energy is a subject of ongoing debate and research.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317954274|title=The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy|website=ResearchGate|access-date=26 June 2019|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728123315/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317954274_The_Geopolitics_of_Renewable_Energy|url-status=live}}</ref> Many fossil-fuel producing countries, such as [[Qatar]], [[Russia]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Norway]], are currently able to exert diplomatic or geopolitical influence as a result of their oil wealth. Most of these countries are expected to be among the geopolitical "losers" of the energy transition, although some, like Norway, are also significant producers and exporters of renewable energy. Fossil fuels and the infrastructure to extract them may, in the long term, become [[stranded asset]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Overland |first1=Indra |last2=Bazilian |first2=Morgan |last3=Ilimbek Uulu |first3=Talgat |last4=Vakulchuk |first4=Roman |last5=Westphal |first5=Kirsten |date=2019 |title=The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition |journal=Energy Strategy Reviews |volume=26 |pages=100406 |bibcode=2019EneSR..2600406O |doi=10.1016/j.esr.2019.100406 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/2634876}}</ref> It has been speculated that countries dependent on fossil fuel revenue may one day find it in their interests to quickly [[Fire sale|sell off]] their remaining fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mercure |first1=J.-F. |last2=Salas |first2=P. |last3=Vercoulen |first3=P. |last4=Semieniuk |first4=G. |last5=Lam |first5=A. |last6=Pollitt |first6=H. |last7=Holden |first7=P. B. |last8=Vakilifard |first8=N. |last9=Chewpreecha |first9=U. |last10=Edwards |first10=N. R. |last11=Vinuales |first11=J. E. |title=Reframing incentives for climate policy action |journal=Nature Energy |date=4 November 2021 |volume=6 |issue=12 |pages=1133–1143 |doi=10.1038/s41560-021-00934-2 |bibcode=2021NatEn...6.1133M |s2cid=243792305 |issn=2058-7546|doi-access=free |hdl=10871/127743 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Conversely, nations abundant in renewable resources, and the minerals required for renewables technology, are expected to gain influence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Overland|first=Indra|date=1 March 2019|title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths|journal=Energy Research & Social Science|volume=49|pages=36–40|doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018|issn=2214-6296|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019ERSS...49...36O |hdl=11250/2579292|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The transition to clean energy will mint new commodity superpowers |newspaper=[[The Economist]]|url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/03/26/the-transition-to-clean-energy-will-mint-new-commodity-superpowers |access-date=2022-05-02 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> In particular, [[China]] has become the world's dominant manufacturer of the technology needed to produce or store renewable energy, especially [[solar panel]]s, [[wind turbine]]s, and [[Lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Christian |date=March 29, 2024 |title=China is all in on green tech. The U.S. and Europe fear unfair competition. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/29/china-clean-green-energy-technology-trade/ |access-date=April 10, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Nations rich in solar and wind energy could become major energy exporters.<ref name="cb1" /> Some may produce and export [[green hydrogen]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van de Graaf |first1=Thijs |last2=Overland |first2=Indra |last3=Scholten |first3=Daniel |last4=Westphal |first4=Kirsten |title=The new oil? The geopolitics and international governance of hydrogen |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |date=1 December 2020 |volume=70 |pages=101667 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2020.101667 |pmid=32835007 |pmc=7326412 |bibcode=2020ERSS...7001667V |issn=2214-6296}}</ref><ref name="cb1">{{cite web |title=In-depth Q&A: Does the world need hydrogen to solve climate change? |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-does-the-world-need-hydrogen-to-solve-climate-change |website=Carbon Brief |access-date=10 November 2021 |date=30 November 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201155033/https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-does-the-world-need-hydrogen-to-solve-climate-change |url-status=live}}</ref> although electricity is projected to be the dominant [[energy carrier]] in 2050, accounting for almost 50% of total energy consumption (up from 22% in 2015).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/World-Energy-Transitions-Outlook |title=World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway |publisher=[[International Renewable Energy Agency]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-92-9260-334-2 |location=Abu Dhabi |pages=24 |language=en}}</ref> Countries with large uninhabited areas such as Australia, China, and many African and Middle Eastern countries have a potential for huge installations of renewable energy. The production of renewable energy technologies requires [[rare-earth element]]s with new supply chains.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Geopolitics Of Renewable Energy |url=https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/CGEPTheGeopoliticsOfRenewables.pdf |year=2017|access-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204083012/https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/CGEPTheGeopoliticsOfRenewables.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2020 |publisher=Center on Global Energy Policy Columbia University SIPA / Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Harvard Kennedy School}}</ref>

