Advancement in technology can make or break an industry. In the early 20th century Henry Ford, while not the inventor of the assembly line, is largely credited with implementing the technology on a large scale, significantly increasing worker productivity.
The ability for an individual worker to produce so much, bolstered wages and helped create the American middle class. Technology revolutionized an industry and a country. In the 1990s the internet fundamentally changed the way people absorb media and purchase goods and services. While this was a boon for many companies, the industries of newspapers, books, music and video, were forced from their paper and plastic past and called to embrace a digital future.
The technology of the internet beckoned loudly and companies that ignored this call are now either out of business or ghosts of what they once were. Encyclopedia Britannica anyone?
A similar technological revolution is happening within renewable energy. Let’s stick with solar photovoltaic (PV) for simplicity. In 1977, at $76/watt, PV systems were infeasible for most applications and just couldn’t compete with coal. However, PV systems have followed Swanson’s law (similar to Moore’s law which is the tendency for computing power to double every 18 months) where solar tech advances resulting in PV price to drop 10% every year to only $.3/watt on average by 2015.
While still not as cheap as coal at $.10-.14/watt, PV price reduction coupled with both a marked increase in efficiency and other advances like single axis then dual axis tracking, have brought the cost per watt of solar energy in line with other energy products. The revolution continues with new advancements announced regularly. Single walled carbon nanotube semiconductors and quickly advancing battery tech threaten to make PV systems even more appealing. Some new and untested thin film PV is claiming costs of only 6 cents/watt.
The reality is that PV is now a viable option in the marketplace and is no longer a novelty item.
What does this mean for energy consumers? Energy investors?
The PV pricing trend and technological advancement is a result of investment from individuals and governments. In the shadow of anthropomorphic climate change, and backed by overwhelming data, individual and global calls to reduce the use of fossil fuels get louder. Incentives and consumer demand for renewable energy are forcing an energy revolution and it is at a tipping point. Investment money is flowing into the renewable industry as many of the world’s largest companies are buying renewables foreseeing the change. The time to be ahead of the curve is now. Consumers and investors who ignore this trend may just find themselves on a shelf next to an encyclopedia, archived with other relics of a forgotten time.
Maxwell Roe
Director of Business Development
Clean USA Power, Inc.
max@cleanusapower.com 541-728-0871
115 NW Oregon Ave Unit 10, Bend OR 97703
References
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling
Feldman, D., Barbose, G., Margolis, R., Bolinger, M., Chung, D., Fu, R., . . . Wiser, R. (2015). Photovoltaic System Pricing Trends. Historical, Recent, and Near-Term Projections, 2015 Edition. doi:10.2172/1225306
http://www.economist.com/news/21566414-alternative-energy-will-no-longer-be-alternative-sunny-uplands
http://www.energypost.eu/iea-exaggerates-costs-underestimates-growth-solar-power/
https://www.climate.gov/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/12/why-companies-like-google-and-walmart-are-buying-so-much-wind-power/
http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=34622
http://www.deepstuff.org/chemists-create-battery-technology-with-off-the-charts-charging-capacity/
