Buried at the bottom of a Wired article on solar energy is a word of caution for anyone buying the notion that nano enabled solar energy is going to lead to a shut down of conventional energy generation within the next few years, as some sources have been claiming.
Nanorealist Dan McGahn of Konarka said at the recent Solar Power 2004 conference that it’s not likely solar will capture a large share of the electricity market anytime soon. Global solar panel manufacturing capacity won’t catch up to demand for at least a year, he said, and grabbing just 10 percent of the electricity market would require $270 billion of investment in production facilities.
More evidence of the growing gap between the head in the clouds nanotech boosters, and the guys at the coalface?