Shine On: Solar Power is Eclipsing Coal, Oil, Gas and Nuclear Energy with Rapid Growth and Cost Reductions

Ever since 2013, the installation of new renewable energy capacity has outstripped all other major energy generating sources combined, coal, oil, gas and nuclear. There are impressive figures for all renewables but the growth and fall in costs of solar power has stunned even seasoned industry observers.

Southern Discomfort

Solar power owned directly by the people and neighborhoods who use it creates local jobs, reduces polluting emissions and can save individuals money, The opportunity is there: 42 percent of the country’s residential solar potential is located on the rooftops of low- and middle-income dwellings, finds a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study published earlier this year.

Global Solar Capacity Grew Faster than Fossil Fuels in 2017, Says Report

For the first time in 2017, global solar capacity grew faster than all fossil fuels combined, including coal, oil and gas-fired power stations. That’s one finding of the latest annual report on global trends in renewable energy finance, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

‘Clean Energy Is a Fundamental Civil Right’: Major Campaign to Expand Access to Solar

The NAACP is launching a major environmental justice campaign on Jan. 13 to mark the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. The “Solar Equity Initiative” aims to provide solar job skills training to 100 individuals, install solar panels on more than 30 homes and community centers in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, and strengthen equity in solar access policies in at least five states.

The Test: Excerpt

And so to The Test. I make the basic case, and repeat the question that frustrates me so much. How can it be that, collectively, we are missing such an open goal? I am sure that the reasons are multi-faceted. But there is one simple over-arching answer. None of us are trying hard enough. Not governments, not companies, not international organisations, not non-governmental organisations.

Why Solar Power Keeps Being Underestimated

Of course, effective climate mitigation is not assured even if the use of solar and wind power rise. In the absence of solid measures to remove coal, gas and oil from the energy system, fossil fuels could co-exist in an infelicitous equilibrium with renewable energies for decades to come. Pricing out polluting coal through carbon taxation would complement policy designed to boost solar’s share of the global electricity mix.

What Blackout? How Solar-Reliant Power Grids Passed the Eclipse Test

The total solar eclipse that captivated the United States this week was more than just a celestial spectacle (and a reminder to take care of your eyes). It was also a valuable lesson in how to manage electricity grids when a crucial generation source – solar power, in this case – goes temporarily offline.