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April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
Green Energy & Technology
2
nd
International Conference on
Page 11
Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation | Volume 3
ISSN: 2529-8046
Since the Swedish deregulation of the power
market 1996 there has been an ongoing debate in
many diverse arenas, in Sweden and elsewhere,
concerning “Consumer Power” on the Power
Market. This, because the Swedish chapter of IUCN:
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) at
the very same date (1996-01-01) released, to the
market, their Ecolabelling of Electricity; Bra Miljöval
El (Good Environmental Choice Electricity). The idea
was sprung from the then Vice Chair of SSNC, now
professor at Chalmers Institute of Technology; Tomas
Kåberger. I applaud such a visionary idea. Now,
finally, after over 20 years of tiresome debate and
ridicule, this tool for a sustainable transformation of
the Swedish and Nordic Power System is ready to be
heard, and used.
1. Arguments pro Consumer Power has been along
the line: If everyone decides to choose to buy
Green Power – then eventually everyone will
have Green Power in their outlets (sockets).
2. Arguments against Green Power has been along
the line: Since electricity is mixed on the grid you
don’t get what you buy. Hence, marketing and
sales of Green Power is a hoax.
Negative labelling –more efficient than Eco labelling
To label e.g. bananas with a sign “sprayed with
cancerous chemicals” would, from a ‘Consumer
Power’ perspective, bemoreefficient than today’s Eco
labelling of organic bananas. Or, using a “Child Slave
Labour”-label one.g. footballswouldbemoreefficient
than today’s FairTrade-labellingof e.g. footballs. In this
article I argue that ‘Coal’ carries the same negative
values as ‘Cancerous chemicals’ and ‘Child slaves’. At
least in Sweden, Switzerland and other “green”, rich
and developed countries. I argue that the possibility
of choosing not to have coal power in your outlet will
direct large amounts of money into investments in
new renewable power and energy efficiency. When
consumers start choosing to not buy coal power
the interesting question arises: What electric power
production will replace the fossil power no longer
produced? Since there’s no longer anyone paying
for it to be produced, production of fossil power will
cease toexist. Fossil powerwill benomore. This article
will briefly describe 6 possible alternative, renewable
solutions, as answers to that question. Nuclear power
is another non-fossil option but recent studies show
that new traditional nuclear power (fission) are
significantlymoreexpensive thannewwind- and solar
PV power. See e.g. Lazard LCOE 2017.
Per Ribbing
Uppsala University, Sweden
Climate Change leadership – The case for Electrification
Per Ribbing, Environ Risk Assess Remediat, Volume 3
DOI: 10.4066/2529-8046-C1-001