A country that goes all in renewable is in a stronger positon. UK power grid doesn't give a fuck about this war.

Sure China. But unless they send in an army to retreive previously sold panels, or block the sun they can only harm future increases to supply.

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ericmay 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> A country that goes all in renewable is in a stronger position.

Depends on the country.

> UK power grid doesn't give a fuck about this war.

Power grid =/= economy. You're missing the point. Rising prices affect the United Kingdom economy even if it was fully run on renewables. The ships bringing products to the country don't run on renewables, the cars mostly don't, your fighter jets don't, your fertilizer doesn't. &c.

It's important to not be dogmatic and be practical about this stuff. Every country on the planet needs and utilizes oil and gas and that will remain true for the foreseeable future because of globalized supply chains.

> Sure China. But unless they send in an army to retreive previously sold panels, or block the sun they can only harm future increases to supply.

Which, in the case of a war with the US would be true because the UK will be involved and sided with the US and/or certainly assumed to be by China. (This is indisputable). So sure you build up those panels, but then you see a war and now you lose access to those materials and if it isn't solved in the near term you have to switch all of your energy back to fossil fuels. No new EVs during the war, for example.

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r2_pilot 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Or wait 20 years for the panels to degrade...

	▲	californical 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Two things 1. It’s closer to 50 years, and even a partially degraded panel will work, just with less output 2. Even if we say 20 years, that means that you only need to buy panels once every 20 years! Not continuously. A complete and total interruption of solar panel production lasting 4 years will only mildly interrupt current output. How long can we last with a total disruption to oil supply chains?
	▲	kibwen an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The long operating life of a solar panel compared to a barrel of oil is a selling point when it comes to self-sufficiency. With 20 years of warning, any country that pretends to be a globally-relevant power can get itself to the point of producing acceptable solar panels if its survival depends on it.