During my college career, one of the hot topics was solar power. Solar was seen as one of the solutions for decreasing fossil fuel emissions. We looked at many case studies on how solar has been implemented and why it was or was not successfully adopted on a large scale. There were always two main concerns when it came to solar energy. The first was cost. Due to the inputs and infrastructure needed, solar was more expensive than other types of energy production like nuclear and fossil fuel. The second issue was storage. In order for solar to be viable it needs a good storage system because weather and the daily cycle determines when solar can be produced. Thanks to economies of scale and technological improvements, these two barriers may not be as big as they once were.
Bloomberg reports that the cost of renewable energy is now comparable or lower than the costs of energy production by fossil fuels. Solar power on a large scale used to be cost prohibitive. But after years of research and new technology, it is reaching a point where it is actually economically viable: making it no longer just a pollution decision, but an economic decision.
Last night, Tesla announced their new “Tesla Energy” program. This new business venture for them will be a slate of batteries that will be used to store solar energy for homes and businesses. This could be a game changer as far as solar power storage goes, making it much easier to implement into everyday life. Elon Musk believes it will be big for the company.
With cost and storage becoming less and less of a barrier for solar power, it will be interesting to see how widely it is adopted in the coming years.
Worth the While 