Part 7/11:
Kalcanis clarified that virtually all fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—originally derive their energy from sunlight stored over millions of years. If the world were to cover the globe with solar panels, the amount of available electricity would be vastly sufficient, even surpassing current consumption by orders of magnitude. This surplus could be used to produce synthetic fuels and other energy carriers, bridging the gap in sectors that currently rely on hydrocarbons.
He emphasized that solar energy’s cost is declining rapidly and that batteries are becoming more affordable, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of demand and capacity expansion. This technological trend makes the vision of a solar-dominant future increasingly inevitable.