A group of astronomers from Baltimore has determined that dark energy has existed for at least 9.000 million years. Given that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old, dark energy has been affected since almost its origin.
Since the Big Bang occurred, the universe is constantly expanding, increasingly fast. Astronomers can't explain this speed with the energies and forces they know so far and that's why they believe there is dark energy. They say that dark energy exerts some force against gravity, causing a faster expansion of the universe.
Among scientists there is no consensus as to dark energy and do not coincide with theories about the expansion of the universe. Some, among others, believe that dark energy is constant and unchanging. Others are a force that has changed over time, similar to electromagnetism. And others say that gravity is the same that has changed over time and that dark energy does not exist.