When climate researchers describe incoming data as “gobsmackingly bananas”, it might be time to imagine another world than the one we are headed towards. And maybe that world is already in the past.
Sugandha Srivastav speculated in the Conversation this week about how our climate trajectory would have been different if the world’s first solar panel inventor hadn’t been kidnapped.
In 1909, George Cove was abducted three years after inventing a rudimentary form of the modern solar panel and founding Sun Electric, the United States’ first PV manufacturer. Cove’s captors demanded he give up the patent and shut down Sun Electric in exchange for his release. He refused, and was eventually released but Sun Electric never recovered, and solar energy technology wouldn’t get serious attention until Bell Labs picked up the idea in 1954.
It’s hard not to conclude that Cove would have saved tons of emissions when you consider the historical context of his invention. Cove submitted a patent for his solar energy device in 1905, as the war of the currents between proponents of high-voltage alternating current (team Tesla/Westinghouse) and low-voltage direct current (team Edison) was drawing to its conclusion.
The war of the currents is commonly remembered as a battle of dirty marketing tricks between industry titans that established a cut-throat culture of American entrepreneurship. But the conflict was fundamentally about which power system was preferable for delivering coal-fired electricity from central power plants to fast-growing American cities.
Edison’s vision of low-voltage electricity traveling short distances would have given us a world with coal-fired power plants every two miles. Fortunately, Westinghouse’s technology spared us that outcome, but still led to enough coal emissions to make the United States the world’s largest historical carbon emitter.
Cove’s kidnapping leaves a lot to wonder about what climate impacts could have been saved. But it also makes you wonder what could have happened if solar’s many co-benefits had become mainstream in the 20th century.
For better and for worse, some of those second-order effects Cove imagined are playing out in today’s energy transition this week.
One implication of an early solar industry could have been to undermine the prevailing theory of development that fossil fuels are the only reliable bridge to escape widespread poverty. The United States, Japan and European powers burned vast sums of coal on their way to becoming economic powerhouses in the 20th century and now developing countries expect to do the same in the 21st.
Known in climate policy parlance as decoupling, the idea that today’s populous developing nations should grow without the help of fossil fuels has been a hard sell in countries like India. More than a few developing countries have argued that rich countries asking them not to build new coal, oil and gas capacity is both hypocritical and impossible since utilities in rich countries are falling behind on their own targets.
That conflict looks set to reemerge at this year’s COP negotiations. Last week, the Indian government issued a statement calling on rich countries to meet net zero before 2050, thereby allowing developing nations a longer window to phase out fossil fuels.
The announcement is likely more of a PR move than a serious plan. India is expected to meet net-zero emissions by 2070 anyway, well past the 2050 target set by the United States and Europe. By proposing a separate decarbonization track for developing countries, the Indian government is calling out what it sees as rich countries’ bluff, forcing them to publicly justify how and why they expect the Global South to execute a just transition to renewables.
Given four extra decades to develop at the speed of Wright’s law, solar energy might have saved emissions and given wealthy countries the diplomatic legitimacy to demand the rest of the world do the same.
Part of Cove’s pitch in 1905 was that solar energy would democratize access to electricity and improve quality of life. Solar energy was, in Cove’s view, a vehicle for bringing “cheap light, heat and power, and freeing the multitude from the constant struggle for bread.”
This fact may have contributed to his kidnapping. While Cove’s solar panel was crude by today’s standards, so were the underhanded tactics of energy barons of the day hellbent on centralizing energy systems.
Still, the movement to expand access to cheap solar energy lives on as regulatory and financial support for community solar is growing faster than ever in the United States and Europe.
Community solar is the default option for delivering renewables to communities that otherwise could not afford it. Installing rooftop solar can cost an average household anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000. And even though most rooftop systems pay for themselves roughly 10 years into their 25-year warranty, upfront costs put solar out of reach for most renters and low-income homeowners.
The DOE defines community solar as “any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups.”
Think of an apartment block sharing the costs and the electricity stemming from a solar system on its rooftop, or residents in a low-income neighborhood sharing a multi-MW system, such as in Fresno, California.
A report from last year found that the number of states adopting policies to encourage community solar has grown to 22, although their approaches vary. In Florida, utilities are allowed to determine the cap on community solar capacity, setting up a possible conflict of interest if prices drop. Meanwhile New York and Massachusetts have set up regimes that allow for ample development irrespective of how much electricity a community solar unit can provide.
Community solar could yet prove to be a victim of its own success, as the main bottleneck in most regions is getting a subscription before they sell out. That is leaving potential users out of community solar’s many co-benefits, such as resilience during blackouts and local job creation.
Check out some of the latest featured jobs below. If you don't see anything that speaks to you, you can always go to Climatebase to explore thousands of other opportunities.
