Negawatt Power - Origin and Development

Origin and Development

The term negawatt is derived from megawatt and was created by Amory Lovins. Lovins saw a typo — "negawatt" instead of "megawatt" — in a Colorado Public Utilities Commission report in 1989. He adopted the term to describe electricity that was not created using energy efficiency and conservation. He was concerned with the large inefficiencies of energy use and came up with ways to remedy the problem. Lovins advocated for more efficient light bulbs and reflective metals that increase the intensity of light produced. He wanted consumers to use the energy produced in a smarter way by "wringing more work from the electricity we already have." Lovins felt an international behavioral change was necessary in order to decrease countries' dependence on excessive amounts of energy. The concept of a negawatt could influence a behavioral change in consumers by encouraging them to think about the energy that they spend.

In 2003 in France under the guide of Thierry Salomon 23 scientists wrote "Le manifeste Négawatt." Megawatt and negawatt seem to be reminiscent to the larger concept of ecological footprint, handprint handprint, and by following this line of thought toward compatibility and comparability a second frame of concept seems appropriate: mindprint — the impact in another frame or setting where units or numbers can not be compared (see paradigm shift).