Clean Technology is Disrupting Fossil Fuels Faster Than Ever
18 Sep, 2018
The best news in the global fight against climate change is the pace at which clean technology is advancing. That technology is on a path to disrupt fossil fuel electricity, oil, the automotive industry as solar and wind power, batteries, self-driving cars used by the…
R e a d M o r eSolar doesn’t need a “breakthrough”. It’s a breakthrough on it’s own.
4 Jan, 2018
Yesterday, Tyler Cowan, who I’m a major fan of, wrote a piece for Bloomberg View arguing that solar needs more R&D for a true green energy breakthrough. This logic mirrors that of Bill Gates, the Breakthrough Institute, and others who, over the years, have argued…
R e a d M o r eClean Energy Disruption – Video from South Africa
13 Nov, 2017
I spoke at the SingularityU South Africa Summit earlier this year, about the way that solar, wind, storage, and electric vehicles are disrupting the $6 Trillion a year energy industry worldwide, and the opportunities for South Africa and the whole of the African continent. It was…
R e a d M o r eHow Cheap Can Electric Vehicles Get?
12 Apr, 2016
This is part 5 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3 looked at…
R e a d M o r eWhy I’m Starting the First AngelList Cleantech Syndicate
22 Feb, 2016
I’ve been writing and speaking about the incredible pace of solar, wind, and storage for years. I’ve been quietly investing in startups in that space as well. Today I’m taking a new step: I’m launching an AngelList Syndicate specifically focused on investing in clean energy…
R e a d M o r eRenewables are Disruptive to Fossil Fuels
18 Feb, 2016
A shorter version of this post first appeared at the Marginal Revolution blog. Cleantech, and specifically renewables like solar and wind (and their fellow traveler energy storage) are disruptive to fossil fuels. Over the last 5 years, the price of new wind power in the US…
R e a d M o r eHow Far Can Renewables Go? Pretty Darn Far
31 Jan, 2016
This is part 4 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3 looked at…
R e a d M o r eHow Cheap Can Energy Storage Get? Pretty Darn Cheap
14 Oct, 2015
This is part 3 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3, below, talks…
R e a d M o r eWhat’s the EROI of Solar?
4 Jun, 2015
There’s a graph making rounds lately showing the comparative EROIs of different electricity production methods. (EROI is Energy Return On Investment – how much energy we get back if we spend 1 unit of energy. For solar this means – how much more energy does…
R e a d M o r eTesla Battery Economics: On the Path to Disruption
30 Apr, 2015
Update: The Tesla battery is better than I thought for homes. And at utility scale, it’s deeply disruptive. Elon Musk announced Tesla’s home / business battery today. tl;dr: It’ll get enthusiastic early adopters to buy. The economics are almost there to make it cost effective for a wide market.…
R e a d M o r eWhy Energy Storage is About to Get Big – and Cheap
14 Apr, 2015
tl;dr: Storage of electricity in large quantities is reaching an inflection point, poised to give a big boost to renewables, to disrupt business models across the electrical industry, and to tap into a market that will eventually top many of tens of billions of dollars…
R e a d M o r eThe Learning Curve for Energy Storage
30 Sep, 2014
Energy storage prices are dropping fast. If you follow me, you’ve seen me write about this before. Energy storage prices have in fact been dropping exponentially for at least 25 years. Here’s a new piece of analysis – a model that uses a 20% learning…
R e a d M o r eThe Renewable Energy Revolution
29 Sep, 2014
Transforming the world’s energy supply will take decades. It is a very tall order. But it’s starting. The price of renewables – and energy storage – continues to plunge, putting them on a path to being cheaper than any other form of energy within the…
R e a d M o r eSolar Power Prices Dropping Faster Than Ever
14 Nov, 2013
In 2011, I wrote a piece for Scientific American on the exponential price decline in solar power. I haven't had a chance to fully update that piece, but two quick notes. First, the price decline in solar cost per watt has, if anything, accelerated since then.…
R e a d M o r eEnergy Storage Gets Exponentially Cheaper Too
25 Sep, 2013
At MIT Technology Review today was an article on Sun Catalytix’s new flow battery intended for grid-scale storage, which Sun Catalytix believes will drop grid-scale storage prices in half. As the article notes, several other storage technology companies are also working on driving down the…
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