"The nation that leads in renewable energy will be the nation that leads the world."
— James Cameron
We can define an energy revolution as a phenomenon in which a series of technological, economic, and social changes enable an exponential increase in the amount of energy available to societies and radically transform their social, economic, and political structures. In world history, there are two major events that fit this description.
The first is known as the Neolithic Revolution, which began with the development of agriculture and animal husbandry during the post-glacial period, around 10,000 BC. This transformation enabled the emergence of the first sedentary societies because increased food production allowed for a greater division of labor and reduced the amount of time, energy, and human effort devoted to hunting and gathering.
The Neolithic Revolution fundamentally transformed human history and laid the foundations for the economic system that would persist until the Industrial Revolution. Societies that mastered agriculture were able to devote more resources to military endeavors, leading to the rise of the first empires and to systems of slavery and serfdom as models of production based on working the land to generate more food, or, put differently, more energy for society.
The second revolution began with the Industrial Revolution in the mid-eighteenth century and was driven by the widespread adoption of the steam engine and the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. In just a few centuries, the amount of energy available to societies increased exponentially, replacing manual labor in textile production and reducing reliance on animals for work and transportation.
However, the industrial model that persists today remains fundamentally dependent on fossil energy sources. While this model has undoubtedly been closely associated with global economic development and rising standards of living, it has also generated significant social and environmental impacts and contributed to global warming.
In recent years, technological, social, and digital innovations have begun to outline what may become the leading drivers of a third energy revolution. On the one hand, technological innovation is characterized by increasing per capita electricity demand resulting from the growing number and personalization of technological devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, electric scooters, and electric vehicles.
On the other hand, social innovation is reflected in growing public demand for governments to adopt policies that encourage the deployment of renewable energy and promote an energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Alongside these developments, digital innovation is being driven by increasing connectivity and digitalization between centers of production and consumption. This has given rise to new activities such as data mining, social media platforms, and artificial intelligence, all of which depend heavily on electricity as their primary input.
Taken together, rising per capita electricity demand, the energy transition, and growing electricity consumption within an increasingly digital environment are beginning to establish the foundations of a third energy revolution based on renewable energy sources and electrical storage technologies. These developments will undoubtedly increase the amount of energy available to society and transform technological, economic, and social structures throughout the world.
This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: July 1, 2020
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/tercera-revolucion-energetica-paul-alejandro-sanchez-opinion-energia-circular/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141447/https://businessinsider.mx/tercera-revolucion-energetica-paul-alejandro-sanchez-opinion-energia-circular/ [Archived]