HE IS the Godfather of green, with spells as Green Party co-chair, Friends of the Earth director, Forum for the Future co-founder as well as many other illustrious posts.
Not only has Jonathon Porritt played a key part in the history of the green movement, it seems he also has big predictions for the future.
Speaking to Green Futures magazine he suggested that it would not be long until a third of the world’s energy came from the sun, crediting Chinese manufacturers for the growth of solar by driving down the cost of PV panels.
He said: “It [solar] is beginning to compete with electricity generated from fossil fuels. Those costs will continue to fall for a long time to come; the reach of solar will spread, the scale will increase and the impact on people’s lives will be massive.
“I’ve been talking about this transition to a solar economy for the best part of 40 years. During that time, people mostly responded with contempt, incredulity or patronising jocularity. Now it’s happening. My forecast is that PV and its sister technology – concentrated solar power- will provide 30% of total global electiricty by 2030.”
Porritt has long been an advocate of solar technology and has previously spoken out of his frustration that the government is not doing enough to back green energy.
He continued: “It’s only four years since the first World Future Energy Summit , but in that short time the market has grown massively. So much so that even Saudi Arabia has set a target for meeting a third of its electricity from solar power by 2032.
“The direction of travel is clear: we are in the early stages of transitioning from the age of fossil fuels to the solar age.”
For the full interview; click here.
