Government efforts to encourage and develop renewable energy resources have intensified in recent years. But multiple factors have simultaneously driven up demand and prices for traditional petroleumbased energy resources. These include OPEC production cuts, geopolitical turbulence in Eastern Europe and the sharp rise in interest rates which has driven up the cost of financing new renewables projects. To the surprise of economists who expected a recession based on rising interest rates, most major economies have avoided steep economic downturns. Indeed, many economies are growing faster than expected, resulting in rising demand for energy from consumers and businesses. Global efforts to get work-from home employees back to the office are contributing further to rising oil demand. This all adds up to surging petroleum demand in what was supposed to be by now a renewables world.