Browsing by Author "Kallio, Maria"

Our lives are dependent on energy in multiple ways, which is why energy can be considered as one of the basic human needs. We use energy to heat and cool our homes, cook food, power various appliances and devices, lighting, in transportation to fuel vehicles, and in manufacturing of different goods. Modern energy security challenges have become increasingly unpredictable and entangled and they result from a wide range of geopolitical, technical, economic, and natural factors. Climate change is one of the most pervasive challenges that has far-reaching impacts on the planet Earth and the humankind and decarbonisation of the energy sector is a top priority for countries to mitigate the climate change. The main research questions of this thesis are: What are the energy security strategies in the EU solar energy strategy? What is the role of China in global solar PV trade? How does the EU solar energy strategy address the energy security risks in the global solar PV supply chain? I apply qualitative content analysis to analyse the energy security strategies in the EU solar energy strategy published in 2022. I use the energy security theory developed by Cherp and Jewell (2011) that distinguish sovereignty, robustness, and resilience perspectives on energy security, and define energy security as protection from disruptions of energy systems that can jeopardise nationally vital energy systems. Moreover, I examined how discussions on the role of solar energy evolved in EU speeches during 2014-2022. The EU speeches show that solar energy has emerged from describing the progress and need for renewable and solar energy development to one of the most competitive renewable energy resources that can address current and future energy challenges and help in climate change mitigation efforts. The analysis of the EU solar energy strategy indicated strong emphasis on the sovereignty perspective of energy security. On the other hand, there was no significant emphasis between the robustness and resilience perspective. In addition, three new aspects of energy security emerged during the analysis that did not fit into the three perspectives. They were accessibility, affordability, and acceptability of solar energy.