Can a country live on renewable energy alone?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 November 2022
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The International Energy Agency says that the world is in the middle of the first global energy crisis. The price of natural gas has increased almost five-fold since the summer of 2020, and the main cause is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has cut supplies of gas to European countries that oppose the war, causing the wholesale price to shoot up everywhere.
Many countries have turned to coal to fuel their power stations, also causing prices to triple in the last year. But as well as being expensive, coal is also the most polluting fossil fuel. The situation has accelerated the push towards renewables, but can they provide the all the power needed by a country – as well as providing energy security? So this week on the Inquiry, we ask: can a country live on renewable energy alone?
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Jacqui Johnson
(Photo: Offshore wind turbine farm at sunset: Creit: Imaginima/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My Indian Life is back for season 3, the podcast that explores what it means to be |
| 0:04.8 | young and Indian in the 21st century. With guests from all walks of life, |
| 0:09.1 | singing is a part of storytelling for me. I need to tell my story to the world. |
| 0:12.8 | And from all across this huge country, so as a tribe we are not mere part of nature |
| 0:18.4 | but we are nature, each with a story to tell. |
| 0:21.3 | Winning the gold medal in Paralympics was a dream. |
| 0:24.0 | That's Kalki presents My Indian Life from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:27.5 | Just search for My Indian Life wherever you found this podcast. |
| 0:32.0 | Welcome to the inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:47.6 | The world is in the middle of an energy crisis. |
| 0:51.3 | Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to an energy prize shock, |
| 0:55.5 | the likes of which has not been seen since the 1970s. |
| 1:00.5 | Many countries have rushed to produce more coal and oil to bring down prices, |
| 1:05.9 | and this is contributed to existing worries about damage to the environment and climate change. |
| 1:12.8 | But there's also been a renewed focus on how countries can generate more power |
| 1:18.2 | from sustainable sources and rely less on fossil fuels than the international market. |
| 1:25.2 | So this week on the inquiry, we're asking, can a country live on renewable energy alone? |
| 1:35.1 | Part one, what is renewable energy? |
| 1:41.2 | Renewable energy is one that has an everlasting source and specifically in our case, |
| 1:47.2 | the Sun provides us a never ending supply of energy. |
| 1:51.1 | And so when the Sun's energy reaches the Earth, it can directly convert to electricity or to |
| 1:57.6 | heat, and it can also warm the Earth which drives the wind, so renewable energy is energy that |
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