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Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of for energy consumption (as opposed to household energy insecurity). Access to cheaper energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led to significant vulnerability. International energy relations have contributed to the globalization of the world leading to energy security and energy vulnerability at the same time.
Renewable energy resources and significant opportunities for energy efficiency and transitions exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of wind power and solar power and energy efficiency, and technological diversification of energy sources, would result in significant energy security.
Threats to a nation's energy security include:
Political and economic instability caused by war or other factors, such as strike action, can also prevent the proper functioning of the energy industry in a supplier country. For example, the nationalization of oil in Venezuela has triggered strikes and protests in which Venezuela's oil production rates have yet to recover. Exporters may have political or economic incentive to limit their foreign sales or cause disruptions in the supply chain. Since Venezuela's nationalization of oil, anti-American Hugo Chávez threatened to cut off supplies to the United States more than once. The 1973 oil embargo against the United States is an historical example in which oil supplies were cut off to the United States due to U.S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. This has been done to apply pressure during economic negotiations—such as during the 2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute. Terrorist attacks targeting oil facilities, pipelines, tankers, refineries, and oil fields are so common they are referred to as "industry risks". Infrastructure for producing the resource is extremely vulnerable to sabotage. One of the worst risks to oil transportation is the exposure of the five ocean chokepoints, like the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz. Anthony Cordesman, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., warns, "It may take only one asymmetric or conventional attack on a Ghawar Saudi oil field or tankers in the Strait of Hormuz to throw the market into a spiral."
New threats to energy security have emerged in the form of the increased world competition for energy resources due to the increased pace of industrialization in countries such as India and China, as well as due to the increasing consequences of climate change. Although still a minority concern, the possibility of price rises resulting from the peaking of world oil production is also starting to attract the attention of at least the France government. Increased competition over energy resources may also lead to the formation of security compacts to enable an equitable distribution of oil and gas between major powers. However, this may happen at the expense of less developed economies. The Group of Five, precursors to the G8, first met in 1975 to coordinate economic and energy policies in the wake of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, a rise in inflation and a global economic slowdown. Mathew Maavak, originally published in The Korea Herald on July 18, 2006
Increasing energy security is also one of the reasons behind a block on the development of natural gas imports in Sweden. Greater investment in native renewable energy technologies and energy conservation is envisaged instead. India is carrying out a major hunt for domestic oil to decrease its dependency on OPEC, while Iceland is well advanced in its plans to become energy independent by 2050 through deploying 100% renewable energy.
The value of such reserves was demonstrated by the relative lack of disruption caused by the 2007 Russia-Belarus energy dispute, when Russia indirectly cut exports to several countries in the European Union.
Due to the theories in peak oil and need to curb demand, the United States military and Department of Defense had made significant cuts, and have been making a number of attempts to come up with more efficient ways to use oil.
Natural gas has been a viable source of energy in the world. Consisting of mostly methane, natural gas is produced using two methods: biogenic and thermogenic. Biogenic gas comes from organisms located in marshes and landfills, whereas thermogenic gas comes from the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter deep under the Earth's surface. Russia is one of the three current leading country in production of natural gas alongside United States and Saudi Arabia.
In the European Union, security of gas supply is protected by Regulation 2017/1938 of 25 October 2017, which concerns "measures to safeguard the security of gas supply" and took the place of the previous EU Regulation 994/2010 on the same subject.European Union, Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2017 concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and repealing Regulation (EU) No 994/2010, accessed 25 December 2020 EU policy operates on a number of regional groupings, a network of common gas security risk assessments, and a "solidarity mechanism", which would be activated in the event of a significant gas supply crisis.European Commission, Secure gas supplies, updated 14 December, accessed 27 December 2020
A bilateral solidarity agreement was signed between Germany and Denmark on 14 December 2020.