Countries with already weak governments that rely on fossil fuel revenue may face even higher political instability or popular unrest. Analysts consider Nigeria, [[Angola]], [[Chad]], [[Gabon]], and [[Sudan]], all countries with a history of [[Coup d'état|military coups]], to be at risk of instability due to dwindling oil income.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ince |first1=Matt |last2=Sikorsky |first2=Erin |date=December 13, 2023 |title=The Uncomfortable Geopolitics of the Clean Energy Transition |url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-uncomfortable-geopolitics-of-the-clean-energy-transition |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=[[Lawfare (website)|Lawfare]] |language=en}}</ref>

A study found that transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems reduces risks from mining, trade and political dependence because renewable energy systems don't need fuel – they depend on trade only for the acquisition of materials and components during construction.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krane |first1=Jim |last2=Idel |first2=Robert |title=More transitions, less risk: How renewable energy reduces risks from mining, trade and political dependence |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |date=1 December 2021 |volume=82 |pages=102311 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2021.102311 |bibcode=2021ERSS...8202311K |s2cid=244187364 |issn=2214-6296}}</ref>

In October 2021, European Commissioner for Climate Action [[Frans Timmermans]] suggested "the best answer" to the [[2021 global energy crisis]] is "to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels."<ref name="Timmermans">{{cite news |date=6 October 2021 |title=EU countries look to Brussels for help with 'unprecedented' energy crisis |work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-look-to-brussels-for-help-with-unprecedented-energy-crisis/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021121838/https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-look-to-brussels-for-help-with-unprecedented-energy-crisis/ |archive-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> He said those blaming the [[European Green Deal]] were doing so "for perhaps ideological reasons or sometimes economic reasons in protecting their vested interests."<ref name="Timmermans" /> Some critics blamed the [[European Union Emissions Trading System]] (EU ETS) and [[Nuclear power phase-out|closure of nuclear plants]] for contributing to the energy crisis.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 October 2021 |title=European Energy Crisis Fuels Carbon Trading Expansion Concerns |work=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/european-energy-crisis-fuels-carbon-trading-expansion-concerns |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022084826/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-06/european-energy-crisis-fuels-carbon-trading-expansion-concerns |archive-date=22 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=20 October 2021 |title=The Green Brief: East-West EU split again over climate |work=[[Euractiv]] |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/the-green-brief-east-west-eu-split-again-over-climate/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020225129/https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/the-green-brief-east-west-eu-split-again-over-climate/ |archive-date=20 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 October 2021 |title=In Global Energy Crisis, Anti-Nuclear Chickens Come Home to Roost |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/08/energy-crisis-nuclear-natural-gas-renewable-climate/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022084834/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/08/energy-crisis-nuclear-natural-gas-renewable-climate/ |archive-date=22 October 2021}}</ref> European Commission President [[Ursula von der Leyen]] said that Europe is "too reliant" on [[natural gas]] and too [[List of countries by natural gas imports|dependent on natural gas imports]]. According to Von der Leyen, "The answer has to do with diversifying our suppliers ... and, crucially, with speeding up the transition to clean energy."<ref>{{cite news |date=20 October 2021 |title=Europe's energy crisis: Continent 'too reliant on gas,' says von der Leyen |work=Euronews |url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/20/europe-s-energy-crisis-continent-too-reliant-on-gas-says-von-der-leyen |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024152313/https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/20/europe-s-energy-crisis-continent-too-reliant-on-gas-says-von-der-leyen |archive-date=24 October 2021}}</ref>

