Clean Energy Technologies for Economic and Environmental Transitions

Energy systems across the world are undergoing fundamental transformations. Electricity and heat production are becoming cleaner and more distributed, driven by declining energy prices and higher technology efficiencies, as well as a desire to reduce environmental impact. The technologies that produce clean energy, such as solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and lithium ion batteries for vehicles and storage, depend less on fuel costs and more on technology costs and global manufacturing and trade. Therefore, innovations in technology manufacturing, systems integration, and deployment can reduce costs of materials, equipment, labor, operations, and transportation, across all the links in the energy supply chain. The clean energy trends are expected to continue and perhaps grow through expansion of clean energy technologies for industrial and transportation sectors, although there are many possible future scenarios due to the diversity of resources and societal objectives in different communities, countries, and regions. This presentation will summarize the status and potential futures of key clean energy technologies and their manufacturing, deployment, and integration with other energy systems and sectors.