I’ve said it before that breakthroughs in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology may just be key to the developing of a hydrogen infrastructure and economy. If solar panels can be produced cheaply enough to compete with energy supplied by fossil fuels, then the Solar Revolution may just spark a Hydrogen Revolution on its heels.
One company with breakthrough solar technology is International Automated Systems based out of Utah, which has just developed a unique thin-film solar lens. This solar material is at a fraction of the cost of other PV cells currently being manufactured today.
There’s also a sort of Silicon Valley Gold Rush (or Sun Rush) going on in California with a number of startup solar companies competing to bring down the price of PVs to compete with the Big Oil companies. Many of these companies, while competing directly with each other, see the real competition as being with the fossil fuel producers of the world.
And finally, our own government is getting behind solar technology as a viable source of energy. After 30 years of trying, U. S. Representative Jim Oberstar, who is now the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has finally gotten a bill passed through the House that will enable $30 million worth of solar panels to be placed atop the federal Department of Energy (DOE) buildings in Washington.
Of course the naysayers of solar and hydrogen technology will offer criticism of this cutting edge science without offering any solutions of their own. And, you know what I say about naysayers having the easiest job in the world?