Soft energy path

In 1976 energy policy analyst Amory Lovins coined the term soft energy path to describe an alternative future where energy efficiency and appropriate renewable energy sources steadily replace a centralized energy system based on fossil and nuclear fuels.

Soft vs Hard

The "soft energy path" assumes that energy is but a means to social ends, and is not an end in itself. Soft energy paths involve efficient use of energy, diversity of energy production methods (matched in scale and quality to end uses), and special reliance on co-generation and "soft energy technologies" such as solar energy, wind energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, etc.

The "hard energy path" (with which the soft path contrasts) is based on the assumption that the more energy we use the better off we are. It involves inefficient liquid-fuel automotive transport, as well as giant, centralized electricity-generating facilities, often burning fossil fuels (e.g., coal or petroleum) or harnessing nuclear power. The hard path is not simply a matter of energy sources, though, because it is greatly augmented and complicated by wastage and loss of electricity and other common, directly usable forms of energy.

Lovins explained that the most profound difference between the soft and hard paths -- the difference that ultimately distinguishes them -- is their different socio-political impact. Both paths entail social change, "but the kinds of social change for a hard path are apt to be less pleasant, less plausible, less compatible with social diversity and freedom of choice, and less consistent with tradiational values than are the social changes which could make a soft path work". p.54

Soft energy technologies

Main article: Soft energy technologies

Soft energy technologies (appropriate renewables) have five defining characteristics (Lovins, 1977). They (1) rely on renewable energy resources, (2) are diverse and designed for maximum effectiveness in particular circumstances, (3) are flexible and relatively simple to understand, (4) are matched to end-use needs in terms of scale, and (5) are matched to end-use needs in terms of quality.

Residential solar energy technologies are prime examples of soft energy technologies and rapid deployment of simple, energy conserving, residential solar energy technologies is fundamental to a soft energy strategy. Active residential solar technologies use special devices to collect and convert the sun's rays to useful energy and are located near the users they supply. Passive residential solar technologies involve the natural transfer (by radiation, convection and conduction) of solar energy without the use of mechanical devices.

Lovins argued that besides environmental benefits, global political stresses might be reduced by Western nations committing to the soft energy path. In general, soft path impacts are seen to be more "gentle, pleasant and manageable" than hard path impacts. These impacts range from the individual and household level to those affecting the very fabric of society at the national and international level.

Implementation

Lovins recognised that major energy decisions are always implemented gradually and incrementally, and that major shifts take decades. A chief element of the soft path strategy is to avoid major commitments to inflexible infrastructure that locks us into particular supply patterns for decades.

The following transitional strategy to a soft energy path has been proposed:

• Double the efficiency of oil utilization, mainly through improved vehicle design (the development of improved hybrid cars, ultralight designs, and streamlined large transport vehicles).

• Apply creative business models which focus on certain advanced technologies and lightweight materials.

• Substitute 25% of U.S. oil needs via a major domestic biofuels industry, which could result in an economic boost for the rural regions that would supply the plant material for biofuels.

• Make natural gas again abundant and affordable through wider utilization of well-established efficiency techniques.

Lovins argues that the barriers to soft energy paths are not technical, nor in any fundamental sense economic. He suggests that are mainly institutional, and relate to obsolete building codes, an innovation-resistant building industry, promotional utility rate structures, inapproriate tax and mortgage policies, imperfect access to capital markets and fragmentation of government responsibilities.

Lovins wrote in 1977 that "a largely or wholly solar economy can be constructed in the United States with straightforward soft technologies that are now demonstrated and now economic or nearly economic".

The soft energy path is already coming to pass. As of 2007, America's total energy consumption is actually running lower than predicted in Lovin's 1976 soft path scenario. Soft technologies were delayed by official hinderances, but improved energy efficiency has more than made up the difference.

See also

• Action on climate change
• Cogeneration
• Earthship
• Energy demand management
• Energy Tax Act
• Energy: world resources and consumption
• Green politics
• Green tax shift
• National Energy Conservation Policy Act
• Negawatt Power
• New Urbanism
• Nuclear energy policy
• Proposed oil phase-out in Sweden
• Self-sufficient homes
• Soft energy technologies
• Tom Bender

Bibliography

• Amory B. Lovins, Soft Energy Paths: Toward a Durable Peace, Penguin Books, 1977.

• Morrison, D.E., and Lodwick D.G. (1981). "The social impacts of soft and hard energy systems", Annual Review of Energy, 6, 357-378.

External links

• UK Renewable-Energy Web Sites
• Rocky Mountain Institute
• Amory Lovins on the Soft Energy Path
• American energy: The renewable path to energy security
• Soft energy, hard politics