4 ms·
I remember seeing that question for quite a long time, and the answer was that as long there is cheap access to fossil fuels and the population do not vote for
by belorn 4y ago
I remember seeing that question for quite a long time, and the answer was that as long there is cheap access to fossil fuels and the population do not vote for carbon taxes and similar policies, then the answer is no. We will never see alternative technologies unless they can beat fossil fuel on price alone.
The bet that the previous governments in EU made the last decades was to switch generation to wind and solar when weather condition makes it cheaper than natural gas, and then use natural gas (primarily bought from Russia) for everything else. When green hydrogen become cheaper than natural gas (estimated 2050-2080) we can start replace that natural gas with hydrogen. The big event that changed that was the invasion of Ukraine and the climbing prices of natural gas.
The other way of thinking would be to consider other aspect than price. Those could be geopolitical, global warming, or pollution. I am however doubtful, and the events in EU this winter demonstrated how much citizen demanded government subsidizes and intervention when prices of energy went up. Energy prices are also tied to economic stability and growth, which makes changing the way people think difficult.