2.77 Week 7

April Fools is my favorite day of the year. It brings out the creative pranksters in each and every one of us. This week also concludes a very eventful spring break.

Before all the merriment, I reassessed my designs, completed the bill of materials, locked in some orders for my height adjustable table. I will be talking about these in detail in the next blog post.

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GEEK & SEEK: THE ENERGY REVOLUTION

When Trump won the election on Nov 8th, my biggest concern was climate change. True enough, he erased the federal budget of the EPA, and restored powers of states to ramp up oil production. This makes a clean sustainable co-existence with our environment more and more unlikely.

But if one looks outside of the US, one can feel hopeful. The following chart compares the cost differences between renewable energy and conventional energy sources. The differences are becoming less noticeable.

This are startling numbers because 15 years ago, the cost of solar energy is almost 100x higher than what it is now. In a documentary by Dutch broadcasting corporation VPRO, a Tsinghua professor seeks to explain this phenomenon. Over the course of the last decade, China has become the world's leading producer in solar and wind energy. Essentially, economics of scale is allowing China to reduce cost of production of solar panels dramatically. By 2020, China aims to produce 150 GW of solar energy, and 250GW of wind energy. From the screenshot below, we can see that cost will continue to fall drastically until around 200GW. At this point, China will need to export the energy it produces to continue enjoying economics of scale.

To get a better sense of what I am getting myself into if I ever do get a solar array. I did some calculations:

Cost (Using the grid)

Cost = $65/month*12months*55 years = $42,900

Cost (Solar Array)*

*This is detailed calculations by YouTuber jehugarcia, during an interview with a PV panel professional from EV West. They are talking about the Tesla Powerwall.

This simple calculation shows that in the long run, solar panels will prove to be cheaper. But the cost is not super cheap yet. In order for me to break even, I will need to use the solar arrays for $15,670/($65/month*12months) = 20 years. This may mean that we need to wait for solar arrays to be installed in large quantities by utility companies to enjoy cheaper, and cleaner energy. The following video has an uplifting perspective of solar energy and battery technology: