Navigating Energy Transition and Security Challenges

Sustainable energy systems must integrate clean energy with efficient materials, modernize the grid, store and collaborate, and be distributed and flexible.

FREMONT, CA: The transition to renewable energy and energy security can be advanced in parallel. The solution lies in viewing these as complementary imperatives rather than competing ones. Future energy systems must focus on sustainability and security. Without integrated solutions addressing both simultaneously, the world will not be able to achieve energy transition.

The focus of leaders continues to be on sustainability, but the real focus is now on energy systems. Many worry that a de-emphasis on sustainability may threaten net zero momentum. However, that isn't a certainty. Governments have begun rolling back green policies in order to ensure the stability of their energy supply chains to meet short-term security needs. Several measures have been taken to reinforce natural gas supplies, including securing alternative sources, building new gas infrastructure, and increasing the coal share in the power mix.

There may be a displacement of short-term investments in clean energy by these responses, which will lock the region into fossil fuel commitments. In addition to accelerating momentum toward a future based on clean energy, the energy crisis will also serve as a catalyst. There is no doubt that short-term pain will result in long-term gains, as evidenced by a number of policy packages that bring clean energy to the foreground in the midst of the ongoing energy crisis. It is not the same as in the past that energy security is a challenge of today. In some cases, conventional solutions fail to address them in their entirety, whereas in others, they are valid but need to be adjusted. Managing digitally connected energy assets and systems, extended supply chains, and emerging technologies requires new approaches.

When demand for low-carbon energy is harnessed, system flexibility and reliability, energy security and resilience will be enhanced, and consumers will be rewarded. Efforts to increase energy efficiency are essential for a just transition. By improving efficiency, society is able to immediately save money, which can be invested in a clean energy system. In addition, reducing emissions can have a significant, immediate impact. In order to develop a low-carbon energy infrastructure, efficiency imperatives can extend beyond energy to include utilizing materials such as steel, copper, and cement efficiently.

Creating a balance between energy security and sustainability will require significant public-private commitments, policies, and structured frameworks to support consumers and enable the continuing development of clean energy infrastructures. Despite fossil fuels being geologically predetermined, energy trading and fuel source diversification can provide supply security and even self-sufficiency. Mineral supplies used to develop connected grids and transmission infrastructures are crucial for the deployment of intermittent renewables at scale and will be a critical component of supply security beyond energy sources.

It is imperative to provide clean electricity to advance the transition while ensuring energy security. However, the introduction of more wind and solar energy can impact grid reliability. To accommodate dispatchable alternatives to current energy sources, grid modernization and enhanced energy storage and backup generation capabilities will be necessary. A strong and resilient grid requires reimagined operations, circular supply chains, improved stakeholder communication, and optimized workforce management practices.

Energy in the future will be distributed, digital, and collaborative - and run on smart grids that are reactive and flexible, which will allow renewable energy sources to be effectively integrated into our energy supply. In addition to network capacity, backup, and storage, building a stable and resilient energy system also requires new collaborative engagements within the technology sector, not just with energy suppliers.