BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT

BLOGPOST, Tue 7 September 2010 10:30, Marty Pickett

At Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), we're all about solutions. There are enough groups and individuals who are pessimistic about the state of the world, and who see the "glass half empty". RMI's approach and work start with the premise that we can foster abundance by design. Breakthrough innovation is a critical component.

That's why I'm so delighted and excited to be a jury member with the Green Challenge this year. The amazing innovative ideas and inventions that have been uncovered and highlighted by the Green Challenge in past competitions is amazing and a proven method of helping take them to market. I can't wait to see and hear what the entrepreneurial innovators have in store for us this year.

There are so many areas in which smart designers can contribute. At RMI, we work regularly and see opportunities for innovation in the transportation, buildings, industry, and power sectors. Techniques are continually evolving to develop stronger, but lighter weight materials (that are more aerodynamic for transportation solutions), while scientists come up with more and more ways to create materials that mimic nature (that use less waste, heat, and toxins), and engineers model and create smart controls to most efficiently use electricity. The sooner we replace our old ways of doing, designing, using, and making things, the sooner we are able to start reversing the effects of climate change and restoring our resources.

One of the ways RMI helps accelerate change is to convene groups of creative thinkers—designers, technical experts, industry leaders—to tackle a specific issue or barrier in a design charrette. During the charrette, RMI facilitates the group to think outside the box and in an integrated approach to come up with ideas for solutions. Over the years, we've hosted hundreds of charrettes to tackles challenges from designing a high performance building to figuring out how to cut the majority of energy from a data center to designing a sustainable refugee settlement to envisioning a plug-in hybrid electric commercial fleet vehicle.

Our latest design charrette, funded in part by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, was held recently in San Jose, CA, when we brought together key industry leaders, designers and engineers, process specialists, and large-scale energy customers to radically rethink Photovoltaic (PV) system designs. The PV industry may be on the verge of a tipping point, yet it is still highly dependent on government incentives. In order to remain competitive and achieve widespread adoption as subsidies are scaled back, significant cost reductions are required. In particular, Balance of System (BoS) costs—including labor, racking materials, electrical systems, and soft costs such as permitting and financing—account for over half of the total PV system cost. The goal for our recent charrette was to develop designs and approaches that cut costs for commercial PV BoS to $0.5/watt. Read more about the charrette.

Along with efficiency, and as markets grow, solar PV technologies should offer high potential to supply carbon-free power. RMI's next step is finalizing the charrette report and determining where to focus its efforts and how to partner with others to help move this industry forward. RMI will be releasing a full report in the next few weeks…stay tuned.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Green Challenge!

Marty Pickett