Will the World's Power Future Come From Solar?
The solar market today is like the computer industry of the eighties. The microchip was a great invention, but until Microsoft and Macintosh found a way to bring it to the consumer, it had a limited impact. So believes PayPal-founder-turned-green-entrepreneur, Elon Musk, who predicts that
in 30 years solar will be the single largest source of power in the
U.S., and possibly the world.
Musk made the prediction at the Future in
Review (FiRe) conference in Coronado, Calif., this week, where thought
leaders met to debate what the future of technology will look like.
Musk said that including solar thermal and solar photovoltaics, solar
will generate more electricity than any other source of power, and the
majority of that technology will be driven by the United States.
To achieve Musk's prediction, experts believe that solar needs to get cheaper, and photovoltaics have to stop relying on raw materials (indium / monosilicon) that are difficult to acquire and creating the ability store the power so we can use it at night through a combination of utility-scale power storage and distributed power storage through home fuel-cell and hydrogen creation systems.
Musk's newest company, SolarCity, sells photovoltaic panels from
multiple manufacturers, as well as installation and maintenance
services. Among its promises: "Full-service clean-energy solutions that
save you money." Says Musk, "We want to become the Dell of solar."
After dropping out of a graduate program in physics at Stanford
University after two days, he formed Zip2, which Compaq later bought
for over $300 million. He went on to help found PayPal and make a
second fortune. Now, he's the founder and chief executive of Space
Exploration Technologies, which puts satellites into orbit. He's also
chairman of electric-car company Tesla Motors (Musk owns the first
vehicle that came off the factory line).
SolarCity is currently offering solar installations on rooftops for
no down payment in certain locations. At the FiRe conference, Musk was
joined onstage by Lyndon Rive the CEO of SolarCity, and the duo
described their plan as “You save money from day one. You pay less for
clean power,” primarily because of the federal tax
subsidy that offers a 30 percent tax credit on solar installations.
Musk forecasts that SolarCity will make $80 million in revenues this year. Rive and Musk said the market is wide open for
them to build solar on rooftops; in California, solar only has a
penetration of less than 1 percent, noted Rive.
Both execs said
their biggest challenge was getting the solar panels up on the rooftops
fast enough. But there’s also the rush of competition from other
private and public solar installers moving in, along with
future concerns over policy, particularly if the federal government
does not extend that generous tax credit.
Musk had some strong opinions on federal carbon policy, stating flatly and boldly that “There should be a carbon tax.”
Posted by Casey Kazan.
Source link:
http://earth2tech.com/2008/05/22/elon-musk-solar-will-be-the-largest-source-of-power-in-30-years/
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1677/
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