I dedicate this post to technology—not its details or concepts, but rather to a potential shift that might resemble a return to the time before widespread household and industrial AC networks! Of course, we cannot speak about this with certainty, but some scenarios may emerge with the rise of solar panels.
If solar panels in homes bring about a form of minimalist technology, what do you think would happen? Would we still need the centralized power grid? Most likely, due to the limitations of DC electricity for factories and heavy industries, the centralized grid would still be needed. However, if solar panels primarily reduce the cost of electricity production—as has happened in developed countries—might we witness a “downsizing” in the electricity industry?
Certainly, AC technology will remain and is not going anywhere soon. But one important effect would occur: a reduction in electricity production costs. This reduction, occurring at the household and very small business level, would naturally give them more agility compared to heavy industries that rely on the centralized grid at high costs.
While this scenario is possible, it is not guaranteed. The electricity industry will adapt to solar panel technology and will not stand idle. Yet what I call a return to home-based electricity production, rather than reliance on national production, could provide a strong advantage for local growth and development—if people use it wisely.
I am not a futurist, but I approached this topic with my limited interest in technology to offer a glimmer of hope for increasing local competitive capability.