{"id":537,"date":"2026-04-04T20:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/strait-of-hormuz-closes-as-war-upends-fossil-fuels-and-reveals-the-real-solar-threat\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T20:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:27:12","slug":"strait-of-hormuz-closes-as-war-upends-fossil-fuels-and-reveals-the-real-solar-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/strait-of-hormuz-closes-as-war-upends-fossil-fuels-and-reveals-the-real-solar-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Strait of Hormuz Closes as War Upends Fossil Fuels and Reveals the Real Solar Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The war unleashed on February 28, 2026 around Iran has revived an old reflex: the fear of a fossil-fuel shortage. Yet another movement is gaining ground. The rise of solar and wind energy is sketching a form of energy security that is more local and less vulnerable.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Since February 28, Hormuz has closed and brutally reminds the world of what a fossil shock can cost.<\/h2>\n

Since the near-closure of Hormuz, markets have shifted tone. Reuters reports a jump of more than 70% in European gas since February 28. The signal is simple: when the route gets blocked, the bill climbs quickly.<\/p>\n

Read also<\/span> Geothermal: this treasure buried under our feet could cover 15 % of the world\u2019s electricity demand by 2050<\/span><\/section>\n

This is not a local accident. The strait handles nearly a fifth of global flows<\/strong> of oil, refined products and LNG. As soon as it jams, Asia pays first. Then Europe and the rest of the world absorb the blow.<\/p>\n

The 2025 record changes the scale: 814 GW of new capacity make solar and wind a global force<\/h2>\n

The Ember report published on March 18, 2026 reveals a striking figure. In 2025, the world added 814 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity<\/strong>. At that level, these sectors no longer act as add-ons. They weigh on the system.<\/p>\n

In total, wind and solar now exceed 4 terawatts installed<\/strong>. It\u2019s a quiet but massive shift. According to Ember, their production has already avoided the equivalent of about 330 terawatt-hours of gas-fired electricity since the start of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Read also<\/span> Invisible but decisive, the oceans\u2019 surface would absorb more CO\u2082 than expected and compel a revision of climate models<\/span><\/section>\n

Ember also estimates the potential savings at 40 billion dollars<\/strong>. The figure remains theoretical, but it sheds light on the debate. Every kilowatt-hour produced locally by wind or sun reduces exposure to ships, straits and military responses.<\/p>\n

Importing countries remain the most exposed, and LNG in Asia now stands at the forefront<\/h2>\n

The core of the problem remains there. About three-quarters of the world<\/strong> live in net fossil-fuel importing countries. When sea routes wobble, these economies see costs rise, budget pressures mount, and political tensions flare.<\/p>\n

For LNG, exposure is concentrated mainly in Asia. Ember places Taiwan at the top<\/strong> with 24%. Japan follows at 20%, ahead of South Korea at 17%. The vulnerability thus touches major industrial powers.<\/p>\n

Read also<\/span> The planet enters an unprecedented risk zone: at ChangeNOW 2026, an expert warns that balances have already been exceeded<\/span><\/section>\n

The real turning point is happening now: producing at home, storing better, and finally loosening the geopolitical grip<\/h2>\n

That is where renewables are changing their nature. They no longer serve only the climate. They also reduce import dependency<\/strong>, especially for electricity. The more a country produces locally, the less it endures delayed cargoes, embargoes and strained routes.<\/p>\n

Today, solar is advancing faster than wind, and batteries are finally catching up. Solar, wind, batteries<\/strong> now form a decisive trio. They spread quickly, cost less than before, and bypass the major chokepoints of oil and gas.<\/p>\n

The message of spring 2026 is clear. Renewables don\u2019t solve everything, but they are already buffering shocks. In a crisis where ships count as much as missiles, producing your own electricity on-site begins to look like insurance.<\/p>\n

Read also<\/span> By cleaning its skies, China unintentionally removed a shield that was slowing down climate warming<\/span><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[714,717,718,713,592,229,665,712,719,716,715],"class_list":["post-537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-closes","tag-fossil","tag-fuels","tag-hormuz","tag-real","tag-reveals","tag-solar","tag-strait","tag-threat","tag-upends","tag-war","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":539,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions\/539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}