Why Solar Energy Will Change the World in the Near Future

 Did you know that the Earth receives more energy from the sun in one hour than the amount of energy that all of humanity consumes in one year, which is 17.7 terawatts-hour? 1 terawatt-hour is equivalent to 1 trillion watt-hours or 1 billion kilowatt-hours. This means that the potential of solar energy in powering the whole world is very big. In fact, in terms of energy potential, solar energy dwarfs all the other types of energy sources, renewables and fossil fuels alike. The comparison of the total energy potentials for each energy sources is shown below:

As we can see, the energy potential of solar is so huge that it is even more than all the other energy sources combined! Because of this, as of the current state of solar PV technology, we would only need to fill 496,805 square kilometers with solar panels to power the whole world. This is a land area that is only almost as big as Spain.

The International Energy Agency is also projecting that solar energy will be our primary source of energy by 2050. This is mainly due to how fast the solar PV technology is growing ever since it was first developed. Basically, solar PV has grown exponentially at the same rate as to how the number of transistors in an IC chip, or its computing power, has grown. This is called Moore’s Law and specifically, it has shown that the number of transistors in an IC chip doubles every one and a half years.  Solar PV growing as fast as this, can be attributed to the continuous drop in the price of solar panels.

As solar energy is becoming more and more popular and has continued to gain adoption from the general public, the demand for cheaper and better solar panels will only continue. And with an increase in demand comes with an equivalent increase in efficient manufacturing processes which will further push the technology forward.

But aside from this, another thing that we should look forward to is the continuous development of battery technology. The main disadvantage of solar energy is that it is an intermittent energy source. This means that it doesn’t always produce energy when you need it. Having cheap and efficient battery technology working alongside solar will totally eliminate this disadvantage and propel solar energy to new heights. 

Different types of batteries that are better than the commonly used lead-acid and lithium-ion are being discovered and developed every day. These batteries offer the advantages of being more efficient, having much faster charging, more charge-discharge cycles, wireless charging and many more.

However, the biggest thing that will push solar energy as the energy source of the future is its modularity and decentralized nature. These 2 characteristics are unique to solar energy and allow everyone to play their part in making a solar-powered world, while also enjoying the benefits of solar energy.

• Modularity – solar energy is modular in the sense that you can make a solar energy system that is as small or as large as you want it to be. This is the main reason why everyone can have solar panels installed on their roofs. Solar energy systems can be made as small as what is required of small residential homes. On the other hand, we can also make large utility-scale solar farms just by using more solar panels. This flexibility is something that can only be found in solar energy and is one of the reasons why it is very viable as a substitute for fossil fuel energy sources.

• Decentralized Generation – solar energy is a type of decentralized energy generation which means that it does not always have to be produced in large centralized power plants, like all other energy sources. Every home, office or building can basically have solar panels installed on their roofs to meet their own energy requirements. Aside from convenience, this also presents other advantages such as not having to transmit energy in large distances, which incurs losses and eliminating the need for transmission infrastructure.

Because of all of these, it is totally clear that the future of solar is indeed very bright. If you have any questions of if you want to learn more, you can visit our website:www.andalsolar.com to read on our blog.

Together, let us help make a solar-powered world and make it a better place!

About our guest blogger:

Engr. Jet Andal has over 6 years of experience as a solar PV engineer, working for local and international solar companies. He has now started his own company, Andal Solar with a mission of helping to make the Philippines a very progressive solar-powered nation and the world a better place.