The Energy Economy continues to churn away quietly. While oil prices bounce around like a barrel full of superballs, research in hydrogen, solar, and other alternative energy sources is setting the stage for a dramatic shift in how we obtain and store energy. The latest development involves a dramatic increase in the efficiency of solar cells--some 60% better.
This is a huge increase, and coupled with better batteries, these solar cells could make small electric cars even more attractive. For commutes of just a few miles, a car with high efficiency solar cells on its roof might be able to stay charged just from the sun collected by sitting in the company parking lot during the day. Imagine if your gasoline bill for your daily commute was suddenly zero. Imagine if several million commuters saw their gas usage go to zero.
Electric cars are cheap and easy to make, and I predict that we will see one hundred or more electric car companies spring up in the next five to seven years. Most of them will not make it, but there will be lots of deals to be made as some grow, some get bought out, and others merge.
How would you like to have a car manufacturer in your community? If all you want to build is electric cars, you could start tomorrow.