Solar Innovation: Hard Science or Small Scale Creativity?

A new major global report has found that the world’s largest listed companies are increasingly embracing climate change policies, regardless of – and even in spite of – broad-ranging uncertainty in politics. The 10th annual Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global 500 report, put together in conjunction with global accountancy firm PwC, has examined the carbon reduction activities of the world’s largest listed companies through an in-depth analysis of 396 of the world’s largest companies, and has found that 68 per cent have climate change at the heart of business strategies, up from 48 per cent in 2010.
The report, Accelerating Low Carbon Growth, which is due to be released Wednesday, also shows a significant rise in the number of companies reporting reduced greenhouse gas emissions as a result of various emissions reduction activities. While Australian businesses might be on the right page in terms of carbon disclosure, they will have to lift their game on the innovation front – an area considered rather crucial to the development of a healthy low-carbon economy.
“There seems to be a perception in Australia that innovation should be driven by hard science and is the sole remit of large companies or governments. This view is outdated. In reality, innovation globally is increasingly driven by small-scale creativity from individuals and SMEs. It’s also driven by partnerships and collaboration, where organizations – both public and private – partner to focus on addressing human needs in the belief that lasting competitiveness will derive from solving the big problems.
While US-based solar manufacturers struggle to survive, the nation’s commercial-scale development is experiencing somewhat of a boom, as the cost of solar panels continues to head down. While America’s installed capacity currently represents only 5 per cent of the global market, SolarBuzz expects total market activity to double this year, matching last year’s 102 per cent growth and possibly giving the U. S. a 12 per cent share of the global market by 2015.