Why renewable energy won't work.

[Rath]

Kasz216 said:

Rath said:

Photovoltaic energy is only about 25% efficient at the very top end at the moment, there are ways to make it much more efficient. In fact there are more efficiency gains to be had in solar than in any other form of energy as far as I can see.

Except, even with great funding... breakthroughs have been extremly slow and may not come.

The one thing people seem to forget with research is that research is FAAAAR from a given.  Things in labratorys may never and often never are adopted in the mainstream world because there is no way to make it workable outside labs.

Plenty of other stuff just never gets developed.

There have been plenty of progressive gains in the practical efficiency of solar cells over the last decade or so. There will almost certainly continue to be gains.