By 2008, the price of oil had long eclipsed the $25 per barrel price. It was breaking through $140 per barrel and no end was in sight for this escalating trajectory that drove prices at the pump upwards of $4.00 per gallon.
It was this escalating price increase that motivated me to write the first draft of Breach of Trust. As gas prices in California were threatening to break through the $5 per gallon height, sales of alternatives to gas-powered automobiles – electric hybrids or all electric vehicles – took off.
In other areas, replacement sources for fossil-fuel generated electricity found support from numerous investment and innovative circles. For example, in Sonoma County, Martin Fornage and Raghu Belur teamed up to form PVI Solutions, a Petaluma solar startup, which later became publically-traded Enphase Energy.
In other areas, replacement sources for fossil-fuel generated electricity found support from numerous investment and innovative circles. For example, in Sonoma County, Martin Fornage and Raghu Belur teamed up to form PVI Solutions, a Petaluma solar startup, which later became publically-traded Enphase Energy.
In 2006, I developed the company positioning with Raghu Belur. At the time, the young company sought to enter the solar market with an already established method of custom installation for residential and business solar generation. To wit, PVI had to convince installers of solar companies to install a micro-inverter on a per solar panel basis instead of installing a single, centralized macro-inverter per project. We knew that we had to emphasize the micro-inverter system approach, and in so doing, make it clear that this implementation was the best one ever conceived. Its inherent value had to be shown to the solar installation community, the solar panel manufacturers, and the end-users (both residential and commercial) in a “divide and conquer” approach.
Great strides have been made during the past decade. Similarly, in the geothermal, tidal, and wind sectors of renewable energy production, technological strides have been made to offer effective alternatives to fossil-fuel generated electrical energy. Progress in accepting renewable energy sources has been achieved as the cost to produce electricity from them is becoming more cost-effective than fossil fuel or even nuclear power production.
Ultimately, it’s a case of supply and demand, especially for the pricing of commodities. Electricity is a commodity and the lowest cost per unit dominates. Solar has achieved parity in a number of markets and wind-generated electricity is close behind. Coupled with the social pressure to provide eco-friendly (“green”) electricity, renewable energy production continues to increase rapidly. This development is akin to the push for organic fruits and vegetables or the demand for “gluten-free” foods. When the American consumer demands something, they usually get it – and today, they’re getting their wish in the form of renewable energy, in spite of the powerful oil lobby.
The themes of political power wielded by global corporations and human greed, captured in Breach of Trust (2015), will remain relevant well into the next decade. In 2016, they found their voice in the so-called “Bernie Sanders’ Movement.”