A Brand New World: The Personal Energy Era, by John Cooper - LinkedIn/Pulse

Fuente: LinkedIn

Since the first coal mines were dug, the first oil wells drilled, the first power lines strung up, energy has been an industrial business, the realm of industrial companies and governments. Passive monopoly consumers, without much say in the matter, have been mostly concerned with price above all else. That’s how it is with commodities and monopolies.

But we're on the verge of historic change in energy. Nations at COP 22 have just put the wraps on discussions on ways to ramp down fossil fuel consumption. Correspondingly, as if to fill the void left by receding fossil fuels, clean, renewable and decentralized energy technologies are advancing.

From the consumer perspective, different forms of decentralized energy resources (DER) - distributed generation, electric vehicles, energy storage and others – offer novel value with a similarity: they each increase energy independence for consumers. Early adopters try out these new technologies and like them, and as prices continue to drop, more are doing the same. Whether we realize it or not, we are on the path to thinking about electricity as a value-added consumer market.

The shift from fossil fuels to technology-based forms of electricity fosters a second shift, from historic monopoly dominance to increasing market-based competition. As energy becomes more about electricity and less about fuels, innovation and personal value replace price as the focus of markets. As the Fossil Fuel Era fades, the Personal Energy Era is dawning.

Goodbye Fossil Fuel Era

The reduction, perhaps elimination of fossil fuels is the key to stopping climate change. We are at a point in our civilization where we must face the facts, understand the trends, and accept that it is now time to imagine what comes after the Fossil Fuel Era and how to get there. COP 21 - the Paris Agreement affirmed by a majority of the world’s governments on November 4 - and COP 22 - the goal setting in Marrakech just concluded, together pose more questions than they provide answers.

First, how can we mere mortals radically reduce, or even eliminate fossil fuels, the primary source of energy that drove our success in five previous generations - in just one generation? Too many still answer “Unimaginable!”

Second, how can we manage the inevitable social and economic disruption that such a rapid, massive change will inevitably produce? Too many still answer “Impossible!” when presented the Sophie’s Choice of living without fossil fuels or enduring the consequences of climate change. 

Too many prefer “Door Number Three” when there are only two doors. Whether we like it or not we are faced with a binary choice. The rational choice is to accept the facts and choose to move off of fossil fuels. That path offers hope, however steep the climb. The irrational choice is to deny the consequences of climate change and carry on, which we have done for over 20 years. The hard truth is “we’re out of time and there’s only one path.” But that path is neither unimaginable or impossible, it’s just very different and very difficult. But with the right attitude, this new path is loaded with positive potential.

You can read the full story here.