Revolution Now: Our Solar Future

All energy comes from the stars, but none is more obvious than the radiant energy of our Sun. The solar revolution is upon us, or so says the Dept of Energy in Revolution Now: The Future Arrives For Four Clean Energy Technologies: Today, Americans are increasingly turning to the power of the sun, which allows them the security of generating their own, low-cost, electricity. Current trends indicate that solar energy has a very bright future. As these and other clean energy industries continue to expand, so will the challenges and opportunities associated with transforming America's energy sector. Already utilities are beginning to wonder how they will support their current business models in the face of increased energy efficiency and cheap rooftop solar power. As EVs move beyond the market for "first adopters" and become mainstream, America will have to invest in building a smarter, more robust electrical grid and an extensive network of EV charging stations. Those challenges are emblematic of successes in these clean energy markets. Indeed, electric vehicles, solar PV, wind power and LED lighting are all on track to transform our economy for the better. They will clean up the air in our cities, reduce America's vulnerability to unstable international oil markets and help build an economy that is more competitive and more efficient. The Energy Department's goal is to encourage these trends by providing performance targets, support for R&D, consumer education and targeted deployment assistance. With continued progress in critical renewable and energy efficient technologies like these, we can look forward to a future of clean, green, American-made energy. Already for some of these innovative technologies, that future is here today. But, that's just an extrapolation of current trends, which look very bright. What is going to really accelerate and transform our economy from one based upon scarcity to one based upon abundance is the new breakthrough energy technologies which will come to light in the next few years which will allow commercial buildings to become micro-grids, producing their own energy directly, and paying for their construction by sending their excess energy into the future Energy Internet. Prosumers will eventually be living in homes which collect energy from the sun and send that excess energy flowing back into the Energy Internet. The transition will take many years and involve much infighting, but it's coming. Right now, many consumers of electricity are well on their way to becoming prosumers, who produce as much or more energy as they consume from the grid. As time goes on and the price of capturing free energy continues to decline, these prosumers will force a radical change in the way we live. The net effect of all this is that the price of energy will deflate, eliminating fossil fuels the old-fashioned way—via the Law of Supply and Demand. With an abundance of energy from the Sun, there will be far less demand for fossil fuels, which will fall in price until producers are not able to earn a profit by extracting them from the ground and will abandon their businesses due to bankruptcy. Holders of claims on energy reserves in the ground will find their value will fall as the only uses for fossil fuels will not be to burn them up and contribute to Global Warming, but to use those former fuels as feedstocks for products instead. And, of course, all those utilities who did not believe the warnings of scientists concerning the effects of Climate Change and who invested heavily in fossil fuel power plants will not be able to recoup enough revenue to pay off the bonds they sold to investors. They will turn to their regulators to raise energy prices to allow them to avoid bankruptcy. In doing so, they will force ever more consumers into becoming prosumers, installing micro-grids in their homes and places of business, leading to ever-decreasing revenue for the utilities and ever-increasing prices for those still tied to the grid for their energy. The battle over energy will inevitably be won by the public. Eventually, the public will realize the rising price of energy game is over and will demand that utilities be forced into bankruptcy and taken over by the government. The government will then create programs to finance the build-out of the Energy Internet, giving low-interest loans to consumers to install energy harvesting and storage technology everywhere. Yes, indeed, the future is so bright you have to wear shades!

Posted in: Wall Street Trading