Renewable energy is the future of our world. Without a severe adjustment to our current energy production and storage systems, our world will not stand a chance. Carbon emissions are at record levels, fossil fuels are not a sustainable resource, and our world is on track to surpass the 2 degree increase which governments of the world have set. Without a drastic change to our base energy systems, in our lifetimes we could see billions of people being displaced, Island Nations being lost to the ocean, and extreme weather being the norm.
What is holding up Renewable Energy from Fully Replacing Fossil Fuels
Currently the biggest hold up for converting our grid to fully renewable power is a legal hold up. An example of this is during the most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow Scotland, otherwise known as Cop-26, there were over 500 individual lobbyists sent by oil companies. This was more than any other individual country representation at the conference. They were sent to protect the interests of over 100 individual fossil fuel companies, including Coal, Oil and Gas companies, with the intent to keep the current environmental laws the way they are, to ensure their financial success continues through being legally allowed to sell polluting fuels
What does Arbitration Mean
This is a form of alternative Dispute resolution describing a process where the dispute is settled outside of a Judiciary Court. The dispute is settled by one or more arbitrators who act as a sort of judge for a sort of “Mini Trial”. This can often be more effective then a court of law as the dispute settlements can be more flexible then in a judiciary court system. This can often lead to both sides being more satisfied than if they would have settled in an official judiciary court. The arbitrators themselves are often retired judges and are often well versed in the individual topics and are paid quite well so the process often moves more smoothly.
How arbitration can help resolve renewable energy matters
The growing amount of renewable energy products and services in the global energy mix is increasing quickly, and as it grows so do the number of potential legal disputes. Renewable energy products are often forward investment heavy, long term and complex due to many parties being involved from the raw materials to the actual assembly. For an example of just how many steps there are in just the set up of an actual wind farm is at least a 10 step process, not even including the actual assembly of the turbine. These include the following:
1. Understand Your Wind Resource.
2. Determine Proximity to Existing Transmission Lines.
3. Secure Access to Land.
4. Establish Access to Capital or funds.
5. Identify Reliable Power Purchaser or Market.
6. Address Siting and Project Feasibility Considerations.
7. Understand Wind Energy's Economics.
8. Obtain Zoning and Permitting Expertise.
9. Establish Dialogue with Turbine Manufacturers and Project Developers.
10. Secure Agreement to Meet O&M Needs.
To learn more about the specifics of these 10 steps to setting up a wind farm you can visit the link below:
This shear number of steps has not only the potential to but does often lead to many disputes throughout the entire process. This is why arbitration is the most effective means to address this issue considering that it is a much faster process due to the people being paid well to move the process along. Countries such as Spain and Italy have already had a high amount of renewable energy disputes resolved this way and France is potentially on the way as well. As of September 2021 Spain was facing 50 claims by investors in the renewable energy sector even with new laws being put in place to clear up some of the legal issues concerning renewable energy investment. Arbitration is already being used to help combat this issue and it has the potential to bring us into a new clean and sustainable energy future where renewables are the norm and fossil fuels are a distant memory, sooner rather than later.