IELTS Reading Section 2 Practice Test – Free Online IELTS Reading Practice

Paragraph A: The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources is fundamentally reshaping global economic and geopolitical relationships. This shift is primarily driven by twin imperatives: the mitigation of catastrophic **climate change** and the pursuit of **energy independence**. The resulting global competition is focused not merely on deploying existing technologies, but on achieving technological supremacy in the next generation of power generation, storage, and distribution. Nations that secure a dominant position in these sectors stand to gain significant economic advantages, creating a twenty-first-century industrial hierarchy.

Paragraph B: The current clean energy landscape is dominated by key technologies, notably solar photovoltaics (PV) and lithium-ion battery storage. Historically, research and development in PV began predominantly in the United States and Germany. However, by the early 2010s, Asian nations, particularly China, achieved a critical mass in manufacturing capacity and scale. China’s **centralized investment strategies** allowed it to rapidly reduce production costs, giving it an estimated **80% global share of solar panel manufacturing by 2023**. This cost leadership has created a deep reliance on a single region for foundational clean energy infrastructure globally, prompting concerns about **supply chain resilience** and national security in Western economies.

Paragraph C: Energy storage, particularly in the form of advanced batteries, is the next crucial frontier. The **intermittency** of wind and solar power—their inability to generate electricity consistently—means that large-scale, cost-effective storage solutions are essential for a reliable grid. While current lithium-ion technology is robust, the race is on to develop solid-state batteries and alternative chemistries like sodium-ion and flow batteries. These alternatives promise higher energy density, improved safety, and reduced reliance on strategically critical materials such as cobalt and nickel. The nations that patent and commercialise these new storage chemistries first will effectively control the **stability** of future electricity grids.

Paragraph D: Governments worldwide are responding to this challenge with massive industrial policies. The European Union has launched its Green Deal Industrial Plan… Similarly, the United States’ **Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)** provides extensive tax credits for domestic manufacturing… These policies are explicitly designed to counteract the manufacturing dominance established in Asia, creating localized supply chains and accelerating innovation in new technologies. However, **economists warn** that this era of nationalistic subsidies may lead to trade disputes and may not, in the short term, accelerate the global deployment of clean energy due to market fragmentation.