New research by the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association, shows that over the next decade energy derived from solar photovoltaic sources has the potential to be more economically viable than energy derived from traditional fossil fuel burning.
How solar can surpass fossil fuels
In the past year alone, we have seen amazing technological breakthroughs that have shrunk solar cells, increased the places that solar energy can be derived with transparent solar technology, and found places to put solar panels we have never thought of before. According to the IEEE, this type of innovation and technological development must continue at its going pace in order to ensure our society can one day operate primarily on clean energy.
Expected growth of solar industry
According to the Executive Director of the IEEE, James Prendergast, as solar energy becomes more economically feasible, its adoption will increase along with it. Prendergast said,
As the cost of electricity from solar continues to decrease compared to traditional energy sources we will see tremendous market adoption, and I suspect it will be a growth limited only by supply. I fundamentally believe that solar PV will become one of the key elements of the solution to our near- and long-term energy challenges.
According to 2011’s Clean Energy Trends, the market for solar has been growing 40% year over year since 2000, and the chart below shows that the solar market alone is expected to continue its steady increase and be worth over $113 billion by 2020.
Look forward to continued technological advancements in the field of solar energy from groups like the IEEE and GE, as they will contribute to faster global adoption of the clean energy that can one day wean our culture off of fossil fuels.