Technology No Longer The Barrier In Solar Uptake

Getting the business model right is now the key to residential solar power. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.

During the past decade the technology that creates electricity from photo-voltaic cells has become so sophisticated and so inexpensive that it’s  a wonder that most of the world’s homes aren’t already covered with solar panels. But a recent focus on delivering solar energy to residential consumers in the developing world (to replace traditional poisonous fuels for indoor lighting) reminds us that the path to renewable energy is now more about sociology than technology.

More simply, even though solar economics are a no-brainer, the financial tools to put it in place are still being created. This is even true in the industrialized world, and companies like SunRun are trying to make the path more easy to navigate. This entrepreneurialism will inevitably change access to renewable forms of energy, hopefully before climate change becomes irreversible.