Renewable energy has progressed a long way in recent years, and there’s no sign of that progress slowing down. Technological advances drive the trends towards greener energy, and the market is ripe for more solutions.
Growth Potential Is Enormous
Despite the massive growth in renewable energy sources, 83% of energy in the United States comes from other methods of production. Since investing in renewables is so hot, the money will continue to pour into all the tech companies experimenting with new approaches. Douglas Healy is confident that the move towards renewables is here, and will happen despite obvious growing pains. One such issue is storage.
Storage Is the Central Theme
Wind and solar are intermittent energy sources.
They rely upon the wind and the sun to produce energy. That’s fine, except for periods when it’s impossible. The solution for a grid that uses renewable energy sources exclusively is adding storage. That’s the most exciting potential technology now, and it has investors rushing to get their piece of the action.
Lithium-ion battery storage promises to be a significant industry. An efficient energy grid that has storage points can keep up with the demand for continuous electricity. As the tech behind this type of storage facility improves, it seems likely that it will fill in the pieces of a new grid.
Floating Marine Solar Is Interesting
Another intriguing technology is the placing of solar farms on the water. Initial tests surrounding the tech are positive, and doing so eliminates many of the land-use arguments against these types of facilities.
Floating solar farms are receiving tons of investment, making the projects larger. As that happens, the price overall to produce electricity on each one will decline. This industry remains in its infancy but can be very helpful for any situation where purchasing land for the same purpose is too expensive.
Green Hydrogen Emerges
Another emerging tech that’s capturing attention is green hydrogen. At present, the technology is not cost-competitive with fossil fuels, but that will change by 2030. In the meantime, development is speeding up.
This energy production happens via electrolysis. That process splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The great thing about the process is that the technique produces no hydrocarbons.
Even more intriguing is that green hydrogen can work along with renewable energy sources to hasten the move towards sustainability. The process uses electrolyzers, which operate dynamically. In only seconds they’re able to achieve their maximum capacity.
Pairing them with the more common renewable sources makes sense because those go offline regularly. Adding to the argument for green hydrogen is that it’s storable. Selling the storage tanks to industrial businesses is viable, as well as integrating them into a larger grid.
Improved Fuel Efficiency Is Crucial
It’s worth pointing out that fuel efficiency continues to rise, and that’s an encouraging trend. As vehicles become more reliant on new forms of energy, the pollution levels will continue to drop.
Diesel and electro-hybrid systems are gaining in popularity, and are helping countries to hit aggressive emission limits. There’s little danger that progress will slow in this area since it’s a favorite for investors.
The final push for cleaner energy will occur, once again, when the gaps in the gas production grid fill. Douglas Healy believes that filling that void is still many years from happening.
Winners Should Emerge Soon
Numerous technologies are now vying for market supremacy. The political will exists to change from fossil fuels to alternative forms of energy, and the job is about 1/5th done in the U.S.
Now is the battle to see which technologies win. That will come down to the cost and the ability to deliver continuous electricity. If that doesn’t happen, the grid will rely heavily on natural gas or cleaner-burning fuel to generate electricity. That’s the current state. Many companies are aiming their solutions at the spot in the market now dominated by gas.
Emerging technologies face technological, economic, social, and political obstacles. The tech will need to impact consumers only slightly, and the solution will have to make financial sense to overcome them.
Fortunately, overcoming problems is what businesses do to make a profit. The ones that can rise above current challenges have a chance to earn vast profits. That’s the motivation needed to come up with brand new tech that works even better than today’s alternatives