Energy Cost
Energy costs are dictated by many external factors besides merely the
cost of extracting fuel. Fossil fuels almost always have to be refined
or changed from their crude form into a usable form. This requires transportation
to refineries and then to refueling stations or power plants which adds
the most significant cost to the price of energy.
Demand is another huge factor determining energy costs. If demand is
high and supply is low, which is what happened during the 1973 oil crisis
when OPEC stopped importing oil to western countries that supported
Israel during the Yom Kippur War, the price of energy skyrockets with
only the highest bidders able to receive energy. A similar event happened
in 1979 during the Iranian revolution which ceased oil imports for a
period of time.
To overcome high energy costs fuels and methods for extracting energy
have to be diversified. It would be very difficult to stop the supply
of photons coming from the sun making solar power one of the most reliable
forms of energy. There cannot be an embargo or sanctions placed on the
wind either making it an excellent choice as well. Another huge advantage
these forms of energy have is that they do not need to be transported
by trucks and unwieldy supertankers through dangerous war zones and
terrain.