1. Introduction
This paper critically reviews the role of energy in economic growth theory and analyzes the impact of energy constraints on economic growth. A structural understanding of the role of energy in the economy, both from a historical and a contemporary perspective, is essential in this endeavour. Economic theory is principally based on deductive premises, which are calibrated to empirical evidence. A possible exception to this approach is the theory of economic growth in which the principal variables, labour (L) and capital (K), only weakly explain growth in economic output, while residuals are explained in terms
of Total Factor Productivity (TFP). Deterministic