Sustainable Energy: A New Vision of the Development Factors

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the world energy industry has embarked on a path of transformation, the purpose of which is the formation of a new type of energy that meets the principles of sustainable development. This process was first of all launched by the policy of the governments of the countries aimed at reducing the technogenic impact of energy on the environment. Many studies have been carried out on the feasibility of stimulating the transformation process. The challenges posed by the spread of renewable energy sources have been identified, and the main drivers that have launched and are currently stimulating the transformation process have been analyzed. Despite a large number of studies, the fact that one of the drivers of the ongoing changes in the energy industry is the correspondence of the characteristics of sustainable energy systems to a new stage in the development of capitalist societies has been overlooked. The paper examines the energy industry’s development trajectories in the context of the evolution of production organization models. It is shown that the trajectory of energy industry development is determined not only by its internal contradictions, the structure of the available resource base, scientific and technological progress and competition, but also by the general logic of socio-economic development, as well as current political narratives. The correspondence of the structures of a sustainable economy and the energy industry to the internal logic of the new organizational model inherent in the modern capitalist society turns out to be one of the drivers of the energy transition. It is concluded that due to the change in such informal institutions as the idea of a preferred future development of mankind, the norms of interaction between man and nature, as well as changes in the characteristics of energy markets, sustainable energy will continue to develop, despite its relatively low economic efficiency.