Bridges and Bottlenecks is the latest podcast series by Energy Voice Out Loud in partnership with DNV. Each episode looks to address the hard-hitting issues within the energy transition. Technology exists that will be the bridge to take us there, but there are still a number of bottlenecks that stand in the way of progress.
Joining Energy Voice’s print features lead, Ryan Duff, is DNV’s head of department for risk advisory, Bwalya Kafwembe, and professor of energy systems engineering at the Imperial College of London, Niall Mac Dowell
As this podcast series starts to wrap up, DNV and Energy Voice dive into how all different sources of energy, traditional and renewable, converge to meet the demands of people.
“I would argue we wasted decades trying to pick winners as opposed to recognising the reality that the world is going to need all the energy it possibly can from a huge diversity of sources, prioritised differently by regions,” said professor Mac Dowell.
“The challenge is to deliver these energy services to a growing population who are in search of an improved quality of life in a manner that is environmentally benign.” 05:06
The trio discussed how different parts of the world will approach the energy transition in different ways, some may need to take longer to reach net zero while others will implement technologies that other regions may deem as carbon intensive.
Financing will also be a key component to achieving the energy transitions and, according to Bwalya Kafwembe, securing the correct level of investment relies on the general public to get on board with the changes the switch to greener technologies will bring.
Ms Kafwembe commented: “Managing to deploy all of these technologies, implement the market policies and regulations to create the financing to develop the skills and training that power the supply chain really requires buy in from the population at large, usefully also called the tax payer because they have to agree to fund this.
“I’m not persuaded that market force by themselves will deliver what is required in the time.”
When discussing the energy transition the phrase “energy mix” often crops up.
The idea of multiple technologies intersecting in order to meet the growing power demands of the population is necessary to achieving climate goals.
Niall Mac Dowell explained: “There will be no one tool, we’ll need every tool in the shed. Yes, you’re going to need all of the engineering and science and technology and all the rest of it, but we will need the finance side and we will need the legal side.
“Everything is going to need to come together to make this work.”
Listen to the full conversation on your podcast platform of choice.
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