Shell’s Solar Energy Predictions
While the Institute for Energy Research reports only .4 percent of the power generated in the U.S. comes from solar, experts around the world are beginning to recognize it’s importance to the world’s future. According to Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell Oil Company, he has “no hesitation to predict that in years to come solar will be the dominant backbone of our energy system, certainly of the electricity system.”
The Future
This isn’t the first time Shell and its upper management has made major predictions about solar energy. According to Jeremy Bentham, Shell’s Vice President of Business Environment, the world will be 100 percent CO2 emission free, with energy production being led by solar infrastructure.
Shell’s “New Lens Scenarios” have solar infrastructure producing over 37 percent of the world’s power by 2100. It is likely that by this time, solar energy will be readily available through larger utilities, rather than individual households requiring solar financing. The company also sees natural gas and biofuels (in terms of transportation energies) evening out with oil at around 9 percent.
The Present
In America, only a small fraction of the population is applying for solar financing. But that population is growing exponentially, from one gigawatt being produced in 2000 to nearly 105 by 2012. Countries like Germany and Italy are already putting forth massive efforts to become energy efficient through renewable sources.
The U.S. government is beginning to put forth an effort to incentivize businesses to create even better residential solar technology. Recently, the Obama administration put in place $1 billion in loan guarantee authority available in a federal program for innovative versions of residential rooftop solar systems.
As competition in the solar energy industry increases, the option of solar financing is becoming more achievable for America’s average consumer. Soon, the grid as we now know it will be a thing of the past, and it will be average citizens who are selling the energy to the government.
Ian Carry is a renewable energy writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Elements Capital Group. Follow on Twitter
