The ongoing Iran War has captured the attention of the entire world; As the prices only continue to rise, the energy burden that households face follows suit. People are struggling to fuel their cars and homes and everyone from every corner of this connected world feels outrage. Politicians are urging for an immediate end to this crisis, a resolution that seems to still be so far out of reach. In the meantime, the people are pushing back.

The Shift to Renewable Energy

Leaders from different parts of the world are starting to view this war as an opportunity to focus on domestic production, and renewable energy has risen as a strong alternative to oil. In Europe, demand for rooftop solar panels has surged as households look for cheaper ways to light and cool their homes. Solarhandel24, a German solar equipment company, said that their net sales tripled in March and once more in April. It is even important to note that this geopolitical crisis isn’t creating this demand, it is propelling it. The same trend can be seen in Asia. Consumers are shifting to solar power in the Philippines, as seen in the jump in customer inquiries in May.

 This pattern of surging interest in solar power demonstrates how it is becoming a solution for supply resilience; if a country can produce renewable energy domestically, they are not as vulnerable to energy shocks from global conflicts, effectively preventing a crisis like what we are experiencing currently from happening in the future. As more and more households move towards solar panels, renewable energy becomes less about climate change and more about price stability and less reliance on foreign parties. Jeff Currive, a commodities analyst, and James Stavridis, Nato’s former Supreme Allied Commander, say, “Solar, wind, and nuclear are children of the 1970s oil shocks…” They predict that from this war, there will only be more growth for renewable energy, and the world can expect to see more and more people accept solar energy as a reliable source of power. 

Take the US: politicians want more renewable energy as well. Chuck Schumer (New York) and Spencer Cox (Utah) are calling for funding for fusion energy and solar plus battery storage respectively. Just imagine how this growing sentiment across the political spectrum can propel the US in the green revolution. 

China is Poised For Success

Strangely, from this growth in demand, China stands as the top benefactor. Ultimately, while everyone else is losing from the Iran war, China is the only party that wins. 

Going back to Asia, as southeastern countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines move towards solar, China finds profit from exports. In March, clean technology material exports from China hit a record high. 

The Asian superpower has already invested greatly into its renewable energy sector, becoming essentially the “renewables king of the planet.” As more households adopt clean energy, China sees more exports in batteries, electric vehicles, and solar technology, posing a great economic opportunity. This creates several openings for China to assert global dominance: technology exports will put China in a more central position in the global economy, displaying the US as “a provider of public goods” and services to countries in need. Brookings says that with its stronghold over the renewable energy market, China is quickly transforming into an energy superpower. 

Despite Dominance, The Economy Still Struggles

Of course, there are still economic downfalls that the country faces in the light of the US war with Iran. The higher energy prices and the global economic downturn harms the Chinese economy and makes clean technology manufacturing more expensive. Another result of this war is reduced imports, meaning that there is less demand for Chinese exports. 

This is even more detrimental for the Chinese economy, whose market is ever dependent on exporting goods to other countries. Even though this current shift to renewable energies across the world might revitalize the export industry, green technology exports account for under 6 percent of the country’s overall exports. This means that any upside effects to the economy will likely be limited. China also overproduces its green technology, its capacity double the current world demand. The current shift in energy might center China in the global economy and energy supply chain, but it won’t substantially help its economy unless it persists and grows. 

Renewable energy was once about climate change, but now, the world is shifting towards it because it paints a promising future of energy security. Right now, we can say that there will be no oil shocks or wars fought over solar and wind energy. But as we as a global system continue to shift towards clean technology, we must be prepared to see another geopolitical monopoly enter global discussions: solar panels. While China might lead the rest of the world to a future built by clean technology, it will most definitely also introduce a new wave of resource conflict.