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Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

reuters.com

81–90 of 474 posts

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, I live in Spain and probably once again we'll have restrictions on AC in the summer just like at the start of the Ukraine war. Hopefully, we can avoid actual blackouts. I live on Spain . What the hell restrictions are you talking about ?

This did happen in summer of 2022, but only in public buildings, private households were not affected, so the OP's point seems a bit overly dramatic. Given that AC usage is highest when solar production is also highest, this seems highly unlikely given the solar build-out of the last 4 years.

That included offices though so work was difficult.

I guess private homes weren’t included because of the difficulty of enforcement.

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#82
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the election that is running in Denmark right now it looks like nuclear power is back on the table.

Why would you invest in nuclear power, which is several times more expensive per kwh than wind + battery in Denmark, which also has excellent links to reliable hydropower from Norway and Sweden? Especially when your greatest external security threat is Russia which has openly threatened targeting nuclear reactors of a country they are trying to invade? Not to speak of the inconvenient fact that Uranium is not a resou…

>Why would you

I am unfortunately not the one empowered to make these decisions, nor do I know the reasoning of those who are, I just noted it seems back on the table based on discussions, maybe because

>Nuclear power makes certain sense for nations that want a military nuclear arsenal and are willing to subsidize nuclear reactors

since also on the table seems to be making a deal with France for Nuclear Weapons access, as I understand what I read.

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#83
post #18

I wonder where the gulf states are going to end up. They have tried hard to build economies that aren't just fossil fuel exports. Tourism, trade, finance, luxury living for rich foreigners… but everything they have tried is contingent on peace in the region. I doubt foreigners are looking forward to layovers in Dubai now there are Iranian drones heading their way. Maybe future travelers will not see two trunkless leg…

Some of them will not exist at all in their current form by summer

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#84
post #77

While it could be good to shift to renewable for other reasons, it's naive to assume that nations won't be dependent on others for critical minerals and metals needed to make solar/wind/batteries/etc.

They are, but unlike fossil fuels, those dependencies go down over time (modulo the utility growth that makes demand for everything go up, of course).

If you buy fossil fuel from a country that may not be an ally forever, your demand remains constant (or goes up over time) because you are changing that fuel into a state that cannot be used again.

If you buy, say, lithium, you put that in a battery and in the future, you can get more lithium from the ground but you can also grind up batteries and re-extract it when they fail. Battery ingredients are, generally, not consumable over even medium and long-term scale if you build out the recycling infrastructure to recapture those ingredients.

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#85

Yeah, I live in Spain and probably once again we'll have restrictions on AC in the summer just like at the start of the Ukraine war. Hopefully, we can avoid actual blackouts. The bizarre thing is that our government still wants to close down the remaining nuclear power plants. One of the issues with our proportional electoral system is that smaller, more extreme parties can become kingmakers and in our current situat…

Seems Europe also has the option of using Northern Africa as a solar energy hub as well. Is that a viable option?

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#86
post #31

The US about to discover you can't just blindly follow fanatics in religious wars without any consequences.

I mean given that our secretary of defense has a Deus Vult tattoo... and this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran... I think we might be the fanatics starting a religious war.

I think the parent comment was referring to the same fanatics you are

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#87
post #67
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An absurd conspiracy theory. Nuclear power has an LCOE that is 5x the cost of solar and wind. Nobody would build it on cost alone. The only reason countries build and run nuclear power plants is because it shares supply chain and a skills base with the nuclear military. Which means they have nukes (France, Russia, US) or they they want to take out an option to one day build a nuke in a hurry just in case for a threat…

Solar and wind are intermittent. Grid scale energy storage is not even a thing yet.

This data is a year old now: https://blog.gridstatus.io/caiso-solar-storage-spring-2025/

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#88

Yeah, I live in Spain and probably once again we'll have restrictions on AC in the summer just like at the start of the Ukraine war. Hopefully, we can avoid actual blackouts. The bizarre thing is that our government still wants to close down the remaining nuclear power plants. One of the issues with our proportional electoral system is that smaller, more extreme parties can become kingmakers and in our current situat…

what do you think of theory that denuclearisation movement in west europe was funded by CCCP? it makes sense to think CCCP/Putin would finance subversive movements to remove nuclear and coal and make the region dependent on russian energy exports

[deleted]

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#89
post #18

I wonder where the gulf states are going to end up. They have tried hard to build economies that aren't just fossil fuel exports. Tourism, trade, finance, luxury living for rich foreigners… but everything they have tried is contingent on peace in the region. I doubt foreigners are looking forward to layovers in Dubai now there are Iranian drones heading their way. Maybe future travelers will not see two trunkless leg…

Well at least they will have much less money to meddle in Africa, I guess.

Yes, what's happening in the Sahel absolutely barbaric and is shamefully swept under the rug in Western media because of the countries sponsoring it.

Re: Iran war energy shock sparks global push to reduce fossil fuel dependence

#90

Yeah, I live in Spain and probably once again we'll have restrictions on AC in the summer just like at the start of the Ukraine war. Hopefully, we can avoid actual blackouts. The bizarre thing is that our government still wants to close down the remaining nuclear power plants. One of the issues with our proportional electoral system is that smaller, more extreme parties can become kingmakers and in our current situat…

This might make sense on a larger timeframe but stating that your grid isn't stable enough to support AC demand while also pushing for electric car adoption seems counter intuitive. It would likely take years to improve the grid to support accelerating electric vehicle demands.
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