For decades, America has chased after the promise of clean,
domestic energy. But even as costs fell and technology matured, that clean
energy future seemed to linger just beyond our reach. Critics often said this
new world would “always be five years away.” Today, that is changing.
In recent years, costs for numerous critical clean energy technologies
-- wind power, solar panels, super energy-efficient LED lights and electric
vehicles -- have fallen significantly. The accompanying surge in deployment has
been truly spectacular. Such a surge is tantamount to topping the barricades --
a level of cost reduction and market penetration that will enable a full scale
revolution in the relatively near term. A new Department of Energy report,
"Revolution Now: the Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy
Technologies" documents this transformation and what it means for
America’s energy economy. The clean technology revolution is upon us.
While these technologies still represent a small percentage
of their respective markets, that share is expanding at a rapid pace and
influencing markets. For instance: