Clean energy just a dream, as smoking chimneys remain

By Daniel Schnettler Sep 15, 2010, 11:21 GMT

Montreal - Smoking chimneys instead of whirring windmills?

The energy revolution will not happen quickly as experts say. In the coming decades, most energy will continue to come from traditional plants using coal and gas with the transition to more renewable sources progressing only slowly.

This disheartening picture was painted at the World Energy Conference this week in Montreal. Leaders in the energy sector gathered in the French-Canadian city, but concrete results appeared as intangible as they were at the last meeting in Rome three years ago.

The international energy agency estimates that the percentage of energy from wind, sun and water sources will rise 22 per cent by 2030, but at the same time the demand for energy is set to grow 76 per cent. The rising demand in developing countries, particularly China and India, will cancel out savings in industrial countries.

Industrial growth comes with the availability of energy, noted Kumar Singh, head of India's state coal company Northern Coalfields. 'Coal is our most important fuel,' he said, adding that electricity from renewable sources is too expensive for emerging nations.

'It will take a while until renewable energy is just as affordable as conventional,' said Johannes Teyssen, head of the largest German energy company Eon. 'In Germany, the conversion will likely be faster than in the rest of the world.'

Even so, Eon - with its giant wind parks in the US - is planning to build two large coal plants and several gas plants in Europe.

The wind and solar energy plants in industrial countries thrive only with government support. 'It's all a matter of politics,' said Leonard Birnbaum, strategy chief at German electricity provider RWE.

Conditions must be right, or else companies would rather hold onto their funds, he notes.

'Change is extremely expensive,' he said, but added: 'It is the only chance to reach our climate goals.'

Teyssen notes money is a major problem, calling energy the most indebted industry. Energy providers have double the debt of most other industrial companies, and the development of renewable energy takes more financial capacity than traditional sources.

Estimates show it will cost 10.5 trillion dollars through 2030 to halt carbon dioxide emissions enough to keep temperatures from rising just 2 degrees Celsius. If current trends continue, a rise of 6 degrees is possible, 'with catastrophic consequences for our climate.'