Green energy will cost Luxembourg 14.2 billion euros
Researchers from Stanford University have calculated the costs of 100% switch to green energy for 145 countries around the world. According to the study, it would cost Luxembourg 14.2 billion euros to go completely green. This amount is 22% of the country’s entire GDP.
To provide the entire country with green energy, Luxembourg will need to allocate 177 square kilometers (6.8%) of its territory. 150 of them will be occupied by windmills, solar panels, hydroelectric power plants. Another 27 square kilometers is needed so that there is enough space between the equipment for correct operation.
And, as the transition comes, numerous people in the fossil fuel industries will lose their jobs.
The cost of the matter for the entire world is 58.4 trillion euros. The sum, of course, seems astronomical.
Why make the change to green energy?
Energy spending by residents of the Grand Duchy would be reduced by 3.8 billion euros annually after this transition. In addition, green energy will reduce air pollution. And reduce the contribution of Luxembourg to global warming.
This means that green energy spending will pay for itself within just 4 years. Globally the solution will just as quickly return those tens of trillions of euro invested. It would only take 6 years.
Parts of the land occupied by renewable energy sources can simultaneously be used for farming. After all, solar panels and wind turbines don’t pollute the land nearby.
The transition to renewable energy will also create 16 000 new jobs in the country. Including around 12 500 vacancies for maintenance personnel of new energy sources. So people coming out of the fossil fuel industry will not be left jobless.
And what happens if the Grand Duchy does not make this green transition? The outlook of the study is bleak. By 2050, it claims, 103 people will die annually just from the air pollution.
Fortunately, this future is likely to be avoided. Luxembourg shows great interest in ecological initiatives. By 2030, Differdange will be one of the first 100 CO2 neutral cities in Europe. Recently, the Grand Duchy has opposed the EU’s decision to give nuclear energy green status. And the government is actively subsidising electromobility in the country.
