According to a new research by the IEA, solar power is growing faster than any other renewable energy source in the world. But where in the world is the technology booming the most?
On the global energy scene, Australia’s solar power potential is booming because of its awesome solar resources. This solar boom is expected to grow further as prices continue to drop and solar power becomes more accessible.
On the other hand, before USA isn’t far behind with its utilization of renewable energy resources either. How? Let’s see.
USA’s Slow Yet Steady Solar Progress
Following the election of President Trump, many industry experts were skeptical about the role renewable energy would play in the US energy sector. This speculation was due to his policies favoring coal and natural gas and suggestions of redistributing funds away from environmental technologies.
But solar installation projects has continued to surge across America where mature markets like California, which boasts 18,296 MW of solar, have slowed as younger mid-country markets continue to grow. Solar power is growing at speed in some states including Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, and looks set to continue following this trend through this year and beyond.
This is predominantly due to the dramatic reduction in the cost of solar power, which has fallen by as much as 62% since 2009. The drop has made solar installations cost-competitive with natural gas in many of the sunnier states.
In the U.S, solar power capacity doubled compared to 2015 (a record-breaking year), with the country adding 14.5 gigawatts of solar power, far outpacing government projections.In the first half of 2017, wind and solar accounted for 10 percent of monthly electricity generation for the first time.
The numbers are far higher than the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted a decade earlier. The agency forecast in 2006 that solar power would amount to only about 0.8 gigawatts of capacity by 2016.
Our country is already big on renewable energy and making sure that the latest sustainable energy trends are followed. Companies like Tesla have been making headway on the world map for the USA. While there’s still a long way to go, USA is ahead in terms of utilizing and advancing in renewable energy even with the tariff changes proposed by the Trump administration. Solar power is a huge market, and this boom in solar power is nowhere near slowing down anytime soon.
