The energy footprint generated by a person or community depends not only on the energy consumed at home or in transport. On the contrary, the energy used to produce the goods and services we consume is a more important factor than we think, that is, the energy we consume indirectly. To demonstrate this, the research groups Ekopol and Life Cycle Thinking Group of the University of the Basque Country have compared the energy footprint of the free neighborhood Errekaleor and the CAPV in a recently published study (Global Multi-Regional Input-Outmethodology reveals lower energy footprint in an alternative project, 2022).

 

 

 

 

Researchers have concluded that alternative and community-based lifestyles can reduce energy consumption (energy footprint) as they estimate that the per capita energy footprint of the Errekaleor district is 24% lower than that of the CAPV (31.1 MWh and 40.9 MWh per inhabitant per year, respectively).

Energy footprint

The energy footprint (Total Primary Energy Footprint, TPEF) has been the indicator used in the research. This, in addition to the energy consumed directly in households, transport, industry and services, takes into account hidden energy flows. In other words, if we talk about countries, it counts energy imported from other countries as goods and services.

Since goods and services are generally produced in the countries of the Global South and consumed in those of the Global North, if hidden energy flows are not taken into account, the energy consumption in the calculated Global North is lower than its own consumption and, in turn, it appears that the countries of the Global South consume more energy than they actually consume.

Difference between the free district of Errekaleor and the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country

According to the results obtained, the energy footprint of the population of Errekaleor is lower than that of the Basque and Spanish population: 24% and 14% less, respectively. Researchers say that the factor that influences this aspect is the hidden energy flow integrated in products and services: 81% of the total energy footprint of the Spanish state, 75% of the CAPV footprint and 66% of the Errekaleor footprint.

Thus, they have concluded that the consumption of products and services or the energy consumed indirectly is the main factor that conditions the energy footprint, not the direct consumption in housing and transport. In fact, the energy footprint of the population of Errekaleor is lower, despite the higher energy consumption in housing and transport. In this regard, they stress that electricity from Errekaleor's isolated PV system is only 0.6% of the district's total energy footprint.

They also highlight that among the inhabitants of the Errekaleor neighborhood there is a factor that alters the energy footprint: the number of people living in a dwelling. People living in family or group have a 33.5% lower footprint than people living alone.

This kind of research, why?

Estitxu Villamor, head of research, has explained to Elhuyar magazine that research is useful to become aware of the importance of the factors that influence the ecological footprint and to design more effective policies to reduce the footprint.

Indeed, the unlimited consumption model of today’s society has already caused the energy and resource crisis, and the need to reduce the energy consumption of the countries of the Global North has become undeniable. However, the proposed measures aim, in general, at the objective of the energy consumed in the dwellings, without taking into account, as this study shows, the greater impact of factors such as hidden energy flows caused by imported services and products.