Permaculture Principles For Positive Change: Catch and Store Energy

Energy flows all around us—sunlight streaming down, rain soaking into the ground, wind rushing past, plants growing and storing nutrients. If we pay attention, we can catch some of that energy while it’s available and store it for times of scarcity. That’s what the principle, Catch and Store Energy is all about: making the most of what’s abundant now so we have reserves when we need them.

This is the second of a 12-part series exploring the permaculture principles as outlined by David Holmgren in Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. Each article dives into one principle, offering practical insights and applications. To read them all, visit the permaculture design principles hub, here.

Let’s explore how Catch and Store Energy can guide us toward sustainable, resourceful living.

Catch and Store Energy’s Related Proverb

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Ever heard the saying, “Make hay while the sun shines”? It’s good advice. Farmers know to cut and dry hay when the weather’s good—wait too long, and a storm could ruin the whole crop.

The same idea applies to energy. Whether it’s capturing rainwater before a dry spell, storing food for winter, or even saving money when times are good, the key is to take advantage of the abundance while it lasts.

Centralized vs. Local Energy

Modern economies have centralized energy production, scaling it up and distributing it across vast distances to power our homes and businesses. This system is vital—it provides reliable, on-demand energy that supports daily life.

But centralized energy comes at a cost. It requires money, and infrastructure, and impacts the environment. While a shift to renewable municipal energy is growing in many areas, there is more we can do on a household or neighborhood scale.

Our electrical outlets and gas lines aren’t the only energy sources available to us. More localized, often-overlooked energy sources exist all around us. The permaculture principle of Catch and Store Energy encourages us to harness these resources when they are abundant and preserve them for future use. By doing so, we build resilience and reduce dependence on external systems.

Catching Energy

Catching energy involves identifying energy sources and capturing them while they’re available. Here are some examples:

• Installing solar panels to harvest sunlight
• Using wind turbines to harness wind power
• Setting up swales to direct water through a landscape
• Planting trees to capture sunlight through photosynthesis

Storing Energy

Energy doesn’t stick around unless there is a system in place to contain it. Some means of energy storage include:

• A battery bank to store energy collected with solar panels
• Using thermal mass, like stone or water, to store heat from the sun
• Building root cellars for preserving crops
• Saving seeds for future planting
• Composting organic matter to create fertile soil

By designing systems to both catch and store energy, we can be resilient in times of scarcity.

Connections to Other Principles

Holmgren’s Principles

Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

Renewable resources like solar energy, geothermal, and biomass are sustainable alternatives to finite fossil fuels. By recognizing and using these sources locally, we can reduce our footprint and benefit from free and abundant energy sources. 

Obtain a Yield

We often think of “yield” as just a crop harvest, but energy can be a yield too. In fact, the food we grow is stored energy—calories and nutrients we can use later. Our permaculture systems can capture and store energy in many forms, from firewood and rainwater to compost and solar power.

Produce No Waste

Capturing and reusing energy, such as composting organic matter instead of discarding it, keeps resources cycling within the system rather than becoming waste.

Design from Patterns to Details

Good design starts with the big picture and existing patterns. Understanding natural cycles, such as seasonal rainfall or solar exposure, allows for better placement of storage systems like rain tanks, thermal mass structures, garden beds, and swales.

Mollison and Slay’s Principles

Energy Cycling

Storing and reusing energy—whether in soil fertility, water retention, or biomass—prevents loss and keeps resources moving efficiently within the system.

Using Biological Resources

Trees, soil microbes, and animals naturally store and cycle energy through decomposition, nutrient accumulation, and biomass production.

Relative Location

By considering not only individual elements, but also their connections and relationships to each other, is the foundation of good permaculture design. For example, positioning elements strategically, such as placing water tanks uphill for gravity-fed irrigation, or compost bins near gardens for easy nutrient application.

Each Element Performs Multiple Functions

A pond stores water, moderates temperature, provides habitat, and can even produce food, showcasing how energy storage can serve multiple purposes.

Each Important Function Is Supported by Multiple Elements

Having multiple food storage methods—root cellars, dehydration, fermentation—ensures resilience and adaptability in case one method fails.

Catch and Store Energy in Practice

Catching and storing energy applies to every resource that supports a resilient system. By thinking beyond traditional energy sources, we can store abundance for times of scarcity, whether it’s in the form of natural resources, social connections, or financial stability.

