Stranded renewable energies, beyond local security, toward export: a concept note on the design of future energy and chemical supply chains

Fossil fuels are not spread evenly across the world. This has been a major security concern for several countries. Nevertheless, no country may be found on Earth without a good resource of one or more renewable energies. As such, with the 1973 global energy crisis, the development of renewable energy technologies received considerable attention. Yet in the absence of low-cost renewable energy technologies, attention had been limited to national energy security. However, the fast price decline over the recent decade in some renewable technologies such as photovoltaics (PV) and wind has moved renewable energy development into a new paradigm, where investments are being considered beyond local security, toward revenue generation with renewable energy exports. This chapter discusses the possible export approaches and challenges associated with the required infrastructure. It also proposes a new hybridized supply-chain system for both renewable energies and natural gas.