The world of clean energy is changing at a rapid pace. Solar power installations in the United States increased by 43% in 2020, and the cost of solar dropped by nearly 90% between 2010 and 2020. Similarly, wind turbine capacity increased by a record 14.2 gigatonnes in just one year. Furthermore, electric vehicle sales have been steadily increasing, and it is expected that by 2025, electric vehicles will account for 10% of all vehicles sold. According to all accounts, the green technology revolution is well underway.
While these are encouraging developments, they are insufficient to slow climate change. We will need to scale up and improve these technologies in order to make a significant dent in the problem. So, how does the future of green energy appear? To learn more, we spoke with environmental researcher, author, lecturer, and entrepreneur Johnathan Koomey.
Solar
According to Koomey, solar costs will almost certainly continue to fall in the coming years — but perhaps in unexpected ways.
"We're getting to the point now where the cost of solar panels isn't the most important factor, per house, or even for a large solar installation in the desert or wherever," says Koomey. "Now that solar panels are so cheap, there's a shift toward focusing on these other costs and attempting to eliminate them."
These costs could include labour costs, permit fees, and other factors. To meet our clean energy goals, Koomey believes we must significantly reduce permitting costs.
Aside from these costs, the solar industry is seeing promising new innovations. It's great that solar panels have become so affordable, but it would be even better if they were also more effective, which researchers are working on.
One way to improve the efficiency of a solar panel is to increase the amount of light it can capture. In recent years, researchers discovered that you can layer different materials on the panel to capture a wider range of wavelengths of light, which means it can capture more solar energy. That means you won't need as many panels to generate the energy you require.
"There's so much solar radiation coming into the Earth that we're really only limited by our ingenuity," says Koomey. "We're not constrained by solar."
Wind
Wind power, like solar power, is becoming more affordable, and the way we think about wind energy is changing, according to Koomey.
"The biggest development in wind in the United States, I believe, is the possibility of offshore wind," Koomey says.
Offshore wind is common in Europe, and it appears that it will soon become common in the United States. The Biden administration has decided to allow offshore wind on parts of the West Coast. Offshore wind power has the potential to significantly increase the United States' renewable energy capacity due to the vast amount of available space and the relatively consistent amount of wind that blows in from the Pacific Ocean.
Turbine technology is also improving. Engineers are beginning to explore and develop new systems that capture energy more efficiently, in addition to the commonplace three-blade turbines.
Large-scale vertical-axis wind turbines are one such concept (VAWTs). These turbines spin on a rotor in the shape of a vertical football. They have been shown to capture 15% more power than traditional wind turbines while also being easier to maintain. The fact that they have a lower centre of gravity allows them to be built much larger than horizontal axis wind turbines.
There are also plans to capture wind energy without using any turbines at all. The Vortex Bladeless is essentially a pillar that generates power by vibrating in the wind, whereas Google's Makani Energy generates power with a plane-like kite that can be transported to wherever the wind is blowing.
Batteries
With regards to the batteries that power electric vehicles and are progressively found in individuals' homes, Koomey says those expenses are additionally extraordinarily declining. He says lithium-particle batteries are following the direction of the diminishing in the cost of sunlight based chargers we've seen throughout the long term, however they're "somewhat at a previous stage."
"For electric vehicles, the battery is the greatest expense issue. As that descends, that is what will move the financial matters in a convincing manner," he recommends.
Lithium-particle batteries stay an industry standard for electric vehicles and the gadgets we use, yet we're seeing promising advances in lattice scale energy capacity arrangements that will permit us to store sun oriented and wind power and use it later. Stream batteries, for instance, are progressively well known in places like California and Texas, where power request frequently overwhelms creation limit. Different innovations, as cutting edge compacted air energy capacity and gravity stockpiling are making strides also.
Information technology
Notwithstanding the actual foundation that supports wind, sunlight based, and battery tech, Koomey says data innovation will likewise be a major piece representing things to come of green innovation. The more we can digitize and computerize the electrical frameworks in our homes, places of business, foundation and that's only the tip of the iceberg, the more energy proficient we can make these things
"Data innovation permits us to gather information, and it permits us to answer continuously to the information so we can enhance our frameworks. It permits us to substitute smarts for parts," Koomey says. "There will be a development towards the virtualization of our actual framework."
It appears to be that what's to come is electric, and it's moving that way more quickly than anybody anticipated. That's what koomey proposes, as these innovations keep on getting less expensive, the straightforward financial matters of the circumstance will drive the reception of them. A long time from now, we might laugh at the possibility that we ever consumed grimy fills to control our homes, vehicles, and all the other things.
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