While we struggle with the idea of leaving fossil fuels behind, renewable energy keeps making strides forward. It is difficult to feel comfortable in a world where traditional fossil fuels are no longer the primary source for heating, cooling, and transportation but the world is truly moving in that direction. It is a comfort feeling of tradition and familiarity which we need to reassess; no different than weaning off of floppy disks and adopting USB drives.
Inevitably, there are facts and paths already in place which will only grow stronger and more pronounced as we move through the next few decades.
It is estimated by 2050, 1/4 of the global energy requirements will be provided by solar. This will be only second to wind power. Implementations must increase 18x to meet the demand. This will require home construction to finally take renewable energy into account instead of addressing it later as an afterthought.
All of these changes require, well...change.
What makes it difficult is we, as humans, are predisposed to stick with a lesser valued option. This is known as the "sunk cost fallacy". Simply put, it refers to the sense of familiarity and perceived investment of time, emotion and money as the rationale for sticking with the older and, almost always, worse option.
The paradigm is changing and pulling even the most toe-dragging champions of fossil fuel with it. Slowly, at first but it is picking up steam.
Steam powered by photovoltaic cells, that is.