The electrification of energy: long-term trends and opportunities

Jeffrey Y. Tsao, E. Fred Schubert, Roger Fouquet and Matthew Lave

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We present and analyze three powerful long-term historical trends in the electrification of energy by free-fuel sources. These trends point toward a future in which energy is affordable, abundant, and efficiently deployed; with major economic, geo-political, and environmental benefits to humanity.We present and analyze three powerful long-term historical trends in energy, particularly electrical energy, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with these trends. The first trend is from a world containing a diversity of energy currencies to one whose predominant currency is electricity, driven by electricity’s transportability, exchangeability, and steadily decreasing cost. The second trend is from electricity generated from a diversity of sources to electricity generated predominantly by free-fuel sources, driven by their steadily decreasing cost and long-term abundance. These trends necessitate a just-emerging third trend: from a grid in which electricity is transported unidirectionally, traded at near-static prices, and consumed under direct human control; to a grid in which electricity is transported bidirectionally, traded at dynamic prices, and consumed under human-tailored artificial agential control. These trends point toward a future in which energy is not costly, scarce, or inefficiently deployed but instead is affordable, abundant, and efficiently deployed; with major economic, geo-political, and environmental benefits to humanity.

Keywords: energy generation; energy storage; environment; fossil fuel; government policy and funding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-06-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-reg
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published in MRS Energy & Sustainability, 5, June, 2018, 5, pp. E7. ISSN: 2329-2229

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