Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy
the scale of demand impacts — the episode illustrates the risks of continued influence of oligopoly control of oil production .
Beyond supply chains of physical goods , maintaining high diversity of fuel supplies in electric infrastructure is critical to minimize impacts . Power plants with constant fuel delivery needs , like coal and natural gas facilities , are more vulnerable to supply disruptions . However , even nuclear power plants , generally considered to have a high level of availability due to their 18-24 month refueling cycles , demonstrated their potential vulnerability to a disrupted refueling outage . Electricity supply diversity , particularly with a mix of refueling types and timeframes , can mitigate against short- , mid- , and long-term disruptions .
The severe disruptions to the energy sector posed by the pandemic are occurring in a period of rapid structural change . Driven by the decarbonization imperative , energy security concerns , the energy access challenge , other environmental impacts , and strategic competition for new technologies , global energy systems are rapidly diversifying , downscaling , and focusing on resilience and issues of inequality . The pandemic poses a critical juncture point for the clean energy transition , as government responses in terms of disaster recovery and stimulus will affect the trajectories of systematic change – both technically and socio-economically . 32 Meeting these goals will also require consideration of “ just ” transition criteria , to ensure that local jobs and communities are able to recover from COVID-19 ’ s economic effects as the energy transition continues . 33
Author Capsule Bios
Alexander Gilbert , a Fellow at the Colorado School of Mines , is a complex systems researcher focusing on climate policy , energy markets , nuclear innovation , and space resources production . Drawing on interdisciplinary methods , he evaluates how institutions develop and adopt clean energy and other advanced natural resource technologies . He is a Project Manager at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance , where he focuses on regulatory reform and commercialization for advanced nuclear reactors to mitigate climate change and led research projects to support legislative change and regulatory guidance for international licensing of advanced reactors . Mr . Gilbert was cofounder of the Spark Library in Washington , D . C ., where he designed a system to automate energy policy , market , legal , and regu-
32 Kuzembko , C ., et al . “ Covid-19 and the politics of sustainable energy transitions .” Energy Research & Social Science 68 , October 2020 . https :// www . sciencedirect . com / science / article / pii / S22146296 20302607
33 Henry , M . S ., Bazilian , M . D ., & Markuson , C . “ Just transitions : Histories and futures in a post- COVID world .” Energy Research & Social Science 68 , October 2020 . https :// www . sciencedirect . com / science / article / pii / S2214629620302437
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