Like many other sectors of our life and our economies, COVID-19 has reshaped existing infrastructures, interactions, and services. Energy usage is among the sectors witnessing impacts in demand fluctuations and shift in sources. The IEA traced energy usage between the months of May 2020 and January 2021 linking changing COVID-19 restrictions on the part of the governments to shifts in energy demand, usage, and energy sources. Most interesting is the report's account of the ways in which high energy demand in the total and partial lockdowns in Europe (paritcularly in countries like Italy, Spain, and Germany) saw also a drastic increase in these countries' use of renewable energy sources, which have remained fairly stable percentages to this day. Interesting to note are also the graphs shown in the report which are pasted below. Energy trends in the United States were not as drastic but there were analyzed trends with energy demand being affected in the residential sector primarily.
International Energy Agency (IEA), "IEA Report: COVID-19 Impacts on Electricity", contributed by Briana Leone and Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 22 February 2021, accessed 30 December 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/iea-report-covid-19-impacts-electricity
Critical Commentary
Like many other sectors of our life and our economies, COVID-19 has reshaped existing infrastructures, interactions, and services. Energy usage is among the sectors witnessing impacts in demand fluctuations and shift in sources. The IEA traced energy usage between the months of May 2020 and January 2021 linking changing COVID-19 restrictions on the part of the governments to shifts in energy demand, usage, and energy sources. Most interesting is the report's account of the ways in which high energy demand in the total and partial lockdowns in Europe (paritcularly in countries like Italy, Spain, and Germany) saw also a drastic increase in these countries' use of renewable energy sources, which have remained fairly stable percentages to this day. Interesting to note are also the graphs shown in the report which are pasted below. Energy trends in the United States were not as drastic but there were analyzed trends with energy demand being affected in the residential sector primarily.