When you think about your energy usage, you’ve probably noticed it’s gone up in the past few years. There’s more people, more electronics, etc and human consumption is at an all time high, continuing to increase at an alarming rate for non-renewable sources such as oil, gas, and coal. You probably have environmental concerns, but maybe you’re not quite sure if renewables are within reach.
The good news is that renewables are becoming more popular than ever, with solar power, especially, offering enormous potential in the energy sector. Here are some interesting solar energy facts to help you discover more about how human can exploit the sun for energy.
Solar Power Facts: Potential
Did you know that solar energy is already being used by everyone on the planet? The sun provides our planet with its life giving rays, captured by plants, but it also has massive potential as renewable energy with many long-term advantages.
Of all energies, solar energy is the most abundant energy on Earth. At all times the sun strikes the Earth with 173,000 terawatts of solar energy, an amount more than 10,000 times the world’s total energy use. That’s roughly 3,850,000 EJ (exajoules or 10^18 joules) of solar energy annually or 40,000 times the total energy consumption of the United States.
Imagine if you could capture and harness the energy just one minute of sunlight, it would be enough to cover the entire world’s energy demands for a year.
Solar Power Facts: World Production
Contrary to what you might think, solar power production isn’t the highest in the world’s sunniest regions. Despite getting the same amount of sunshine as Alaska, Germany actually leads world in solar production, producing almost 39,000 megawatts in June 1015 and covering 6.2-6.9 percent of the country’s total electricity generation.
You can bet there are some highly sunny spots that are also being productive. The largest solar power plant in the world can be found in California’s Mojave Desert. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility has the potential to cover the electricity needs of 140,000 homes in California and reduce CO2 emissions by over 400,000 tons per year.
Currently, the USA ranks as number five behind Germany, Spain, Italy, and Japan in solar energy. In the states, solar energy capacity increased by 418 percent between 2010-2014. California has 60 percent of the solar installations in the country, making up a little more than 5 percent of the state’s electricity production.
Solar power capacity has grown exponentially in the last two decades. In 2014, Asia was the quickest growing region, accounting for more than 60 percent of global installations that year with China and Japan, alone, making up half of worldwide deployment.
You’ve probably heard that the price of solar has decreased dramatically, but did you know it’s expected to the cheapest form of energy in many parts of the world by 2050? By 2025 the cost of power production in central and southern Europe will drop to 4-6 cents/kilowatt hour and 2-4 cents by 2050.
Solar panels prices are over 100 times lower today than they were in 1977 and now is the perfect time for you to make a smart investment. Take the next steps towards harvesting energy from the sun by purchasing solar panels.