Analyzing the Role of Renewables in Energy Security by Deploying Renewable Energy Security Index

With the emerging challenge of climate change, Norway has ratified to Kyoto Protocol, under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Thus, the role of renewables is critical not only in achieving the energy transition in Norway but also ensuring the necessary energy security resulting from the deployment of renewable energy sources. The concept of “four As of energy security” availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability were introduced by (APERC, Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre, 2007). In this context, the paper attempts to analyze and examine the role of renewable energy (RE) deployment in ensuring energy security in case of Norway from 1990 -2017. Energy efficiency and deployment of renewable energy are two distinct pathways of energy transition. It is crucial to examine the relationship between them, whether there is trade-off or a positive correlation between the two plausible pathways of energy transition. Therefore, the paper evaluates the correlation between the energy efficiency and deployment of renewable energy. The four broad components of RESI such as availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability comprise of several indicators. Using the appropriate indicators that explain the variables of four dimensions of RESI, an index is constructed by deploying a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a dimension-reduction tool that can be used to reduce a large set of variables to a smaller set. During the initial years RE does not contribute to energy security in Norway indicated by negative values but from 2006 onwards, there is a gradual improvement in the status of renewable energy security, and the values become positive till 2010. Energy intensity increases with the availability of RE. Deployment of renewable energy and adopting energy efficiency technology are inversely related in the case of Norway. Accessibility of RE is significantly positively correlated with RESI. Similarly, the availability of RE is also highly correlated with RESI. More affordable renewable energy is, more significant is the security of renewable energy in Norway. The structural composition is significantly negatively correlated with RESI. It indicates any structural change in the share of energy-consuming sectors reduces the RESI. Finally, Research and development R&D in RE, investment in RE, the share of solar energy in the total electricity mix is significantly positively correlated with RESI in case of Norway. Renewable energy, R&D plays a crucial role in the energy transition in Norway while environmental concerns do not contribute significantly in the energy transition to renewables in Norway. Accessibility of RE, Availability of RE as well as Affordability of RE significantly improves the energy security in Norway.