Dear colleagues,

 

It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of our edited volume on The Geopolitics of Renewables. You can find it online at http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319678542. It is available as eBook and hardcover; chapters can also be ordered individually. A teaser and table of contents are provided below.

 

Feel free to share the news.

 

All the best,

 

Daniel Scholten

 

Assistant Professor Geopolitics of Renewables

Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

Delft University of Technology

 

Office: C3.060 | Jaffalaan 5 | 2628 BX | Delft 

T +31 (0)15 27 84708

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The Geopolitics of Renewables

 

Renewable energy represents a game changer for interstate energy relations. The abundant and intermittent nature of sources, possibilities for decentral generation and use of rare earth materials, and generally electric nature of distribution make renewable energy systems very different from those of fossil fuels. What do these geographic and technical characteristics imply for infrastructure topology and operations, business models, and energy markets? What are the consequences for strategic realities and policy considerations of producer, consumer, and transit countries and energy-related patterns of cooperation and conflict between them? Who are the likely winners and losers?

 

The Geopolitics of Renewables is the first in-depth exploration of the implications for interstate energy relations of a transition towards renewable energy. Fifteen international scholars combine insights from several disciplines - international relations, geopolitics, energy security, renewable energy technology, economics, sustainability transitions, and energy policy - to establish a comprehensive overview and understanding of the emerging energy game. Focus is on contemporary developments and how they may shape the coming decades on three levels of analysis:

·              The emerging global energy game; winners and losers

·              Regional and bilateral energy relations of established and rising powers

·              Infrastructure developments and governance responses

 

The book is recommended for academics and policy makers. It offers a novel analytical framework that moves from geography and technology to economics and politics to investigate the geopolitical implications of renewable energy and provides practical illustrations and policy recommendations related to specific countries and regions such as the US, EU, China, India, OPEC, and Russia.

 

 

 

Contents

 

Introduction

 

1. The geopolitics of renewables - an introduction and expectations.

Daniel Scholten

 

Part I The emerging global energy game; winners and losers

 

2. Geopolitics of the renewable energy game and its potential impact upon global power relations. 

David Criekemans

 

3. Redrawing the geopolitical map: international relations and renewable energies.

Karen Smith Stegen

 

4. Battling for a shrinking market: oil producers, the renewables revolution, and the risk of stranded assets.       

Thijs van de Graaf

 

Part II Regional and bilateral energy relations of established and rising powers

 

5. The geopolitical implications of a clean energy future from the perspective of the United States.

Varun Sivaram and Sagatom Saha

 

6. The international reverberations of Germany’s Energiewende; geoeconomics in the EU’s geo-energy space.

Thomas Sattich

 

7. China and renewables: the priority of economics over geopolitics.

Duncan Freeman

 

8. Drivers, apparatus, and implications of India’s renewable energy ambitions.

Kanika Chawla

 

Part III Infrastructure developments and governance responses

 

9. New governance challenges and conflicts of the energy transition: renewable electricity generation and transmission as contested socio-technical options. 

Fritz Reusswig, Nadejda Komendantova, and Antonella Battaglini

 

10. Connecting visions of a future renewable energy grid. 

Marloes Dignum

 

11. Renewables and the core of the Energy Union: how the Pentalateral Forum facilitates the energy transition in Western Europe.

Susann Handke

 

Conclusion

 

12. The strategic realities of the emerging energy game - conclusion and reflection.

Daniel Scholten and Rick Bosman