... when energy costs zero

I was reflecting on energy costs on my way to work this morning. It’s no news that there is a strong economical drive against carbon based fuel sources and hundreds of players are working diligently to achieve a comparable, non-polluting, substitute. Perhaps the majority of heads are turned towards sustainable alternatives – mainly wind and sunlight.

My bet is one or many such solutions will pan out. The economical consequences? Well, these would be technologies reliant on inputs that are quasi-infinite. Practically speaking, there really is no shortage of wind or sunlight. Given this lack of scarcity, economic theory would suggest that prices of energy would drop… to zero essentially.

What does the world look like when energy costs are zeroed out? When cars and buildings no longer consume energy, but produce it? Case in point: Solar Paint - Inhabitat. Clearly everything immediately becomes cheaper. The energy required to produce your food is zeroed out, as is the energy input to everything else. But now the problem you come across is how to use an overabundant resource. You need to make sure you don’t burn out your grids after all. You need to prune the grid, metaphorically speaking. At this point shall we need to produce more?

Update:

Add water to the mix: Desalination- WorldChanging.