energy technologies, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sufficiency, neighbourhoods, rebound

Abstract: If considering growth within the context of the built environment, considerable rise in land use per person over recent decade can be noted, for example in Germany. This is one of the reasons why household energy use has also grown. This led to rising energy bills, hence strain on financial resources, leading sometimes to fuel poverty. There is thus the imperative to reduce the consumption of all of these resources. There is a wealth of examples of urban sustainable energy projects across Europe. These relied on energy efficiency measures as well as local renewable energy technologies. Sufficiency aspects could also be found. When considering these in the light of degrowth, a number of issues arise: the relationship between demand reduction and renewable energy supply, rebound effects and limitations on biomass resources, yet also the potential for more resilient neighbourhoods. These issues will be discussed and illustrated by international project examples.
Keywords: energy technologies, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sufficiency, neighbourhoods, rebound

This media entry was a contribution to the special session "Technology and degrowth part 2: Practical cases" at the 4th International Degrowth Conference in Leipzig in 2014.