ABSTRACT
Fanny Lopez (0000-0002-1210-5016)
Projects that aim for energy autonomy defy the dominant model and the logic of large infrastructural networks operating at urban or regional scales and delivering multiple services to large populations. From the nineteenth century onwards, concepts and methods of energy autonomy have been inspired by two major ambitions; to free consumers from the grip of utility monopolies and to equip buildings with integrated systems capable of providing a minimum of heat, water and electricity. Pioneers in this field include forgotten figures such as John Adolphus Etzler (who developed an autonomous mechanical system in 1841) and others who are much better known, like Thomas Edison. Interest in what became the autonomous energy movement took off after the 1973 oil crisis. Driven by American counter-culture, concepts of autonomy spread and became institutionalised, extending from individual housing units to cities and entire regions. Alexander Pike’s autonomous house and George Alexandroff’s self-sufficient city demonstrate the potency of a concept which combines technical virtuosity with often subversive visions of socio-political, economic and environmental futures. In outlining a history of ideas and experiments in energy autonomy, this chapter helps contextualise contemporary debates.