=== Metal and mineral extraction ===
{{See also|Environmental footprint of electric cars|Rare-earth element#Environmental considerations}}

The [[Energy transition|transition]] to renewable energy requires increased extraction of certain metals and minerals. Like all mining, this impacts the environment<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Tobi |title=Mining needed for renewable energy 'could harm biodiversity' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/mining-needed-for-renewable-energy-could-harm-biodiversity |access-date=18 October 2020 |agency=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=Nature Communications |date=1 September 2020 |archive-date=6 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006002803/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/mining-needed-for-renewable-energy-could-harm-biodiversity |url-status=live }}</ref> and can lead to [[environmental conflict]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marín |first1=Anabel |last2=Goya |first2=Daniel |date=2021-12-01 |title=Mining—The dark side of the energy transition |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221042242100071X |journal=Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions |series=Celebrating a decade of EIST: What's next for transition studies? |language=en |volume=41 |pages=86–88 |doi=10.1016/j.eist.2021.09.011 |bibcode=2021EIST...41...86M |s2cid=239975201 |issn=2210-4224}}</ref> For example, lithium mining uses around 65% of the water in the Salar de Atamaca desert forcing farmers and llama herders to abandon their ancestral settlements and creating environment degradation,<ref>{{cite web |title=UN highlights urgent need to tackle impact of likely electric car battery production boom |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1067272 |website=United Nations |date=28 June 2020 |access-date=26 March 2025}}</ref> in several African countries, the green energy transition has created a mining boom, causing deforestation, and threatening already endangered species.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hemingway Jaynes |first1=Cristen |title=Africa's 'Mining Boom' Threatens More Than a Third of Its Great Apes |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/africa-mining-great-apes-threatened.html |access-date=10 April 2024 |agency=Ecowatch |publisher=the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). |date=4 April 2024}}</ref>  Wind power requires large amounts of copper and zinc, as well as smaller amounts of the rarer metal [[neodymium]]. Solar power is less resource-intensive, but still requires significant amounts of aluminum. The expansion of electrical grids requires both copper and aluminum. Batteries, which are critical to enable storage of renewable energy, use large quantities of copper, nickel, aluminum and graphite. Demand for lithium is expected to grow 42-fold from 2020 to 2040. Demand for nickel, cobalt and graphite is expected to grow by a factor of about 20–25.<ref name="IEA minerals">{{Cite web |date=2021-05-05 |title=The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions (presentation and full report) |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions |access-date=2022-11-14 |publisher=IEA |language=en}}</ref> For each of the most relevant minerals and metals, its mining is dominated by a single country: [[Copper mining in Chile|copper in Chile]], [[Nickel mining in Indonesia|nickel in Indonesia]], [[Rare earth industry in China|rare earths in China]], [[Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)]], and [[Lithium mining in Australia|lithium in Australia]]. China dominates [[Mineral processing|processing]] of all of these.<ref name="IEA minerals" />

Recycling these metals after the devices they are embedded in are spent is essential to create a [[circular economy]] and ensure renewable energy is sustainable. By 2040, recycled [[copper]], [[lithium]], cobalt, and [[nickel]] from spent batteries could reduce combined primary supply requirements for these minerals by around 10%.<ref name="IEA minerals" />

A controversial approach is [[deep sea mining]]. Minerals can be collected from new sources like [[polymetallic nodules]] lying on the [[seabed]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Saleem |date=2 June 2020 |title=Deep sea mining: the potential convergence of science, industry and sustainable development? |url=https://sustainabilitycommunity.springernature.com/posts/deep-sea-mining-the-potential-convergence-of-science-industry-and-sustainable-development |access-date=20 January 2021 |website=Springer Nature Sustainability Community |language=en}}</ref> This would damage local biodiversity,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Sea Mining May Start in 2023, but Environmental Questions Persist |url=https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/deep-sea-mining-may-start-in-2023-but-environmental-questions-persist |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=The Maritime Executive |language=en}}</ref> but proponents point out that biomass on resource-rich seabeds is much scarcer than in the mining regions on land, which are often found in vulnerable habitats like rainforests.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The world needs more battery metals. Time to mine the seabed |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/07/06/the-world-needs-more-battery-metals-time-to-mine-the-seabed |access-date=2024-05-31 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

