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Just a quick note on this grey and dreary (in Massachusetts) Sunday morning. I ran across this column by John Peterson over at Seeking Alpha, in which he talks about his own history of buying the best technology and finding often that it turned out not to last. Good enough and cheap tends to beat super-deluxe and cool almost every time. From calculators to computers and operating systems, this pattern repeats ever since 18th century industry began to aim at mass markets.
It seems that energy systems will follow this same path. The best technology may not be the most economically sustainable. Often the question becomes: Which technology can be made to last? Most advanced and coolest doesn’t get the job done, when what you’re aiming at is massive-scale affordability. Fifty percent of pretty good is better than zero percent of best. Quality will follow once the technology has spread enough to become essential and everyday, because the market will no longer be driven by Being First, or Being Cheapest, but rather by Being Better Than Most for the same or less money.
Check out Peterson’s column at Seeking Alpha.
