Part 4: Heat Pumps for Peace

06/28/23 • 23 min

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This is the fourth episode of a five-part series exploring the European energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If you haven’t listened to the first three episodes, we recommend you start there.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Germans and Poles installed heat pumps and residential solar panels to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

But do the countries have the skilled workforce they need to meet rapidly growing demand?

In this episode, we examine the role of these technologies in building the net-zero economy—and how supply chain problems and a shortage of trade workers has hindered the mobilization of clean technologies.

Then, we look at the efforts to solve these bottlenecks with campaigns to recruit a new wave of electricians, engineers, and other craftspeople.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Germans and Poles installed heat pumps and residential solar panels to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

But do the countries have the skilled workforce they need to meet rapidly growing demand?

Then, we look at the efforts to solve these bottlenecks with campaigns to recruit a new wave of electricians, engineers, and other craftspeople.

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Part 3: Poland’s Coal Legacy and Nuclear Future

1 Recommendations

This is the third episode of a five-part series exploring the European energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes, we recommend you start there.

Even with a plan to phase down fossil fuel use, Poland still gets 70% of its electricity from coal. Can a country so dependent on coal make the transition to green energy effectively—and quickly?

In this episode, we explore the consequences of Poland’s historical reliance on coal. It's a story that begins at COP24 in Poland, where a coal miners marching band welcomed climate negotiators from around the world in 2018. From there, we visit a historical coal mining town in southwestern Poland, where we meet a man who digs for coal to sell on the black market in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

Then, we take a look at the energy source that could help Poland cut the cord with coal: nuclear power. In an effort to gain energy security and reduce emissions, Poland is building its first reactors. But with Russia controlling much of the nuclear supply chain, is Poland trading one dependency for another?

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Part 5: A Crisis Reshapes the Energy Transition

1 Recommendations

This is the fifth episode of a five-part series exploring the European energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If you haven’t listened to the first four episodes, we recommend you start there.

In March of 2022, European officials unveiled a plan to push their energy transition much further, much faster – and rid their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

REPowerEU was ambitious, but it raised lots of questions about whether it would lock Europe into new dependencies.

In this episode, we take a step back and ask: what are the consequences of the energy crisis for the entire European region? And how might it influence other parts of the world?

First, we explore the push to supercharge wind and solar – and what it says about the benefits and limits of what they can do.

Then, we discuss the abrupt shift in where Europe gets the fossil fuels it uses today – and the vision to reuse gas infrastructure for hydrogen.

Finally, we end with a conversation about how Europe’s response influenced other regions, particularly developing countries.