Due to co-occurrence of rare-earth and radioactive elements ([[thorium]], [[uranium]] and [[radium]]), rare-earth mining results in production of low-level [[radioactive waste]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/radioactive-waste-standoff-could-slash-high-tech-s-supply-rare-earth-elements|title=Radioactive waste standoff could slash high tech's supply of rare earth elements|last1=Law|first1=Yao-Hua|date=1 April 2019|website=Science {{!}} AAAS|access-date=23 April 2020|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401184123/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/radioactive-waste-standoff-could-slash-high-tech-s-supply-rare-earth-elements|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Conservation areas ===
Installations used to produce wind, solar and hydropower are an increasing threat to key conservation areas, with facilities built in areas set aside for nature conservation and other environmentally sensitive areas. They are often much larger than fossil fuel power plants, needing areas of land up to 10 times greater than coal or gas to produce equivalent energy amounts.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McGrath |first1=Matt |date=25 March 2020 |title=Climate change: Green energy plant threat to wilderness areas |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52023881 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530170444/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52023881 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |access-date=27 March 2020 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> More than 2000 renewable energy facilities are built, and more are under construction, in areas of environmental importance and threaten the habitats of plant and animal species across the globe. The authors' team emphasized that their work should not be interpreted as anti-renewables because renewable energy is crucial for reducing carbon emissions. The key is ensuring that renewable energy facilities are built in places where they do not damage biodiversity.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 March 2020 |title=Habitats Under Threat From Renewable Energy Development |url=https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/habitats-under-threat-from-renewable-energy-developments-332651 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327094241/https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/habitats-under-threat-from-renewable-energy-developments-332651 |archive-date=27 March 2020 |access-date=27 March 2020 |website=technologynetworks.com}}</ref>

In 2020 scientists published a [[world map]] of areas that contain renewable energy materials as well as estimations of their overlaps with "Key Biodiversity Areas", "Remaining Wilderness" and "[[protected area|Protected Areas]]". The authors assessed that careful [[strategic planning]] is needed.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 September 2020 |title=Mining needed for renewable energy 'could harm biodiversity' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/mining-needed-for-renewable-energy-could-harm-biodiversity |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006002803/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/mining-needed-for-renewable-energy-could-harm-biodiversity |archive-date=6 October 2020 |access-date=8 October 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mining for renewable energy could be another threat to the environment |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-09-renewable-energy-threat-environment.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003033243/https://phys.org/news/2020-09-renewable-energy-threat-environment.html |archive-date=3 October 2020 |access-date=8 October 2020 |work=phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sonter |first1=Laura J. |last2=Dade |first2=Marie C. |last3=Watson |first3=James E. M. |last4=Valenta |first4=Rick K. |date=1 September 2020 |title=Renewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=4174 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.4174S |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-17928-5 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7463236 |pmid=32873789 |s2cid=221467922}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|class=noviewer|50x50px]] Text and images are available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]] {{Cite web |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |title=CC BY 4.0 Deed &#124; Attribution 4.0 International &#124; Creative Commons |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}.</ref>

=== Impact of climate change on renewable energy production ===
Climate change is making weather patterns less predictable. This can seriously hamper the use of renewable energy. For example, in the year 2023, in Sudan and Namibia, hydropower production dropped by more than half due to drastic reduction in rainfall, in China, India and some regions in Africa unusual weather phenomena reduced the amount of produced wind energy, heatwaves and clouds reduce the effectiveness of solar pannels, melting glaciers are creating problems to hydropower. Nuclear energy is also affected as drought create water shortage, so nuclear power plants sometimes do not have enough water for cooling.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quinones |first1=Laura |title=Can renewable energy survive climate change? |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1161526 |website=United Nations |date=26 March 2025 |access-date=26 March 2025}}</ref>