How Solar Can Become the World's Dominant Source of Energy -- or How It Can Stall

How Solar Can Become the World’s Dominant Source of Energy—or How It Can Stall

On this week’s Interchange podcast, a conversation with Varun Sivaram about his new book, “Taming the Sun.”

Stephen Lacey February 19, 2018

Stephen Lacey

Contributing Editor
Greentech Media

Stephen Lacey is a contributing editor with Greentech Media. He is also the founder and executive producer of Post Script Media. Lacey produces and hosts The Energy Gang and Interchange podcasts, two of the most popular podcasts on energy and cleantech.

Nothing can stop solar's growth trajectory -- except maybe solar itself.

This week, we have a deep discussion on the future of solar photovoltaics. Solar is exploding around the world, but have we grappled with the technology and market limitations that could stop the next order of magnitude in growth for PV?

On this week's episode of The Interchange, Shayle Kann sits down with Varun Sivaram, author of the new book, Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet. The book is being officially launched March 2nd at the MIT Energy Conference.

Shayle and Varun examine every angle of the solar transition. They consider numerous possible futures, good and bad, for the technology: "If we do not take the right actions...in innovation today, I warn that in the medium term we might run into a penetration ceiling for solar. And by the time that happens, it [may be] too late to start investing in these long-term innovations that only pay off after you've invested for a little while," explains Varun.

Varun Sivaram is the Philip D. Reed fellow for science and technology at the Council on Foreign Relations and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

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