New Trends and Challenges for Energy Geographies: Introduction to The Special Issue

During the last two decades, environmental and security concerns have led to a rapid and far-flung development of renewable energies. Modern wind power development, for example, now is found in over 100 countries, and solar power deployment is – in one form or another – in many more. Reaping the benefits of renewable sources has become a global ambition for several reasons, ranging from anxieties about climate change and energy security to the dangers of the atom. Indeed, the generous feed-in tariffs that Germany used to stimulate renewable energy development have been so effective that Chancellor Merkel was able to renounce Germany’s nuclear program after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 (The Economist, 2011). Nonetheless, renewable energy development has been uneven around the world. Despite rapid and substantial growth in countries such as China, Germany, Spain and the United States, it still represents but a small amount of generation in most countries. For this reason, governments still need to consider other options, including cleaner use of fossil fuels, nuclear power, and new technologies such as shale gas fracking.