•Historical shifts from coal to oil and now to cleaner energy show how new technologies reshape industry, trade, and jobs over time.
•Investment is moving from fossil fuels toward renewables, grids, and storage, creating new high-skilled employment while straining coal- and oil-dependent regions.
•Regions reliant on fossil fuel production face job losses and economic disruption, increasing the need for retraining and diversification programs.
•Europe is pushing ahead with ambitious climate targets, carbon pricing, and cross-border power trading to integrate more wind and solar.
•Large dams and small run-of-river projects are central to regional development strategies, especially in emerging markets with growing electricity demand.
•Hydropower offers long asset lifetimes and low operating costs once built, helping to stabilize electricity prices and attract energy-intensive industries.
•Modernization of aging plants, including turbine upgrades and digital monitoring, is boosting efficiency and extending the life of existing assets.
•Pumped-storage hydropower is gaining importance as a way to store surplus wind and solar power and provide fast-response backup during demand peaks.
