Hi! Welcome back! In this week’s post, I want to share my view on a green economy measure that I feel can be implemented in less affluent nation (FINALLY!! So sorry for the long wait). The idea is simple, to run on 100% renewable energy while selling excess electricity generated to other people/companies. This idea came when I read about IKEA’s vision to purely run on renewable energy. Being an idealist, I think that this idea might work in the next 10 or 15 years. So, let me discuss the pros and cons of this idea.
One of the pros is that it’s environmentally friendly (duh!). However, more than that, many less affluent countries have land where they can install renewable energy generators. For example, in an agricultural land, windmills can be easily installed there; and hey! Research has shown that wind turbine can help disperse CO2 to the crops that supposedly can help them grow better.
Wind Turbine in Farms. Image taken from shutterstock.com
By using renewable energy, less affluent countries can depend less on imported fossil fuel, hence decreasing their expenditure on energy. The challenge to this is that renewable energy machines are expensive. It is hard to find the right investors as many thinks that success is not guaranteed, especially in less affluent countries with little expertise and experience. Well, this is where international intervention is needed. I stumbled across this interesting organisation, We Mean Business.
We Mean Business coalition logo. Image taken from wemeanbusinesscoalition.org
This organisation is committed to transform industries to be zero-carbon. Hence, by partnering up with one of the 1018 companies (I swear last week was 998), investors may be more attracted to a renewable energy plan.
As I mentioned in my 2nd blog post, people would not want to be environmentally friendly unless the change is beneficial. This is especially true for individuals in less affluent nations whose main goal is to progress economically. Although MIT has proven that switching to be more environmentally friendly can increase profit, as a human I feel like we won’t believe in stats until we see one concrete evidence. Trading renewable energy may look out of reach, but I changed my mind when I read about Ikea’s branch in Canada that produce 4 times the amount of electricity they need, entirely from wind farms. If businesses can harvest renewable energy while having a side profit by selling this excess electricity, won’t it be good? One major challenge to this, however, is that the electricity industries in many countries are monopolised by the government. By selling electricity, does it go against government rules? Well, if it is then that’s such a shame to waste this brilliant idea. However, the government can choose to learn from this business’ idea since it can be profitable.
In conclusion, this idea’s success depends on mainly two things, the right investors and a supportive government. I thought that this is a good starting idea for those who want to start an eco-friendly business. The key idea is don’t fret about doing new things, because who knows, you can start a bandwagon effect that may transform how we perceive the environment.
Hi Bima,
I have a question, but I’m not sure if it’s maybe too big / difficult to answer. If so, just say so.
I don’t know enough about the actual installation of renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, but I wonder if maybe it’s not a simple matter to put them up and then just connect them to the existing grid. While I know for sure it’s possible in Canada and many other places, do you have any idea if it’s possible in general, i.e., countries with presumably less stable / variable electricity technology ?
I also have a comment.
Believe me, I see renewables as part of the solution, but there are negative impacts of wind energy. Turbines kill a lot of birds and bats (especially during migration) in many situations, and it’s starting to look like they might be causing some population declines. The East Asia-Australasia Flyway is one of the world’s most important routes for migratory birds, including some of the world’s most threatened species. And wind turbines are popping up in many countries along the flyway. The problem is, there’ve been no studies (that I know of) of wildlife mortality at turbines in our part of the world. So, I’m concerned about the expansion of wind energy in Asia. As are many of my fellow conservation biologists. Before we go down this path, we need good info on how to site turbines so they don’t kill piles of animals. The consequences go beyond just deaths – major wildlife mortality can help give the wind energy industry a “bad name” and strengthen the arguments of those who advocate for continuing to use fossil fuels.
jc
Hi Dr. Coleman,
I believe that installing renewable energy will open up great job opportunities in less affluent nations, especially for the engineers. I am not sure what’s the situation in Africa or South America, but we can see the trend that many students in Asia, especially India, Malaysia and Indonesia, are studying engineering. That is why it is part of a green economy in my opinion as it also opens up job opportunities to these people who often end up doing office work. Well, they still need an expert to guide them I presume, and that is where foreign intervention will be necessary too.
As for the bird migration flyway, I really did not consider that when doing this sorry. Hmm, to be honest, I don’t really know how to solve this problem. It is easy to consult with biologists before installing the wind turbines, but it is related to politics I guess. Maybe it is a good way to install different types of renewable energy generator in different regions according to the needs and limitations.
Hi Bima,
I think maybe my comments / questions weren’t clear.
What I meant in the first one was that the infrastructure, i.e., the power grid, in some places might not make it possible to just put up wind turbines and plug them into the grid (but I don’t know). Even if it creates jobs for engineers, it might not be feasible.
And with regard to migratory birds and bats, no need to apologise. I wouldn’t expect you to know about this. In fact, most people don’t. But it’s not as easy as you seem to think it is. Ideally, we site wind turbines where they won’t cause significant mortality. Figuring out where that is takes quite a bit of time and data. And these are data we don’t have. Meanwhile, the turbines are being installed anyway. If you want to talk further about this, let me know…
Hi Dr Coleman,
I am unsure how it is not feasible. Many countries have developed this technology and Less affluent nations can copy them and make some minor adjustments. Maybe there are some limitations such as the economy, or the current knowledge of the people, or the landscape of the region. I am not an expert in this technology, but being an optimist, I believe this limitation is something that could be overcome when different stakeholders can work together to create a whole and holistic approach.