Future Is Fast Approaching For Renewable Energy

I wanted to highlight a couple of items today that show just how quickly the transformation of our energy use is occurring.  The first item is from a team of scientists in South Korea who have created solar cells that are thinner than a human hair. With solar cells this size and this flexible, solar technology could be built into virtually everything – clothes, buildings, roads, vehicles – the possibilities are endless. Of course, it will still be years before this technology becomes an actual, affordable product. But this is what the future will look like.

On the other hand, in Sweden, there is a pilot program that is actually working today and it is an “electric highway“. Essentially it is the old tram system at work. Overhead wires provide power to electric trucks along a 13 mile stretch of highway that is being used as a test. The wires help increase the length of time between charges for these electric vehicles. When not running electrically, these trucks operate as a hybrid using biofuel. Sweden hopes this combination will help it have a fossil fuel free transport fleet in 15 years.

It is these kind of innovations that are pushing the use of renewable energy forward. The percentage of renewable energy produced grows every year – in the US it is already up to 18%. And it will only continue to rise as new technologies start to be delivered.