How Will Gen Z/The Homeland Genration Consume Energy?

[Michelle420]

Most of the reports from both sides of the energy sector (fossil and renewable) focus on technical specifications and projections of known and linear variables. For example, Statoil most likely bases its projections on known demographic and economic trends of growth in population and income in emerging markets. These factors are not wrong in themselves of course, but other mitigating factors are not mentioned in their scenarios.

Many of the alternative scenarios go a little bit further and consider the implementation of political regulation and climate regulation, but they still often overlook cultural shifts and disruptive technologies. So are a few variables that we believe could change the energy landscape for the next generation beyond considerations already accounted for:

Younger generations eschew car ownership.
We have already seen the new trends with millennials. The sharing economy is all the hype now, and there is a shift towards embracing access to things than ownership. Much of this trend is due to age, and that millennials have postponed starting their adult lives with house and car ownership. But some of this is generational too. Millennials saw their boomer dads driving their Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. “What’s the point of having big car loans just to flaunt money you on’t really have?”, will be the recurring question from Gen Z’ers who have much more realistic economic expectations than their parents.

Alternative transportation and car-sharing.

Instead they rely on public transportation, car-sharing services and bikes. This is a long-term trend and does not indicate some psychographic blip where Generation Z can be expected to pick up the car-craze their Millennial predecessors didn’t have. From 1998 to 2008 the percentage of young household without cars increased with 20% to 28%.

How Will Our Youngest Generation Consume Energy

 

[Treeshepherd]

Since you're Drifting toward California, I might mention a few projects happening here.

The new Googleplex campus is being launched this year in Mountain View. At UC Davis, Honda is developing smart home technology. Tesla is developing batteries for home energy storage in partnership with Solar City. Sunpower just bought Tendril which is a renewable energy interface.

In the future, you might live in an Apple or Google or Honda home. In the case of Honda, you might get a special price and/or financing from their solar panel installation partners if you're a Honda customer. Your Honda Fit EV parked in the garage could potentially serve as a 20 kW battery storage device that could help power your home after the sun sets. Their smart home technology would automatically manage your energy usage, especially as it relates to demand response charges levied by your utility. Imagine if your refrigerator had built-in battery storage and could be charged on days when the sun was shining and power is cheap, and then it could run off the battery during peak rate periods.

How does this relate to Gen Z, many of whom are going to be mobile and not inclined to buy a house and live there 30 years? As I mentioned, the new Googleplex will include 5,000 units of smart housing on its new property which are designed for the young worker. Many of those will be rentals and Google has bought the Altamont wind farm to power the entire property.

Furthermore, communities in CA are developing Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs). A CCA takes the power purchasing role away from the utility. For example, Northern California's utility is called PG&E. They buy our power for us on the wholesale market. A CCA would do it's own buying, leaving PG&E with the roles of grid maintenance, customer service and billing. Marin and Sonoma counties have formed CCAs. Santa Cruz County is in the process of forming one. In Marin, you can opt out of the program and stick with your PG&E plan, or you can choose from three of their plans which buy power from mostly local renewable producers. So, even if you're a renter or live under trees you can choose to invest in renewables.

Also, we have solar gardens. A solar garden is a large array of panels. You can buy shares in the solar garden and the value of that investment is subtracted from your electricity bill. That's another way for renters to invest in renewables.

 

[Michelle420]

I am going there to visit my significant other's relative who is in a serious health condition we will only be there for a few days.

In August we are going to visit the Bay area, or LA it keeps changing in regards to which location.

I wish I could move to California, the few times I have been there I really liked it. But my sweetheart hates it, says there are too many people there.

I suppose visiting is the next best thing.

Thanks for sharing all if that information Treeshepherd.