Going #solar saves money – getting electricity from 100% renewable sources is not only cost-effective, it is mandatory!
A couple of years ago, who would have thought that #renewable energy (such as what is generated from #solar panels) could power the entire world? Nowadays, it looks as though solar energy has this potential, so there is the chance that there will not be a need for other sources of electricity. This concept is no longer a dream; it is becoming a reality due to the incredible advancements in solar technology which are being made. And believe it or not, obtaining electricity from 100% renewable sources such as solar is cheaper than getting it from burning coal and fossil fuels or from nuclear reactors. Solar news continues to fascinate persons across the globe as incredible advancements are made and discoveries are brought to light about solar!
A study conducted by Lappeenranta University of Technology from Finland and the Energy Watch Group from Berlin concluded that renewable energy (including solar) could power the entire world by the year 2050. The research was presented during the Global Renewable Energy Solutions Showcase event. According to the study, the existing technology and the renewable energy potential of the planet, along with current and future storage technologies, are enough to generate enough energy to power the planet. In other words, power from solar panels could eliminate the need for fossil fuels in three decades, according to the research.
Switching entirely to solar power will have another very interesting effect; it will lower the price per megawatt-hour from $82 in 2015 to just $61 (the value is for the worldwide average cost of electricity). In other words, solar energy will be cheaper than the energy we are currently using.
By 2050, the electricity system could be entirely decarbonized and the costs of electricity will decrease sensibly, according to the head of the research, Christian Breyer. Making the transition to 100% solar energy is no longer dependent on technology or even the economy; it is a matter of making this change on a political level. We already have the tech – and solar power is clearly economically feasible.
The study is based on solar power and the capacity of batteries to store this power. This means that solar and battery technologies are the most important parts of the transition. When prices start to fall, the technologies will start to be adopted on an even larger scale. According to the study, 69% of worldwide energy will come from solar panels, 18% from wind, 8% from hydropower, and just 2% from bioenergy. Solar energy is by far the most important part of the system.
When the transition is complete in 2050, the electricity sector will emit no greenhouse gases and the losses in power generation will be substantially reduced. Moreover, the number of jobs in the electricity sector will rise from 19 million to 36 million by the year 2050. Most of the 17 million new jobs will be in the solar power sector.
According to the president of Energy Watch Group, Hans-Josef Fell, there is currently no need and no reason to invest any more money in generating electricity from nuclear and fossil fuels. Because solar energy is so cost-effective, all efforts should be concentrated on using it. Projects involving expanding nuclear energy, fossil fuel power plants, and coal power plants should be cancelled as soon as possible and the funds should be diverted to solar research and solar projects, according to Fell. The storage of solar energy and the power grids required by solar power are much more important areas for investments.
The study conducted by LUT and EWG is not the only one that demonstrates that the world can be powered from solar sources and other renewable energy sources entirely within just a few decades. In 2017, Stanford University published a study that also demonstrates that the planet can be powered using only 100% renewable sources, such as solar energy. In addition, the people working on the study created clean energy plans for 139 countries – which account for over 99% of all the carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
The study and research conducted by LUT and EWG has presented some very important findings:
- While the world’s population will expand to 9.7 billion people by 2050 and the world’s power demand will expand to 48,800 TWh by 2050, solar power and other renewable sources of electricity will be able to cover all the demand by 2050. The study looks at current solar technologies, including storage.
- The global average cost of electricity generated from 100% solar and renewable sources will be just $61 by the year 2050. In 2015, the cost per MWh was $82. The price per MWh includes some of the grid costs, curtailment and even storage costs.
- Solar photovoltaic panels will be increasingly cheaper and will be used to power most of the world. Battery storage is also increasingly cheaper. By 2050, electricity will be generated by solar photovoltaic sources mostly (69% of the total). The next source, wind energy, will generate just 18% of the worldwide power.
- Solar photovoltaic systems rely heavily on battery technology. Batteries will be key in 2050.
- In 2015, there were 19 million jobs in the electricity sector. The study conducted by LUT and EWG states that there would be 36 million jobs in the electricity sector by 2050, most of them in the solar power industry.
- Currently, the losses amount to around 58% of the worldwide demand, which is a huge loss by any means. By 2050, when the switch to 100% renewable sources (most of which will be solar PVs) is complete, the loss will have decreased to just 26% of the electricity demand. This means that losses will more than halve when using solar.
While solar power is still in its infancy nowadays, the prospect of it powering the entire planet is very real. More and more studies are demonstrating that the solar industry has the potential to generate enough electricity to power the world. And not having to rely on nuclear fuel and fossil fuels at all means that greenhouse gas emissions will drop to zero in the electricity sector. We have the technology and the storage capability; we just need the willpower and the political support for more solar projects.