“Carbonfuture helps companies and organizations worldwide on their path to true net zero. As an online marketplace and fully digitized platform for high-quality and effective carbon sink credits, we offer certificates that not only avoid CO2 emissions, but actively remove them out of the atmosphere. Our uncompromisingly scientific approach as well as seamless, tamper-proof supply chain tracking, precise sink modeling, ...”
“About Elemental Excelerator Elemental Excelerator is on a mission to redesign the systems at the root of climate change. In 2009, the non-profit launched a new model for funding climate tech deployment. Breaking down barriers to innovation alongside entrepreneurs provides Elemental unique insight into the policy, market, and technology innovation needed to build systems to uplift people and communities around the ...”
“We are Toco, a company driven by a passion to combat climate change by revolutionizing archaic aspects of the global financial system. Our mission is to create a new era of environmental consciousness and action through the introduction of Tocos, a groundbreaking carbon currency. Tocos represents one tonne of carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere, giving individuals ...”
“Clairity Technology was founded to develop technology and solutions to combat climate change. We create scalable and low-cost technology and systems for direct air capture of carbon dioxide. We focus on generating low purity CO2 streams to simplify design, reduce cost, and improve scalability. As you increase the purity of CO2, the amount of energy required to further purify it goes ...”
“Accelerating the global transition to sustainable investing We are a technology-driven, sustainable asset manager empowering institutions to create passive investment portfolios specific to their values and financial goals. We are powering the future of sustainable investing. ...”
“Sunstone Credit is democratizing access to solar for businesses. We provide flexible financing solutions for businesses and non-profits of all sizes, offering commercial solar loans with borrower-friendly terms and an efficient application process ...”
“We’re an early-stage startup that cares passionately about solving the climate crisis. We believe that forests are the most effective, safe, and scalable carbon drawdown solution. Our mission is to accelerate restoration of 3 billion acres of degraded lands to their native ecosystems, activating the most massive carbon drawdown effort on the planet. We help partners secure diverse native seed supply, tackle ...”
“We are developing a new class of cost-effective, multi-day energy storage systems that will enable a reliable and fully-renewable electric grid year-round. ...”
They are hiring across the following departments:
“Our mission is to reverse climate change and return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂. To pursue this challenge, we convert waste biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into permanent, underground storage wells as a form of carbon removal, or reform it to produce green hydrogen and syngas for industrial processes like steel, cement, and chemicals manufacturing. In 2020 and ...”
“SoftBank started SB Energy to deploy renewable energy at the scale required to combat climate change. Today, SB Energy is a leading Climate Infrastructure and Technology Platform headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and backed by SoftBank Group Corp and funds managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation. SB Energy develops, ...”
“Agriculture has the power to reverse climate change. At Regrow, we believe that transforming agriculture systems is the single most important thing we can do to combat climate change — and we believe that science and technology can help us get there. Our software enables us and our partners to transform farming, food systems, and the future of our planet. Regrow combines ...”
“At Waterplan we work in long term water security within the context of climate change adaptation. Waterplan is a fast growing startup in the Climate Tech Space that develops a SaaS platform for companies to manage water availability in their facilities. The platform combines companies' operational data with local water satellite imagery to provide a real-time financial assessment of water ...”
“Reactivate, a mission-driven renewable energy company, founded by Invenergy and Lafayette Square, develops, owns, and operates renewable energy projects to improve the lives of people in low-to-moderate income and energy transition communities across the country. Reactivate’s primary focus areas are community solar, small-scale utility, and next generation projects. Reactivate creates positive social and environmental impact in underserved communities by delivering renewable ...”
“CREW Carbon is a carbon removal company that uses engineered enhanced weathering to remove CO2 from municipal and industrial wastewater systems. Our technology leverages natural weathering reactions to remove CO 2, accelerating this process by contacting abundant, globally-available crushed rock with CO 2 -rich wastewater streams. By doing so in our own reactor systems or in existing infrastructure, we enable ...”
“cove.tool is a web based platform for analyzing, drawing, engineering, and connecting data for building design and construction ...”
“We’re founded by building energy geeks, and we're creating a market-transforming solution to accelerate building decarbonization in large cities. As a public benefit corporation, we put profit and our climate action/climate justice mission on equal footing. You'll probably feel energized on our team if you like: Bringing your whole self to work Working all-remote with autonomy and flexibility Making an impact and creating visible, ...”
“Clearly gives Fleet Managers transparency over their supply chain emissions to stay compliant, identify decarbonization initiatives, and maximize their ROI. We use AI and advanced Machine Learning to fuse data from multiple sources and provide trip-level emission and energy intensity insights. Our ultimate vision is to be the end-to-end platform that enables the Global Transportation Industry to decarbonize supply chains and ...”
Friends of the Los Angeles River
“Friends of the Los Angeles River is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1986. FoLAR builds capacity for communities, students, and future leaders to advocate for nature, climate, and equity on the Los Angeles River. We envision a verdant Los Angeles River that supports vulnerable communities in climate adaptation. The River will be transformed into a dynamic, functioning ecosystem ...”
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