2012 is about the time when several breakthrough technologies will hit full production. Several solar panel breakthroughs will dramatically lower the cost of solar energy production and they will become as common on roofs as satellite dishes.
At the same time, a tenfold improvement in batteries causing replacement of liquid fuel automobiles will be going full blast in 2012. The Chevy Volt will be out in 2010 with others not far behind. By 2012 everyone will be planning on replacing their liquid fuel car with an electric.
This could cause the collapse of the OPEC countries as well as the end of the ethanol boom in agricultural states.
It will also mean that our electric grid is adequate for years to come at its current state since everyone can use their solar roofs and new battery technology for their energy needs.
Here are some recent stories about new technology.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/57832 if Stanford University scientists succeed in commercializing a breakthrough in the laboratory. Assistant Professor Yi Cui and associates at Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering said they have developed a method to increase the life of rechargeable lithium ion batteries to a whopping 40 hours.
Publishing in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the Stanford researchers have shown that by using silicon nanowires as the battery anode instead of today's graphite, the amount of lithium the anode can hold is extended tenfold.
Revolution in Battery Design
"It's not a small improvement," Cui said. "It's a revolutionary development." And Cui means to move the development out of the lab as soon as possible. "We are working on scaling up and evaluating the cost of our technology," Cui said. "There are no roadblocks for either of these."
The Chevy Volt will use Lithium Ion batteries:
http://www.gm-volt.com/2007/12/19/lithium-ion-battery-storage-capacity-research-... The Chinese have a different battery technology they are betting on:
http://jalopnik.com/344737/detroit-auto-show-byd-wants-to-build-your-dreams-if-y...