Energy Security and Renewable Energy: A Geopolitical Perspective

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of renewable energy in shaping energy security against the backdrop of global geopolitical, socioeconomic, and technological uncertainties. The evolving definition of energy security during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is discussed initially. The dimensions, components, and metrics of energy security are reviewed, including the 4A definition of energy security that comprises physical availability; economic affordability; accessibility from a sociopolitical standpoint; and environmental acceptability. A novel energy security index is proposed, with the following components: physical availability; technology development; economic affordability; social accessibility; governance; unconventional threats; and natural environment. Of these, physical availability followed by technology development, economic affordability, and governance was rated as the most important, and the environment was rated as the least important by a small panel of experts. The roles of wind and solar energy are highlighted, with an emphasis on the social acceptance of renewable energy in an energy security context. Other energy security indexes are discussed, focusing on sustainability and renewable energy. Denmark, Germany, China, Russia, and the United States are examined as case studies that help understand the transition to renewable energy in the context of coopetition among states. As these countries face different political concerns, geopolitical realities, and energy security issues, they consider different policy approaches to address them.