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August 2023 - Utilities

85% of market experts believe effective government policy has the greatest potential to accelerate energy transition: A survey has revealed that 85% of energy sector experts and industry leaders from around the globe believe that effective government policy has the greatest potential to accelerate energy transition.  

The survey also highlighted the areas in which government policy is able to drive the energy transition and the speed at which it does so. When asked which policy initiative would have the greatest impact on accelerating the transition, 36% of respondents said 'simplifying permitting regulations', with a quarter pointing to harmonising regulation on emissions and carbon. Other initiatives cited included public investment in grids (10%), boosting the availability of green finance (10%) and fiscal incentives for new projects (9%). A further 8% answered 'other'. 

The Bureau Veritas’ 2023 global energy industry survey questioned 800 industry leaders and market experts from across the globe in 11 regions: Europe, North America, South & Central America, Central and South Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Northern & Central Asia, Northeast Asia excluding China, Southeast Asia, China, India, Australia. 

The report asks 'is the world able to meet the Paris Agreement goal to keep global heating within 1.5°C?', and focuses on four key areas: government, technology, supply chain and workforce.

Leaders are split in confidence

The survey found that industry leaders are split on whether we will reach the Paris 1.5°C target in the next six years, with slightly more feeling pessimistic than confident (55% vs 49%). Eight in 10 (81%) believe there will be a significant acceleration to reach the Paris 1.5°C target in the next six years, with 82% saying that capacity growth in renewables is the way to net zero.  Just three in five respondents said they believe sufficient progress will be made in removing barriers in the short term (60%). When asked about their top three barriers to energy transition, 98% said regulatory issues, while 50% cited a lack of suitable project sites and just over a third said a lack of supply chain resilience (34%). 

The survey also found that 70% of experts believe the development of green hydrogen projects at scale is a key enabler for successful transition with two-thirds (67%) saying that further innovation in energy storage is required. More than two-fifths of respondents said they believe the energy transition requires significant scale-up of floating wind and floating solar (40%). 

Supply chains

The survey also looked at supply chains, with the report highlighting that one of the key requirements to accelerate the energy transition is trust in supply chains. Half the respondents polled said there  is currently a lack of resilience in supply chains, which has led to disruption over the past 3 years, with more than 30% of respondents citing geographical concentration as their leading supply chain issue. Half the respondents surveyed also said that supplier quality issues are among their top supply chain challenges, while three in 10 (29%) said there are 'not enough' high-quality suppliers out there.

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