Energy, demand for computing power and the Green World

Abstract

The review looks at the main trends in global energy production and consumption over the last half century, based on P.L. Kapitza’s 1975 analysis using a unified approach based on the Umov–Poynting vector. Such aspects of the problem as the impact of energy consumption on gross national product per capita, reasons for different approaches of countries to the transition to renewable energy sources, existing sources of energy, global distribution of its production and consumption, features and prospects of different energy technologies, as well as technologies to reduce energy consumption are touched upon. Thus, since 1975, the price of one kilowatt-hour of "solar" electricity has fallen by orders of magnitude and this technology has moved to the forefront, while fusion still remains the "energy of the future" and coal continues to hold its position in the market. Somewhat unexpectedly, electronics and telecommunications have become a major consumer of energy, urging a shift from von Neumann architecture to neuromorphic technology in computers and the development of femto and attowatt optoelectronics. And a totally unforeseen energy consumer has been cryptocurrency mining. On the other hand, the harvesting of dissipated energy in a variety of ways is seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of batteries in low and ultra-low-power devices.