Mankind has been in an energy transition ever since two cave-boy scouts rubbed two sticks together and created fire. Although the world’s economy is currently powered by fossil fuels, renewable power sources (primarily wind and solar) are now cheaper than fossil fuels for many applications. This renewable power tipping point implies that a 100 percent renewable society is feasible, and may be here sooner than we think.
But there are many naysayers — usually from the fossil fuel industry. They claim that renewable power is still too expensive (ignoring direct and indirect subsidies to fossil fuels), that new technology can make fossil fuels cleaner (the myth of clean coal and VW’s TDI diesels), or that we need to go slowly in this transition to prevent a worldwide economic calamity (really just a loss of fossil fuel company profits). Fortunately, these claims are easy to refute with the right data and analyses.
My guest this week is Clint Wilder, senior editor at Clean Edge — a leading advisory firm specialized in reporting the latest in clean energy technology, economic developments, and market trends. Clean Edge recently released a report entitled “Getting to 100, a Status Report on Rising Commitments Among Corporations and Governments to Reach 100% Renewables.” This report focuses on the rapid progress that corporations and governments are making to deploy renewables and related technologies, including energy storage, more efficient buildings and an updated electric grid.
Please join me on this week’s Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as Clint explains our progress towards this 100 percent renewables, and discusses some of the opportunities and roadblocks that we will experience as we make this transition.
About The Energy Show
As energy costs consume more and more of our hard-earned dollars, we as consumers really start to pay attention. But we don’t have to resign ourselves to $5/gallon gas prices, $200/month electric bills and $500 heating bills. There are literally hundreds of products, tricks and techniques that we can use to dramatically reduce these costs — very affordably.
The Energy Show on Renewable Energy World is a weekly 20-minute podcast that provides tips and advice to reduce your home and business energy consumption. Every week we’ll cover topics that will help cut your energy bill, explain new products and technologies in plain English, and cut through the hype so that you can make smart and cost-effective energy choices.
About Your Host
Barry Cinnamon is a long-time advocate of renewable energy and is a widely recognized solar power expert. In 2001 he founded Akeena Solar — which grew to become the largest national residential solar installer by the middle of the last decade with over 10,000 rooftop customers coast to coast. He partnered with Westinghouse to create Westinghouse Solar in 2010, and sold the company in 2012.
His pioneering work on reducing costs of rooftop solar power systems include Andalay, the first solar panel with integrated racking, grounding and wiring; the first UL listed AC solar panel; and the first fully “plug and play” AC solar panel. His current efforts are focused on reducing the soft costs for solar power systems, which cause system prices in the U.S. to be double those of Germany.
Although Barry may be known for his outspoken work in the solar industry, he has hands-on experience with a wide range of energy saving technologies. He’s been doing residential energy audits since the punch card days, developed one of the first ground-source heat pumps in the early ‘80s, and always abides by the Laws of Thermodynamics.
Lead image: Green microphone. Credit: Shutterstock.
