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How did the Rocky Mountain Institute's soft energy path differ from centralized energy systems?

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The Rocky Mountain Institute, founded by Amory and Hunter Lovins, distinguished its "soft energy path" from conventional energy systems by rejecting the reliance on distant, centralized power sources.1

While traditional energy systems are characterized by the inefficient practice of drawing energy from large, centralized facilities, the soft energy path prioritizes the use of diversified, regionally appropriate energy sources. By utilizing local resources—such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, or water—this approach emphasizes a "whole system" perspective that seeks to maximize efficiency and sustainability at the point of use, rather than depending on the infrastructure-heavy, centralized distribution models that define conventional power grids.12