Energy Plot 6: Bringing it all Together

After all that rambling about the different types of energy and their pros and cons, I'll start tying everything together in ways that can relate to stories.

With all of the energies I've discussed, none of them is the "right answer." The only reasonable way we can power our planet is to use a blend of all of these different energies. Though fossil fuels won't always be available.
And with a blend of energies, we use far too much energy in our modern lifestyles. If developing countries start using as much energy as more developed countries use, there may be no sustainable way to power the planet.

The future is a great place to play around with energy. Even if you're on a different planet or dimension, you should have an idea of where that energy comes from.
In one of my creative writing classes, someone wrote a future story, in which food and supplies of every kind were very scarce. But they had more than enough energy to go around. I asked about this, but the author had no answer. He hadn't really thought about it.
If you're far enough in the future with enough people, there's not going to be any fossil fuels left. Your people will have had to find a more lasting way to power their homes, and get from place to place.
There's a lot of power centered around energy companies. Fossil fuel industries have amazing power and influence on the government, and will do their best to destroy competing industries, like renewable energy. There's plenty of ways you could make use of that if you're writing about government.
There may be an energy shift going on. Some of the first cars were run on renewable energies, until fossil fuels convinced them to switch over to oil. Or maybe people are trying to switch back to renewables, like so many are today.
You can also set your story in a world that no longer has easy access to energy. Maybe only the top people can use energy, while most everyone else is left without? The Nausicaa manga uses this some, with most of the technology knowledge lost, and no real way to replicate it anymore.
What happens if the major source of energy for your people suddenly vanishes? No cars, lights, medical equipment, TV, anything. That would be bad.

And you can go with a totally fun and different route. Look at Monsters Inc.

Who's used energy plots?
Monster Inc