  We study the impact of an early dark energy component (EDE) present during
big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) on the elemental abundances of deuterium D/H,
and helium $Y_p$, as well as the effective relativistic degrees of freedom
$N_{\rm eff}$. We consider a simple model of EDE that is constant up to a
critical time. After this critical time, the EDE transitions into either a
radiation component that interacts with the electromagnetic plasma, a dark
radiation component that is uncoupled from the plasma, or kination that is also
uncoupled. We use measured values of the abundances and $N_{\rm eff}$ as
determined by CMB observations to establish limits on the input parameters of
this EDE model. In addition, we explore how those parameters are correlated
with BBN inputs; the baryon to photon ratio $\eta_b$, neutron lifetime
$\tau_n$, and number of neutrinos $N_\nu$. Finally, we study whether this setup
can alleviate the tension introduced by recent measurements of the primordial
helium abundance.
