Often when we talk about the green transition we talk about the barriers. It’ll be expensive, it’ll take a long time (time we don’t have) and it’ll take a lot of bureaucratic negotiation. But it’s always important to remind ourselves that while there may be short-term challenges, in the long run it’ll save us money, and maybe the planet too! The reminder this week comes from Senegal. A recent study has found that the country could save $700 million by 2035 if its planned renewable developments go ahead.
What Could Renewables Do For Senegal?
The report by Wärtsilä Energy found that the country would deploy 2100 MW by 2035. They’ll address intermittent supply of renewables with energy storage and flexible engine power plants. It’s expected that these changes could reduce Senegal’s carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.
Marc Thiriet, Director (Africa) at Wärtsilä Energy said…
“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not going to cost more: it’s going to cost less.” – “We have got wind and solar technologies. We have storage technologies and flexible engine power plants for grid balancing, and we have sustainable fuels that we will use to run the balancing power plants when these fuels become more broadly available.”
Is Net-Zero A Planning Problem?
As I mentioned in a previous article – see here: Grid Growing Pains! Net-Zero Is A Planning Problem – the UK has the potential for more than enough renewable energy generation to meet their goals. This may be somewhat echoed in Senegal where the $700m saving is tied to planned projects. It’s encouraging that we’re within touching distance of developing the right capacity to properly rely on renewables. But without the right leadership we may be waiting longer than we can afford to.
It’s often said that we already have the ability to reach net-zero, we’re just struggling with finding the right leadership. Innovative start-ups with wild climate tech solutions are all well and good. But a lot of the work that needs doing is just boring paperwork to remove planning barriers.
Conclusion
Yes, building a whole new energy system is expensive! But in the end, renewables are cheap. They also might just be our ticket to avoiding a full-blown apocalypse! Do you think we need more of a reason?
