Presently approximately 80% of global energy comes from burning fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind and biomass collectively provide only about 7% of the world's energy needs. Nuclear energy currently provides 6% of the world's energy supplies. Solar and wind technology even after 50 years of subsidies produce less than 1% of the world's energy.
According to researcher and writer Toni Pyke, they will need to not only keep up with the increasing population growth but also to go beyond these demands in order to meet future energy needs and consider the natural environment. Pyke claims that renewables could provide around 25% of energy needs in some countries, but much of the generating capacity would have to be duplicated in the form of fossil or nuclear plant for use when there is little sun or wind. According to her research in the European Union government's interference with electricity markets, and enforce the use of inferior electricity sources such as wind and solar, this will result in subsidies, taxes, feed-in tariffs, materials and labour and ultimately force the consumer to pay the ultimate costs.
Officially around 27% of Germany's electricity is in the form of renewables and the goal is at least 80% by 2050. The major European economy has reportedly paid tens of billions of Euros to subsidise solar panels and windmills. In spite of that, the country is still using coal and strongly pushing for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which would provide richer natural gas to Germany. Also in the past three years, 53% of all imported coal came to Germany from Russia.
In addition, the EU is importing a significant percentage of electricity. The energy theorist Alex Epstein argues that German leaders are quite aware that the country cannot rely on the renewables.
Author Victor Cotona recently wrote that if Germany is to remain an industrial powerhouse, it would need to keep on importing hard coal as it remains an indispensable element of steel making.
Germany as well as France plans to phase out and decommission all of the nuclear power plants. Officially they intend to switch to renewable sources of energy. If that does not work, these countries along with many other European nations might return to pre-industrial state.
Norway is excluding Russia, the greatest European producer of oil. However the country is expected to run out of fossil fuels in the next 30 years.
The United Kingdom has oil reserves to sustain production for the next 20 years. Since Germany is shutting down its coal mines, Poland remains the only EU country with significant coal reserves. It has proven reserves equivalent to 191.2 times its annual consumption. Due to such performances, if an energy crisis occurs in the future, Poland will likely side with the United States rather than with Berlin and Brussels. Neighbouring Ukraine is also a coal-rich country.
However most of its coal is located in the Donbass region, which is currently controlled by the Russian backed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. They risk however another energy rich European region. It is out of the EU and will likely remain that way. The mainstream media and politicians call it the Western Balkans.
In reality, all of the so-called Western Balkan countries are located in the central and southern parts of the Balkan Peninsula. Even though this will make it more difficult for the so-called Western Balkan countries to meet renewable energy generation and emission reduction targets. Also countries that aim to build new core power plants are looking to Chinese finance. It is expected that 70% of all coal plants in Western Europe will be phased out in the next five years.
Young Electric estimates that by the end of the 2020s, coal will remain in place only in a minority of markets such as Germany, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovenia which means that the coal-rich Balkan countries can play a major role in energy supplies. According to an analysis by the energy community secretariat, lignite-fired power plants constitute between 50 and 90% of electricity generation in all of the so-called Western Balkan countries.
Albania is the only exception as it produces virtually all of its electricity from hydropower. There are speculations that the United States is not allowing these countries to join the EU as Washington wants to have full control over this energy-rich territory, especially when oil and gas become scarce.
In addition to that, Richard Grenell, the US president of Donald Trump's special envoy for the Belgrade Prishtina talks recently urged the two Balkan rivals to resume railway service.
According to Grenell who is also the current US ambassador to Germany, direct railway connection is important for both sides. It is however more important for the United States as it already controls most of the core production in Kosovo and is pushing to have flawless transit to Western Europe.
Kosovo is estimated to be home to the world's fifth largest reserves of brown coal or lignite, and its authorities gave the Canadian-based energy firm Envidity Energy the right to search for coal in more than a third of Kosovo's total territory. It is worth mentioning that the company is chaired by retired US General Wesley Clark. The US is also pushing for some sort of a Balkan union.
In early October 2019 in Novi Sad, Serbia, leaders from Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia signed onto an initiative that has been dubbed mini-Schengen after the EU's passport and duty-free zone. Trump's envoy strongly back the initiative as a way to jump start the free movement of people and commerce. Whether it is coincident or not the Balkan leader signed the document shortly after the meeting they had with the American diplomat.
Since the three countries as well as Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are energy rich, it is likely that they will stay in the US sphere of influence.
The fall of Rome affected the European society in many aspects. The main problem was the loss of technological and economic progress.
The fall of Rome affected the European society in many aspects. The main problem was the loss of technological and economic progress.
It took centuries for the West to recover and form a new order and civilization. The old continent, especially its West can face a similar destiny after the era of fossil fuels unless a sustaining alternative is invented.
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