Natural Energy

Nature provides abundant energy in various forms, from sunlight to soil. Here are some examples of these resources and how we can use them. 

• Solar Energy – Installing solar panels allows us to generate electricity for immediate use or store it in batteries for later. Solar thermal systems, such as solar water heaters or passive solar greenhouses, store heat for later use. A simple clothes line uses solar energy to dry clothes, reducing the use of municipal energy consumption.
• Thermal Mass – Materials like stone, concrete, adobe, and water can absorb and store heat, helping regulate indoor temperatures and reducing energy needs. Use of these materials outdoors can create microclimates to extend growing seasons or climate zones.
• Water Storage – Rainwater harvesting systems, ponds, and swales catch water and slow its movement, allowing it to infiltrate the soil or be stored for irrigation. Rain barrels or cisterns collect water from roof surfaces during rain events, and store it for use in times of drought.
• Soil Fertility – Composting organic matter, using mulch, and planting nitrogen-fixing plants, and nutrient accumulating plants help store nutrients in the soil, maintaining its long-term productivity.

Social Energy

Strong communities create resilience by sharing skills, labor, and resources. Making an effort to build relationships and connect with others for the purpose of sharing resources, skills, and knowledge, builds a network that supports community members over time.

• Skill-Sharing and Education – Teaching others through workshops, mentorship, or informal knowledge exchange preserves valuable skills and knowledge so they don’t get lost and can be applied in times of need.
• Perma-Blitzes – These work parties bring people together to complete permaculture projects in a day, combining hands-on learning with mutual aid.
• Community Tool Libraries – Shared tool lending programs reduce the need for individual purchases, allowing more people access to essential resources without high costs.
• Neighborhood Cooperation – Sharing resources like excess garden produce, and tasks like, garden watering during vacations, or childcare lightens the load for everyone while strengthening connections.

Financial Energy

We can increase our financial resilience by reducing dependency on cash flow and ensuring resources are available when needed. Instead of chasing constant income, we can build systems that provide long-term stability.

• Emergency Funds – Building an emergency fund acts as a financial cushion, allowing for flexibility during times of unexpected hardship or opportunity. It provides the financial energy to weather temporary setbacks. 
• Investing in Local Economy – Supporting local businesses and artisans strengthens the local economy and keeps money circulating within the community. It encourages a cycle of reciprocal support, making the community more financially resilient.
• Investing in Durable Infrastructure: Building passive solar homes, installing rainwater catchment, or planting long-lived food-producing trees reduces ongoing expenses.
• Energy Efficiency Investments – Investing to improve the energy efficiency of homes or businesses (e.g., through better insulation, efficient appliances, or energy-saving systems) reduces long-term costs and frees up resources for future projects.
• Ethical Investment – Directing funds into ethical and sustainable investments (e.g., green energy companies, B corps, etc.) aligns financial goals with personal values, supporting the regenerative economy. In other words, voting with your wallet.
• Diversify Income Streams – Relying on multiple sources of income (e.g., side businesses, freelancing, passive income) creates financial stability and ensures that one source of income isn’t the sole source.

Reflecting Back on Ethics

In any permaculture endeavor, it’s important to revisit the three ethics periodically to ensure alignment with the values we hold dear. How does Catch and Store Energy help us live under the three permaculture ethics, Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share?

Earth Care

Capturing solar energy, storing water, and maintaining healthy soil reduces reliance on extractive systems and mitigates environmental degradation. By designing systems that cycle energy efficiently, we contribute to ecological stability.

People Care

Financial resilience and food security provide long-term stability for individuals and communities. When people can store resources effectively, they are better prepared for uncertainty and can rely less on external systems.

Fair Share

Sharing stored resources, such as tools or preserved food, strengthens collective well-being. Whether through community seed banks, tool libraries, or surplus food donations, energy storage can be used to create mutual benefit rather than wasted excess.

Conclusion

Free and abundant energy is all around us. Catching and storing it ensures abundance is not wasted but saved for future use. Whether through solar panels, rainwater collection, food preservation, community cooperation, or financial planning, this principle builds resilience, security, and sustainability over time. By designing systems that capture, store, and cycle energy effectively, we can create a more stable and regenerative world.