James Fenton, executive director of the Florida Solar Energy Center, talks about electric cars and solar energy. Video by Malcolm Denemark


Panels that harness the sun. Turbines that spin ocean motion or winds into kilowatts. Plants that forge fuels from farm or human wastes. Innovators are searching those and other renewable sources for the Holy Grail of energy independence.

The winning solution may be a mix of all the above — and more.

But America's energy future is fraught with uncertainties. When will solar energy reach parity with buying power off the grid? When will solar startups and electric car makers such as Tesla be competitive without federal subsidies? Are more Solyndras on the horizon?

The sun delivers the daily energy equivalent of millions of nuclear bombs.

So James Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center, foresees a shift from the gas station to our roofs.

"In the future, you're going to be fueling up your car at your house, from your solar that's on your roof," Fenton said. And and expanded network of service stations will provide the 200-mile range that people need.

According to the U.S.Department of Energy, wind could meet a third of the nation's power demand by 2050. It also could ease the nation's vulnerability to price spikes and electrical supply disruptions, saving consumers $280 billion in natural gas costs by 2050, DOE says.

And don't count the ocean out. The same surface area of water — 800 times denser than air — flowing at 12 mph carries as much energy as a 110-mph wind, nearly a Category 3 hurricane.

The Gulf Stream averages about 5 mph. University researchers have experimented with turbines and wings that capture the energy of the tides and currents.

Researchers are innovating with technologies such as solar-boosted natural gas. That converts natural gas and sunlight to energy-rich fuels called syngas, which can fuel power plants.  

Then there's the power already locked within the Earth. In April, the nation’s first commercial enterprise to co-produce electricity from geothermal resources at an oil and gas well began producing energy.


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