E-vision 2000: Key Issues That Will Shape Our Energy Future

This report documents an initiative by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) of the U.S. Department of Energy to identify and assess a range of emerging issues that may affect future energy use and supply. The project had three parts: (1) a conference called E-Vision 2000, held October 11-13, 2000 in Washington, D.C., including presentation of invited papers; (2) an assessment of long-range planning scenarios currently used in the energy community; and (3) a structured process to identify a set of critical energy issues in 2020 to inform the EERE R&D portfolio, as viewed by a range of energy experts. This document summarizes the issues raised and suggestions made for future research by the participants in and attendees at the E-Vision conference and the key insights derived from RAND’s scenario analysis and expert elicitation. It also includes abstracts of papers submitted by some of the panelists. Conference participants explored the influence of information technologies on energy use; the implications of changing building designs to simultaneously improve both worker and energy productivity; how energy productivity can be improved through fundamental changes in transportation systems, land-use planning, and electricity grid design; and systems approaches to energy use.