* Energy security concerns could accelerate renewable

development, executives say

* Iran war disrupts oil supply, raises energy prices,

highlights vulnerability

* EU increases clean energy investments to reduce

dependency on volatile markets

By Georgina McCartney, Stephanie Kelly and Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, March 26 (Reuters) - Energy security concerns

that once limited investment in renewable energy could now

accelerate its development more than worries about climate

change, executives said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston,

as oil and gas supplies face a fresh wave of uncertainty due to

the war with Iran.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has removed millions of barrels

per day of oil from the global market, driving energy prices to

multi-year highs and causing fuel shortages in countries reliant

on oil and gas flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The current Middle East conflict is the second major

disruption to energy markets in four years, following Russia's

invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and spiking oil prices could push a

swing to renewables as the more reliable option.

Renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, can be

produced from local and regional sources, while oil and gas are

more subject to global markets and trade.

"The lesson of recent years is that price matters. ... Wind

plus solar plus batteries is becoming an increasingly compelling

economic offer, and countries are pursuing it not as a climate

objective but for economic energy access, and ironically

increasingly as an energy security option," Geoffrey Pyatt,

former assistant secretary of state for energy resources, said

at the conference.

Energy shortages could occur in late April or May if the war

in Iran does not end, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic

and Energy Affairs Katherina Reiche said this week, adding that

phasing out nuclear energy was a huge mistake.

In France, nuclear makes up around 44% of the power

generation mix, according to the International Energy Agency,

something energy executives say gives it more security around

its power supply.

"France has (among) the lowest carbon footprints of any

country in the world, and didn't get there because it wanted to

save the planet. It got there to prevent precisely what is

happening," said Jeff Currie, chief strategy officer of Energy

Pathways at Carlyle, referring to energy supply concerns amid

the Iran war.

"One of the biggest predictions you can make out of what's

currently happening is it's going to turbocharge the energy

transition," Currie said.

Soaring oil prices feed expectations that demand may fall.

If that lasts and people's habits begin to change, they may buy

an electric vehicle or choose to work from home, said Karim

Fawaz, S&P Global Energy director of global refining and product

markets. "This is less likely to be reversible," he added.

Around a fifth of the world's energy flows through the

Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint in the Middle East Gulf.

Iranian attacks have also hit refineries, gas plants and export

terminals in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab

Emirates and Bahrain, further tightening supplies.

'NEED TO BE SECURE'

While shifting away from Russian gas since its invasion of

Ukraine in 2022, the European Union has ramped up investments in

clean energy sources such as electrification, nuclear power,

renewables, interconnectors and storage, European Commission

Director General of Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen said this week.

"That is what we need to be secure, to be less dependent on

these volatile and risky global markets," she added.

Lithuania, in the Baltic region of Europe, plans to have 60%

of its power needs generated by renewables this year, up from

50% in 2025, said Lithuanian Energy Minister Žygimantas

Vaičiūnas.

There must be investment in wind, solar and hydrogen as

there is "no way" the European Union would increase Russian gas

imports, the EU's ambassador to the U.S., Jovita Neliupšienė,

said this week.

Material disruption to energy supplies has been more acute

during the Iran war this year, compared with after Russia's

invasion of Ukraine in 2022, speakers also said.

"Diversity of supply needs to be solved at country level,

and it makes sense for countries to look into how they can

diversify and at the same time have energy security, affordable

energy and also sustainable energy," Equinor ( EQNR ) CEO Anders Opedal

told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.