Guest Forum: The Merging of Two Environmentally-Driven Paradigm Shifts in Energy

*University of California Irvine (UCI)

The environmental challenges of Climate Change and degraded Urban Air Quality are driving paradigm shifts in two major energy sectors, the generation of electricity (electric power) and the powering of vehicles (vehicle power). In the electric power sector, the paradigm shift is from fossil fuel to the sun as the source of energy. In the vehicle power sector, the paradigm shift is from fossil fuel to the sun as the source of energy. These parallel changes result in a zero emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and a zero emission of urban air quality degrading pollutants to the atmosphere. A major side effect is fuel independence, removing the reliance on internationally sourced fossil fuels and associated geo-politics and conflicts. Fortuitously, the paradigm shifts are resulting in a merging of the two sectors.