Gone With the Wind

The world is experiencing an energy crisis now, is wind power the way to go?

Date: 5/29/22

Authors: Nikolas Traavik Nesheim, Adrian Ånnestad

Energy in EU

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It has long been a goal in the EU to phase out parts of fossil energy production in favor of climate-neutral alternatives. Primarily, environmental issues and climate agreements have been the driving force behind this. Lately, it is geopolitical condtitions that facilitate the debate on alternative energy sources. It is clear to countries that are dependent on Russian gas, such as Germany, that change should take place as soon as possible for geopolitical reasons.

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Alternative Energy Sources

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When discussing alternatives to fossil energy production, it is especially wind power and nuclear power that are relevant in Northern Europe. There are negative aspects of both wind and nuclear power. For wind, local destruction of nature and wildlife is particularly emphasized, unpredictability in actually produceded energy (production depends on how strong the wind is - this means that countries with wind power must compensate with alternative sources during periods of low production). There is also weak resource utilization in relation to other energy sources, this is illustrated by the graph below.

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