Some more background on me. I run a consulting business, of which my programming with WCPT (“Sun and Wind Progress Report” and “Mighty House’s” ‘Sunday Sunnies’) is part, as well as President of the Illinois Solar Energy Association in my copious free time. My goal is to paint a picture of encouragement of the renewable energy scene in Illinois. Some of my viewpoints toward that include the following, which I will be expanding upon in upcoming posts:
- ---Renewable energy, along with energy efficiency, modern energy storage and advanced infrastructure (also known as “smart grids) will eventually succeed the incumbent system. Centralized command and control power plants and the antiquated grids that send electricity will go the way of the battleship after Pearl Harbor. But it will take decades to happen.
- ---There is no one way or magic bullet that will accomplish this goal. Renewable energy involves a PORTFOLIO, ecosystems of different applications in different sizes in a distributed manner. I believe that no single renewable energy technology will dominate, no single type of technology will dominate and no single business model will dominate. When I am asked for my advice on what works best, the response I often give is a maddening “it depends”.
- ---Renewable energy will never be a “perfect” technology, but neither is anything else. There will always be room for improvement and innovation like anything else. Waiting for solar or wind technology to be “perfected” is like waiting for the perfect toothpaste, cell phone, car, or for the Cubs to win the World Series.
- ---In a reverse nod to Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony, I come to praise renewable energy, not bury anything else. A critique on how renewable energy works is not automatically bad mouthing or attacking anything else. My intent is to be positive and I expect my audience to be the same.
Looking forward to the experience,
Mark Burger
