Maintaining the Sustainable Energy Systems: Turning from Cost to Value

Abstract

The economies of the world are influenced by the rapidly changing global energy policy agenda. Understanding energy trends implications in the long-term perspective is crucial for responsible and informed sustainability-policy making, with respect to transformations required to enhance the security of energy supply, resource efficiency and affordability, as well to as transformations required to minimize energy poverty and mitigate ecological footprint. Nowadays the price (value) competitiveness of technologies and products as their ability to respond to sustainability demands is becoming the appreciable criterion in choosing the pathways of technological growth or economic strategies designing. The transition to energy sustainability is the so-called quiet energy [r]evolution, or the transition towards 100 % renewable energy supply. Using the sociotechnical transition, vulnerability and sustainable development theories for the assessment of the energy safety level, this article aims to contribute to the understanding of cultural, institutional and innovation prerequisites of sustainable energy transitions. Basing on historical examples, it argues that, despite the cultural dimensions, energy resources and energy mix disparity, geographic location and income per capita, the value instead of cost philosophy in choosing energy pathways maintains the sustainable energy transitions. The key findings are the defined prerequisites of energy transitions sustainability; among them there are cultural dimensions, innovations and the speeds of movement along learning curves when adopting new energy technologies as well as energy policy patterns, applied in a country: value versus cost-driven. The Value vs Cost Energy Policy matrix has been developed in order to determine if a country is sufficiently value-driven in its energy policy.