The proposed UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement "provides for a new set of arrangements for extensive technical cooperation ... particularly with regard to security of supply".UK Government, UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Summary, published 24 December 2020, accessed 25 December 2020
Nuclear power is seen as a means to reduce carbon emissions. U.S. Energy Legislation May Be 'Renaissance' for Nuclear Power . Although generally considered a viable energy resource, nuclear power remains controversial due to the risks associated with it. Lessons of a Triple Disaster; Nature 483, 123 (08 March 2012) . Another factor in the debate with nuclear power is the concern from people or companies regarding the location of a nuclear energy plant or the disposal radioactive waste nearby.
In 2022, nuclear power provided 10% of the world'
License: CC BY 4.0 The most notable use of nuclear power within the United States is in U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and submarines, which have been exclusively nuclear-powered for several decades. These classes of ship provide the core of the Navy's power, and as such are the single most noteworthy application of nuclear power in the United States.
For countries where growing dependence on imported gas is a significant energy security issue, renewable technologies can provide alternative sources of electric power as well as possibly displacing electricity demand through direct heat production (e.g. geothermal and burning fuels for heat and electricity). Renewable biofuels for transport represent a key source of diversification from petroleum products. As the finite resources that have been so crucial to survival in the world decline day by day, countries will begin to realize that the need for renewable fuel sources will be more vital than ever before. Moreover, renewable energy resources are more evenly distributed than fossil fuels and, as a result, can improve energy security and reduce geopolitical tensions among states.
Geothermal (renewable and clean energy) can indirectly reduce the need for other sources of fuel. By using the heat from the outer core of the Earth to heat water, steam created from the heated water can not only power electricity-generating turbines, but also eliminate the need for consuming electricity to create hot water for showers, washing machines, dishwashers, sterilizers, and more; geothermal is one of the cleanest and most efficient options, needing fuel to dig deep holes, hot water pumps, and tubing to distribute the hot water. Geothermal not only helps energy security, but also food security via year-round heated greenhouses. Hydroelectric, already incorporated into many dams around the world, produces a lot of energy, usually on demand, and is very easy to produce energy as the dams control the gravity-fed water allowed through gates which spin up turbines located inside of the dam. Biofuels have been researched relatively thoroughly, using several different sources such as sugary corn (very inefficient) and cellulose-rich switchgrass (more efficient) to produce ethanol, and fat-rich algae to produce a synthetic fuel crude oil (or algae-derived ethanol, which is very, very inefficient), these options are substantially cleaner than the consumption of petroleum. "Most life cycle analysis results for perennial and ligno-cellulosic crops conclude that biofuels can supplement anthropogenic energy demands and mitigate GHG emissions to the atmosphere". Using net-carbon-positive oil to fuel transportation is a major source of green house gases, any one of these developments could replace the energy we derive from oil. Traditional fossil fuel exporters (e.g. Russia) who built their country's wealth from memorialized plant remains (fossil fuels) and have not yet diversified their energy portfolio to include renewable energy have greater national energy insecurity.Overland, Indra. (2010). Subsidies for fossil fuels and climate change: A comparative perspective. International Journal of Environmental Studies. 67. 303–317. .
In 2021, global renewable energy capacity made record-breaking growth, increasing by 295 gigawatts (295 billion Watts, equivalent to 295,000,000,000 Watts, or a third of a trillion Watts) despite supply chain issues and high raw material prices. The European Union was especially impactful—its annual additions increased nearly 30% to 36 gigawatts in 2021.
The International Energy Agency's 2022 Renewable Energy Market Update predicts that the global capacity of renewables would increase an additional 320 gigawatts. For context, that would almost entirely cover the electricity demand of Germany. However, the report cautioned that current public policies are a threat to future renewable energy growth: "the amount of renewable power capacity added worldwide is expected to plateau in 2023, as continued progress for solar is offset by a 40% decline in hydropower expansion and little change in wind additions."
Solar power is generally less vulnerable to enemy action than large fossil fuel and hydro plants and can be more quickly repaired.
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