The Energy World is Flat: Opportunities from the End of Peak Oil

Chapter TenFlattener #7 – Demand Destruction

There can be economy only where there is efficiency.

Benjamin Disraeli

I grew up in the 1970s. I was too young to remember the first oil shock, but I can recall with great nostalgia those cold winters sitting next to the wood fires. And that, despite our complaints, my parents would only set the electric heating on at night. Electricity prices had skyrocketed, but the main reason why the house felt so cold was the very poor insulation. The windows seemed to whistle when the wind was blowing hard. No matter how high we set the thermostat, the house always seemed to be freezing. Plus the wood fires were more fun.

Today, energy efficiency and conservation are more relevant than ever. Buildings and residential are the largest energy consumers, with nearly 35% share of global energy consumption and much stricter regulation for energy savings is in place today.

Clearly, the path taken in terms of energy efficiency will be critical to the future of power consumption worldwide.

More with less

Efficiency is about doing “more with less”. It is about being smarter about how the resources are produced, refined, transported, and consumed.

As discussed, game changers tend to result in “quantum leaps”, where technology opens new frontiers and unlocks potential that was known to exist, but was not commercially viable. Game changers are a line in the sand, a “before and after”.

On the other hand, efficiency is about “small steps”, where technology, ...